"It's just you and the bar." I have made this point to those who ask why, although nonathletes don't get it.
1
I'm 73 and female and have long thought about weight training for many of the reasons stated here -- especially to get stronger as I age to help with balance and so forth. Problem is I have osteoarthritis in multiple joints and shy away from lifting weights that could cause more harm than good. I've had trainers at gyms in the past, very, very young, who had no idea how to help me. Was hoping to read responses from folks who have joint issues and have found weight training to be helpful.
I started lifting weights in late summer 2019, at age 49, in a big box gym on machines. I hated the machines - always have - but got hooked on lifting after seeing some progress and feeling great. So, in February 2020, I decided to quit the gym and purchased a rack, barbell and plates for my garage. It turned out to be quite fortunate timing, since everything arrived just a few weeks before COVID hit. I was able to keep lifting when the gyms all shut down, and I had everything I needed when nothing was available online. Lifting has been a true physical and mental bright spot for me even when things seemed darkest. I cannot imagine stopping now after 2 1/2 years of consistent practice - and I cannot imagine where I'd be right now if I had not had access to my garage gym.
If you’re going to walk with weights, make sure you stretch afterwards. Especially the lower back.
1
Being weak is a terrible condition both mentally and physically? “What’s it for”?
Strength training lowers blood pressure, moderates blood sugar, burns fat, builds muscle, builds bone density, improves mobility, improves mental well being, builds tenacity, and is fun. Those are a few reasons to lift weights. If more Americans would do so, we would not be such a fat and ill nation and we could afford to have public healthcare.
3
I just started lifting weights as part of my exercise routine ~~ this after about a 5 year hiatus. I love it. I’m 57 and feel great - I look pretty good too :)
5
A lovely article but unrelated to the heart if Zen: deep realization of our true nature, liberation from focus on self, and a consequent responsiveness to the needs of others.
1
Very good and interesting, but I think these principles apply to any physical and
mental activities: the way you decide they should shape your life
Brilliant article, says what we all knew to be true that consistency and persistence are the cornerstones of successful resistance training. Been lifting weights since I was 17, 41 years ago with a break of about 8 years with an injury unrelated to weight training cured by chance by a brilliant physio. Love the purity of the process, just you and the weight, you either lift it or you don't. If not you have an instant target to work towards. For me it's a 180kg deadlift, about 20kg shy of it now but remain hopeful. Count myself lucky after 6 TIAs to still being able to hit the gym now I may have the first signs of prostate cancer so the mental wellbeing I derive from pumping iron has become even more important.
4
A male friend took me to our college weight room in 1975. Only guys used it, and pretty much only football players. Needless to say, I never went back. When in my 20s, I took up ballet, then jazz dance, lessons. This eventually led, in my 30s, to aerobics classes which then led to the gym and free weights. I'm 65 and have continued with each week consisting of yoga 2-3 x weekly, free weights 3/x weekly, and mountain hiking or riding my spinner bike a few times weekly. Based on these decades of various physical activities, I have what my doctors have determined must be genetic issues (osteopenia and atherosclerosis being the biggies). They tell me that possibly it would all be worse if I hadn't spent years in the gym, hiking and walking, etc. I also thoroughly enjoy every single bit of it.
9
One thing the article doesn't mention is that weight training affords infinite variety. Within the framework of a routine that has you regularly working certain muscles, you can choose among many exercises and for each exercise can alter the weight, the angle, the speed, the hold, the range of motion, and so much else. There are numerous exercises for every muscle. Weight training engages your body and your mind. It is fantastic.
2
I'm in my mid-50's and I've been weight training since I was about 14. I started to lift as part of a playing football in HS and college. I find training to be a very good stress reliever and I don't feel the same if I don't train everyday. Even if it means walking the dog for 5-6 miles instead of weight training for a day. I found, as I'm sure most folks have, that continue to train as I age helps my back and core stay strong and my body lean, even if I cannot lift as much weight as I could when I was in my 20's. I rarely get colds or sick. I make it a rule to turn off the phone while I'm training - that is my time to myself everyday and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
6
Weight lifting is such good exercise at any age. If you do get into it, there is a comrade-ship like all sports niches where people having similar likes form welcoming groups.
Instead of intellectual racing, it is a very simple way to get in touch with the real world. You grow muscles, strength, confidence, and as you train it can calm the nervous and give some boost to the depressed. I don't know why but weight lifting even in its simplicity is just a great healer and a wonderful way to enjoy your body and life.
2
I’m a petite gal, 56, who lifts 5 days a week. After a traumatic brain injury, I vowed to get my health back. Cardiovascular exercise and yoga helped, but the game changer happened when I decided to get serious about strength training. Nine years after that darn nun hit me with her car, I’m fitter and stronger than in my 20s.
I feel strong and sure in my step, never need help to lift anything, and am a role model for other people my age and those with disabilities. Best of all, improvement in proprioception means I no longer tip over, don’t need a cane, and can look forward to a far more independent and healthy life than anyone could have predicted.
I’m showing this article to all my friends who make fun of “gym rats”. It gave me my life back.
