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Squats and deadlifts fix everything: Signals from our large leg muscles alter our brain and nervous system

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A new paper published in Frontiers in Neuroscience reports new research that highlights how signals from our large leg muscles alter our brain and nervous system:

Groundbreaking research shows that neurological health depends as much on signals sent by the body’s large, leg muscles to the brain as it does on directives from the brain to the muscles… the study fundamentally alters brain and nervous system medicine – giving doctors new clues as to why patients with motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy and other neurological diseases often rapidly decline when their movement becomes limited.

My friend and colleague, Dr. Tyna Moore ND, DC, author Pain Free and Strong said this when she shared the study on social media: “Told ya – squats and deadlifts fix everything!”

Study author, Dr. Raffaella Adami, shares this about body chemistry being altered:

Our study supports the notion that people who are unable to do load-bearing exercises – such as patients who are bed-ridden, or even astronauts on extended travel – not only lose muscle mass, but their body chemistry is altered at the cellular level and even their nervous system is adversely impacted.

Here are some points from the discussion section in the actual study that relate directly to anxiety, depression and cognition:

The level of glutamate was up-regulated… the concentration of serotonin, dopamine, GABA, and epinephrine was reduced

What this means is that people who are not able to do load-bearing exercise had glutamate up-regulated (likely leading to more anxiety and excitotoxicity), reduced serotonin and GABA (contributing to more anxiety, worry, fear, depression and carb cravings), and lower dopamine and epinephrine (so more depression, less energy and less motivation).  (You can read all the symptoms associated with out of balance neurotransmitters here and how I use targeted individual amino acids to address low levels – which you want to do in conjunction with dietary and lifestyle changes such as resistance training.)

The study goes on to share that:

Prospective studies indicate that physical inactivity is one of the most frequent avoidable risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, elevated physical activity levels are associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s disease patient who undertook exercise training showed decreased neuropsychiatric symptoms, improvement in cognitive function, and a slower decline in the activities of daily life.

This was an animal study conducted with mice but we have many human studies that highlight the benefits of exercise for both anxiety and depression. In this recent meta-analysis “of 33 clinical trials including 1877 participants, resistance exercise training was associated with a significant reduction in depressive symptoms.”

When I shared the Frontiers in Neuroscience paper on Facebook, I received this feedback that correlates with the research:

Chris: My son’s concussion symptoms improved by leaps when he began consistent light cardio and added some leg weight training

Katie: I wonder if this is why my mom “lost her mind” (suddenly dementia) when she broke her ankle. I thought it was the antibiotics but maybe it was the extended reclining recovery

Jessica: I had a brain injury due to being hit by a car while crossing the street a year ago. I had to dig deep to heal – meditation, fish oil….. But I thought I had hit a plateau in my healing. About 2 months ago I was able to start doing yoga again, and move my body… wow, what a difference it has made in my brain healing! I am feeling able to focus again and have more brain energy! The body is connected from head to toes

As you’ve gathered from Dr. Tyna Moore’s quote about squats and deadlifts, she is a big fan of resistance training, and she is my go-to person for questions on this topic. I’ve been following her online for a few years, love her posts and we finally got to meet in person last summer.

Tyna and trudy
Tyna and and I last summer

Dr. Tyna has written a great ebook called Pain Free and Strong (you can download a copy here). She shares how sarcopenia or muscle wasting results from “deconditioning and lack of strength training exercises,” and this wisdom about movement and resistance training, also referred to as strength training:

Movement is the key to life. Without movement, your cells cannot do their thing. Your blood and lymph do not pump well. Your metabolism slows, your hormones suffer and your sleep becomes compromised. More than anything, you hurt. Motion is lotion and movement is medicine.

We have been taught as a society to do cardiovascular exercises, such as running, biking or walking as the core of our exercise routines. When I discuss exercise with my patients, I talk about “appropriate and strategic exercise” and what I’m referring to is strength training.

the most potent exercises for orthopedic health, improving metabolism, balancing hormones, decreasing inflammation, modulating immune function, reducing pain, lowering blood pressure, improving heart health and increasing resilience revolve around adding and maintaining healthy lean skeletal muscle mass to the body, and keeping it there as we age.

