Most people weight train for aesthetic reasons – to get a leaner, more defined body. Even if images of bulging biceps and firm abs are what motivate you to grab a barbell or dumbbells, there’s more to a strength training workout than meets the eye. The benefits you get from picking up a barbell or set of dumbbells and working your muscles against resistance go far beyond the physical.
Research shows that strength training is transformative at a deeper level. Not only can it sharpen your cognition, but it has mood-boosting benefits. Scientists are only beginning to understand and explore the mechanisms behind these added rewards of working your muscles against resistance. Let’s look beyond the more obvious benefits of weight training – strength and muscle definition – and see what else working your muscles against resistance can do for you.
Flexing the Brain’s Muscles
Does strength training help stave off mental decline? One concern that comes with aging is cognitive decline. Like your muscles, your brain begins to shrink when you’re in your 30s or 40s and speeds up after you reach the age of sixty. Most of the shrinkage occurs in the frontal lobe and hippocampus, areas that are critical for cognitive processing, decision-making, and memory formation. Shrinking skeletal muscle is correlated with brain shrinkage.
Although the loss of skeletal muscle sounds discouraging, research shows that older adults who work their muscles against resistance to build strength, are more functional and have less muscle wasting. The benefits apply to your brain too.
Strength-training adults have less brain atrophy too in areas of the brain like the hippocampus. Coupled with the neuroprotective and mood-enhancing effects discussed above, pumping iron is a strategy for slowing muscle and brain aging. Truly, the mantra “use it or lose it” applies as much to our mental faculties as our muscles.
Just as curls and presses boost the growth of the muscles you work, resistance training fortifies your brain’s neural networks, the connections that help you formulate new ideas, remember things, and understand and interact with the outside world. Multiple studies show that strength training enhances cognitive function, especially in older adults.
In one trial, women ages 65-75 who engaged in resistance exercise once or twice weekly showed significant improvements in memory and executive functioning. Those who did balance training and toning exercises did not. However, research shows that strength training three times a week offers more brain-boosting benefits than picking up weight only once or twice weekly.
The Magic of Strength Training
How can we explain these gains in cognitive function? Strength training, and other forms of exercise, boost blood flow to the brain. Exercise also has anti-inflammatory effects. But there’s also evidence that exercise, including strength training, boosts the amount of BDNF, a brain-derived neurotrophic factor your brain has access to too. BDNF helps sprout new never-cell connections, acting like “fertilizer” for the brain.
BDNF also helps keep your neurons, or nerve cells, healthy and supports their growth and survival. It’s likely that combination of all three – increased blood flow, anti-inflammatory benefits, and BDNF explain the brain health benefits of a strength-training workout. Research shows that older adults with mild cognitive impairment, reduced memory not due to dementia, enjoy memory improvements in response to strength training.
Is Strength-Training Better Than Aerobics for Brain Health?
Is strength training better than aerobic exercise? Research shows aerobic exercise increases BDNF, the brain’s fertilizer, more than strength training. However, strength training ramps up the production of another factor called nerve growth factor (NGF). This protein helps your nerve cells survive and form new connections. If you want the most benefits, a boost in BDNF and NGF, your best bet is to do both strength training and aerobic exercise.
Another benefit of resistance training is the impact it has on misfolded proteins in the brain called beta-amyloid. These proteins are part of the brain plaques that people with Alzheimer’s have higher levels of. Strength training increases the clearance of these damaged proteins that interfere with brain function. You can get double the benefits by getting a good night’s sleep. These proteins enter your g-lymphatics during deep sleep, so they can be cleared. So, combining resistance with aerobic exercise and quality sleep may yield better outcomes in memory and cognitive improvements.
Pumping Up Your Mood
The brain benefits of strength training aren’t limited to cognition; weights have your back when it comes to mood too. Research finds that hefting dumbbells can also lift your spirits. You may already be familiar with the mood-elevating benefits of an aerobic workout. Have you noticed how you always feel more upbeat after you grab the towel and wipe the sweat off your face? You’re tired but you have a satisfying sense of accomplishment and a calmness that you lacked before your workout. That’s the magic of working your muscles!
One of the mechanisms that explains the mood-elevating benefits is a boost in endorphins, natural compounds that have a calming and pain-relieving effect. Think of the runner’s high. However, weight training doesn’t necessarily boost endorphins but offers its mood benefits through other mechanisms, one of which is its impact on serotonin and dopamine, two brain chemicals that impact mood.
Conclusion
So next time you reach for a dumbbell or barbell or do a bodyweight exercise, like a pushup, know that you’re not just sculpting your physique, but also doing something beneficial for your mind and mood. As the ancient Greeks wisely advised, a sound mind in a strong body. Weight training empowers you to pursue that timeless ideal.
References:
- Li, Zhihui, Xin Peng, Wei Xiang, Jiaqi Han, and Kun Li. “The Effect of Resistance Training on Cognitive Function in the Older Adults: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials.” Aging Clinical and Experimental Research 30, no. 11 (July 13, 2018): 1259–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-018-0998-6.
- Xu L, Gu H, Cai X, Zhang Y, Hou X, Yu J, Sun T. The Effects of Exercise for Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 7;20(2):1088. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20021088. PMID: 36673844; PMCID: PMC9858649.
- Ross, Jonathan. “ACE – CertifiedTM: September 2023 – the Brain Health Benefits of Strength Training.” Acefitness.org, September 2023. https://www.acefitness.org/continuing-education/certified/september-2023/8431/the-brain-health-benefits-of-strength-training/.
- Azevedo CV, Hashiguchi D, Campos HC, Figueiredo EV, Otaviano SFSD, Penitente AR, Arida RM, Longo BM. The effects of resistance exercise on cognitive function, amyloidogenesis, and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease. Front Neurosci. 2023 Mar 2;17:1131214. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1131214. PMID: 36937673; PMCID: PMC10017453.
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