We'll ask the board.
Member
Effects of exercise on alcohol addiction and FGF21 hormone
I was watching this video by Dr. Rhonda Patrick
Why exercise reduces alcohol cravings - YouTube
The results seem to focus on aerobic exercise, but I was wondering what is the data and experience of Rip and others when it comes to addiction and strength training.
I feel like a strength training regimen like SS where the novice phase is very positively and frequently rewarding, and requires education and focus, would be extremely helpful in battling addiction whereas "vigorous exercise" is simply a substitute for whatever "high" the person is looking for.
What do you know about this FGF21 hormone?
One last question for Ray: are there any interesting stories related to this topic coming from the SS Gyms? It would be a nice message to get out there
(Starting Strength for Addiction and Recovery - YouTube I know there is this video but mabye there are more stories to tell or you are accumulating data on it?)
TMPHBITEU
We'll ask the board.
Administrator, Starting Strength Gyms
Francesco, coincidental timing - the SS Boise manager talked to me about a new member that has a great story that he'd be interested in sharing on this topic. We may have one coming in the next few months.Originally Posted by francesco.decaro
Also, our friend Nick died a few months after recording that interview. I'm glad he got to share his story and hopefully it made an impact on someone that needed to hear it.
✓ Member
Interesting video.
I think that mirrors my own. I got sober four years ago this month, and I started NLP about three months later. In the interim I was running 5 or 6 days a week, was up to about 4 miles when I started NLP. I definitely saw a benefit to exercise in general during that time. In fact I think I posted a thread on here wondering how much running I could get away with on my off days, even knowing it would interfere with recovery, because it was that beneficial. Initially, the NLP workouts had a similar effect. My experience is that it wore off somewhere around the time the weight started to get actually heavy. Nowadays I've been clean long enough now that I don't *need* that boost, although whenever I add conditioning back into my routine I almost always notice a boost in mood that I don't get from strength training alone. If I had to guess, I think pushing the prowler would probably be a great exercise to achieve the physical/mental effects she's talking about in the video.
Outside the biochemical aspects, I think strength training is a great adjunct for sobriety, though. The discipline of doing hard things, even when you don't feel like it, day after day, week in and week out-- well, that's pretty much what sobriety is. Training forces you manage your life outside the gym too. Getting your eating and sleeping squared away kind of rubs off on all aspects of your life. At least it did for me.
Something that gets thrown around a lot in addiction/recovery circles is "mindfulness." I'll admit that I never really understood it, and all the meditation/exercises/whatever that they had us do didn't really do much for me. But I'll tell you, a heavy barbell has a way of demanding all your attention, right fucking now, in a way that meditation doesn't. And it has a way of putting everything else in perspective, too.
Member
Purely anecdotal here but...
Since starting training a month ago I have had no interest in drinking. Not even a beer on a dinner out. I've never been a super heavy drinker but would have a few drinks a week. Literally have had zero desire to drink since starting training. I also don't even think I've noticed my lost desire since reading this post. Weird.
Member
Really enjoyed this video. Some thoughts based on my own sobriety
Matt, congrats buddy, keep doing it.
When I got sober a long time ago I still did the same stupid crap physically: triathlons, running, etc. that I did when I was drinking myself into the ground. What a waste.
But now when I work with a guy getting sober I look for the willingness to do things differently - everything differently, including how he or she treats the physical aspect of their recovery. If they are open minded and willing to do the difficult work in recovery, and then also be open minded and willing in the gym to do a beginning strength training program like NLP, then those people can get sober. If they remain close minded about anything,
You know - the contempt prior to investigation - its not a good sign.
If they do start NLP, I look for the daily discipline: intentionally using the rest day to “recover”, sticking to the program and stopping after the third set (easy does it), etc. But hell, plenty of people can and do get sober with no physical activity, so who knows. But there really is something magical about getting mentally tougher and physically stronger as part of sobriety.
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