The entire chapter on movement is well-worth reading to get a better understanding of the importance of adding and maintaining healthy lean skeletal muscle mass.

Dr. Tyna also has the answer on how we can do this, sharing that squats and deadlifts “are king and the cornerstone to any strength and conditioning program”:

Compound lifts like squats and deadlifts can give us more bang for our buck metabolically, while also providing profound hormetic and hormonal benefits. Studies have also shown that free weights may be more potent than machines, and that machines put you into an unnatural position at times, which can lead to further injury. If machines are all you have access to, so be it. Just know that free weights are optimal and you need [a professional] to show you how to use them safely.

If you’re new to squats and deadlifts like I am, you may be like me and prefer to know what you’re letting yourself in for so here are 2 excellent blog posts with great images on how to and how not to do deadlifts and squats.  For women, the exercise section in this book looks excellent: The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess (my Amazon link). The exercise information is more than half the book and has in-depth explanations on the mechanisms, going into much more in detail than I can cover in a blog. I would pass on the nutritional sections as the advice about canola, Splenda and low-fat is clearly outdated information. But as Dr. Tyna says in her ebook, you can’t learn this from  a book or video – find a personal trainer to guide you if you’re new to free weights.

In case you’re wondering about aerobic exercise it’s still good. In fact, one study reports how both aerobic exercise and resistance training offer slightly different benefits if you suffer from anxiety:

aerobic exercise improved general psychological distress and anxiety, while resistance training improved disorder-specific symptoms, anxiety sensitivity, distress tolerance, and intolerance of uncertainty.

So go for your walk, ride your bike, swim in the ocean, go hiking, play tennis – and all the better if you can do this out in nature for the added benefits of sunshine, fresh air, greenery and the scenery – but don’t forget the huge benefits of resistance training and find a personal trainer to get you up to speed on doing squats and deadlifts and using free weights.

And remember what Dr. Tyna says: “squats and deadlifts fix everything!”

Let us know if this is new to you and you’re now interested in doing squats and deadlifts and using free weights?

I’ve done plenty of resistance training with free weights over the years, especially when I was rock-climbing every weekend, but have not done deadlifts or squats with free weights and have decided it’s time to start. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. Feel free to share your progress too.

If you’re already doing squats and deadlifts and using free weights we’d love to hear how you enjoy it, how long you’ve been doing it and the benefits you’ve seen?  And please do share tips or words of encouragement for us newbies.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Pam
      I’m not a fitness expert but can share that Dr. Tyna says this: “The only sure way to build muscle is resistance training with weights. Lots of science to support it.” I’m hoping she’ll jump on and comment too.

      Reply

  2. What about if u have advanced osteoporosis and thoracic compression fractures is it ok to still do weight training suzan

    Reply

  3. Hi Trudy!
    I was on anxiety medication for 18 months. When I decided it was time to get off the meds (I hated the side-effects) I took up CrossFit – which includes lots of deadlifts and squats! CrossFit is the best thing I have ever done for myself – I have now been medication free for 12 months and have never been happier or healthier. I can deadlift double my body weight and back squat almost 100kg. Woohoo!

    Reply

    • Belinda
      What amazing results – so happy for you! Keep up those deadlifts and back squats.

      I don’t want to be a party-pooper and am always honest. I have not done CrossFit myself but I seem to recall Dr. Tyna saying she has concerns about the high amounts of injuries she sees with Crossfit folks (I’ll confirm). I know Yuri and respect his advice so am sharing this to see if any of it resonates with you https://yurielkaim.com/crossfit-dangerous/

      Reply

    • Antares
      I’d address the knee pain – oxalates, low fatty aids, gluten, grains, nightshades etc. Also look at adrenal function for it’s role in inflammation. And see a physical therapist and swim while healing.

      Reply

      • Yeah, we’re doing all that already, while tackling SIBO and heart failure. All except swimming. Concerned about the chlorine though, and don’t know that his knees would like that either.

