Did you ever wonder how to rebuild your life after loss or trauma? Maybe you had an experience which knocked you to the ground, where you feel like you have been hit by a freight train? Whether it is a death in the family, divorce, estrangement, career loss or financial losses, many of us have to navigate the shock of such loss at some point in our lives.
When some people get knocked down, it is difficult to rebound. I know, cause I was one of them. I got hit pretty bad, with just about everything in the last paragraph. I found it really difficult to get back on track, for years. Antidepressants did not work for me, other than having to deal with the negative side effects. Talk therapy or going to a shrink did not create a foundation to build on. How do you learn how to rebuild your life by staying in the past with your thoughts and speech?
Here is a suggestion that can save you many years searching for a solution to help rebuild your life. The answer that will cost little money and a lot of hard work is to build a strong body for a strong mind.
Did you know that Thomas Jefferson is a source for deadlifting to rebuild your life? Let’s see what Thomas Jefferson said about the health of body and mind.
“If the body be feeble, the mind will not be strong.” – Thomas Jefferson
The need for a strong body in order to have a strong mind is not new. But, the powerful benefits of deadlifts to build a strong body and mind is new. Let’s find out how.
Summary of How to Rebuild your Life with Deadlifts
- Deadlifts build the foundation of a strong body
- Because the number of deadlift muscles worked is so extensive
- As a result, deadlifting will increase testosterone and growth hormone
- Increased testosterone will lead to a much better mood
- Deadlifts will give you the sense of power and motivation to build a better life
Did you ever imagine that you can rebuild your life with weights? Neither did I. Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Are you tired of feeling like you are not getting out of a rut that you have been in for too long? Did you ever think that deadlifting could help?
If you are feeling down, do not give up. You might feel beaten down because of divorce, family estrangement or career loss. Or because you are getting older and do not know how to deal with your waning strength. Whatever the reason is that you feel listless or unmotivated, deadlifting can help. You might feel like you have lost everything and there is no way that you can ever rebuild your life.
But, You Can Rebuild Your Life
In the worst case, you might be thinking about ending your life, because you see no future. If you are in the throes of suicidal ideation, you need to keep reading, because you have come to the right place. No matter what your age, you can rebuild your life and can stop focusing on your losses and what you do not have. Let’s say that you cannot think of anything that will help your situation. If you are currently in that state of mind and think that there is nothing that you can do, there is.
Think of the words that you use to describe your life when you feel that there is no hope.”I see no future.”
“I am hopeless.”
“Nothing will ever change.”
“I cannot get stronger.”
All the self-talk of a person who sits in the ruins of their life is one of weakness and defeat.
Mens Sana In Corpore Sano
This is how to rebuild your life; you have to get stronger. If you can get stronger in mind, then you can start to rebuild your life. How can you get stronger in mind? We have all heard the adage, strong body strong mind. Few of us knew that Thomas Jefferson prescribed weight lifting for depression. The Roman Poet Juvenal wrote in his Satire X that a person should pray for a strong mind in a strong body.
The original Latin says this:
Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano.
The English translation is:
You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body.
Now you know the source for the Latin phrase, mens sana in corpore sano. We see that since ancient times, the brightest minds knew that you need a strong body to have a strong mind. Physical strength is an important or essential part of mental and psychological well-being.
To get up out of the pit of despair, you have to repair your mind. The mind of a person who is suffering from loss is weak. A weak mind is one that is marinating in phrases of self-persecution and self-condemnation. The self flagellating mind says “I cannot.” A strong mind says “I can and I will improve my life, wherever I am at right now.”
1. Deadlift to Build the Foundation
The foundation of a strong mind is a strong body. The key then to thinking better and stronger is to strengthen your body. How do you build an all-around more powerful and stronger body? There is one exercise that stands head and shoulders above the rest, the deadlift. There are other effective compound exercises such as squats, bench press, and shoulder presses.