9
I was in my mid-thirties when I started lifting weights. I was thin as a reed, but suddenly had definition in my arms and stomach muscles as hard as a rock. Stopped doing it in my 60s, but am back with it again, now that I'm in my 70s. Nothing, absolutely nothing as satisfying. Decades ago, I watched Natalie Angier, a NYTimes science writer, small and slim, effortlessly hoist her body in weights. Stunned some of the men in the gym who had offered to help her. I would like to be able to bench press my body weight... it can be done... little, little as they say in South Africa. Thank you for this piece.
4
For me weight lifting and aerobic/cardio exercise is like swimming to a shark. If I stop lifting and aerobic/cardio activities, I’ll sink. Worth the effort you give it. Worth the sacrifice of time you devote to it. Stay strong and healthy throughout your life.
5
As a 77 yo T2 diabetic diagnosed about 20 yrs ago, I was at first devastated with the diagnosis. The known extremely chronic and harmful outcomes for a diabetic were well documented including blindness, cardiovascular disease, stroke, amputations etc. etc. no the least of which was ED.
For a time I was indulging in a daily pity party of one...feeling that my life was pretty much over.
I was always a high achiever, as an athlete, but the same drive that had made me a good (not great) athlete, practice, training etc. I believe was highly contributory to the DM2...essentially self-induced stress and never truly every being satisfied with the status quo...always reaching more...
So one day looking in the mirror at my now corpulent and unfit body, I got sick and tired of hearing my inner dialogue of defeatism and got back into the game of life.
I began weight training again, changed my diet and health habits. But it was the resistance training that was the game changer for me. I began to see...and more importantly feel tangible results in my body. That encouraged me to take a closer more objective scrutiny of all my health issues.
Resistance training is also a great way to relieve/release the stress which I are body tends to store.
So anyone who is recently diagnosed with DM2, take heart. It is, as was in my case, the Big Wake Up for me to take control and charge of my health...to use it to motivate an understanding of the whole concept of wellness.
3
Now 72,been lifting since I got out of the marines at 21,6 or 7 days a week take a break whenever my body pushes back, it's a life giving regimen and you get back what you put into it. Now needing knee replacement, I can do everything but legs ,but I do 30 minutes of cardio and ride a bike outside for 12 miles most days.Windsurfing is what kills my knee and I usually this year have to take the next day off from everything, but it's the best exercise and thing in life
1
I am a 72 year old woman who added squats and dead lifts and bench presses to her workout several years ago with the help of a personal trainer. Since gyms opened again I’ve been working out at a body building gym, full of very fit young men and women who have welcomed me enthusiastically, many telling me how good it is to see me there. I don’t lift a great deal of weight, but, as the author explains so well, the satisfaction lies in slow and steady progress.
8
Brad does a great job of describing the discipline of weight training. I began lifting when I was 15 back in the 1960's. I was a skinny kid with glasses walking the streets before anyone else cared about bullies. I had to do something to keep from being beaten to a pulp and weight lifting was it.
Back in the 1960's, most people thought that weight lifting was only for knuckle heads. They were the guys who wore Tee shirts during the winter that were one size too small.
But when I was 21, I was 150 pounds but could military press 200 and bench press 350 pounds. Those days are long gone, but I still weigh about the same thanks to lifting weights three times a week almost every week since then.
At this point, I'm just shoveling against the tide of time and holding my own, but I've been working with the same weights for the past 10 years, which makes me happy. Many days, lifting is the last thing in the world that I want to do, but I normally go to the gym anyway. I've learned how to work around all kinds of injuries that come with old age. Some require pushing through, others a modified workout and other injuries require a break.
I owe my life to lifting weights. At 70, I am on no maintenance drugs like most of my friends. I can hike 15 miles and perform most of the manual labor that I did as a young man.
I'm delighted that this discipline has intelligent and articulate adherents to describe its benefits. Thank you Brad.
8
My $300 half rack, $600 Olympic bar weights, 2 hrs a day and my basement SAVED my sanity during the lockdown. Working out daily has been my key to happiness …and can be yours too!
6
Outstanding article. I enjoy the push and pull of lifting weights, it gives me peace.
2
Excellent article. I smile when I read, "chop wood, carry water."
Ask anyone in my family, when there are cases of water to carry or any heavy household object to move or lift, I do not see it as "work", I see it as an "oppunitunity" to use my body.
Weight training has always been part of my life, initially I weight trained to prepare for team sports until I realized I was no good at team sports.
I tried my hand at power lifting, then body building , then came marriage and family then my self centered body building life ended along with my weight training for a while.
Now turning 60, I am lucky enough to not be hindered by the pain of arthritis or injury and while my workouts today are only small subsets of what I used to do, I am able to consistently train which is REALLY what counts.
Whatever you chooses to so for exercise, do it consistently, that makes the difference.
3
“ In other words, you’ve got to balance stress and rest. Exercise scientists call this “progressive overload.” - No, it’s called the stress adaptation recovery model. Progressive overload is the action of lifting more than you in your previous session (either through more reps, more intensity, etc)
6
Why do it?
Gainz.
4
I’m 74 and weight lift at the gym. This article helped me understand more about why I enjoy it so much. I worked out with a trainer for a number of years and know that having the correct form is as important as the weight you lift.
