Entrepreneurs have a lot to gain from lifting weights. From higher productivity and drive to better levels of focus, lifting weights is one of the best things a serious entrepreneur can do to take their business endeavors to the next level.
Gone are the days of the highly strung entrepreneur-slash-hustler. In this age, entrepreneurs are fit, lift weights and go on walks every day.
But walking is a topic for another day — we are going to unpack 5 solid reasons why you should lift weights if you’re business-minded.
Why Entrepreneurs Should Lift Weights
Somebody looking to take their business to the next level will often look to crutches such as nootropics or biohacking in order to work smarter, harder, and more productively.
But there is one thing that is often overlooked — perhaps because it takes a little time out of your schedule as well as effort.
And that is to lift weights.
The average person can benefit greatly from lifting weights as practically every aspect of their lifestyle will improve by pushing some tin.
Entrepreneurs will benefit even more than the average person in pumping iron as the potential for their businesses’ growth will go into overdrive.
Let me explain.
If you want to be an entrepreneur and don’t know where to start or are on a budget, try our short course to make your first online dollar.
1. Boosts Testosterone Levels
Higher testosterone levels will give entrepreneurs an edge over their competitors.
Men with higher testosterone levels will, on the whole, be:
- More aggressive
- More driven
- More focused
- More productive
- More motivated
- Less neurotic/anxious
- Less foggy
- Less demoralized when things go wrong
Any serious businessman should strive to optimize their testosterone levels.
Granted, some of you reading this may opt for the easy way out and look for treatments such as TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy), but there are other safer ways to boost endogenous testosterone production.
Lifting weights will increase your basal metabolic rate (BMR), making it easier to lose fat. Low testosterone levels are directly correlated with higher body fat percentages as fat storage is very estrogenic.
In addition to boosting your testosterone levels, lifting weights will improve your posture, increase your bone density, improve your insulin sensitivity, strengthen your connective tissue, along with a host of other positives that comes with lifting.
A study found that different intensities of weight lifting boosted testosterone levels — the important thing is to just get lifting!
The study noted [R]:
“The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of moderate weight lifting (MWL) and light weight lifting (LWL) on concentrations of serum testosterone in males. Baseline testosterone concentrations were determined via an indwelling catheter in the median cubital vein.
“An initial sample of blood was followed 7 min later by five samples taken at 4-min intervals. A final sample was taken 10 min after the last 4-min blood draw. Blood samples were obtained at similar times and intervals on the weight lifting days. The MWL consisted of four sets of six squats at 90-95% of a six-repetition maximum (RM), while the LWL consisted of four sets of 9 or 10 repetitions at 60-65% of the weight used for the sets during MWL.
“There was a significant increase in serum testosterone concentrations following the fourth set for both MWL and LWL when compared with baseline concentrations and both MWL and LWL testosterone concentrations returned to baseline levels at 10 min postexercise. These results indicate that MWL and LWL caused increases in serum testosterone that were greater than those associated with baseline levels. Postexercise responses for the MWL and LWL were similar.”
Click here to download our FREE eBook bundle to help you start lifting from the comfort of your own home.
If you’re an entrepreneur who is interested in pursuing a business in the fitness industry, check out how you could become an online fitness coach.
2. Improves Mental Clarity/Health
There is a clear link between lifting weights and improving mental health. After a hard day’s work, entrepreneurs can vent their frustrations out on the iron.
But lifting weights can help improve both mental clarity and health for entrepreneurs.
As the entrepreneurs’ lifestyle is often one filled with a lot of stress and pressure, lifting weights is a fantastic way to oust some of those anxieties.
However, as lifting weights boosts testosterone levels, higher testosterone levels can contribute to your best mental conditions for high productivity as entrepreneurs.
All across the developed world, people are experiencing depression and anxiety at alarming rates. We’ll explore the link between the testosterone and depression shortly.
Depression rates have been rising for some time, but diagnoses and prescriptions for depression have been increasing at an accelerating rate in recent years.
Although the rise in rates of depression could be attributed simply to more people feeling that they can seek help in an environment where mental illness is stigmatized less and less, the truth is that the data don’t support this interpretation.
In America, diagnoses of major depression rose by a third between 2013 and 2016, one report claimed. [R] Particular spikes are visible among teens and adults up to and beyond the age of 35. Around 10% of teenagers and adults aged 18-25 reported depression in the previous year. [R]
Self-harm and suicidal thoughts are also on the rise, especially among teenagers, with worrying consequences and implications.
“When I started in the field in the late 1980s, young patients with severe suicidal ideation or self-injurious behavior, like cutting, came from very disturbed backgrounds and often had histories of considerable trauma,” according to Lisa Cohen, a specialist in depression. Today, by contrast, many come from stable, supportive families. [R]
This is obviously a complicated, indeed thorny, subject, and it seems clear that a variety of factors are at work, including diet and lifestyle, the growth of social media, the rise of smartphones, changing work and marriage patterns, among others.
One factor that doesn’t get mentioned enough, though, is testosterone, especially given the precipitous decline in testosterone levels we’ve seen since the mid-twentieth century.
Aside from the decline in testosterone, entrepreneurs can enjoy a significant comparative advantage with higher testosterone levels.
Brain fog and a lack of motivation is commonly reported as a symptom of low testosterone levels.
