There are many reasons to take up a new activity such as weight lifting just like with every other sport, hobby, and activity. Usually people want to make a personal change for themselves to improve their lives and they decide to take it up as a personal challenge. Some people are immediately turned on by the idea of going to the gym and others are put off by it. However, I believe that if everyone knew how weight training could change their lives they would all jump on ship and sail away to the seas of better health and better living. This is because of the very wide range of benefits weight training provides for someone that other activities cannot depending on what they want to accomplish. Despite the many precautions one can take to lift safely, weight training can seem scary at first due to the dangerous connotations it carries. Many young people are told not to lift weights because it stunts their growth and elderly people are at a high risk of injury. This is true to a point but it is mostly another fear based concept that prevents people from starting training. If only people knew that there is nothing to fear. This is because the benefits far outweigh the risks and this is what makes weight training so popular in society today. The biggest problem that arises is the potential for injury. The fear of injury gets in the way of many people from starting and this applies doesn’t just apply to weight lifting but anything that requires someone to expand their comfort zone. This fear stops people from pursuing something which could truly change their lives and so they remain stagnant without knowing their own potential they are missing. Weight training is beneficial for all people because it forces someone to confront their fears and make a personal change. This change is good for us in many ways including physically, mentally, and emotionally and what you learn from the process of weight training can be applied to any area of life. It depends on the person but I would say that most people get into weight lifting for superficial reasons and this is what is motivating at first. The idea of having a great body you like to see in the mirror and working towards that is a great motivational push to get yourself into the gym. Although weight training is a purely physical exercise using the physical body, all the benefits are not just physical. However, the physical benefits are still tremendous and tend to be the main focus in the gym so it is a great place to start from.

The physical body is the tool we use to relate to the world around us and therefore you can see how changing the physical body would then change our own world. The body affects the judgements we place on ourselves, the judgements we make of other people as well as how we treat others based on their appearances. Many superficial judgements are made about others’ physical appearance in society and thus people are superficially judging themselves on a deeper level and want to look better for other people. This is a problem in the sense that we are doing it for other people and not ourselves. When we go to the gym to look good for ourselves this is when we truly get the benefit we are looking to achieve. So, one must understand that if they are going to take up an exercise such as weight training they are going to do it for themselves and their own benefit and not to impress other people. This is what creates a healthy understanding of the exercise and all of the benefits gained from weight lifting are built around this principle. The main physical benefit of weight lifting or resistance training is the increase in muscle strength by making the muscles work against a force (Kirkley, 2). This also increases the muscles’ anaerobic endurance which allows you to lift longer and increase the size of the muscle as well as protect your joints from injury (Fitness Australia, 1). This is the most attractive benefit to most people who want to get stronger and more toned and have a healthy day to day life however there are many more physical benefits. A major advantage to weight lifting is the decrease in chronic condition symptoms such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, back pain, and obesity (Fitness Australia, 1). Back pain can be decreased by strengthening the muscles of the back which support the spine by using exercises such as deadlifts and bent over barbell rows however, proper form must be used. Weight training also improves posture, mobility and balance, flexibility, pain management, and increases bone density and strength (Wilcox, 1). The list goes on and on but this is done by working out the different muscle groups of the body for overall health and stability. Another very important benefit is better sleep at night and a decrease in insomnia symptoms as well. This is due to the body’s need to adapt and recover from the days’ workout and this occurs during the deep phases of sleep. The Central Nervous System also plays a large part in the physical journey of weight training. The CNS controls most of the functions of the body and the mind and lifting weights has a tremendous impact on the central nervous system by causing it to adapt to the different exercises that place stress on it. Our central nervous system transmits impulses to our muscles and within these muscles, we have motor units which work together to recruit and contract the muscle fibers when they are needed (Brown, 1). Training our muscles increases the amount of motor units recruited which in turn increases the amount of power our muscles can put out. The more a person trains the more their central nervous adapts to the weight and this results in our muscles working in synchronicity which promotes harmony and strength within the body (Brown, 1). The biggest physical challenge to face in weight training is preventing injury but thankfully there are many resources that show us how to lift safely.

One of the biggest misconceptions about weight lifting is that you need weights to do it but this is far from the truth. Anyone can weight lift safely by doing body weight exercises. The physical benefits of body weight exercises are very similar to weight training but with more of an emphasis on safety and natural lifting methods. The argument for lifting heavy weights is that it is an unnatural movement for the body and will result in an injury due to the muscles being trained with exceptionally more weight than it is used to. Therefore, body weight training is a great alternative for elderly people because the muscles being recruited are developing at a balanced rate instead of too much stress being placed on one muscle due to heavy weights (Khran, 1). This can be prevented however with proper form and recovery but many people choose to do body weight exercises instead such as pull ups, push-ups, dips, handstands, and sit-ups. This promotes more balance in the body by working out multiple different muscles at once. When lifting weight without proper form this balance gets disrupted and certain muscles will start to compensate for the lack of strength in others which will eventually lead to an injury such as a tear or strain (Khran, 1). That is why proper form is so critical when doing any type of weight lifting exercise. These physical benefits will be negated if an injury were to occur and this happens to many people. They train for a year or are doing a sport they love and an injury will occur that will force them to quit or set back their progress. In order to dramatically decrease the chance of injury, proper form must be used. The people that are seriously concerned with injury from lifting weights are also seriously concerned about using proper form. What makes form such a critical component of weight lifting is the efficiency of the muscles being used due to their anatomical position in the body. When proper form is used, the muscles are working harmoniously at the most efficient level and the chance of injury decreases rapidly. When proper form is not used the chance of injury increases rapidly and this occurs when people lift more weight than their body can handle or are lifting weights at a position that their body cannot handle correctly (Faigenbaum, Myer, 1). However, the body can handle a lot more weight and tension when good form is used which is why it is so important to getting the maximum amount of benefits or results from the exercise. Now that we understand why proper form is so critical, one of the most important point for weight training benefits can be discussed.

