{"id":64163,"date":"2026-03-31T19:30:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/?p=64163"},"modified":"2026-03-31T19:30:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:30:43","slug":"lifting-weights-helps-your-brain-process-more-information","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/?p=64163","title":{"rendered":"Lifting Weights Helps Your Brain Process More Information"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-64164\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Barbell_Weights.jpg\" alt=\"Barbell Weights\" width=\"371\" height=\"208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Barbell_Weights.jpg 371w, https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Barbell_Weights-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 371px) 100vw, 371px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_0\">Moderate-intensity resistance workouts can sharpen thinking by improving reaction time without reducing accuracy, enhancing inhibitory control, working memory, and speeding brain-processing signals<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_1\">Cognitive gains likely come from temporary increases in systolic blood pressure, which enhance blood flow and neural efficiency, helping the brain update information faster and coordinate attention-related networks more effectively<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_2\">Children and teenagers also benefit from resistance training, showing small but consistent improvements in cognition, on-task classroom behavior, and academic performance, especially among youth with lower baseline muscular fitness<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_3\">For longevity, 40 to 60 minutes of strength training weekly is optimal. Excessive lifting reduces benefits, increases strain, and even worsens mortality outcomes compared to moderate or minimal resistance exercise<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_4\">Blood flow restriction (KAATSU) training amplifies strength gains and bone benefits using low loads. It can be incorporated into daily activities, stimulating muscle and vascular adaptations without heavy lifting<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/articles.mercola.com\/sites\/articles\/archive\/2026\/03\/20\/resistance-training-cognitive-benefits.aspx\">https:\/\/articles.mercola.com\/sites\/articles\/archive\/2026\/03\/20\/resistance-training-cognitive-benefits.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Moderate-intensity resistance workouts can sharpen thinking by improving reaction time without reducing accuracy, enhancing inhibitory control, working memory, and speeding brain-processing signals Cognitive gains likely come from temporary increases in systolic blood pressure, which enhance blood flow and neural efficiency, helping the brain update information faster and coordinate attention-related networks more effectively Children and teenagers &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/?p=64163\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Lifting Weights Helps Your Brain Process More Information&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-interest","category-health-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=64163"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64165,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64163\/revisions\/64165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=64163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=64163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=64163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}