Mental Health Benefits of Strength Training

Mental Health Benefits of Strength Training

The mental health benefits that come with strength training are endless. The beauty of this is you will notice the benefits even after just one session. Whilst it takes time, patience and consistency to make physical gains and changes in your appearance, mental health benefits and improved mood changes will happen immediately after each session.  If you are anything like me, you will find the feeling of positivity you get after each session extremely fulfilling and addictive, and this will in turn become a huge motivating factor for you to keep training. Since beginning my journey, I have noticed many benefits to my mental health, and I have narrowed down and picked my favourite ones which have made the greatest difference to my life. Reduced anxiety and depression. I tend to be an anxious person in general, especially in times like these where the world is very uncertain and unpredictable. However, what has kept me sane throughout it all is strength training. I faced multiple adversities since I left university and Covid hit, but I have managed to achieve and overcome a great deal. I put my ability to manage all the challenges down to lifting weights.  After each session, my feeling of restlessness goes away, I’m in a better mood and I always have a much clearer head to proceed with the rest of my day. I have learned on countless occasions that the feeling of being anxious, panicked, wound up and worried seriously impedes your ability to think clearly, get on with whatever it is you are doing, and solve problems. Therefore, strength training for me, is a way to take a break, cope better with the stress, and therefore live more efficiently. Training ultimately helps you be in a much better state of mind to tackle any problems you might be facing. Ultimately, strength training is an excellent stress buster and I’ve found that it has a positive impact on everything I do. Whether I’m training a client or writing a blog article, strength training gives me the break and escape I need so that I’m able to perform more effectively in my other daily tasks. Improved self-esteem This goes hand in hand with the physical benefits of strength training. Ultimately, noticing your physical progress will in turn heighten your self-esteem. I found that even if I did not necessarily notice the differences in my body myself, my friends and family and would often point them out to me. This gave me a new wave of confidence that I did not have before!  I could tell that my hard work was and still is paying off, and this is truly a great feeling. It can be quite difficult to notice small changes in your body because you see yourself all the time, but it is a great feeling when someone else notices and points out how great you look, especially when they point out changes you are working so hard to achieve. Raised self-esteem also comes from feeling stronger overall. Even though I could not necessarily tell any difference in the way I looked straight away, I could tell that I felt physically stronger, which also helped my confidence. When you feel stronger, it impacts the way you carry yourself overall.  Confidence comes out, because you no longer feel weak and unnoticed. In my experience, this really heightened my self-esteem which has done wonders for my mental health. It is amazing how feeling good about yourself can affect your mental health as a whole. Feeling strong and in good overall shape really radiates and expresses positive energy. People will pick up a confident vibe from you which is appealing and attractive to others. Afterall, we all want to be confident and proud of ourselves for what we are achieving. Lifting weights is character building! Ultimately, strength training is a great way to build character. The way you behave in the gym is often mirrored in how you behave in life in general. Therefore, weight training is a great way to improve your outlook on life and to deal with struggles and adversities you may be forced to face.  Strength training puts your body under a very specific type of pressure. A lot of the difficulty we have in the gym, trying to achieve that one last rep is in our head, rather than our physical bodies. Strength training trains you to break through that mental barrier that often hinders us from being able to achieve one more rep. You have to try your best and give 100% in your sessions to receive the optimal results you are looking for. This same philosophy applies to everything else in life. If you try you hardest and give it your best shot in your sessions, you will receive the highest amount of reward. Strength training gives you an opportunity to take on a challenge, stick to a programme, give yourself a chance to exert maximum effort towards something great, and ultimately cope under pressure. These are all features which will serve you in your everyday life! If you can push yourself whilst you are training, you will be better equipped to push yourself in daily life. With correct guidance, your sessions will be a great way to train not only your body, but also your mindset on how to tackle life overall.