4
I wrote an award winning book in this very topic! It’s called Conscious Fitness - Strength Training For The Evolution Of Body, Mind and Spirit. Weights are my home base and have been for 40 years. I’m still getting stronger. Everything written in this article is absolutely true. The iron transforms you on EVERY level.
3
But at the extremes isn't there a risk of joint damage and future arthritis? I think it's silly that people get injured in a controlled environment like the gym.
At 47 I lift weights but keep it moderate due to a past shoulder injury from tennis -- which weightlifting made worse (until physical therapy helped me choose the right exercises).
1
Enjoyed this article immensely. Would love another one addressing how to continue weight training through physical challenges, like spondylolisthesis, slipped Discs, arthritis. Have “rested” now for 7 months and desperately need to return to a routine for both physical and mental wellbeing, but somewhat fearful of injury. Trainers don’t seem able to move out of the “PR” mode and adapt, in my opinion.
4
I'm a dedicated fitness buff and professional musician. The two lfe-long disciplines are remarkably similar. This article provides a fine description of both.
2
I do TRX workouts, which uses your own body weight as strength training resistance. I find it's easier to do but gives as good if not better results than traditional weight lifting.
I tend to go every other or every third day to allow for recovery.
When I owned my small farm in N Central MA I use to watch my local old Yankee neighbors take trees down at age 85, elderly people out cross country skiing, and I’m still dragging cords of wood around for my stove.
4
The beauty of lifting weights is exactly that it is not a sport or an art form. I come from a lineage of plodders, tending to chubbiness, with left feet all of us. I love running, was always very mediocre at it, and eventually injured to the point where I can now maybe run/jog 2 miles at a time, 3 times a week, at 53. I started yoga 2 years ago and love it (coincidentally iyengar, which I think is closest to weight training in its exactitude) but again, does not come easy to me, I mostly also suck at it but that is ok. Weights, however - I will always go back to . It does not require a special skillset. All you need is consistency, some research and the discipline to just go and do it. The beauty of it is that anybody can learn how to do it. And the sense of accomplishment is its own reward.
3
I am 87.5 years old & have used varied equipment for weight training since 1981. I don't attempt to deal with massive weights, but keep my resistance weights high enough to require real effort, but short of taking all my strength to lift & risking injury. I always lift slowly and return slowly, and never noisily drop weights back. From time to time I add -- or even subtract -- 5 pounds depending on how it feels. I typically do 3 sets of 12 repetitions, but on some exercises find it convenient to do more reps rather than increasing weight. I don't compare or compete. I wait a minute or 2 between sets, drinking water & noticing gym friends with a Hi Bill or Jane, which gets me a smile or fist bump -- this keeps me feeling good & returning next time. Yes, I do stretch after a lower-body day, but not after upper-body. I find the entire experience, including steam room, hot shower & locker room humor provides a respite from negative thoughts & concerns, as well as a pick-me up for the rest of the day. I also try to memorize first names of frequent gym mates, which keeps me sharp. It's a pleasurable 2 hours, 3-4 times/week.
25
Thank you Bob, in a very words you explained why and how to practice weight lifting.
Very inspiring and helpful
JP
3
It's 620 pm, Nov 29. I'm going now to the NYC Rec Center gym, to work out, where I haven't been in some time, and not regularly for over a year--but I'm motivated now after reading the comments to this article! Thank you.
I will start small, focus, and work up. But even small is good.
9
As someone who has lifted weights since 1950 I fully concur with the views expressed in this piece. I am still perpendicular and healthy.
7
A good answer, perhaps, for the "What's it for?" gentleman, is..."I do it so people will ask me this question". Followed up by something about how each of us has her/his own reasons for being strong in mind and body, so that one can meet many challenges."
Or, words to that effect. I carry a lot of wood, that I have chopped before that, stacked before that, and often cut down before that. And I follow that by planting more trees....ones I hope will thrive, as I have, by working with their ancestors.
3
Wonderful article. I am now going to revisit weight training which I have done only lightly in my 74 years.
I rowed crew for three years in high school, 10 hours a week for three years and it did wonders for me. I looked like one of the guys on the magazine covers, and it lasted well into my thirties. Now I look more like 'before' in the 'before and after' ads. A little flabby here and there but still a 32" waist.
I have been doing push-ups since age 30, every morning. A few years ago I discovered HIIT and I now do 225 to 240 push-ups every morning in three minutes flat. I had a knee replacement last May due to an injury more than 50 years ago that finally caught up with me and could no longer be ignored. The day I came home from the hospital I was able to do 150 push-ups in three minutes because push-ups are done with legs held straight.
This may sound like bragging, but it isn't. As Dizzy Dean said, "It ain't braggin' if you can do it." I'm a one-trick pony and except for certain muscle groups used in the push-ups I am in medium but not great shape. But BP is 115/70 and resting pulse is 57 bpm. No drugs of any kind, ever, prescription or 'recreational.' I have never seen a cardiologist or any medical specialist except the orthopedic surgeon who replaced my knee. I am grateful on this Thanksgiving for many things.
6
It's bragging - even if you can do it. Otherwise it's lying.
1
Well done. (I’ve been lifting almost half a century.)
