Lifting weights has always been something only bodybuilders or athletes trying to bulk up do, which could be one of the biggest myths in the fitness world. But lifting (or any resistance training) is something everyone should incorporate regardless of age – especially 25- to 65-year-olds – or goals of weight loss to weight management needs to get through the day with less fuss.
Our bodies are made to be strong. Yet society doesn’t give us the opportunity to be as strong as we can be. We sit behind desks, we drive cars, we order groceries on our phones. Our muscles get weaker when we don’t use them. But if no one told you that resistance training would help you gain muscle, you’d assume it would maintain muscle. However, that’s not the case.
Benefits of Resistance Training
While not the same thing, resistance training creates microtears in muscle fibers. Your body then rebuilds, making those fibers a little stronger. Not only does resistance training build muscle and tone, but it’s incredibly valuable for boosting bone density, which helps stave off osteoporosis; for speeding up metabolic rates (after this one, you’ll understand why people primarily focus on cardio for weight loss), allowing for more insulin sensitivity (big for Type 2 diabetes prevention); and crucial for joint health since stronger muscles create better support systems around joints.
People often forget this cardio component, but your heart works harder when you’re doing resistance training, especially with compound movements like squats and deadlifts.
Connecting Cardio and Weight Loss
For example, if you’re someone looking to lose weight, you focus on cardio. You spend hours a week on a treadmill or bike and burn thousands of calories while doing so; however, you primarily only burn during that time – and not even over long periods of time since it’s about an hour and within that hour, you’re burning less than 600 calories per hour if you’re lucky.
But if you incorporate strength training into your regimen, even 1-2 times per week allows each pound of muscle added to burn more calories throughout the day. Even 6-10 calories each pound per day per tissue adds up. But more so, it creates an afterburn effect; your metabolism speeds up for hours after you’ve completed your workout since your body needs to repair micro tears in those muscles.
Now this isn’t to say that the scale will drop for those focusing on weight loss – people need to realize that muscle weighs more than fat and small body changes can occur while maintaining the same number on the scale. But instead, you’re toned, you’re leaner and you feel better in your clothes. Your body is set for success even without the scale reflecting what you want.
But it’s Time to Acknowledge Bulking As a Myth
It’s also time to recognize the other myth – especially for women – against getting bulky. Bulking happens only when people try to bulk. It takes years of dedication, certain programming, and additional caloric surplus to get someone who looks like a bodybuilder. This does not happen naturally or by accident.
Instead, this will happen to the vast majority of people once they start lifting: getting toned and defined. Lighter with denser muscle grows stronger with softer fat shrinking away. Women often use this as an excuse not to enter the weight room; which is unfortunate because they’re missing out on so many benefits while relegating themselves to cardio that may not help them down the road.
Strength Has Strength Outside of Appearance
But strength means something IRL outside of a gym setting – or when it’s too late. Lifting heavy grocery bags becomes easier over time – or playing with your kids isn’t exhausting. You can rearrange your house without hurting your back or needing someone else’s help; things appear easier over time because your body knows how to adjust its own expectations with what it can handle.
But even more so, sarcopenia occurs – the natural degeneration of muscle mass – once you hit your thirties, especially after 50. You lose about 3-5 percent of muscle mass per decade starting in your thirties; for those who are sedentary seniors struggle to get out of chairs or up stairs – or down – you’ll notice that overweight seniors haven’t kept a good quality of life but decent quality-of-life improvements remain for those who have maintained their strength or increased their strength well into their seventies and eighties.
It’s NEVER Too Late
It’s never too late: studies show great gains for people in their seventies and even eighties who’ve never seriously lifted before. They can regain a quality of life that staves off potentially embarrassing moments like not being able to keep their independence because they can’t carry groceries into a home.
In an effort to prevent too much overwhelm, this is where an established Encino fitness studio can assist with starting your goals without complication. You don’t need fancy multimillion-dollar ideas and programs; bodyweight exercises count just as good – pushups, squats, lunges are legitimate resistance training. Light weights and even resistance bands come in handy as well.
But if you’re serious about getting traction and maintain proper footing along the way, professionals can help you learn ideal form and structure with progression and accountability changes everything; most people who try it alone fall off track because they get frustrated not seeing progress or they injure themselves because their body isn’t aware of what they should learn.
Starting Small and Progressing
The trick is learning how to utilize moves safely depending upon your current strength abilities – and this might mean doing goblet squats before transitioning into back squats or pushups from your knees instead of full pushups. There’s no shame in starting where you’re at – everyone started somewhere; it takes gut to recognize where that somewhere is.
The Other Considerations
But also once you start, how often do you recommend? Do you need to work out every day? For best results (2-3 times per week) should everyone allow certain body parts enough time to recover before working the same ones again? Yes! You have a rest period between strength sessions – you’re breaking down those tissues so they build back up stronger; it takes at least 48 hours.
Working the same muscle groups every day is ineffective if you’ve just broken them down; you’re working against what they need until they’ve adapted enough to be strong again.
Sessions typically last between 30-45 minutes covering enough major muscle groups without making it feel overwhelming to stand still for too long.
Comfortable Discomfort vs Pain
But how do you know how hard it should be? Should it hurt? It should definitely be heavy enough for you to be comfortably uncomfortable – meaning the last few reps should feel like a challenge – but again shouldn’t break your spirit where you’re compensating for form just to get there.
There’s a fine line that takes experience to understand – and this is where someone who knows the ins and outs provides guidance. It’s all about locking into place what needs a longer hold instead of quickly getting through something barely finished.
What’s Next?
And lastly, when will you notice a difference? Theoretically over time; you’re not going to suddenly transform into a new person in a week – or even a month – so it’s all about learning how to feel better first – increased energy from workouts which lead you into others; nagging back pain finally subsiding or simply feeling more adept at completing daily tasks.
But after months of dedicated effort – 2-3 times per week – you’ll notice the pounds coming off – but not necessarily instantly with no effort – as in you’ve lifted heavier than what you started with or your clothes fit differently but you’ve gained definition you’ve previously lacked.
Long-Term Support
People swear they’ll wish they’d started sooner but not because they needed abs like Christina Aguilera – but because they’ve become more comfortable in their own skin and used bodies.
Strength training is not an option moving forward if you want a happy quality-of-life transition from young adult status into older age; maintaining all other medically appropriate contributing factors (decent food intake and sleep) should connect with strength training skills as part and parcel of a whole replacement plan caregiver package you’ve got going on for yourself!
