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Does Lifting Weights Build Mental Strength?

build mental strength

Exercise helps maintain healthy weight, control sugar levels, strengthen muscles and bones, and most importantly, it improves fitness and keeps you healthy! It also has an effect on our mental strength as it improves mood, helps in relaxation and lowers depression. This happens because the brain releases neurotransmitters called endorphins which regulate positive feelings and keeps the mood up. 

What Is Good Mental Strength? 

Having good mental strength means to have logical and realistic thinking patterns, decision making power and this helps manage your emotions and behaviour. Many studies have proven that people suffering with anxiety, mood disorders and depression benefit from including exercise in their routine. Hence, following a regular exercise pattern is essential to maintain mental health and improve mental strength.

Mental strength is as important as physical strength and the good news is that both can be improved with exercise. Hitting the gym or going for a run helps people suffering from heartbreak, loss of a loved one, less self confidence, as after training they report feeling good and positive by investing their energy in a positive place. 

How Does Exercise Help? 

Aerobic exercises like running, cycling, swimming are well known to reduce symptoms related to mental disturbances like stress and anxiety. Regular aerobic exercise improves blood flow to the brain and helps to strengthen brain health and memory. The increase in core temperature during aerobic exercise results in calmer mood after the activity. Aerobic activity even for 20mins a day results in positive mood and thoughts throughout the day. 

How Does Weightlifting Help Build Mental Strength? 

Weight training uses weights or external resistance for exercising. It is used to train and strengthen muscles, improve posture and bone structure, boost metabolism and help in better sleep. Lesser known benefits about lifting weights includes improvement in mind-muscle coordination which is an essential part of exercise. This coordination is associated with cognitive function of executive functioning which manages our command and control skills. Lifting weights also improves memory and cognition related tasks. It results in a realistic pattern of thinking, taking smart decisions and regulating behaviour. It also provides a sense of self efficacy and boosts confidence. 

Resistance training is a highly effective way to manage symptoms of anxiety and depression. Because what benefits the body, benefits the brain. Just like lifting weights causes muscle gain, the brain has the capacity to change itself in response to internal as well as external influences, which is known as neuroplasticity. In the presence of weight lifting, the brain becomes active, hormone production and neuron production increases. All of this together improves mental strength and helps the individual recover from anxiety or depression along with the therapy. 

Weight lifting teaches you to live in the present and be more mindful as lifting requires a lot of concentration and attention in the moment. Setting up the correct posture, controlling the body and performing the movement requires a lot of focus and concentration. Make sure to club weight training in your routine for a strong body and stronger mental health.

How To Get Started With Weight Lifting

  • Aim to weight train for 30-45 mins, 3 times a week
  • Start with low weights and focus on posture and consistency
  • Train at low to moderate intensity for maximum benefit from weight training
  • Do not miss out on 7-8 hours of sleep, meditation and a balanced diet which contributes majorly to staying fit

Even if you’re currently not depressed or anxious or have any goals of muscle building, I would urge you to consider weight training for all of it’s added benefit. We hope this article on lifting weights to build mental strength helps you. You can read more fitness related articles here. For tips from experts, subscribe for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching. 

#BeTheForce 

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8 Simple Health Tips You Can Follow At Work

8 Simple & Healthy Tips For Office WorkersIn the present day, our lifestyles have changed drastically. It’s not just our lifestyle but our working style as well. Being glued to a laptop or a system without moving for hours has become the current trend. We work for nearly 10-12 hours seated on a chair with minimal movement for lunch or to get fresh.

While this sedentary lifestyle is important to earn a livelihood, it comes at the cost of many health issues such as neck pain, back ache, eye problems and digestion issues from irregular eating habits, to name a few. Let’s not forget the part stress plays in our lives. The effects of being seated with no activity affects not only our physical health but our mental health as well. When at home, most people are either irregular with their workouts or do not have a fitness regime at all. Not being active at work and at home can be detrimental to your well-being.

