Did you think lifting weights only benefitted your muscles?
Think again!
(And do so more efficiently since, as you’re reading this page, you probably like to work out. Otherwise, what are you even doing here?)
A new meta-analysis of 54 studies found that resistance training improves cognitive skills, such as global cognition (general reasoning and thinking), executive function, and memory.1
The researchers also found positive trends in information processing and attention, although these effects didn’t quite reach statistical significance.
The analysis also looked into other forms of exercise interventions and found that both aerobic exercise, resistance exercise, and mind-body exercise (like tai-chi or yoga) had beneficial effects on several cognitive skills.
The effect was larger in adults (18–60 years) and old adults (>60 years) and smaller in children and adolescents (6–17 years).
How Much Exercise Is Necessary?
Many of these benefits seem to manifest even with a low to moderate frequency and duration, around 1–3 workouts per week, á 30–45 minutes in length.
In terms of intensity, moderate intensity yielded the largest effect, although low and high-intensity training was close behind.
My personal takeaway is that anything (barring extreme workouts, perhaps) seems to be better than nothing.
What Is the Mechanism?
So why does exercise improve our cognitive function?
Here’s what the authors write:
Long-term regular exercise has a positive effect on stimulating brain plasticity and improving cognition and brain function. A range of molecular mediators, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and irisin, are potential mechanisms whereby exercise induces those cognition and brain benefits.
They finish by encouraging more studies to explore this issue.
Training Programs For Your Brain … and Muscles
The next time you lift weights, know you’re also doing your brain a favor.
Ready to hit the weights and pump up that brain?
Here are some of our most popular training programs:
- Full Body Workout Routine, 3x/Week
- Upper/Lower Split Program, 4x/Week
- 5-Day Workout Split
- Push Pull Legs Split, 3–6x/Week
Or click here to read about more of the many benefits of strength training.