But, there is only one compound exercise that is the King of all exercises to build muscle mass and strength. Deadlifting will help you build the foundation of a stronger mind, a stronger body. This is the first key benefit of deadlifts to rebuild your life.
2. Deadlift Muscles Worked are Extensive
Deadlifting can strengthen your entire body because the deadlift works so much muscle. In fact, deadlifts work just about every muscle in your body from your head to your feet. Deadlifts work the largest muscles of the body like your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. Deadlifts work your back, your core, your grip, your forearms and your back. The deadlift will give you the most bang for the buck in a workout.
The exercise that can work out the most muscles of your body is the deadlift. It stands to reason that when you want to increase total body strength, the deadlift is your go to exercise.
3. Deadlifts will Increase Testosterone
Studies continue to show that deadlifting releases the most testosterone and growth hormone. The benefits of increased testosterone are many.
For example, here are just a few of the benefits of testosterone:
- Natural anti-inflammatory and can help to soothe joint pain
- Helps to maintain sleep and feel more rested and improves your concentration
- Reduce fat and increase muscle
- Maintain bone density/strength
- Testosterone helps to increase strength and athletic performance
- Improves insulin sensitivity and erectile function
- Heightens your motivation
- Testosterone helps to improve your mood & increases your sense of well-being
The more testosterone, the greater your sense of motivation, well-being, and mood.
4. Deadlifting can Lift Your Mood
The increased testosterone is going to help lift your mood. Lifting your mood is going to be key to rebuilding your mind and life. I remember the first deadlift workouts that I ever did. I was aware of three major effects:
- I felt like my entire body was growing a sheath of armor
- In addition, I felt great despite hobbling out of the gym
- And way more up effects than any medication I had ever used
5. Deadlifting will Give you a Sense of Power
A key hallmark of being stuck in depression is a sense of powerlessness. You might feel powerless to change certain situations, like the past or present. Once you start deadlifting, once you start feeling stronger, you can feel a new sense of power. Power is energizing and motivating. The new surge in power will translate to your wanting to do more to rebuild yourself and your life.
Deadlifts to Rebuild your Life
Once your mood improves, you are on the way to rebuilding your life from the losses that you have suffered. I used to think that deadlifts were just for pro bodybuilders or Olympic lifters. Nothing can be further from the truth. Our ancestors had to lift objects all the time. Today, we lift no more than a briefcase or a newspaper and the days of the newspaper are fast fading.
Deadlifts can help you rebuild your life faster and better than Prozac ever will. Prozac and other mind-bending antidepressants and medications can have major negative side effects. Deadlifting with proper form can only have great side effects, a more powerful body, and mind.
Deadlifts are not just for bodybuilders. they are for mind builders and life builders. Deadlifts are for everyone who wants to live a stronger and more powerful life. Managing depression is the first step to rebuild your life. Please share you own comments/experience/suggestions for how to rebuild your life.
Here are additional resources on the web for how to rebuild your life with strength training:
https://hashimashi.com/deadlift-against-depression/
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fighting_depression.htm
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/life-goals/2014/07/treat-depression-naturally-with-strength-training/
http://www.theironsamurai.com/managing-depression-with-weightlifting-or-how-you-feel-is-a-lie/
http://bottomlinehealth.com/best-mood-boosting-workouts-for-depression/
http://www.menshealth.com/health/curl-away-depression
https://hashimashi.com/deadlift/
https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/RTandMentalHealth.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC474733/
https://www.reddit.com/r/depression/comments/2vsxi1/weightlifting_saved_my_life/
http://www.everydayhealth.com/depression-pictures/great-exercises-to-fight-depression.aspx
https://hashimashi.com/exercise-provides-some-benefits-for-depression/
Rebuild Your Life with Exercise Infographic
Infographic by: Treadmill Reviews
References: PMID: 15626549, PMCID: PMC474733
Be Fearless to Rebuild Your Life