Approximately 300 million people worldwide are affected by depression.
For something so prevalent, treatment options are sparse, with the two most common options,
medication and therapy, being too expensive for many and its effectiveness rather uncertain.
There is, however, one lesser known and MUCH less expensive option that many have attested
to its capabilities.
And that's... aerobic exercise, aka cardio.
Indeed, we have seen a great deal of research showing that aerobic training can effectively
reduce depressive symptoms.
These findings, however, leave us wondering… what about the other side of the exercise
coin?
For those that aren't fans of cardio, what about… resistance training, like calisthenics
and lifting weights?
Well, that's what the findings of a 2018 meta-analysis study is hoping to provide.
Let's check it out.
The meta-analysis consisted of studies that employed a resistance training intervention
while measuring the outcomes of depressive symptoms.
33 randomized control trials were rounded up with a total of 1,877 subjects, in which
the majority, 67%, were women.
The trials lasted, on average, 16 weeks with an average of 3 days of resistance training
per week.
Depressive symptoms were measured through a variety of psychometric tests, such as the
Beck Depression Inventory and the Geriatric Depression Scale.
Overall, quite a decent amount of data to make some decent conclusions.
Speaking of which, let's get to it.
In their findings, 89% of all outcome effects noted a reduction in depressive symptoms with
the use of resistance training.
Overall, the reduction effects were moderate and significant, even when controlling for
studies that had unusually larger reductions.
And the cool thing is that these reductions were not related to doing more work, lifting
heavier, or even seeing actual strength improvements.
Improvements to depressive symptoms were made by simply having some consistent resistance
training effort.
So, in essence, resistance training, which we already know can be great for us physiologically,
can potentially lend a helping hand with depression.
There are a few important takeaways from this analysis to consider though.
One, the best results were found when subjects were supervised during their training.
In a regular scenario, maybe having a personal trainer or a supportive friend might be of
use.
Another takeaway is that, although resistance training can be effective, findings show that
it was not more effective than aerobic training.
Either way, it's still good confirmation that exercise in general can be effective.
And finally, although the far majority of outcomes showed a reduction in depressive
symptoms, we cannot ignore that for some, resistance training actually resulted in elevated
depressive symptoms.
But, at the end of the day, the result of this meta-analysis still positively showcases
the prospective use of resistance training in the matter of improving the symptoms of
depression.
At the very least, it's food for thought and in the future, if more confirmation is
published, then it can be something to seriously consider.
Let me know what you think about the findings in the comments below.
If you found this video helpful at all, please give it a thumbs up and share it with your
resistance training-loving friends.
As always, thank you for watching and GET YOUR PROTEIN!
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