I'm almost 77 and have been lifting weights for 40+ years. Its great for warding off physical problems, but, as this article suggests, its mentally soothing as well and provides confidence to keep doing physical activities that I love, e.g. swimming, hiking with a group, kayaking, tennis and pickle ball. Love it!!
4
I am 73 years old (but feel much younger). I began running in my twenties and had to stop at 69 because of pain in my hip. I then switched to weight lifting. I weight lift in the basement, regularly and alone. As in long distance running, there is a meditative quality. For me it is the combination of meditation and repetitive physical activity that combine to create the sense of well-being I experienced as a runner. Thanks for an interesting article.
3
I am 79 years old. I don't lift a lot of heavy weights.
However for years I have been diagnosed with osteopenia, (less serious than osteoporosis).
After going to the gym for 2.5 years and lifting weights and doing aerobic exercises for an hour 4-5 days a week, my bone density is now normal. (No medication, just exercise). I was amazed.
14
Since 50% of the population is OBESE, a lot of weight lifting goes on 24/7. No wonder there are so many knee surgeries. Medicare for all will have to pay.
March 2017 I was 62, weighted 400 lbs, had a 60" waist and walked with a cane because of the two slipped discs in my back when a 23 year old friend invited me to his new gym. I was also diabetic had high blood pressure. I had tried and failed for years to lose weight and my doctors wanted me to have weight reduction surgery. When I showed up at his gym that afternoon there were none of the normal weight machines, just free weights. Mike told me that if I trained with him he would help me lose weight and walk without using my cain. To say that I was skeptical would be an understatement.
Tonight I have just returned from Mike's gym. I train with him two to three days a week. I lift with guys who are in high school and college. I now weigh 230 lbs, have a 44" waist.
I can walk without a cain and without pain. I can now control my diabetes with exercise and eating 1100 to 1500 calories a days. My doctors have taken me off several of my high blood pressure meds. My life has been transformed by weight lifting. I don't feel like I'm 64.
29
Well done. It is amazing what our bodies can do if we give them a chance How wonderful to have a young friend who believed in you.
10
I started weight training after my son called with great excitement in 2000, having just started doing it himself. He said I'd love it, and I do. I go to the gym 3 mornings a week and swim two mornings. I count my lifts with weights and lap/strokes with swimming. It's a kind of meditation.
I also hike in the hills near our home and just finished another trek in Nepal. Life is good at 81.
13
At the age of 77 years, I need do something to maintain upper body strength but hate pushups. I stumbled upon what this article calls the farmer's carry: carry a hand-held load with your arm(s) outstretched. I do this when I carry grocery bags to the car and to the house and whenever else I need to carry a compact load over a significant distance. My biceps look and feel great andI think this exercise also helps maintain lower-back strength.
2
I've been lifting in one venue or another for ~60 years. The only significant time missed was a year in Vietnam. Some days I can lift the world, others not a feather. But it always about the effort.
And, a word of caution to beginners, lifting is addictive. If I miss more than a day, I feel it emotionally and mentally as well as physically. My wife could always tell when it was a good session at the gym...
4
Lift weights in the winter in anticipation for open water ocean swimming in the spring .
1
61 yo and been lifting for about 30 years. I read the comments and agree. It clears the mind. I just took a mindfulness course and one of the things we practiced was how to focus. Lifting is all about focus. Is my posture good? Shoulders down? Feet in the correct position? Now focus on lifting smoothly through the range of motion.
I find the mindfulness of lifting a key part of every week.
5
"Consistency and patience are key."
Apply that to every sport for improved results.
2
I had always thought weight lifting must be the most boring, ridiculous exercise on earth. My only exposure had been with the 'machines' at most gyms, which only confirmed that assumption.
Then I started Crossfit (about 12 years ago), and found a deep and abiding love for lifting. I love the days of lighter weights and more reps, but I truly adore the heavy days. This column clearly explains why the experience itself brings so much joy, but I also really love the extrinsic benefits as well. As a 59 year old woman who lives mostly alone, I am able to do anything that needs to be done around the house and property. I know how to use my body properly, and am therefore easily able to carry those bags of mulch and topsoil, shovel my hilly driveway, and otherwise handle whatever task is at hand.
I can't recommend it more.
6
Who would want those puffy gym muscles?
Author, now address how weight lifters address advancing age. Say at 60 or 70 when safe weights have started coming down. No matter how correctly you work. And when gradually developing deficits like arthritis can't be avoided. And injuries take longer and longer to clear. And a previously easy number is never going to show up again. A different Zen.
Experienced based hint: Make each day as good as it can be. Avoiding a plateau, much less hitting a higher number, is no longer a factor. TL;DR = Accept what is.
2
I take some of it (not so sure about "the Zen") but not the calluses!
Sounds a lot like yoga.
1
That is what I do all winter - chop wood and fill dog water and chicken water.I started a fire this morning as it's 10 degrees outside.
I've been lifting weights for 44 years, and it is for the physical benefits. There is no substitute when you have a desk job and your generation left the farm life way, way behind.
I’m a 64-year old woman who has been spending three days a week doing long, heavenly workouts since my twenties, when I was one of a few women at the gym at the University where I taught. I’ve never been able to adequately explain this to my husband. Thanks for capturing the mood and exhilaration if slow, steady attention to the body.