This is certainly not a good way to lead a life. One should take some time out for themselves and give a thought to maintaining a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Introducing even a little bit of workout or walking in your daily routine can make a world of a difference. Some physical activity and slight changes in your working pattern and eating habits can help you stay healthy. Try following these 8 simple health tips while you work!

8 Simple Health Tips You Can Follow At Work 

Bring about a slight change in your lifestyle by doing these 8 simple health tips:

  1. Include a walk in between while traveling to work and back.
  2. Use the stairs instead of an elevator
  3. Sit with your back straight, in an erect position while seated on a chair. Try this technique to correct your posture while seated: https://goqii.com/blog/how-to-correct-your-posture-at-work/
  4. Get up after every couple of hours to stretch your back, arms and legs
  5. Keep a bottle of water at your desk and drink it frequently. Don’t forget that you need to drink at least 3l of water a day. You can also set reminders through the GOQii App
  6. Keep a few snacks, fruits or dry fruits on your desk so you can munch on them when hungry
  7. Keep the brightness of your system low and maintain a decent distance away from the screen
  8. Do not overeat when stressed. If you have begun a fitness regime, your appetite is likely to increase. If weight loss or maintaining a certain weight is one of your goals, you should stick to your diet and not eat more than required by your body. Avoid junk food especially.

In addition, you can add a freehand workout session of 15 minutes which you can perform either at work or at home. 5 basic but effective exercises like jumping jacks, squats, push ups, crunches and planks will do wonders. Do two sets of each of these exercises with 15-20 repetitions each. This will not only improve your health but stamina levels as well, helping you concentrate better as well as relieve you of stress or any other aches and pains caused by a sedentary lifestyle.

Following these simple health tips won’t affect your routine and they are easy to squeeze into your schedule as well. Try them out and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

For more tips such as this, check out Healthy Reads or ask an expert by subscribing for personalised health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

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Yogesh Shah Manages Multiple Illnesses & Gets Healthy With GOQii

Yogesh Shah

Often, managing just one condition can be an insurmountable task. Imagine working your whole life, while your physical, mental and emotional health just spiral downward, while the number of pills you take keep increasing. Our Player Yogesh Shah was in such a predicament where he was dealing with multiple illnesses but managed to overcome them with help from his GOQii Coach Deepali Sharma. Here’s how Yogesh Shah wrote his own Health Story. 

Dealing With Multiple Illnesses 

Based in Ahmedabad’s Mani Nagar, Yogesh Shah is a 63 year old retired Government Employee. He said that he had a hectic schedule. “There were times when I would work from 7am to 11pm, never even having the sun’s rays hitting my body for years,” he said. 

Erratic work hours led to bad eating habits, disturbed sleep and high levels of acidity as he consumed a lot of tea. Yogesh Shah told us that this was his routine for 36 years of his work life. While he was extremely dedicated and diligent towards his work, it took a toll on his health. He suffered from multiple issues which included weight gain, diabetes, hypertension, disturbed lipid profile, chronic stress, bipolar disorder, gastric trouble, anxiety (8-10 attacks a month), palpitations and cervical pain due to a surgery he had 4 years back. 

Till 2021, he used to pop 18 tablets daily. Around Dec 2020, he was consuming 26 tablets which included medication for COVID. Despite the issues, he was positive and did not let his conditions damper his way of life.

“I realized I was not doing the right things and that this was taking a toll on my health but, I did not do anything about it,” says Yogesh Shah. The health issues started around 1992 and aggravated in 10 years. His family was worried and felt helpless about not knowing what they could do to help him.

Making A Positive Shift 

He wanted to get better, reduce weight and control his illnesses but was not sure how to go about it. Then, just before retirement, he got to know about GOQii from two young women in his office. They motivated him to go for it. Yogesh Shah purchased GOQII from Amazon in Oct 2021. Initially, he found it difficult to decipher and understand GOQii but, slowly and steadily he was able to understand how the platform works.  

He followed all the instructions given to him by his Coach Deepali Sharma. She introduced small changes which had a big impact. Over the course of time, he has been able to improve his health and control his illnesses. He says, “Initially I could not understand my coach but then slowly, I started understanding. Some of the changes she brought about made quite a difference.”  

