New Centre to Turn Fitness on its Head?

A new type of 'fitness' centre aims to offers members a scientific action plan for optimising both body and brain health.

Opening this month in Melbourne, Acumotum is the world's first 'Body-Brain Fitness and Vitality Centreâ offering a unique blend of fitness and evidence-based lifestyle education aimed at achieving physical, mental and emotional fitness.

Acumotum's team of experts will providemembers with a program to truly engage body and brain as well as providing support along the way.

The centre has been created by world-renowned Body-Brain Performance expert, Paul Taylor, Adjunct Professor of Functional Neuroscience at the University of San Francisco, and he is so sure of the scientific system that he is offering a free first session in the innovative 'brain-body playground' located in Prahran.

As Taylor explains "rather than traditional exercises, which fail to optimally stimulate the brain, Acumotum uses a fun, challenging exercise protocol coupled with a proven lifestyle system, The 7 Body-Brain Boosters, to put your body and brain into overdrive.

"It's like a body-brain stimulator that turns on the physical and neural circuitry simultaneously.

"This system recruits new sensory associations important enough to engage the circuitry required to really exercise your brain and your body.

"We can all relate to using exercise machines that lock you in to certain patterns, such as a chest press machine.

"Such movements only stimulate the Motor Cortex of the brain. When you change to doing more functional, integrated movements in different movement planes, another whole area of the brain, the Cerebellum, gets involved. The Cerebellum has widespread connections and circuits throughout the brain.

"Suddenly your whole brain is confronted with an engaging task that's interesting, challenging, fun and potentially frustrating. Your body may be doing the physical work but your brain is firing at full-speed.

"Acumotum has designed a whole system that stimulates these multi-sensory associations. This is true intelligent movement."

To integrate body and brain, Acumotum uses a range of functional, integrated movement programs as well as cool tools like The Vipr, Power Plate, TRX and Oov to focus on the bodyâs natural movement patterns.

These intelligent movement protocols have even been proven to help enhance a whole range of brain functions and could potentially help to ward off Alzheimerâs Disease, Depression, Anxiety and ADD.

As Taylor adds "research has found that certain types of exercise dramatically increases the production of a whole range of protective growth factors for the brain including BDNF, VEGF, FGF and IGF-1.

"These growth factors have all been shown to help the brain stay fit and healthy and protect against damage that can cause degenerative brain diseases and, in particular, Alzheimerâs Disease.

"A University of California study has found that BDNF (Brain-derived neurotrophic factor) has the potential to provide long-lasting brain protection by slowing, or even stopping, the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

"A Spanish study found decrease in serum VEGF (Vascular endothelial growth factor) levels could contribute to the neurodegenerative process and a Japanese study also linked FGF-9 (Fibroblast growth factor 9) to the neuropathology of Alzheimerâs Disease

"Intellectual training is great but the right type of exercise, in conjunction with a proven lifestyle system is the best natural way to protect and optimise your body and your brain. By integrating the exercise and lifestyle components, you end up with a truly winning formula for Body-Brain Fitness."

The program is suited for all ages and Taylor believes it will boost participants' physical, mental and even career performance.

Acumotum is located at 128 Commercial Road, Prahan, Victoria 3181.

For more information call 03 9516 8888, www.acumotum.com