Exercise is positively related to aspects of brain health through mechanisms involving blood-based neurotrophins released in the brain and from skeletal muscle. Neurotrophins are neuroprotective, promoting the growth and plasticity of neurons in the brain. However, the differences and/or similarities of exercise type on neurotrophic release in the cardiovascular system have yet to be established. We evaluated the acute effects of moderate-intensity continuous exercise, high-intensity interval exercise, and resistance exercise on Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor, a protein involved in promoting neuroplasticity along with secondary measures of brain health: heart rate variability (HRV), self-reported positive and negative affect, and grip strength. In a repeated measures cross-over design, 12 participants over 5 weeks underwent all three exercise types while phlebotomy, cardiac, affect and grip strength measures were taken pre-, immediately post-, 30-minutes, and 60-minutes post-exercise. Results showed a significant change in plasma BDNF concentrations across all exercise types from immediately post-exercise to the 60-minute post-exercise time interval. Cardiac measures showed a decrease in heart rate variability immediately post-exercise, followed by a gradual increase to above pre-exercise levels at 60-minutes post exercise. A decrease in negative affect following exercise was also observed from immediately post- to 60-minutes post-exercise. No significant changes in grip strength were observed. Taken together, the results suggest that although exercise type did not differentially affect BDNF, HRV, or negative affect, all three measures suggested a consistent trend of physiological and psychological improvement or recovery trend at 60-minutes post exercise, highlighting the potential widespread benefits of various forms of exercise on aspects of brain health.