3
@Mark Gardiner I know the Y wasn't the subject of your comment, Mark, and see you seem to have moved from Vancouver, but you'd likely love the Burrard Street YMCA now. It's a 5-storey facility with something for everyone, including lots of free weights, lots of decent cardio and weight machines, a great pool, exercise classes, a cafe, etc. I've been hanging around a lot of gyms since 1984, and they don't get any better than the Burrard Street Y.
I deeply despise the picture that goes with this article. It's superficial, I guess, but the idea dragging a fake barbell to the top of some photogenic rocks and waiting for the perfect lighting for a photo op is antithetical to everything positive in the article and perfectly captures the off-putting assumptions about fitness that keep many of my friends out of the gym.
Also, I thought we were past using the word "Zen" as a label for any kind of temporary abatement of stress or neuroticism. Not that we knew better, of course, but that it was thankfully out of fashion. I'm sad to see that is no longer the case.
But if this kind of article brings anyone new to weightlifting who discovers they enjoy it, I guess it's worth it.
7
I’m turning fifty next year and have never felt better. Though I may have been stronger and faster when I was younger I feel healthier now. No more boozy late nights etc. Weight lifting helps me stay in shape and gives me a chance to clear my head. Would def recommend a workout routine (even 20 min) to everyone and anyone.
3
I've been weight lifting since my days as a young soldier in the US Army, some 30+ years ago. It truly conditions my mind, body and soul. Thank you for this well written article! See you at the gym :)
3
Truly a superb article, and right on the money. I lift 6 or 7 days a week, using a split routine that gives my workouts structure but allows for lots of variation. There are myriad exercises, and myriad variations on each exercise, such that what you can do in terms of variety is practically unlimited. Lifting provides as much intellectual exercise as physical, and the psychological benefits are huge.
5
I am a 74 year old physician, and lift weights as part of my weekly fitness routine. But I can get my work-out done in about 30 minutes doing essentially circuit training, going from one machine to the next, until all 10 are done. Then I go back to the 1st machine, who's muscles are now rested.
Some of my friends who spend hours in the gym are kidding themselves. Work out like that every day of your life, and you will live two extra days. In a nursing home!
By the way, I lived in Vermont for 10 years from age 35 to age 45. Never went to the gym. Instead, I split and stacked would, heating my house with two wood stoves and 10 cords of wood a year for the 10 years. Was never in better shape!
3
I've been lifting weights for 43 years now, starting at 16. Through my 20's and 30's, it was all about the PR (personal record). I'd fudge the form when needed. Go to max? Sure. Play hard, be hard.
At 59, my PR days are long behind me. It's all about keeping the proper form, usually going to 85% max, and staying clear of the injury zone. Weight lifting/strength training is still just as important now, and its benefit over time have become clearly evident.
7
I received four visits to a personal trainer about a year ago as a gift from my son. Had never lifted weights before, though I ran track and played other sports in HS and beyond. I was skeptical but willing to try it, because I had spent part of 2017 with a leg/hip injury that prevented me from sitting in a chair for more than two months (I knelt and leaned into an armrest to watch TV, and stood for 8 hrs at work, which was exhausting).
After the initial sessions, during which I realized how fragile I was compared to others in the studio, I let my procrastinating tendencies alone and continued on once a week, while getting some old weights from a friend (and a Bosu ball). Nine months later, I joined a gym, by then armed with the proper techniques and enough self awareness to know my limits so I could avoid injury. I can still tweak something with either bad form or too much enthusiasm when I set the bar weight, but can usually stop, then recover in a few days.
A year out, I can attest as many have here to the benefits, especially since I thought at one time that I was going to be walking around on eggshells, wondering when my back/hip injury would resurface. There really is no substitute for feeling healthy.
5
I've been lifting weights since I was sixteen; I'm 71. And, like the writer, there was a long period when improvement, meaning more weight, higher reps, more weight, etc. was the goad. But that went away long ago. The weights I can handle are nothing like what I could when I was younger. But I still work hard, maxing out, through workouts that last an hour and a half or so. Once the goal was getting stronger, then appearance, now quality of life and health and not getting overweight. What has remained consistent over all these years is the doing: a regular routine that is familiar, satisfying, and undoubtedly good for me. I also bike and row and snowshoe and, for decades, ran and swam. Mixing it up has been important to keeping it going. But weights have been the constant. I've always belonged to a gym and now belong to three. I show up, do the work, and leave the better for it. I may drop dead tomorrow, and so be it. You can't avoid death, but you can maintain quality of life. Weights help a lot.
7
@zelda
This is my husband, not me. You need to put a gun to my head to get me to a gym.
2
Yep. All true.
In my seventies, I've been lifting and pushing every other day for fifty-odd years. I am a grand old man at the gym, one who gets respect from the kids. It's a warm feeling in a cold world.
14
Great article! I go to the gym twice a week (Saturday and Sunday) and wish I could go more often. It's hard to explain to people but it is entirely addictive. I just wish I had a training partner for things like bench press, which do require assistance. Although I have tried to incorporate other aspects of strength building to my routine from cross-training I mostly 'do' weights because I enjoy it.