His daily routine begins with praying, then gardening in his little kitchen garden. He follows this up with morning meditation for which he follows Coach Rounak Gajjar on GOQii Play. He also follows Coach Sheetal Tewari and Coack Bhumika Unniyal for yoga, meditation and pranayama. 

Currently, he walks about 15km on most days whereas before, he would feel breathless even after 1km. On the International Day of Yoga on June 21, he walked 21km. He says that he now wants to participate in the GOQii Trail Challenge 2022. 

“Coach Deepali has given me a lot of habits and I follow them religiously. Hence, I have been able to make a change!” he says.

What Are The Results Of Yogesh Shah’s Efforts? 

“Nothing will work unless you do. You need to work hard to achieve your goal. This is something which my Player Yogesh Shah has proven with flying colours,” says Coach Deepali Sharma. “Initially, he had multiple issues like weight gain, uncontrolled sugar levels, disturbed lipid profile, chronic stress, bipolar disorder, gastric trouble, anxiety and palpitations.

He used to feel tired after a kilometer walk and now, he is on 21km, which is equivalent to a half marathon. His HbA1c came down from 8% to 6% with almost controlled Fasting blood sugar. Episodes of anxiety dropped drastically from 10-12 episodes to almost nil now. Symptoms like shivering, headache, restlessness are completely out of our book, which were quite prominent before,” she says.

“It’s not stress that kills us but it is our reaction to it and Mr. Yogesh was outstanding in cultivating that positivity with intrinsic motivation. Stress was affecting his sleep a lot. With hard work and determination, he is now out of his anxiety medicines. We worked on setting a sleep-wake cycle as well and relaxation exercises also helped us a lot. I have seen an incredible improvement in his sleep from 2-3 hrs to an average of 5-6 hrs as of now. He is a person with a clear vision and that’s the reason we lost good weight. He is 71.25kg (latest) which was  82 kg when we started. This was achieved by keeping post sunset meals light, adding healthy snacks and carb control,” says Coach Deepali Sharma. 

As of now, Yogesh Shah’s medication has been reduced to 13 pills. You can view Yogesh’s entire journey as he speaks to our Founder & CEO Vishal Gondal on an episode of GOQii Health Stories.

Do you suffer from similar conditions? Did this story inspire you to make a lifestyle change? Then reach out to a GOQii Coach and subscribe for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

For more inspiring Health Stories, check out Healthy Reads. 

#BeTheForce  

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Thank You For Being Healthy: Stories That Inspired Us!

Thank you for being healthyBeing healthy is not a race, it’s a marathon. It requires constant effort, patience, dedication and determination. Paired with the right guidance, you can become an unstoppable force of good health. Now, if you’re thinking you’re too busy, too old or if “this isn’t for you” then you need to read about our Elite GOQii Players who have turned their life around with simple lifestyle changes. 

Col. Ravi Minocha 

For instance, if you’re worried about being too old to begin your health story, our GOQii Player Col. Ravi Minocha will tell you otherwise. His Health Story began at the age of 80. He made everyone believe in the power of discipline, dedication and consistency. Due to the Osteoarthritis which had affected his knees, his mobility was restricted and this led to weight gain. 

But with support from his family and his GOQii Coach, he started working on his lifestyle, making small changes at a time. He was regular in updating his logs, which only helped his GOQii Coach improve his food and water consumption in a detailed manner. From taking small frequent walks , having anti-inflammatory food to having only millet based meals and detox water, he had made multiple changes in his lifestyle. Who could believe that a man who could hardly walk for 10 minutes at a time is now clocking more than 10,000 steps every day? With his efforts he was bound to get results as he lost 22kg in the span of 3 years. Isn’t it amazing?  

Kamal Nath Thakur 

Many times, we come across people who feel that the routine which they are following is a perfect one until they speak to one of our coaches. Kamal Nath Thakur who is a badminton player, did not take much interest in personalized health coaching initially, till he was infected with COVID. 

