Why Weightlifting is Better Than Porn
Is this title misleading? Isn’t comparing those two things like comparing apples to oranges? Well, apples and oranges are both fruit and today we are going to compare them. 🍑
Porn: television programs, magazine, books, etc. that are regarded as emphasizing the sensuous or sensational aspects of a nonsexual subject and stimulating a compulsive interest in their audience.
Olympic Weightlifting: an athletic discipline in the modern Olympic programme in which the athlete attempts a maximum-weight single lift of a barbell loaded with weight plates.
Olympic-style Weightlifting is comprised of two lifts: the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk. While I’m not advocating that everyone needs to do this style of lifting, I am advocating that you find your Olympic Weightlifting.
Find the thing(s) you love to do that create positive psychological and psychological change.
Do you love to hike? Yoga? Rock climb? Galavant naked through a field while humming show tunes? Maybe doing 200 push-ups in the park at 5am every morning is your thing. Maybe you love swimming laps, walking all the dogs in the neighborhood, or building houses. Now, what does this have to do with porn?
Let’s start off by saying the purpose of this article isn’t to tell you to stop watching porn or how going to the gym is superior to exploring your sexuality (both are important!) The focus of this article is to emphasize how delaying instant gratification can improve your life. When people view porn, dopamine levels spike and the reward circuit of the brain is overstimulated. The reward and pleasure system of the brain shines bright which reinforces the behavior making it more likely to be repeated in the future. Repeated reinforcement (watch porn = orgasm = reward) can lead to unhealthy addiction. Over time, dopamine receptors can become desensitized as they drop after excessive stimulation. Less stimulation can, and often does, lead people to look for bigger and better stimulus. Dopamine deficiency can lead to decreased focus, insomnia, depression, low libido, anxiety, and lack of motivation.
Exercise, on the other hand, is known to influence the brain’s plasticity. Regular exercise, whether that be walking, lifting weights, yoga, playing sports, or galavanting naked through fields humming show tunes, increases brain serotonin output. Serotonin is a compound present in blood platelets and serum that constricts the blood vessels and acts as a neurotransmitter. This compound is responsible for appetite, mood, and sleep. Without adequate amounts of serotonin in the brain, cognitive functioning can rapidly decline.
Physical activity facilitates new neurodegenerative, neuroadaptive, and neuroprotective processes. What does this mean? New neuron connections improve the brain’s ability to adapt, learn, remember, and think critically. Exercise is more commonly being prescribed for prevention and treatment of common disease and illnesses such as depression, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and of course obesity.
As Elle Woods once said, “I just don’t think that Brooke could’ve done this. Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.”
Feeling good happens in two ways… you can feel good now (instant gratification) or you can feel good later (delay of instant gratification). The first one is easy, the second ones just takes practice. Both serve their time and place, but for longevity in career, relationships, happiness, and life… it’s often more advisable to strive for the latter.
So go forth! Give your forearms a break and start putting more focus on the things that will give you the biggest payout later instead of in this very moment. Make delaying instant gratification part of your regular routine. Make the gym a priority (2–3 times a week, minimum). Chances are, taking this advice may improve your mood, body composition, sleep, energy levels, AND sex drive. You can thank me later.
RCOnlineCoaching.com