2
I added weightlifting to my marathon training this year. I ended up running a big personal best and qualified for the Boston Marathon by a comfortable margin. There were other factors that helped me as well: more miles, more hills, longer tempo runs. But building up my strength undoubtedly helped me get through all of the running without injury. I also ran a road mile earlier this year and beat my mile time from high school. I'm in my mid-30s, so I don't take any fitness gains for granted!
4
Excellent. I’m mid 50s now. Two big injuries and surgeries set me back. But the injuries were from trying to do too much. CrossFit. Running. Trying to be 28 not 48.
Now I’m back in the gym. Lifting three times a week. (Wednesday’s are light days). Monday’s and Friday’s for gains. If I miss a day I count it as rest. At 54 rest days are like gym days, maybe even more so. Important.
But the numbers in my notebook weight x reps x sets are prayer beads. So glad I found the bar.
This piece is well written.
2
Lots of fine words to describe what every rancher, farmer, hod carrier or truck mechanic knows. After a day of work; lifting, twisting, stretching to reach an out-of-reach bolt does keep one fit. We usually celebrate with a beer or two, eat hearty and well, and have a pretty clear idea of what tomorrow stacks up to be. After a day of hard work, one does feel satisfaction, but no one I know spends much time dwelling on it. A lot of us , who don't spend much time in front of mirrors have long known there is "work" strong and "gym" strong. Trust me, active, real "work," makes one stronger. And we never have to ask , "why," as we carry a heavy roll of barbed wire and throw it in the back of of a wagon or pick-up.
7
I shall definitely incorporate shifting heavy barbed wire into my city-based workout. Country strong here I come!
2
While you are no doubt correct, “work strong” and “gym strong” both have the word “strong” in them. That is what’s most important, for while I can join a gym, I can’t join a ranch.
well written, thank you
lifting is a never ending search for the "sweet spot" for each weight and routine
enough to make the muscle work hard but not too much to injure it
I cannot imagine life without lifting 3 times per week
1
I love this article. There are not many positive articles for weight training these days with the majority of pieces focused on running and various derivations of cardio. While, I believe that it has it's place in the tools of fitness there is nothing in my opinion as fulfilling as moving weight. Too be strong is a amazing thing; anyone can be strong. Strength doesn't discriminate. Strength doesn't care if you are male or female or LGBTQ or old or young or if you have a disability or a chronic condition. Strength only cares that you show up and unleash it from it's prison. You don't have to look like the Rock or a fitness model to feel strong. Feeling strong is as individual as the person. Just moving through life with a fluidity that is supported by knowing that you can lift, move, carry, push, pull with ease is a beautiful thing. Physical strength becomes mental strength.
I see more and more people moving weight especially women. It's great to see the ladies out there dead lifting and squatting!
8
It sounds like the writer is in his 20s or 30s. Yeah, that's a super time for working out and being fit. 40 plus that all changes. Especially 50 plus, and every subsequent decade after. It all gets exponentially harder. Injuries heal a lot slower. You become more concerned about cardio, losing weight, flexibility and simply maintaining strength.
Those are the things I focus on - I work out every other day 4 times a week. I don't do upper and lower body days anymore. I circuit train with Nautilus for strength and tone, but the main focus is on cardio and strength from rowing on the Concept 2. When the joints and such start to go it's also exponentially harder to maintain the desire to workout to begin with.
5
Yes, this is also true in the Traditional Martial Arts. George Leonard trained in Aikido and became a great teacher of Aikido even though he started at the age of 48.
Transformative experience for it’s
own sake- essentially yes. Marks week to week, gets me out of my head, taps into something primal, forms a cornerstone of discipline in the rest of my life, earned with literal sweat and pain.
I only go to the gym to round out my workouts. Because I have very specific athletic goals (40 mile open ocean, human powered paddling) I know exactly what it is for. I ask the same question the old man does of all the primpers at the gym, who only leave to flex their muscles in front of another mirror. Why not do something with that body? But they don't. It is the ultimate exercise in vanity.
While I applaud your personal goal, it does not make any greater deal of sense than the routine outlined in this article. What does paddling 40 miles accomplish for anyone beyond yourself, for humanity or innovation or any other broader purpose you allude to? You may achieve personal satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment; others may get there through any number of other activities including lifting weights, increasing their numbers, perhaps on things like deadlifts, clean and jerks etc (some of which are Olympic events and not just ‘vanity’ exercises). Find the thing you like to do, and then do it often. No judgment here.
2
I am a 71 year old man who has lifted weights for 45 years. I am the happiest, and most energized, after a lifting routine. While necessary for heart health, my aerobic workouts produce the opposite result- fatigue. I am told I look 15 years younger than my age, which I attribute solely to weight lifting. I am the least happy when circumstances prevent me from lifting for several days. Even now, where my age prevents me from increasing weight, I strive to maintain levels, at least for as long as possible. Weight training is wonderful for both the mind and body.
12
Our bodies require external resistance to maintain our structural selves.
Deprived of resistance; muscles, bones, fibers, and cartilage atrophy.
The combination of muscle, bone, and cartilage loss results in a state of fragility, weakness, and deformity called "old age".
