The Importance of Weight Lifting
When I began the PWR program a few years ago, I knew next to nothing about weight lifting and why it was important. All I knew, at the time, was that the workouts seemed challenging and exciting (rather than boring and monotonous) and the transformational photos were astounding to me. Ever since, I have fallen in love with lifting. The way that it makes me feel, mentally and physically, will far outweigh how it has changed my body (although, that is a really cool bonus).
Since I was younger, I wanted a 6 foot super skinny model body type. But when I stopped growing at a staggering 5’3”, not realizing that it was impossible to look so sinewy and long, I was setting myself up for failure, and also tried a ton of super unhealthy methods to get there. I’m grateful that I’ve learned from that experience and will be able to teach both of my little girls that their body is perfect because it’s theirs and it’s never going to look like anyone else’s body. Weight lifting is one of the avenues I’ve used to help me gain a true self love for my body. It has shown me that I’m strong, I’m capable, and I can transform my body with proper training and diet. And to be able to look in the mirror at the end result and be able to say that I’m proud of myself is such a refreshing experience.
But the truth is, weight lifting or strength training is not only important for those of us that fall under 5’5”. There are SO many amazing benefits to incorporating weight training into your fitness regimen so I wanted to talk about my top 3.
Mental Strength
Way before you start to notice the muscle definition and pump, you’re going to start to notice a mental shift… and it’s my very favorite part. Shifting your mindset to gaining something (muscle and strength) rather than losing something (weight or fat) is the idea of shifting from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset. That shift will change your life forever and I don’t even think I’m being dramatic saying that!
When I began lifting weights and proving to myself each day that I could do something difficult, that I could push myself a little harder, well that began to bleed into all other aspects of my life. You’ve heard the saying “how you do anything is how you do everything”, that is what i’m talking about here. Progressing in weight training through lifting more weight, using better form, mastering gym equipment you didn’t know about before, all of those things exemplify perseverance, strength, and dedication. And that will transfer over to the rest of your life.
Eating MORE
You can eat more and feel better. Enough said, right?! This is where macro counting has changing my perspective on food, I had no idea how much food my body needed to reach the goals I had for it and spoiler alert: it’s more than I thought.
Science says that for the body to gain muscle, it needs to be in a caloric surplus (and have plenty of protein but we can talk about that another day). If you want to gain muscle, lose fat, and create more definition for yourself, girl you need to EAT.
The Overall Health Benefits
We could be here all day with the ripple effect of health benefits that come with weight lifting, but I’ll just list a few.
improved posture
better sleep
gaining bone density
maintaining weight loss
boosting metabolism
lowering inflammation
staving off chronic disease
There are way more health benefits where that came from but for the sake of time, just know that weight lifting is so good for your overall health. So if you’re considering beginning a weight lifting program, this is me giving you a little shoulder massage telling you that I think it’s a great idea. Strength training has transformed me and I think it can do the same for you.
