Alcohol, depression and weightlifting

It seems a lot of people in blog land suffer from depression. The alcohol blocks/feeds the depression and it's an endless loop of more depression. Maybe this will help someone out there...

Each time I would do dry January or 30+ days off alcohol I would see benefits. A little weight loss, toning, better sleep, money savings. I never really made it to a beautiful point though, I just felt very flat. I trundled along with my alcoholic free beverage and continued my overthinking and average existence. Even when I did 60 days off I just ended up feeling sad and deflated.

A lot of people extol the virtues of fresh air. "Let's go take a walk, clear the cobwebs!" Great, here in the UK the weather is crap, it's dark early and all walks end in a pub where I have to put on a fake smile and order a fizzy water.

I've always done a lot of sport, mainly because my gym in 90 seconds from my front door and I have a training partner who depends on me to meet up. I've been playing with my schedule and in speaking with trainers and internet research I decided to incorporate weight lifting twice a week.

I started lifting weights on Oct 7th in a Les Mills Body Pump class at the gym. I was 2 weeks into my 100 days alcohol-free stint. I had occasionally lifted here and there but not in a proper 1 hour class. It's offered at many gyms, it's a choreographed class so every instructor in the world is doing the same songs, same moves. Then they bring out a new version every 12 weeks. 

I enjoyed the class and the instructor's energy so signed up for another one....and another one.

I was one month into being alcohol free and lifting weights in this class twice a week along with my 'regular' hiit sessions with my gym buddy. I was walking back home at 830 PM on a Monday night (which historically was my heaviest drinking night due to hating my job) and I found myself humming the tunes from the class. I felt very alive and happy. It was a confusing moment as I had not had a 'good' day in many months.

I began to look forward to the Monday and Thursday classes and had some more good days.  

Then I started to do some googling online. I know a lot of people have success with running for depression while others recommend yoga. In some research, weight lifting can have the same or better results than other forms of exercise. Here are two quick summaries:

https://health.usnews.com/wellness/fitness/articles/2017-03-30/can-weightlifting-treat-depression

https://startingstrength.com/article/the-prescription-of-strength-training-for-treating-depression-and-optimizing-cognitive-performance

I've now upped my weight training (still doing the Les Mills Body Pump) to three times a week. I find I feel consistently good for hours afterwards. After class I come home with no desire to open a bottle of wine as my mind is calm and I feel a mixture of energetic yet exhausted in a good way.

I think this may help someone else out there. In particular, the 2nd article makes this statement, 'Another important finding in this study was that there was an association between a change in depressive symptoms and gain in muscle strength.'

I've never been one for running, especially outside in the rain, cold or dark weather. Even when I go out and run the 5k park run, I never get that runner's high, ever. I go on the treadmill for an hour and it still doesn't happen. However one month in to weight training I started to actually get arm, back and shoulder muscles and it's precisely when I started to feel mentally better.

I tried yoga and then mindfulness class but they made my brain spin too fast and then the partner exercises and instructors touching me put me over the edge. I find weight training focuses the brain. As all your mental energy is thinking about the bar and the weight everything else is blocked out.

So if you're sitting in a dark room with a bottle and racing thoughts suffering from bad sleep, flat moods and hangovers, maybe give weight training a try if other sport and activities haven't helped. 

I do the Les Mills Body Pump classes as I have a gym membership and I need a structured time and place to do things. If you have access to weights and youtube you could have a weight training program. There's always free cycle to get free weight equipment or even plastic water bottles filled with water or sand could get you started.