It's not a "Zen" adage; it's a medical condition
4
Tending my large yard four all year does all this for me. Mowing, raking, pruning, cutting back ivy encroaching from the adjacent yard, digging up baby oaks and maples, turning the compost pile, dragging around and reeling up 75 feet of hose, weeding the patch of tomatoes...it's exercise for the whole body and a form of meditation. And it's a social to thing too. Chickadees, robins and especially catbirds accompany me as I work, except when I'm mowing the lawn.
My recovery days are those when it rains or snows or is colder than 35 or hotter than 85.
And I have a vase of fresh flowers that change seasonally from April through October.
10
Agreed that gardening is a wonderful type of workout. I too spend many hours in our 1/2 acre property. Simply being outdoors and being physical is rewarding. Then top it off with a beautiful series of gardens and spaces to enjoy is another reward with our 4-season weather.
I just turned 65 and have always played basketball; still do but down to 1 day per week. Got introduced to yoga and Pilates by my wife and we do those classes together.
Do light weight lifting at our Community Center.
Another exercise source is walking our 2 chihuahuas w my wife - plus a good way to catch up on goings on in life.
1
I joined CrossFit at the Reebok headquarters in Boston. I’ve learned it’s a similar and complementary discipline to my intense work life. First panic than slow progress, challenges, plateaus and something I didn’t think would come, elation. I was never an athlete, and at 63 I’m working out with some of the most elite athletes in the world. They and the coaches have more than welcomed me into their community, been unfailingly kind and encouraging. I’m 63, the oldest person in the gym who does CrossFit. Last night I did 70 pull ups. I can’t believe this is me.
14
I was an obese child... went on the “program” at age 14. Started lifting weights... the sand filled ones.. lost 40lbs. Became an athlete, wrestling, now singles and doubles tennis. I’m still in the gym everyday lifting. Part of my life that has instilled, discipline, structure, healthy life
choices, including diet. I’m 68 I’m and starting to ponder the old adage. “If I knew I was going to live this long I wouldn’t have taken such could care of myself”
4
My local, small town gym. It’s kinda ratty, as a good gym should be. Lots of morning regulars, older locals chatting and working on their balance and kidding each other for bad parking jobs. But this plain gym has heavy things to pick up and put down again. Which is the point. I used to lift and then stopped. A couple decades later I got a hip replaced. The surgeon said, “You should lift weights.” I thought, “Huh. Good idea.” So I started again. Haven’t looked back. As someone else here has said, it’s meditation with physical benefits. I’m stronger. I have more endurance. I recover faster from big days. It’s not boring at all, this paying attention to proper movement and making sets of muscles work. And the regulars grill me if I miss a session. We watch out for each other. It’s grand.
7
I appreciate the article. I did my Masters thesis on a mindful strength training practice, and still incorporate much of the philosophy of training--both mind and body--in my work as a relationship therapist. Developing our emotional tolerance is very like training our bodies, and is critical to our ability to have healthy relationships. Thanks for sharing!
3
I started lifting weights in 1977 when I was in 8th in an effort to prepare to try out for HS football. Someone told me I was strong, so I should go play football. I knew nothing about football and I wasn't terribly athletic. I did make our very competitive team, though I got very little playing time. But I continued to lift and I made great progress. I love lifting weights, the routine, the gym and the people. I never considered it a sport per se. I always thought part of the reason why I did it was because I'm not otherwise athletic. Still I realize all the great physical, mental and emotional benefits of lifting. I have suffered injuries over the years, but ultimate have gone back. I'm now 55 and still enjoy it. I very much enjoyed this article.
3
A well written article whose derived meanings,
in everyday coping, adapting and functioning is
much needed today, in our alt-fact created,
anti -truths realities.
Consider: “ Fail better” as an additional daily personal “risk” choice.
2
Weight lifting helped me when I was suffering from deep anxiety a few years back as it required me to stopped worry, focus on my movements, feel my muscles work and taught me to learn to be present while lifting. This sport was able to translate into my everyday life and has helped me cope with my anxiety on a daily basis. Weight lifting is my medicine and will be always.
9
I did CrossFit before, and weightlifting now (with some CrossFit mixed in here and there), and I find my favorite part of the day is spending time in the gym with my friends, just lifting the weights. They don't talk back, they don't judge, they just let you be and meet you where you are that day. I'm in my mid-30s, I have a 250lb dead lift (chasing 300), a 205lb back squat, a 150lb bench and I'm hungry for more. The goals and the hard work, continuous improvement feed something in me that's tough to get anywhere else.
Love this article!
6
Definitely kinetic meditation for me; not sport. Sports, especially team sports are a level of integration and socialistic fellowship that the individual sports (ex. skiing, weightlifting) don't give me. Weightlifting is how I train for the other sports and to alleviate stressful thoughts. It works as well as yoga and is a great alternative.
2
Brad thanks for this fantastic article! I began strength/weight training over 30 years ago and am still at it today! (I'm a true ectomorph so no bulky muscles just definition!)
In terms of mood and energy, something almost magical occurs after a great weight training session! This is the quote that got me started and keeps me going:
"All parts of the body, if used in moderation and exercised in labors to which each is accustomed, become thereby healthy and well developed and age slowly; but if they are unused and left idle, they become liable to disease, defective in growth and age quickly."-Hippocrates 400 bc
7
I discovered the joy of weight lifting in 1971. I was 20, female and struggling to define myself in a male dominated world. It gave me the strength both mentally and physically to fight, exceed expectations and feel good about myself. I’ve put the barbells down a few time but not for long. Three businesses, two husbands, and four grandchildren later, I’m still lifting weights, with a smile.
