{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Performance Brain Health - Part 1 with Dr. Tommy Wood, Doug Larson Travis Mash & Dr. Mike Lane #832","description":"In this episode of Barbell Shrugged, Doug Larson is joined by longtime co-host Travis Mash and new co-host Dr. Mike Lane for a return visit from one of the show\u2019s most popular guests, Dr. Tommy Wood. Tommy breaks down the core thesis of his new book, The Stimulated Mind (releasing March 24), which uses dementia prevention as the headline but is really about boosting cognition at every stage of life. The crew sets the tone early: brain health is not \u201cold people stuff,\u201d it\u2019s performance, learning, and resilience, built daily through how you live and how you train. Tommy makes the case that \u201coptimization\u201d only works when it fits real life, and that the brain adapts like the body: sleep, nutrition, and exercise support it, but you still have to \u201ctrain the brain\u201d with demanding learning and skills. He outlines a practical learning dose-response, roughly 30\u201390 minutes of deep challenge per session, 2\u20133 times per week as a sweet spot for consolidation, while acknowledging the power of daily touchpoints for habit formation (Doug\u2019s Duolingo streak and the \u201cdon\u2019t break the chain\u201d approach). From there, they go deep on exercise modalities and cognition: aerobic work and interval training improving hippocampal function (memory), high-intensity work potentially driving brain benefits through lactate \u2192 local BDNF, and coordinative\/open-skill sports (racket sports, dancing, martial arts) producing outsized brain returns for the same physical strain. The conversation closes with a fast but important run through risk, genetics, and lifestyle: Tommy explains ApoE4 as a risk multiplier that\u2019s highly environment-dependent, amplifying bad inputs (inflammation, poor metabolic health) but also amplifying the benefits of doing the basics well. They hit the big nutrition levers for cognition; omega-3s, key B vitamins (methylation), vitamin D, iron, plus polyphenol-rich foods (berries, cocoa, coffee\/tea), and squash the common \u201cred wine\u201d rationalization by emphasizing net outcomes (sleep and brain volume matter). Finally, Tommy emphasizes the under-rated keystone: social connection and pro-social behavior, arguing that the Mediterranean \u201cdiet\u201d is really a Mediterranean lifestyle, and that isolation can erase many of the benefits of even a perfect nutrition plan. Links: Doug Larson on InstagramCoach Travis Mash on Instagram   ","author_name":"Barbell Shrugged","author_url":"https:\/\/BarbellShrugged.com","html":"