Go Ahead: Add On a Little Weight

I get a lot of my exercise splitting big chunks of cedar wood into kindling. After 10 minutes, I am huffing and puffing! However, I thank my weight lifting for giving me the strength and coordination I need, not just for splitting wood, but for the multitudes of chores and fun activities that demand more than a little ooomph.

Yes, I split wood and I’m way older than the woman in this pic! Credit: T-Lorien/Getty

Exercise Is Not Just Cardio

When most people think of exercise, they think of aerobic (“cardio”) activities such as running, walking, bicycling, swimming, jumping rope. These activities help build stamina, improve heart-lung function, and offer a lot of mental-health benefits.

Benefits of Lifting Weights

But weight training (“lifting”) offers a raft of special health and lifestyle benefits. Even lifting small weights …

1. Preserves muscle mass for people trying to lose weight. Unless you protect muscles by demanding more of them, about half the weight you lose will be muscle.
2. Protects against age-related loss of muscle. Most people lose muscle (and strength) as they age, simply because they don’t demand as much from their muscles. To stay (or get strong), you have to ask you body to do the hard work.
3. Boosts metabolism; muscles burn calories even at rest.
4. Improves kinesthetic awareness (location of body in space, and body parts relative to one another). This result in better balance and more efficient, graceful movements.
5. Protects joints. Bigger, stronger muscles take up more the stress of physical efforts, thus reducing stress on joints.
6. Protects against injury. If your muscles (and the tendons that attach them to your bones) are stronger than ordinary life demands, you’ll be less likely to injure yourself when life suddenly requires more strength or faster reactions.
7. Stresses, and therefore strengthens, bones. Like muscles, bones respond to increasing increments of stress by growing denser and stronger.
8. Firms muscles, so you have less jiggle. You may end up wearing the same sized jeans and shirts, but you’ll have fewer bulges and look more svelte.

Credit: Ridofranz/Getty

Learning How to Lift Weights

Knowing what to do and how to do it took a few grunt-and-groan lessons with dumbbells and barbells at a local gym. I feel fortunate to have learned from young male trainers who didn’t propagate the myth that women should do different weight training from men, since we all have the same muscles.

They showed me how to execute the basic moves, starting with small, easy-to-handle weights, then encouraging me to add more weight each time an exercise became easy.

Credit: PeopleImages-GettyImages

Weight training doesn’t make new muscle cells, it just strengthens the muscles you already have. Through gradually adding small increments of weight, the practice encourages existing muscle cells to grow and strengthen, allowing them to handle loads beyond what the stresses of daily life ordinarily demand.

By the way, weight training also doesn’t “turn fat into muscle.” Fat cells shrink as you “lose weight.” Muscle cells grow bigger and stronger, responding to the demands of progressively heavier weights.

If you are a woman, I’ve heard concerns about getting “bulky.” Do not worry at all about this. Most women don’t have the hormonal profile necessary.

Learn from Knowledgeable People

Even if you do not belong to a gym … taking a few lessons from people who know what they’re doing is well worth the time and money. 

Once you learn the hows and wherefores of muscle-building, you can use many of the activities of daily life to maintain (and even build) your strength. But I still trek to the gym whenever I’m in town—about 2 to 3 times a week. But these maintenance workouts take only about 20 minutes.

For many people, heading to a gym to lift is simply not an option. If you train at home, create a good space. Ensure that your floors can handle it; consider matting or a rug.

A Few More Tips on Weight Training

Before beginning weight training, be sure to consult your physician if you have any concerns, and even after you do get the go-ahead, always take care to be safe. You’re not out to prove anything to anyone.

One of the greatest mistakes in training is increasing weight too soon. Before ever trying to figure out how much weight you can lift, can you do the movement WITHOUT any weight at all.  Learn movements without weight. Focus on doing pushups, pullups, lunges, squats, and stretches. 

Don’t get hurt! A proper warm-up of your muscles is critical as well as adding weight slowly. The weight you use should allow you to complete at least eight lifts, but not more than 12 per set. Doing 25 reps with a 2-pound dumbbell is going to do very little for you.

Set up a very consistent routine. And be very specific. For example, you might do 20 minutes of weight lifting at 7 A.M. Tuesday and Thursday morning and once on Sunday after lunch. Consistency is very important.  Make sure you leave at least one full day between workouts of a muscle group.

Ultimately, you will want four sessions to see good results: two upper body and two lower body sessions. For example, you might choose six upper-body exercises. Examples of upper body exercises are biceps curls, triceps extensions, and overhead press. Do three sets of 8 to 12 lifts. The weight you use should allow you to complete at least 8 reps, but not more than 12 per set.

Then, you might do one or two lower body sessions such as lunges and squats with weights. For lower body, it’s best to leave two or three days between working out. Again, the weight you use should allow you to complete at least 8 reps but not more than 12 per set.

Guaranteed: lifting will change your life

Weight training will  make you stronger, sleeker, and less injury-prone. Almost as important, it will help you follow Miss Piggy’s sage advice: “Never eat more than you can lift.”