The health benefits of strength training are numerous: building muscle, boosting metabolism, gaining strength and stability, improving power, and improving blood sugar regulation.
But did you know that strength training has mental health benefits, as well?
Much attention has been paid to aerobic exercise like walking, running, hiking, and swimming -- and for good reason. These activities have been shown to improve mood and increase longevity.
You might not be aware that strength training also has good data supporting its use for mental health. Anxiety, in particular, is squelched effectively by performing low-to-moderate intensity weight training.
The effects seem to be especially pronounced in women -- the very people who are less likely to participate in a formal strength training program.
Even a single session of weight training can reduce anxious feelings in the short term. And the benefits seem to continue if you make strength training a regular habit.
How does strength training reduce anxiety?
Strength training sends your body signals to release dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine and serotonin are very important for mood regulation. Furthermore, building muscle can increase testosterone levels and human growth hormone. Both of these can improve mood if levels were low before.
Finally, don't forget the empowerment factor. Getting stronger feels energizing and rewarding. You may find that your worries seem smaller when you are strong enough to handle whatever life throws at you, literally and figuratively.
So how much strength training should I do?
The studies ranged from 1 day to 6 months. The vast majority of them showed benefits for low-to-moderate intensity, but not high-intensity, weight training. That means the participants used lighter weights overall. But they still had to lift the weights enough times for it to feel slightly intense. Extremely light weights did not seem to help anxiety as much.
Interestingly, during a 6-week strength training study of women with generalized anxiety disorder (Herring et al., 2012), aerobic exercise did not reduce anxiety as well as strength training. But by far the most effective strategy was to perform regular resistance training as well as regular aerobic exercise. The women lifted weights twice weekly during this program, and that's a good starting point for those who are new to strength training.
By the way, even though I have used the terms "lifting weights," "resistance training," "weight training," and "strength training" interchangeably in this article, ALL of it refers to resistance training. This means your muscles have to push against some type of force, which triggers them to grow stronger. You don't have to pick up a literal barbell or dumbbell to do this type of training, though I do think every woman should familiarize herself with barbells and dumbbells at some point, just to demystify them and reap some of the benefits of heavier weight training. You can also do bodyweight resistance exercises (such as planks and push ups), resistance band exercises, suspension trainer workouts like TRX, kettlebells, or any number of other resistance exercises. That's still "lifting weights" in my book ;)
Wishing you happiness & health,
Nicole
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