By Hugh Hines
Resistance Exercise Is A Great Non-Pharmaceutical Option For Reducing Stress, Anxiety And Depression.
Some of the benefits of resistance exercise are widely known. Even by those who don’t regularly use the “tool” as part of their self-care routine. It has profound effects on your body and can contribute to the maintenance of functional abilities, prevent osteoporosis, sarcopenia (muscle loss), lower back pain and other disabilities.
But wait…
…there’s more to resistance training than staying strong, pain-free and independent! There’s growing evidence that it can help you resist stress, worry and anxiety by:
- Improving sleep (Herring et al. 2015)
- Improving self-confidence (Bracewell et al. 1999)
- Reducing depression (Doyne et al. 1987).
- Increasing your sense of well-being (Tucker and Mortell et al. 1993)
- Making your smarter (Liu-Ambrose et al. 2012)
For some reason this message isn't getting out in ways that count, so we dismiss research like this without thinking about what it means for us. What it means that EVERYTHING about you gets better when you choose to move out of your comfort zone and to do what is necessary to upgrade your body and mind.
How You Can Incorporate Resistance Exercise Into Your Self-Care Plan
The lack of time is usually the first excuse for not engaging in resistance exercise. But research has shown that only one weekly resistance training session is just as effective in increasing strength as two or three times weekly (DiFrancisco-Donohuge et al. 2007). The catch is that this once weekly session must be performed a specific way to get the benefits. Each exercise must be performed to complete muscular fatigue. This means you push (or pull) the resistance, or weight, until it will not move, or you can’t complete another repetition. Anything short of this will not produce the changes you want. Doing that for every muscle group will take you no more than 20 minutes. You’ll get a lot of “bang” for 20 minutes you invest!
If you are new to resistance training, or haven’t done it in decades, you’ll want to get some help getting started. It’s important to learn how to do it properly from a professional so that you safely get all the benefits without injury or soreness. Consider it an investment in yourself that’ll repay itself many times over in the years to come.
It’s About Your Quality Of Life
The physical, emotional and mental benefits of effective resistance training are nothing short of a miracle! It should be a part of every responsible man and woman’s self-care routine to insure living your life at its peak in terms of your health, your appearance and the way you feel about yourself. When you develop a strong, fit, healthy body and a quick, sharp mind that you can rely on, your horizons will continue to expand for a lifetime.
About The Author
require(, function(L) { L.start({"baseUrl":"mc.us12.list-manage.com","uuid":"447404607a1b3dfee2183eb8e","lid":"1eef60c125"}) })Hugh Hines is a retired Marine Corps LtCol, President of MEDStrength Fitness and an expert at solving fitness challenges for Asheville area men and women in their 50's, 60's, and 70's. Go to www.medstrength.net or call 828-545-4074 to learn how he can help you.