      • Antares
        Re swimming salt water pools (which do have less chlorine) and the ocean or natural bodies of water like lakes/dams/rivers (watching for pollution) are my choices. For someone with heart failure I would have them work with an exercise specialist who has expertise in this area and can create a custom plan.

  5. I have pretty much been a weakling most of my life, especially upper body. I enjoyed running for exercise, but kept having knee problems. I tried doing other things, but seem to hurt myself easily. So this year (in addition to all the diet changes, etc.) I decided to get a personal trainer to help me learn how to do weights right without getting hurt. After 6 months I’m finally feeling like I’m getting strong, and just started taking a body pump class, with lots of weight lifting with squats and deadlifts. I was SO SORE(!!!!!!!!) after the first class but gave myself 3 days and went back, and the leader is good about pointing it out if you are doing something wrong so that gives me confidence. This article confirms to me that this is good and I need to keep it up. So thanks for sharing!!

    Reply

  6. I liked this article so much I sent it to my trainer, Jason, who is working on my core and glutes, dead lifts are a big part of that. Glad our work is not just in my glutes but also in my body chemistry!

    Thanks,
    Max

    Reply

  7. I have fibromyalgia and had so much pain and fatigue it was hard to bend over and tie my shoes. I’ve been an exerciser for years though and started doing barbell squats and deadlifts this past year. I’ve taken it slow and my results are amazing for me – deadlifts have almost cured by back pain.

    My physical therapist cautioned me not to lift much weight but it turns out not lifting was riskier than lifting. A fitness “expert” told me the “industry standard” even for people with fibromyalgia was to lift three times a week. But I’ve found that I need two or three or even four days off between lifting days to recover and keep making progress. On the non lifting days I do yoga and nia and walk or do cardio.

    My lifting sessions are only about 20 minutes long which is enough to tucker me out. I started deadlifting with just 8 pound dumbbells and with body weight squats. I’m up to 70 on deadlift and 60 on squats and can do enough pushups to pass army basic training. By lifter standards it’s small but it has greatly increased my function in daily life and at fifty I’m the strongest I’ve ever been and still very slowly getting stronger.

    One caution to women is to really be careful about the advice you follow. Much research and info on lifting and nutrition is based on young men’s bodies. There’s not as much on women or midlife or older women or women with health conditions. Trudy your work is so important!!

    Reply

    • Mic
      I just love your journey to recovery from fibromyalgia pain by using squats and deadlifts! I’m really happy for you and we appreciate your sharing as I know this will inspire others. Thanks too for the tips on how often you lift, duration and recovery time (we are all unique) and how us women do have different needs.

      I’m curious if you noticed any mood benefits too?

      Thanks too for the kind words!

      Reply

      • Hey I only just now saw your reply Trudi. Thanks so much. I have *definitely* noticed a mood improvement from lifting. I feel great after lifting. First because of the physiological boost but also there’s the mental/spiritual joy of feeling stronger and doing something I was told I couldn’t do and seeing progress and feeling I am powerful enough to make a change in my own life. But as I told my friend the other day, “lifting makes me high.” I get a real charge of bliss and sense of well-being. Yay! And thanks trudi for all you do!!

      • Mic
        Fabulous! I love this “I get a real charge of bliss and sense of well-being”

  8. I know this is a slightly older comment, but I discovered strength training with weights after a bad car accident in June 2017. I now engage in powerlifting. I find multiple benefits in powerlifting and strength training as a whole. It reduces my PTSD symptoms, it reduces my autoimmune symptoms (celiac, other unknown digestive issues, fibromyalgia), and reduces my cravings. Out of necessity, I had to stay out of the gym for a month (pneumonia)….and my cravings were HORRIBLE, pain was creeping back, digestive system went to hell, and my PTSD symptoms started to return albeit in a mild form. I was finally able to get back into the gym last night (squats and deadlifts)…..I feel SO much better even with the soreness that comes from not lifting in a while.

    Reply

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