People don’t understand that just weight training will not give them the benefits they desire. It is not the only factor. Weight training is much more of a lifestyle than it is an exercise. There is a reason sleep is so important after a hard workout and this is what is known as recovery. Recovery is the ability to meet or exceed performance in an activity. If adequate recovery is not taken, then fatigue will set in which makes the brain act as a preventative mechanism to prevent excessive damage to the muscles and prevent injury. Recovery is what is needed for your body to heal from the stress it has been put under during the workout and this occurs mostly during the different cycles of sleep. This is not the only type of recovery however, recovery can be categorized into three unique periods. These three periods are immediate recovery, short-term recovery, and long-term recovery (Jones,Bishop,Woods, 1). Immediate recovery is the time of rest between each rep completed in a set of lifts. When doing squats, the time at the top of the lift before going back down into the squat position is what is known as the immediate recovery. It is a short break in between repetitions to allow the muscles a short rest before being activated again. It also allows a person to breathe which then restores the oxygen deficit within the muscles (Mike, Kravitz, 1). Taking these short rests to breathe is most beneficial because it allows the muscles to not reach a state of fatigue as quickly as it would if no rests were taken. This lets someone get the absolute most physical benefit out of their workout. Now short-term recovery is the time between sets where you let your muscles rejuvenate in preparation for the next set. This is similar to the first period of recovery however these rests are usually anywhere from 30 to 90 seconds. If a set is done too quickly after the previous one fatigue will set in much quicker than if a minute break had been taken in between. The next type of recovery is what is used between workouts and is known as training recovery or long-term recovery. Long-term recovery is what has the greatest impact on the bodies capability to repair muscle tissue and heal itself. This is a period of 1-2 days depending on the intensity of the workout where the muscles worked out need an adequate amount of time to rebuild during protein synthesis which is done mostly during sleep. Another benefit of long term recovery is the release of Human Growth Hormone from the pineal gland which has a huge impact on body functions such as tissue repair, muscle growth, and energy (Mike, Kravitz, 1). Without this recovery, the body would forever be playing a game of catch up to heal itself which is very unhealthy. As shown, recovery plays a very large part in weight training because without it the muscles would not be able to repair themselves properly. When adequate recovery is taken the body functions at its maximum level and therefor the greatest physical benefits can be achieved. All the physical benefits gained from lifting weights are literally life changing but this isn’t even close to what someone can achieve mentally from weight training.

As I was discussing earlier, many people get into different exercises like weightlifting for superficial reasons that are important to them at the time. Once someone starts training though these superficial reasons begin to disappear and a greater foundation of mental health is established. One of the best mental benefits gained from weight training would be an increased amount of internal discipline. This then translates into will power and this is learned by following a weight lifting routine. Humans are creatures of habits and so you can see how following a routine would be beneficial for most people in the gym. Routine allows a person to not dilly dally in the weight room and stick to a program where they can track their progress on each exercise. What is great about routines is that there are so many out there that a person can find the one that fits their personal goals the best. Sticking to a routine promotes discipline in the individual which they can then transfer over into other areas of their life where their discipline is lacking. However, discipline is not the only mental benefit gained. Lifting weights releases natural chemicals such as dopamine in the brain which is very mentally stimulating and causes a feeling of euphoria (Amenda, Kravitz, 1). This is what is known as a natural high or a runner’s high and is what gives us all the good feelings after working out as well as improving our mental clarity and cognition. Once a person commits to their goals and achieves them, however small, a cycle of healthy emotional abundance occurs and this is what makes weight lifting mentally addicting to the individual. It forces an upwards spiral of positive growth and change which improves their quality of life. This ends up helping people with anxiety and depression issues by lessening their symptoms through weight training. Anyone with mild to severe cases of mental illnesses will most likely see a decrease if not total absence of symptoms from weight training due to the restoration of mental and physical homeostasis that takes place within the body (Mike, Kravitz, 1). These are the main mental benefits of weight training that can be attained by all people.

As you can see the benefits of weight training are not just physical but also mental and emotional. Weight lifting is not an exercise used just for athletes to get stronger and better at their sport but also an exercise used for anyone who wishes to improve the quality of their life. This is done by making a conscious decision to make a change by going to the gym every day to work on oneself. There is always room to grow and improve and when the correct mentality is adopted along with the correct technique the benefits received will be enormous. I have seen the affect it has had on my life as well as other people’s lives and am therefor inspired daily to continue going to the gym for myself and to help other people with similar goals in mind. These benefits enable a person to not only have a strong body but also a strong mind and this impacts their day to day lives by allowing them to live up to their greatest potential and becoming the strongest version of themselves. This is how weight training can benefit all people.