He thought of discussing his lifestyle with his GOQii Coach to see if there are any loopholes in his lifestyle. He was astonished by the detailed food log analysis and guidelines given by his coach. She helped him with respect to portion size, food timing, combination of meals and inclusion of different food groups. Not only this, but the strengthening and stretching exercises suggested by the coach helped him find relief from an untreated leg pain. From clocking only 3-4k steps to crossing over 15k steps every day, including strengthening exercises in addition to cardio practices, and being mindful of food consumption, he has come a long way!  

Ashima Dalela 

Our physical, mental and emotional health are closely connected to one another. If any one component gets affected, it causes disharmony. Player Ashima Dalela, who was suffering from gastric issues, visited more than 15 doctors but it did not help her. It affected her emotional health as well in the form of Anxiety attacks. 

After a doctor’s suggestion, she started using a GOQii tracker and personalized health coaching services. After listening to her ailments and lifestyle carefully, her coach suggested food like lemon water, detox water, curd, rice, kanji, etc. which improved her gut health. Her coach complemented it with a workout regimen .It was not easy for her to adopt so many changes but she could crack all the habits set with the help of her GOQii Coach . 

Her consistent efforts paid off! She not only found relief from the gastric ailments, but also her anxiety attacks. With incorporating habits like having fiber, a designed workout schedule she could also tackle health issues like hemorrhoids, irregular cycle and gain healthy weight to achieve her ideal body weight. Now she is focusing on improving her skin tone and texture. It’s so motivating to see how she is ticking off various medical ailments and setting new health goals one after the other. We can learn from her that lifestyle improvement is a continuous journey, there cannot be a full stop to it.

These Players Made Significant Changes But What About You? 

These players made remarkable changes in their health with minor lifestyle tweaks. You can do the same by following some of these basic habits: 

  1. Nutrition: Be mindful about what you eat. Replace refined, sugary, processed and packed food with natural, wholesome food. Include whole grains, proteins, fibers and healthy fats in the right proportion to your meals. This will nourish your body with the right nutrients and protect it from the effect of empty calories. 
  2. Hydration: Keeping yourself well hydrated helps circulate nutrients to each and every cell of your body. It’s advisable to consume moderate amounts of water at regular intervals rather than consuming large quantities at big intervals. We should avoid replacing water with fruit juices and aerated drinks to avoid unhealthy calories. 
  3. Exercise: Our body is like a machine. If you won’t move, it will catch rust. We should aim for at least 30-40 minutes of workout 5-6 days a week. It can be cardio activities like walking, jogging, swimming and dancing or strengthening exercises. It’s equally important to keep yourself active throughout the day. Reduce bouts of sedentary periods, take small walks, stretch your arms & legs frequently to keep a check on proper circulation and fat burn.
  4. Stress: In today’s world, stress is a constant trigger. You need to remember that you cannot change your circumstances, but you can change yourself! You can make yourself capable of handling stress in a better way so that it doesn’t bother you. To manage stress effectively, you can practice deep breathing exercises and mediation. Not only this, but positive affirmations and positive visualizations help a lot in reducing the cortisol surge which you get with high stress. It also helps you feel relaxed and at peace.
  5. Sleep: Light emitting from devices acts as the biggest enemy to the quality and quantity of sleep we get. It directly affects the melatonin hormone. Keeping gadgets away for 30 minutes before bedtime, indulging in relaxing techniques like listening to soothing music, reading book or spending time with family, helps in getting a good night’s sleep 

As a GOQii Expert, I request you to emphasize on healthy living by paying gratitude to your body. Yes, work and responsibilities are an important part of our life, but you can do justice to them only when you are Physically, Mentally and Emotionally fit! So if you want to begin your Health Story, sign up for personalized health coaching with GOQii and take the first step: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

If you’ve been living a healthy life, taking charge of your health goals, trying to make changes to your lifestyle or are just taking the first step in your Health Story, we want to say, Thank You For Being Healthy!

Keep Going and #BeTheForce 

From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story

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