Exercise that the research backs
Vigorous, structured training is among the most effective forms of exercise for low mood in large reviews.
Who we help / Mental health
Mental health
Move your body. Lift your head.
Mental ill health touches almost every family in Australia. Exercise is one of the best-supported ways to ease depression and anxiety, and training with people who care is good for loneliness. Through The Ropes combines both.
By the numbers
Mental health in Australia.
- 4.3 millionAustralians aged 16 to 85 had a mental disorder in the past year (21.5%)Source: ABS, National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, 2020-2022
- 42.9%have experienced a mental disorder at some point in their lifeSource: ABS, National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, 2020-2022
- 38.8%of young people aged 16 to 24 had a mental disorder in the past yearSource: ABS, National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, 2020-2022
- 15%of Australians aged 15 and over were experiencing loneliness (2024)Source: AIHW, Social isolation and loneliness
The picture
Who is affected most.
Behind the numbers
Strong is not the same as tough.
Mental ill health is common, and it isn't weakness. More than two in five Australians have experienced it at some point. Young adults carry the heaviest load: almost two in five people aged 16 to 24 had a mental disorder in the past year.
Loneliness makes everything harder, and about one in seven Australians feels lonely. In 2024, 3,326 people in Australia died by suicide; more than three in four were men.
Boxing culture has long told people to toughen up. We'd rather people speak up, train hard and look out for each other.
How Through The Ropes can help
Training for the mind, too.
A crew against loneliness
The same faces, three times a week. People who notice.
Habits built with the brain in mind
Our neuroscientist helped shape how habits are built: small wins, repeated, until they stick.
Alongside your care
We sit alongside GPs, psychologists and mental health services. We don't diagnose or treat.
Potential for impact
What the evidence says.
- Exercise eases depression. A 2024 BMJ review of 218 trials with over 14,000 people found exercise reduced depression, with more vigorous exercise doing better. Many of the trials were small or at risk of bias, so the certainty is rated low, but the direction is consistent.Source: Noetel et al. (2024), Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis, BMJ
- Across more than 1,000 trials, physical activity reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety and distress, with shorter, higher-intensity programmes doing best. Many of the underlying reviews were low quality, so the size of the effect is uncertain.Source: Singh et al. (2023), Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews, British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Boxing and mental health. A scoping review of non-contact boxing found reports of less anxiety and depression and better mood and self-esteem. The authors call the evidence early and promising, not proven.Source: Bozdarov et al. (2023), Boxing as an intervention in mental health: a scoping review, American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine
Honest about what we know. Large reviews show exercise eases depression and anxiety for many people, though the certainty of the evidence is rated low. It is not a cure and it doesn't suit everyone at every moment. Anyone in crisis needs specialist help first. We'll measure wellbeing at the start, the end and three months later.
What we will measure with every cohort, and publish:
- Who starts, who finishes, and why people leave early
- Wellbeing and mood at week 1, week 10 and three months later, using a standard validated scale
- Fitness and attendance: sessions completed out of thirty
- Next steps at three and six months: work, study, training, sport, housing
- Changes on a standard measure of distress (such as the K10)
Sources
- ABS, National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, 2020-2022
- ABS, Causes of Death, Australia (2024 data)
- AIHW, Social isolation and loneliness
- Noetel et al. (2024), Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis, BMJ
- Singh et al. (2023), Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews, British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Bozdarov et al. (2023), Boxing as an intervention in mental health: a scoping review, American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine
Figures are the latest published at the time of writing (October 2026). Back to Who we help.