The neurons in the brain have an active part even in training effects of physical exercise. Morgan Kindel et al. (2026) have accomplished a rigorous test that demonstrates the involvement of brain neurons when mice were exercising repeatedly. Training effects were larger if the neurons of brain cells were involved as well. The cell’s learning ability encodes the experience of exercise and is prepared for a repetition of the exercise. This is roughly what happened in their experiments in my own words. Runners might know the effect that running on track or treadmill uses up less calories than running cross-country where the brain is more challenged to avoid missteps or loss of orientation. However, the latter are different tasks whereas the former experiments demonstrate that the brain is involved in physical exercise even if we do not notice it. Exercise might spur brain plasticity just by doing it. Hence, just do it.
