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Learning Hub / Mental health

Training and mental health for men in the trades

By Forged By Yakka. Sources checked 7 November 2026.

How movement and strength training can support men in the trades, alongside recovery, connection and professional help.

Find support in Australia ↓

In this article
  1. What the exercise evidence shows
  2. Physical work and chosen exercise
  3. Start with something that fits your capacity
  4. Make space for a mate
  5. Workers should not carry the whole responsibility
  6. Training and getting help can happen together
  7. Support in Australia
  8. References

You can turn up for every shift, get the job done and still be struggling. Being strong, reliable or physically fit does not mean you always feel well.

At Forged By Yakka, we want looking after your mental health to belong in the same conversation as looking after your body. That includes men who find it difficult to talk about how they are feeling. Our message is for everyone, at every fitness level.

Training can be a useful part of that care. It can give you something positive to work towards and a reason to make time for yourself. It also has research behind it. But nobody should feel that struggling means they have failed to train hard enough.

What the exercise evidence shows

A 2024 review of 218 studies involving 14,170 people who met clinical thresholds for depression found that several kinds of exercise reduced depressive symptoms compared with active controls, such as usual care. Walking or jogging and strength training were among the helpful options. The certainty of the evidence was low or very low for different activities, so the findings support exercise without promising a particular result for every person.[1]

Strength training has its own evidence. A review of 33 randomised trials found a moderate average reduction in depressive symptoms. Another review, covering 16 studies, found a small average reduction in anxiety symptoms.[2], [3] A 2026 Cochrane review also concluded that exercise may moderately reduce depressive symptoms, while noting low certainty and uncertainty about longer-term benefits.[4]

The evidence comes mainly from broad populations, but it offers useful guidance for Australian male tradies: movement and strength training can be practical ways to support mental health. A separate review focused on men found an association between moderate physical activity and fewer depressive symptoms, but it included observational research, which cannot establish cause and effect.[5]

The honest message is that movement and resistance training can support mental health. The research does not establish one ideal gym program for men in construction, civil or mining, or suggest that exercise replaces every other form of care.

Physical work and chosen exercise

Your work is physical activity, and its demands matter when planning exercise. But hours of lifting, digging or repetitive work should not automatically be treated as equivalent to enjoyable activity you choose for yourself.

A large review published in 2026 found that leisure activity was associated with better mental health. Activity performed at work showed a different pattern. Much of this evidence was observational: it does not prove that physical work causes poor mental health. It does show why “you move all day, so you should feel fine” is an oversimplification.[6]

Your circumstances matter too. A worker spending the shift on tools has different physical demands from someone operating machinery. Someone on nights or living away from home may need a different training routine from someone working regular daytime hours.

For our approach to training, that means accounting for the whole week: the job, sleep, travel, relationships and time available. Exercise should have a manageable place within that life.

Start with something that fits your capacity

Healthdirect recommends starting slowly, choosing activity you enjoy and setting small goals when motivation or energy is low. Movement can happen at home, outdoors or in a gym.[7]

Here are practical ways to apply that advice. These are starting options, rather than a prescribed treatment for a mental health condition.

Choose a manageable first step. That might be a ten-minute walk, an easy bike ride or a short strength session. Pick something you can approach without needing a perfect day.

Make room for a lighter week. If work has been exhausting or sleep has suffered, shorten the session, reduce the effort or take a rest day. Your training plan should allow those decisions without guilt.

Use a simple routine. Decide roughly when and where you will move. Keep a shorter option available for difficult days. A flexible plan gives you choices when a full session feels unrealistic.

Keep the goal broader than performance. A session does not have to end with heavier weights or a personal record. Making time for yourself can be the goal for that day.

Get help adapting it. If pain, injury or a medical condition limits activity, a suitable health professional can help you find workable options.[7]

These suggestions are about making movement accessible. If you cannot manage a workout, you still deserve support.

Make space for a mate

The gym, a walk or a shared activity can provide an opportunity to spend time together. Healthdirect identifies social contact as one way exercise may support wellbeing.[7] You can use that time to check in without turning every conversation into a formal discussion.

Try something straightforward: “You’ve seemed under pressure lately. How are things going?” Then give them time to answer.

If they open up, listen without judging or immediately trying to solve everything. Ask what support would be useful, encourage professional help when needed, and check in again. Those steps reflect established conversation guidance from the Australian charity R U OK? (Are You Okay?).[8]

An invitation to train can be part of friendship. It should leave space for whatever else your mate needs, including a conversation, an appointment or some practical help.

Workers should not carry the whole responsibility

Mental health at work is also shaped by how work is organised. Safe Work Australia identifies high job demands, low control, poor support, remote work, bullying and other hazards as risks in construction.[9]

Research on rotation workers in resources and construction similarly links job demands and available support with mental distress and sleep problems.[10]

A gym membership cannot remove an unsafe workload or change a harmful workplace culture. Employers and industry leaders have a role in addressing those conditions. Encouraging healthy habits should go alongside better working conditions and access to support.

Training and getting help can happen together

You do not have to wait until things become a crisis to talk to someone. If low mood, anxiety or other changes are affecting your daily life — or you are simply concerned — speak with a general practitioner or mental health professional.[11]

Keep the movement that helps and is manageable. Let professional care and the people you trust be part of your support as well.

That is what stronger for more than your job means to us: caring about the person doing the work, including the parts of life nobody can see from the outside.

Support in Australia

  • MATES: 1300 642 111 — a 24-hour support line for workers in its supported industries, including construction and mining.[12]
  • MensLine Australia: 1300 78 99 78 — free, professional telephone counselling, available 24 hours a day.[13]
  • Lifeline: 13 11 14, or text 0477 13 11 14 — crisis support available day and night.[14]
  • Immediate danger: call 000.[14]

References

  1. Noetel and colleagues. (2024). Exercise options for depression. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38355154/
  2. Gordon and colleagues. (2018). Resistance training and depressive symptoms. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6137526/
  3. Gordon and colleagues. (2017). Resistance training and anxiety. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28819746/
  4. Clegg and colleagues. (2026). Cochrane review of exercise for depression. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41500513/
  5. Bidzan-Wiącek and colleagues. (2024). Physical activity and depressive symptoms in men. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38245936/
  6. Teychenne and colleagues. (2026). Activity at work and in leisure time. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40903203/
  7. Healthdirect. Exercise and mental health. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/healthy-living/physical-activity/exercise-and-mental-health
  8. R U OK? (Are You Okay?). How to ask and listen. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.ruok.org.au/how-to-ask
  9. Safe Work Australia. Mental health hazards in construction. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/duties-tool/construction/hazards-information/psychosocial-hazards-and-mental-health
  10. Asare and colleagues. (2021). Health of rotation workers. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34301674/
  11. Healthdirect. Signs of mental health issues and getting support. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/symptoms/signs-of-mental-health-issues
  12. MATES. Contact and support; industries supported. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://mates.org.au/contact · https://mates.org.au/about
  13. MensLine Australia. Phone and online counselling. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://mensline.org.au/phone-and-online-counselling/
  14. Lifeline. Crisis support. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.lifeline.org.au/131114