The New York Times also notes: “Lifting weights might help, according to a timely new study of anxiety and resistance training. The study, which involved healthy young adults, barbells and lunges, indicates that regular weight training substantially reduces anxiety, a finding with particular relevance during these unsettling, bumpy days.”
“Incorporating strength training into your routine can make you feel more mentally engaged and boost your mental energy and focus,” writes VeryWellFit.
If you want to be an entrepreneur and don’t know where to start or are on a budget, try our short course to make your first online dollar.
3. Boost Productivity/Energy Levels
Entrepreneurs will experience a domino effect from how lifting weights will boost their testosterone levels.
All entrepreneurs would kill for higher productivity and energy levels.
Unfortunately, we are human beings — and we must rest or even have off-days.
But entrepreneurs can enjoy greater energy levels by simply lifting weights or just exercising a little bit every day.
It doesn’t even have to be too strenuous.
I’m often greeted with incredulity when I explain to low-energy people that doing exercise will increase their energy levels. Huh? But if I’ve not got much energy, and then I spend some energy on exercise, won’t I have even less energy?
The truth is that regular exercise – and it doesn’t have to be of the back-breaking variety – will increase your energy levels and your feeling of vitality. Guaranteed.
An analysis of 70 controlled trials showed that ‘sedentary people who completed a regular exercise program reported improved fatigue compared to groups that did not exercise’.
One reason for this is probably the increase that exercise causes ‘in the levels of energy-promoting and mood-enhancing neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin in the brains of animals that are placed in regular exercise conditions’ [R] [R].
As we say, it doesn’t have to be back-breaking exercise. One study showed that bouts of low-intensity cycling can reduce feelings of tiredness by 65% [R].
Even a ten-minute walk will have more of a ‘pick me up’ effect than having a snack [R].
There are various ways you can make yourself more active during the day, even if you’re busy. Walk or cycle to work if you can. Take a walk during your lunch break. Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. Use a pedometer to track the number of steps you take each day and try to increase your steps, week on week.
If you increase your general activity levels, you will have more energy, which in turn will make you more susceptible to a dedicated programme of exercise. And that’s an upward, rather than a downward spiral.
Entrepreneurs who don’t exercise are missing out!
If you want to start lifting weights (to be a smarter entrepreneurs) and don’t know where to begin, try this program bundle that has everything you need to get started.
4 & 5. Protects Brain From Ageing & Makes You Smarter
Entrepreneurs will be pleased to hear that lifting weights can make you smarter.
Aside from dietary changes and certain nootropics such as creatine that can actually increase your mental stamina, entrepreneurs can gain an intellectual edge just by pumping iron.
A study carried out in 2016 found that lifting weights can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
This could potentially mean that lifting weights makes you smarter in the long run.
The University of Sydney led a study on sufferers of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) where they found that increased muscle strength correlated with improved cognitive function, according to the Hindustan Times.
The definition of MCI in this context are those who can still live independently yet experience cognitive issues such as memory loss.
MCI is accepted as a precursor to Alzheimer’s, and, as we’ve written in the past, additional evidence appears to support these finding as Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs) have been shown to combat Alzheimer’s.
Findings from the Study of Mental and Resistance Training (SMART) trial indicated a positive causal link between muscle growth as a response to training stimulus and improved brain function in subjects over 55 with MCI.
SMART was a randomized, double-blind trial involving 100 community-dwelling adults with MCI, aged between 55 and 86, according to the Hindustan Times.
If you want to start lifting weights and don’t know where to begin, try this program bundle that has everything you need to get started.
In the study, the subjects were divided into 4 groups doing either the following: resistance exercise and computerized cognitive training; resistance exercise and a placebo computerized training (watching nature videos); brain training and a placebo exercise program (seated stretching/calisthenics); or placebo physical exercise and placebo cognitive training to ascertain whether cognitive ability was significantly impacted by any of the preceding activities.
Participants doing resistance exercise prescribed two weight lifting sessions every week for six months, with a goal to work up to at least 80 per cent of their one rep max.
The subjects on the resistance training program would use progressive overload to reevaluate their one rep max and corresponding weight loads throughout the study.
“What we found in this follow-up study is that the improvement in cognition function was related to their muscle strength gains,” said Yorgi Mavros, a researcher at Sydney University who took part in the study.
“The stronger people became, the greater the benefit for their brain,” said Mavros.
Another study from the same team reportedly found that cognitive ability significantly improved after weight training, whereas brain teasing exercises failed to have any positive effect on cognitive function.
Aside from well-documented anti-ageing benefits, it can also protect your brain from ageing, thus making you smarter in the long run.
“The more we can get people doing resistance training like weight lifting, the more likely we are to have a healthier ageing population,” said Mavros.
“The key however is to make sure you are doing it frequently, at least twice a week, and at a high intensity so that you are maximizing your strength gains. This will give you the maximum benefit for your brain,” said Mavros.
If you want to start lifting weights (to get smarter) and don’t know where to begin, try this program bundle that has everything you need to get started.
Don’t hesitate to email us at [email protected] for personalized coaching and a client questionnaire if you’d like DEDICATED tailor-made personal training on strength training, building muscle, losing fat, developing athleticism, and more — all to your liking, lifestyle, habits, and taste!
Otherwise, don’t forget to claim your FREE eBook detailing how to lose 20lb of fat while building muscle in 12 weeks! You can claim it here.
Alternatively, you can pick up a FREE eBook on fundamental strength principles offering an introductory workout program.
