The Mindfulness, Presence, Strength Training Loop

At its worst, lifting weights is a mindless, bro-culture abomination. At its best, strength training is a powerful tool for arriving in the present moment. After all, awareness of the moment is the hallmark of all mindfulness practices. 

Strength training will bring your focus to the moment. 

You can make the case that cardiovascularly oriented training styles stereotypically let the mind wander. This is both enjoyable and good for other creative reasons, but not critically tethered to the moment (like you’d want your meditations to be). While this sounds like an unlikely connection, I’d argue that real strength training is the most mindful expression of physicality. After all, with a heavy barbell, your mind surely won’t wander anywhere else than the here and now. 

Get in the moment. Strength training can help.