Brain Chemistry And Weight Training

[gamedog]

Mr. Rippetoe,

I know you're busy so I'll try to keep this straight and to the point. I ask because my wife isn't ordering my books till Friday when I get paid, and I don't know if you wrote about this at all, and I didn't find anything about this whilst searching the site.

Is there a link between hard physical exertion and improvement in the way the brain handles the releasing and uptake or serotonin?

I ask, because I've always been a pessimistic, depressed person with an altogether piss-poor mental attitude. Since I've been lifting weights and eating right, though, a lot of that has improved GREATLY. The morning after a workout day I feel great, I'm more outgoing, more easy-going and laid back, and my wife told me that over-all, I seem "jolly"

Now, I'd guess some of this has to do with the fact that I gave up all sugar and simple carbs, so my blood sugar isn't spiking and crashing like before, and I'm eating every three hours, which helps along those lines as well.

But I became curious about a possible lifting connection when my wife mentioned to me recently "You've tried everything and none of it helped you. THEN you ditch all that bullshit started lifting weights -of all things- and BOOM you became this completely different person, overnight. You're happy and stable all the time now, and it's great!" And it got me thinking.

Thanks again for you time.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Many people have made this observation. The exact mechanism is probably neurotransmitter normalization -- serotonin, epi, etc. But it basically boils down to the fact that the body did not evolve the capacity to sit on its ass and eat sugar, and when your normalize your behavior you normalize your chemistry.

[Ian Kovtunovich]

I have found a modest improvement from training, although I think I got more of an improvement from Lexapro. This could be a timing issue and a question of degree, however. Perhaps if I had started training in the thick of it, I might have seen a bigger improvement, however, I didn't start training until after meds, so perhaps the training-related benefits were either masked or obviated by the pharmacological benefits.

All the same, good for you that you found something that helped out. Cheaper than a year of meds, too, depending on which ones. Anything to keep from drowning in that black hell.

[tennisgod]

I think its a combination of the lifting and the reduction in carbs. I have been reducing my carbs the last few weeks and I feel 'calmer'. The increase in brain activity that the sugars give you is, in my opinion, bad for most people. Autistic people have very high brain activity, so for the majority of us, the calmer the brain operates, the better. Just my $0.02.

Certainly the lifting, as Rip says, will start moving the body towards its 'preferred' state...

[TomF]

For what it's worth, exercise has been shown to be as or more effective in clinical trials than many common anti-depressants. I think Mark's right about why.

[gamedog]

Mark, Ian and Tennisgod, thank you for your input and your thoughts on this. I appreciate it

Right-the-fuck-on!

[Albert1]

I agree on this one completely. Since I started training regularly, I'm in a much better mood, I have more energies, more sexual drive, better sleep, better performance at work, I feel more relaxed and more motivated in general to do everything.

[ThatGuy]

I've heard it said that Aristotle made his students exercise regularly.