It’s Not Just Lifting Weights

     If you lift or play sports at a competitive level (or have in the past) you will probably be able to relate to this post. Every once and a while you get someone who will ask “Why are you so into lifting?” or “Why are you so into training?” For the longest time the answer was hard for me to put into words. You don’t know exactly why you do it, but deep down in your gut you know it’s something that you almost have to do.

     When looking at it from the outside in, I can understand that it seems strange. You don’t technically have to do any of it. You don’t have to go train or practice five, six, or seven days a week, at predetermined times. You don’t have to push yourself to physical exhaustion, gasping for breath, or putting something on your back that could potentially crush you. The whole concept is a little bit crazy. Or is it?

     It’s not just the lifting the weights and the training. One way I explain this to people who ask why I train the way I do is by comparing lifting to martial arts. For some reason this analogy tends to click for people. A person who practices martial arts doesn’t just do it to fight and hit stuff; they also do it for the discipline and mental toughness that come with the process. I do the same thing, but with lifting and training instead of martial arts. Training builds discipline and mental toughness, teaches consistency, and motivates you to achieve something that is difficult to do. It teaches you to invest in yourself for the future. It doesn’t happen in a day, a week, or even a year sometimes, but it teaches you to keep working toward a goal. It is a mentality. A resiliency. A discipline. Just some of the side effects include getting bigger, faster, and stronger. I’ll take that medicine, please. These attributes carry over to things outside of the gym, too. Schoolwork, projects, your job, and anything that requires the previously mentioned skills, can benefit from your dedication to training.

It’s not just lifting weights. There’s a lot more to it than that.

Ryan Goodell, CSCS