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DRLifting heavy literally grows your brain.
When you train at truly high effort, especially with heavy loads (often >80% 1RM), you recruit more high-threshold motor units and generate high mechanical tension.
When under load, skeletal muscle behaves like an endocrine organ, releasing “myokines” that talk to liver, fat cells, the immune system, and hthe brain. The exact myokine pattern depends on volume, rest, and how close you get to failure, but resistance training is consistently linked to an increase in cytokines like IL-6, IGF-1, irisin that positively influence inflammation and metabolism.
From a longevity lens, strength training is associated with meaningfully lower all-cause mortality risk, with many studies showing the sweet spot around 2-4 sessions (or 150-300 minutes) per week when combined with aerobic work.
Metabolically, muscle is your biggest glucose “sink.” In humans, skeletal muscle accounts for the majority of insulin-stimulated glucose disposal (often cited around ~80%+), so adding and maintaining more of it shifts the baseline math of improved glucose control.
And for cognition: resistance training improves executive function, and higher strength has been linked to lower Alzheimer’s risk—likely via improved metabolic health, reduced vascular risk, and neurotrophic signaling.
If you’re not lifting, you’re leaving brain cells on the table.��Study links:
doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061�doi: 10.3390/ijms23073501�doi: 10.1002/cphy.c190029�doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.494�https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2022.03.020
#brainhealth #strengthtraining #metabolichealth #dementiaprevention #resistancetraining
@dr.ryanwilliamson
![#Musclestrength Reel by @directsciencecycling - [1] https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-024-02120-2
[2] https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-021-04730-4
[3] https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000004300
[4] ht](https://image.pictame.com/img/629600950_948254674202720_7106897238882877411_n.jpg?hash=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)
