In this episode of Mind Pump the boys discuss benefits of resistance training which are rarely spoken about, and often left unsaid.
The more obvious benefits of resistance training are:
- building muscle.
- getting stronger.
- giving your body the ability to burn more fat.
- looking better and feeling more confident.
Anybody who has embarked on a resistance training program will concur with these factors.
But as with many health improving protocols, there are added benefits which are often less spoken about.
The five points discussed here are:
- Your brain’s ability to function and think (6:20)
- Proprioceptive learning. (10:06)
- Central Nervous System (CNS) adaption. (16:05)
- The positive effect on your libido and hormone levels. (18:04)
- The clear changes in your mood. (25:36)
- Your body’s ability to fight off illness. (36:34)
- The empowerment of your independence and confidence. (43:46)
Let’s just go through these one at a time and connect them to my own experience of resistance training.
Sharper Brain
There is no doubt my mind is clearer, more active and alive. My ability to handle stressful situations at work in a calm manner is obvious to anybody who has worked with me for some time.
Decision making is crucial in my everyday working life. I need to make fast decisions reacting to market changes based on the input of current information, combined with historical data and experience. The ability to make these decisions which are often potentially loss making, without fear or stress is invaluable.
Hormone Levels
This can be both a blessing and a curse. But there is no doubt my libido has increased due to improved hormone levels. Being primarily an increase in testosterone.
I use this as added strength to throw into my workouts. Purposefully controlling my libido and cycling it in order to gain strength towards the end of the week.
Recent studies have shown that strength in males is slightly weakened after ejaculation. Throughout the next week as these levels rise back up, a male reaches his peak strength around the seventh day. Thereafter diminishing returns are hit.
Mood Changes
I used to lose my temper and snap angrily at many things. Whether that be a friend or family member, a random car driver who doesn’t know how to use their indicators, or somebody who looked at me in the wrong way.
But this snap into anger never happens to me anymore. I cannot say I do not feel the fire rise up within me, because for sure I do. But the ability to handle that fire and dampen it down before it explodes is absolutely invaluable to your body as an organism. To restrain the natural fight/flight programming from unnatural things in modern life protects your body and cells from damage.
Fight or flight is highly natural under the correct circumstances. But everyday events of somebody cutting in front of you in a queue and becoming angry over that is not natural. So controlling that incessant bombardment of inflammation will preserve your body and make it stronger over a longer period of time.
Illness Fighting
I used to get colds and sniffles all the time. It sometimes felt like I went from one illness to another. But these past six years I cannot recall becoming sick from these common ailments once (until Covid).
Another interesting noticeable factor is that my allergies are far less reactive. Even when I visit the UK in the summer, I no longer suffer from my dreaded hay fever which always hit me hard as soon as I alighted the plane at Heathrow.
Empowerment
Knowing you are resistance training regularly. Knowing for an absolute fact you are becoming stronger, is an incredibly powerful empowering tool which makes me feel more confident in everything I do.
There is something about the regularity of the gym. Being one of a low percentage of people who do this consistently over a period of time brings you great self confidence.
It may not be the actual level of weights or how strong you are becoming. It may just as well be the knowledge that you are one of a few to be doing this independently by yourself.
Conclusion
If the spoken and commonly known reasons for resistance training weren’t enough to hook you in. Then surely these unspoken benefits are enough for you to try resistance training to see if these benefits are true.
Give yourself two months of your life, twice per week. And if at the end of those two months you do not feel any of the above, feel free to go back to your previous lifestyle.
However I know, if you did try this consistently for two months you would never look back. You would only wonder why you didn’t begin earlier.
Get lifting, get stronger, get brighter, get smarter!