I still remember the first time I walked into the weight room. I was completely, completely, completely overwhelmed by the hunks of metal and clanking machinery. I’m a guy who runs on the treadmill and gets out of the way as fast as possible. Sometimes Pilates can be very girly. But I thought I should at least take a look. A friend was with me and they showed me some of the equipment, but I still felt like weightlifting wasn’t for me.
Fast forward ten years – and many HIIT, boxing, and barre classes later – I was forced to find a new gym when my own gym suddenly closed. It was a few years ago, right on the cusp of the weight training craze (especially for women), so I signed up for a circuit-based, weightlifting-cardio studio called F45. I like it. My confidence is growing on all bells – dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells. I became stronger. It inspired me to venture into what I now call the “big gym.”
Surprising Side Effects of Weightlifting
With this newfound confidence, I decided to start trying heavy compound lifts, specifically deadlifts and squats. I remember the first time I did a weighted squat, I experienced a sense of pure power, followed by curiosity to see what else my body could do.
Since then I’ve been working my way through the “big gym” slowly and steadily, this time pairing classes with my F45 studio. Specifically, over the past 18 months I’ve been very focused on perfecting my body shape and gradually gaining weight. Today, I regularly squat 245 pounds, which seems crazy when I really think about it. That’s more than my husband weighs and twice my weight! But more than just the sheer power and power (and more than just the beauty of focused alone time), these lessons were actually pretty profound for me.
I’m performance oriented, not body obsessed
Lifting weights changed my relationship with my body from being super focused on appearance to being more focused on performance. Yes, I still want to look good and feel confident in my outfits, but my priority now is to feel stronger and wow myself with a new personal record (PR). It also made me think more about my internal health. My recent blood work has been significantly better than it has been in years past, and I really attribute this improvement to consistent strength training.
“Muscle is responsible for glucose metabolism and maintaining blood sugar balance. It is important to gain as much muscle mass as possible to combat the insulin resistance that occurs during periods of estrogen decline,” explains Wendie Green, LPTA, director of the Bethesda Physical Therapy Clinic. She adds that muscle building can even prevent disease progression and slow down problems commonly associated with aging, including heart disease, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes and even cognitive issues.
That being said, weight training has calmed my body criticism and helped me see my body as something to be nourished, cared for, and strengthened (rather than atrophied or tortured).
I’m thinking about my grandma herself
One of the first reasons I started weight training was because I knew it was important from a longevity perspective. Strength and independence in old age go hand in hand. As we age, a strong body with strong stabilizing muscles, joints, and tendons will make everyday tasks (such as walking, carrying items, getting off the floor, lifting a suitcase into an overhead bin) manageable (maybe even easy?).
This is something I think about especially as a woman entering midlife, as hormone levels change dramatically and affect things like my muscle mass and bone density.
“We finally recognize that this study demonstrates the positive outcomes of strength training in midlife: easing the transition to perimenopause and the many side effects women experience during this transition,” says Anna Aiken, a certified coach who specializes in women’s strength and endurance. “It can benefit cognitive function, bone density, muscle preservation, mood stability, anxiety reduction and mobility.”
My posture is better
I didn’t notice this until others started commenting on my behavior. I thought it might just give me a little confidence, but it turns out that strength training is one of the best postures you can do.
Basically, consistent strength training strengthens the postural muscles of your upper back, core, and glutes. It also corrects muscle imbalances in the chest, hip flexors, and core. and It improves endurance, allowing you to maintain good posture for longer.
Posture is something I’m always paying attention to, and I’ve tried various techniques to improve my posture. Better office chairs, more walking time, and that little device that beeps at you when you start to slouch (so annoying). Who knew that exercising the muscles that keep you upright was key?
Significant reduction in injuries
Back in my super HIIT days, I was injured Always. They were mostly back issues that would sometimes keep me on the sidelines for two to three weeks at a time. This is really frustrating.
You can still get injured while strength training due to poor form or unsafe overloading, but I haven’t had any back issues since I started heavy compound squats and deadlifts. And the injuries I sustained were minor and I recovered quickly. There are multiple factors at play here. First, strength training places a heavy emphasis on excellent form. You watch yourself in the mirror and slowly and carefully work your way up to higher weights, maintaining proper technique along the way. If you bring a friend, there will even be some friendly observers keeping an eye on you.
Another factor is that stronger muscles, tendons and ligaments can better absorb and distribute force, thereby better protecting joints and connective tissue. This improves movement mechanics, stability, and coordination, thereby overall reducing the risk of strains and overuse injuries.
I learned to embrace failure
This is one of the hardest concepts for me to grasp in the gym, but in this sweaty space, failure is a good thing. you think Achieving a point of controlled progressive overload that renders your muscles unable to move any further. When you reach this point, it means your muscles have been pushed to their maximum limit and the fibers have broken down and will rebuild stronger.
Obviously you can make analogies in everyday life. Usually, failure means you tried something and didn’t succeed. You can take it as embarrassing or an excuse to stop going on, but here’s the thing: you still learned something from that experience. You push yourself to the edge of your comfort zone. When you try again, you’ve cataloged your data to move forward smarter, more stable, and stronger. This is a priceless bonus for me.
Read the original article from Real Simple
