The True Benefit of Strength Training

What do you think about when you hear the term “Strength Training?”

More than likely, you picture some big guy lifting a ton of weight. Maybe even wearing a singlet! 

While that’s an accurate picture of what strength training CAN be, the great thing about strength training is that it’s not nearly ALL it can be.

It’s picking up that heavy bag of soil to bring to your car.

It’s getting down on the floor to play with your grandkids and getting back on your feet afterward.

It’s quickly recovering from an injury and getting right back to your life without a care. 

It’s feeling resilient, confident, and powerful.

It’s having a positive attitude about what you can do and how you can live your life.

I’ve trained hundreds of people and one of my favorite things to see is the look that comes across someone’s face when they “get it.”

It's the feeling they get when they start to feel the power they have inside. The realization that they’re physically and mentally stronger than they knew. That’s when strength training really kicks in. They start pushing themselves. They start seeing that adding weight to an exercise is a privilege, not a punishment. They see things in terms of what they CAN do, not what they CAN’T. Their goals become about doing and feeling things that make them MORE, not LESS.

It's powerful to see, and the awesome thing is that possibility is in every one of us!

Here are a few ways to bring it out.

Never use the word “if” when it comes to your workouts. “I’ll be there IF I feel up to it.” That means you won’t be there. Make a commitment and follow through. That’s another example of strength training, in this case, mental-strength training.

Do you know your comfort zone? Inch outside of it. You don’t need to blast through it never to be seen again. Just take one step out. Walk just a little faster. Lift just a little heavier. Move just a little more. Progress is made in small increments, not gargantuan leaps. Not realizing that is the biggest reason people stop or never start in the first place.

Engage. Strength training isn’t something to just “get through.” Pay attention to what you’re doing and how it feels and make the necessary adjustments.

If it sounds like strength training trains your mind as much as your body… you’re right! True fitness involves both and one doesn’t work well without the other.

Let me know how I can help.