Beginner's Build Part I: Why Should I Lift? (Part I)
Kicking Off a New Series About Resistance Training For Beginners
Last year, I put out the Muscle Mania Series, a string of posts about the science of muscle hypertrophy, covering everything from the cellular mechanisms behind muscle growth to the training variables that are relevant for making gains in the gym. And, since then, I’ve intermittently posted about a host of resistance training topics from training splits to lifting techniques and health benefits.
But, I figure there may still be a significant barrier between many people and getting started with regularly lifting weights. For this reason, I am kicking off a second series oriented towards building muscle, this time focusing on what you need to know to get started at the weight-rack as a complete beginner.
Though this is directed towards individuals with zero lifting experience at all, based on common mistakes and gaps of understanding I’ve observed in commercial gyms and through conversation with others, I figure many of you who have dabbled with weight-lifting will also benefit from the concepts and tactics I’ll cover. For the former crowd, this series will take you from zero understanding to competency; whereas, for the latter group, it will provide insight to help sharpen the base of experience you already have.
Either way, my goal with this series is to rapidly link you with the effective resistance training principles, strategies, and tactics I’ve acquired from reading relevant research literature and lifting weights myself for the past decade. In this way, this series will be your Shortcut to understanding and executing resistance training from a, “user’s perspective”.
Now, before I get into the principles, strategies, and tactics of getting started with lifting weights, I figure I ought to explain why you would want to lift weights in the first place. Here, I’ll explain my first, and possibly strongest, reason: living better.
Although I will reference research studies throughout this series, much of what I share will be centered around actually executing in the gym. However, if you are interested in diving deep into the research around building muscle, I recommend checking out the Muscle Mania Series I mentioned above. You’ll find everything you’re looking for and more there.
Lifting For Life
Alongside a “healthy and balanced diet”, exercise has always been on the frontlines of recommendations for living a healthy life. Yet, until recently, I don’t think hard sets of back squats or incline dumbbell bench press were the picture that came to mind for most people.
Rather, it always seemed to me that–beyond group classes or videos composed of circuits of hundreds of reps with ~2-5lb weights that won’t actually build muscle or strength–most people viewed lifting weights as reserved for athletes or meatheads.
Maybe this is because most people’s idea of lifting weights was largely linked to the image of 300+ lb professional bodybuilders, like Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler. I suppose the assumption that you don’t need or want to be doing the same type of exercise that these hulks do is reasonable, but, to a degree that I’ll explain, it’s wrong nonetheless.
At this point, there’s a considerable amount of research suggesting that resistance training with heavy loads (we’ll cover just how heavy in a future post) will improve your health and increase your lifespan. (I, II) But, resistance training’s impact on your healthspan (i.e. how long you live with a high quality of life), in my opinion, is an even greater reason to implement lifting weights into your life.
Credit for the term healthspan goes to Dr. Peter Attia, who has created extensive content on how to live longer, healthier, and better. I strongly recommend his book, Outlive, and his podcast and blog to anybody interested in these topics.
One aspect of this impact comes in the form of protection, in that resistance training mitigates elderly fractures by increasing bone density and maintaining the strength, power, and type 2 muscle fibers needed to avoid or blunt the harm of accidental falls. Furthermore, even in the case of a fall occurring, maintaining your muscle mass and strength will allow you to pick yourself up off of the ground and seek medical help if necessary.
Not only does this affect lifespan because your physical ability, or lack thereof, could be the difference between life and death in these situations, but it affects healthspan because quality of life can be massively curtailed following an elderly fracture.
For more on the importance of resistance training for mitigating elderly fractures, check out this post.
Similarly, the second aspect of resistance training’s impact on your healthspan also revolves around preserving your physical abilities. However, rather than your ability to navigate a trip or fall, this perspective zeroes in on your ability to continue participating in recreational and daily activities.
Maybe, instead of picking yourself up and dusting yourself off, this means being able to pick your child or grandchild up when they fall. Perhaps it means being able to run up and down the pickup basketball court or soccer field for an extra decade, or maybe being able to keep your footing on the warm and silky, though unstable, beach sand.
It’ll come in different forms for different people, but, one way or another, you’ll want your physical independence. And, it’ll become more paramount and sensitive the older you get, as your goals transform from things like being able to get up and down the mountain trail to things like being able to get up off of the toilet seat or out of bed on your own accord.
So, where does resistance training come into play? By regularly lifting weights, you can increase/maintain your muscle and strength, and, with the proper plan, you can do so with regards to the specific movements you’ll need to maintain your desired physical abilities.
Think about it this way: if you’re able to squat while bearing a considerable amount of extra weight, then lifting your bodyweight alone to get up from the floor, off of the toilet or out of bed will never be a problem for you.
I know, for many of you, the idea of struggling with these tasks might seem intangible and maybe even ridiculous. And, you’re partially correct, in that physically navigating the world is easy for you today. But, your strength and muscle mass will both inevitably decline as you age, which means you’ll ultimately find yourself in the shoes or socks struggling to move from one room to the next–that is, unless you prepare by resistance training.
And, the same is true for all of the leisurely activities you enjoy: if you prepare by lifting weights, then strength will almost never be an obstacle to doing the things you love with the people you love. In this way, resistance training is a sort of insurance plan, acting as a base of protection not only from the danger of accidental falls but from the pain of losing your physical freedom.
For those of us early in our lifetimes, this plan entails building a large reserve of muscle mass and strength while we can because making gains becomes more difficult, though not impossible, as we get older. And, for those of us later in our lifetimes, this means gaining the muscle mass and strength we can and holding onto what we have.
In either case, the answer to, “Why lift weights?” is because we want to live better. In the next post of this series, we’ll cover my second answer to this question: to perform better.
IMPORTANT: If you enjoyed or found this post useful, leave a like and/or a comment to let me know. This will help me gear future content towards what is best for you. Thanks again for reading/listening.