Can strength training increase IQ

Currently there is no rigorous academic research that can prove that strength training can directly improve IQ test scores, but long-term regular strength training can indeed improve brain function through multiple pathways and help you fully unleash your original IQ potential.

I have a friend who works as a back-end developer. For the past two years, he had been sitting for a long time typing code. His brain became heavy at three o'clock in the afternoon. He could find a logic bug and be stuck for forty minutes. Later, he was dragged by me to go to the gym every Wednesday and Friday night. He did hip and leg exercises, chest presses, and shoulder and back exercises for half a year. He said that he didn't feel that he suddenly became smarter, but his brain worked much faster. He could figure out the logic in ten minutes instead of scratching his head for half an hour before.

In the early years, academic circles did not think that strength training was related to brain function at all. It was generally believed that only aerobic exercise can stimulate the growth of the hippocampus and improve cognition. There was even a stereotype that "muscular people have simple minds". Many scholars believed that strength training was just muscle training and did not help IQ even half a cent.

However, new research in the past two years has slowly overturned this bias. In 2021, a follow-up study was published in "Medicine and Science in Sports and Sports". More than a hundred subjects over the age of 60, who insisted on strength training twice a week for 12 months, had higher executive function and working memory test scores than those who only did pull-ups. It is about 15% higher in the stretched control group. There is also a small-scale study on young adults and found that within 2 hours after the end of strength training, the activity of the prefrontal cortex of the brain will be significantly increased, and the prefrontal cortex happens to be in charge of our logical reasoning and attention control. These abilities are directly linked to "the brain is easy to use".

Of course, controversy has always existed. Many scholars still do not agree that this is "IQ improvement" - after all, IQ tests measure the comprehensive level of fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. Fluid intelligence is basically stable after ordinary people reach adulthood. It is impossible for you to practice deadlifting for three months and take the Raven test score to increase by more than ten points out of thin air. This is unrealistic. The "brain becomes easier to use" that we can feel is essentially that strength training helps us clear the obstacles that affect the performance of our IQ: for example, regular training can regulate the level of the stress hormone cortisol. When the pressure is so high that the mind is spinning, cortisol will naturally drop and we can concentrate; when practicing, Remembering movement patterns, number of weights, and controlling muscle force is also a small exercise for the brain. In addition, after training, the quality of sleep becomes better, and the usual drowsy "brain fog" disappears. Naturally, you can deal with problems in the best state, which looks like your IQ has become higher.

I have been practicing strength training for 3 years. To be honest, I don’t feel that my IQ has increased. I still can’t solve the Mathematical Olympiad questions that I couldn’t solve before. But before, I felt like my brain couldn’t move after working on a project for two days. Now I can change the plan and discuss product requirements normally after working on a project for two days. My reaction speed is much better than when I didn’t exercise at all. I don’t have my brain shut down for half an hour in the afternoon. To put it bluntly, if you expect that you can go from an average IQ to a genius by squatting, you’d better give up as soon as possible. But if you want to have a clearer mind and be able to exert your original IQ level 100%, then regular strength training is definitely a very cost-effective choice.