Don't Strength Train... Unless You Want A Rock-Hard Body

With his faithful spotter, the rack, young Billy pretends he can bench 225 lbs.

I absolutely love strength training. There is no better feeling you can get inside a gym than the pump you feel in your pecs, back, and arms after a hard lift. Young men surely enjoy this feeling the most, since they are the demographic most desiring of a muscular physique, but I can assure you that lifting is for EVERYONE.

Last week I wrote about starting your own fitness journey by keeping it simple (eat to live, move to sweat). Now that you understand my very basic philosophy for how to begin from ground zero, I want to help you step up your game with this very important aspect of fitness. Strength training has been around for decades, but for some reason people just don't fully grasp the idea behind it. I have talked to so many people, women in particular, who think that strength training is only meant for people who want to have large, bulky muscles. Several of these individuals actually avoid lifting weights, especially anything heavy, because they are scared of getting "too big"... Guys, did you hear me? They are afraid of getting TOO BIG! Arnold Schwarzenegger said something similar once in reference to his pecs; he stopped doing incline bench for a while because his upper chest was growing too much and threatened his "perfect proportions". I can't even imagine what it would be like to stop lifting only because my muscles were getting too large. This is a problem most of us guys WISH we had, that I can assure you. For the average human being though, this is something we need not worry about.

A prime example is my fiance! Take a look at my profile picture here and on Google and you'll notice a very shapely, very gorgeous woman above my head. That is my soon-to-be wife, Karly... and let me tell you, that girl almost strength trains more than I do! Deadlifts, squats, bench press, shoulder press... every muscle group, every week, she gets her pump on! She isn't bulky or anywhere near masculine, but she does have toned, strong muscles that shape her body and protect her joints. So trust me when I say that strength training isn't just for bodybuilders, it's for men and women who want to look good, feel good and live long!

One of the biggest reasons we should make sure to strength train at least a few times a week is for our health. Clearly it's understood that exercise is healthy, but there are several aspects of your body you need to keep in line. We walk, run, and bike to take care of our heart; similarly we should train our muscles with resistance to keep our bones dense and our joints strong! If you continually load your joints and muscles with extra stress, in a safe and effective manner of course, your body is forced to build itself up to meet these new demands. Your muscles will grow stronger as the fibers continually repair themselves and your bones will become more and more dense to handle bigger loads. This is very important because osteoporosis and osteopenia are becoming more and more rampant in our culture, two diseases that could be prevented with proper diet and exercise.

We all have a goal in mind, something we want to achieve. Perhaps you're trying to fit into that ONE pair of jeans you still have from high school, or you're debating training for a half iron-man, or maybe you just wish you looked and felt a little better than you do on a daily basis. Honestly it doesn't matter what your goal is, strength training can certainly help get you where you want to be. Start small and keep it simple! If you don't know where to begin, find a qualified trainer in your area or leave me a message: I'm more than willing to help get you going in the right direction!