The gym bros were right all along

Research shows muscles talk to the brain to fight depression

Modernity thinks the body and mind are separate but, of course, that’s an absurd concept only us 'removed from nature’ humans would ever consider. It’s hogwash when you sit and think about it for more than a few seconds.

I’m glad to see much of the world waking up here and paying more attention to our bodies, and how if you’re not physically healthy, you can’t really be as mentally healthy as you could be if you were. I previously shared just a little on my own journey here and that you should be able to push mow 2 acres as a solid benchmark of fitness. I’m happy to hear your benchmarks and try them out, too.

Anyway, no one who gets regular exercise and sun needs research to tell them these are key activities for a good life, and if they’re part of your routine you already know their benefits for your mood and pretty much every other part of your day. You also know you can’t just take an injection or pill and consider the work done. But for those who want more research (or just find it interesting) on why this is the case, the other day I saw an interesting study showing muscles actually talk to the brain to fight depression, which is pretty cool.

From the study:

Recent advances have identified exercise-induced myokines as key players in muscle-brain communication, with emerging evidence suggesting their involvement in alleviating depressive symptoms. Among these, apelin, a multifunctional myokine upregulated by exercise, has received attention for its dual role in regulating both muscle health and brain function.

There’s plenty of other papers on the health benefits of regular exercise, but this one was fun because it’s basically this wonderful meme my gym-loving friends share regularly come to life.

The gym bros were correct, and honestly all of modern society probably listens too much to the nerds these days (frequently depressed doomers) or mentally ill socialists who actually believe “fitness is fascism,” and not enough to the jocks, who have a different, more lindy kind of wisdom to offer. The people who sit inside anxiously on computers most of their lives are for sure far more miserable than the people who make time in their day to get away from screens for movement and contemplation. Doing this actually makes you more productive when you come back, and if you think you’re too busy, you’re just plain wrong.

Oh one more comment here, just like you shouldn’t send a robot to the gym for you, don’t use AI for your personal writing (at work you might find these tools beneficial, but that’s all the more reason not to use them outside of the office). You would be robbing yourself similarly and end up docile, compliant and intellectually obese, like the Eloi from The Time Machine.