Can strength training improve immunity?

Yes, but the premise is that you have to practice correctly - practicing blindly is not only useless, but will actually hinder your immunity.

There are several old guys around me who have been practicing strength training for three or four years. They used to be the first to catch colds when the seasons change, and they were the first to catch the office flu. Now they wear thin coats and walk around every winter, and rarely even get a stuffy nose. But on the other hand, a new student I just took over a while ago, in order to catch up with the progress of losing fat in the summer, went to the gym for 2 hours a day for 10 consecutive days. His legs were shaking even when going down the stairs. As a result, his fever directly reached 39 degrees, and he even took a week off. With the two extreme results on display, it’s no wonder that everyone has such huge differences in their views on this issue.

In fact, there has long been a "window theory" in the field of sports medicine. Regardless of whether you do aerobic or strength training, as long as it is high-intensity exercise, the activity of immune cells in the body will temporarily decrease within 3 to 72 hours after the end. This is equivalent to a small hole in your body's protective shield. At this time, if you blow cold wind, stay up late, or gather in crowds, viruses and bacteria will naturally easily take advantage of the gap. I also encountered this pitfall when I first came into contact with strength training. At that time, I heard someone say that "training is effective until you vomit." I practiced until my whole body was weak every day for a week. As a result, just in time for the season change, I suffered from bronchitis for three days. Later I found out that it was a typical overtraining that opened and closed the immune window. Many people think that practicing strength makes them more likely to get sick. Most of them fall into this trap, and they also don’t pay attention to nutrition after training and don’t get enough sleep.

But if the timeline is extended to more than 3 months, the immune system gains from regular strength training are real. A 2022 tracking study by the American College of Sports Medicine shows that adults who insist on moderate-intensity strength training 2-3 times a week, each session lasting no more than 90 minutes, have NK cells (equivalent to special forces in the immune system, which kill viruses faster) that are responsible for clearing viruses and mutated cells. The higher the activity, the faster the efficiency of killing viruses), which is 23% higher than that of sedentary people, and the level of immunoglobulin G is also 18% higher - these two are core indicators for measuring basic immunity, and they cannot be faked.

Of course, many scholars in the field of immunity believe that strength training is not as direct as aerobic in improving immunity. After all, aerobic directly accelerates circulation and drives immune cells to patrol the whole body. An increase in immune indicators can be measured the same day after training. ； The gain of strength training is "curve to save the country": it first helps you increase muscle mass, and the muscle itself is a large endocrine organ, which will continue to secrete myocyte factors that regulate immunity, which is equivalent to continuously supplying energy to your immune system. This gain is long-term. Even if you stop training for a month or two, as long as the muscle mass is not lost too much, the immune foundation will still be there. In fact, neither of the two views is right or wrong. It just depends on whether you want short-term immediate improvement or long-term immune foundation.

I have been practicing for nearly 6 years and have led hundreds of students. In summary, if you want to rely on strength training to improve your immunity, there are actually just a few very simple principles, and there is no need to make it complicated at all. Don't just rush to 1RM (maximum weight for a single rep). For ordinary people, the training intensity should be controlled at 8-12 times per group, leaving 1-2 times before failure. ； Each training session should not exceed 70 minutes. Don’t scroll through your phone until you lose track of the time between sets. 1-2 minutes is just right. ； Eat some carbohydrates and protein as soon as possible within half an hour after practicing. Don’t stay hungry until you get home before cooking, and don’t stay up late drinking cold beer right after practicing. Oh, by the way, don’t force yourself to practice when you have a fever. I’ve seen several people practice hard and develop myocarditis, and the gain outweighs the loss.

Not long ago, when the new crown epidemic was spreading for the second time, a fan sent me a message saying that he practiced dumbbells at home for 2 hours a day to prevent infection, and as a result, he became the first person in the family to become positive. When I asked, I found out that every time he practiced until he couldn't lift his arms, he would take a cold shower and call it "strengthening his physique." Isn't this just looking for trouble for himself? Strength training is to lay the foundation for immunity, not to overdraw your body.

To put it bluntly, the impact of any exercise on immunity is not black and white, and the same is true for strength training. If you make it a daily habit, practice it slowly two or three times a week, eat well and sleep well, you will naturally feel that your body has become stronger over time. ； If you are eager for quick success and instant benefits, you will end up dying, let alone immunity, it will be good if you don't destroy your body. There is no universal fitness method, only the one that suits you is useful.