12
I'll be 69 at the end of next month and I started lifting weight and training consistently when I was in my early 30's because of a back injury. I was never very athletic, big boned or naturally strong. Well, after over 35 years of lifting weights, I look younger, feel better and can functionally do more than those who do not exercise regularly. The gym is a an environment where I see many of the same people regularly and it's sometimes my principal social interaction for the day. It is definitely one the main communities in my life. I just want to keep my body in condition so that I am not limited in the activities I choose to do, whether it is strapping on a backpack to travel the world, go on a 20 mile hike (not too many of those) or simply stack wood. Any day that I go to the gym is a day I have done something just for myself and that, even subconsciously, gives me a good feeling. Right now, I am in Buenos Aires for 2 months and, while I am not watching my diet as carefully as I do at home, I joined a really good gym and will be heading out to it after reading the rest of the NYT online. Life is good!
9
I like to chop wood; running a saw and cutting rounds and moving them to then split with a mail and then further split with a good axe is very Zen like. the satisfaction of burning wood that you harvested, split and cured is extraordinary. Plus I have a really solid handshake.
5
I thought this article would be about the very real satisfaction one can get from tasks like stacking wood, moving loads of stone or compost and other tasks that are often thought to be dull and onerous.
I did get a chuckle over the term "farmer's carry", and "solid, upright posture for between 30 and 60 seconds". Most of the things I have to move take a lot longer than a minute to move, and most of the older farmers I know aren't all that upright anymore. There's a reason we use wheelbarrows and, if we are lucky, front end loaders :)
6
Farming or working the land to provide for your own needs involves strenuous exercise. Assuming farmers are niot using lots of mechanized equipment, they tend to be strappingly healthy humans.
Humans who live "off the gird" and homestead have chosen to discover sustainable ways of self-sufficiency. When you realize the actual cost of having a "luxury", you strip life down to bare essentials to limit the work needed. Then you can add "luxuries" as your ability to work more allows.
Modern humans living in cities are disconnected from all the tasks and work it takes to create food, clothing and other of life's basic needs. Spending even a little time where you create those needs is humbling AND rewarding. Eventually when you do the math, you realize that you do not need that much to be happy. Of course, our current marketed capitalistic economy does not want you to do that math, but you should.
When a person does an analysis of what they need versus what they may seem to want, and experience the effort involved in solving those needs (e.g. - chopping wood for warmth), you can become healthier in the long run. Healthier in that you pare down your wants. Also you become physically and mentally healthy because you learn what you can achieve to become self-sufficient.
5
I've been weight training for at least 25 years. None of my friends join me but it's OK. This is my thing. I'm 75 now, and I've never had a joint replaced as my friends have and I like having strong calves and good muscle tone in my arms. I'm convinced regular weight training helps reduce inflammation and revs up the immune system. I hope to weight lift for another twenty years. It's the fountain of youth for me.
21
I loved this article. I've tried to explain to my sister, who never exercises, why I love lifting weights. It's because it is the only thing in life where the results are completely up to me. If I put in a certain amount of time and effort, I get the results I want. Nothing else in life is like this. The author is the first person I've heard who says so too.
It is immensely satisfying to have this one activity that is entirely mine, and where success doesn't depend on my colleagues, or my editor, or my students, or other people's opinions—or anyone else at all. And every single activity is so much easier when you're strong. My resting heart rate is so low I can barely feel it.
I transformed my body and my life by lifting weights. After I was diagnosed with MS years ago, it became even more important. With consistent lifting, which is a meditative experience that leaves me feeling peaceful and euphoric, I can honestly say that I have never felt (or looked) better. I am stronger and fitter and calmer than I was in my 20s. And I'm middle aged with a chronic illness.
If you're young, take my advice. Start lifting now. It is the biggest gift you'll ever give yourself.
23
Resistance training for health & fitness (as opposed to a competitive sport) is about challenging muscles & joints in a way they respond to positively. That is less about numbers & more about control & sensation (quality over quantity). If you're listening to your body it will let you know when to stop.
6
At 70 1/2 after two hernia operations, recent kidney surgery and a degenerated disk in my back, I can't carry heavy weights, but resistance exercises focused individually on as many muscle groups as possible is the one thing (aside from swimming a half mile every day) that is attenuating the decline of my body.
9
As a 61 year old competitive powerlifter who has competed in three world championships, I can attest to the benefits of weightlifting to one of my age . Physically, as well as spiritually. You alluded that is you against the bar , my life long nemesis . My oldest teammate is almost 90 btw. He competes against the young 70-79 year olds as there is no age group for 80-89 .
9
I weight lift at home. Keeps me from over doing, just to keep up with the Jone's. Some days are good, some are OK. I lift as much for my mental clarity as for any muscle gain. It perks me up and makes me ready for the day.
4
I am a personal trainer with a small gym I run with my wife. Most of my clients I've had for years. They come pretty faithfully 2 or 3 times a week. Though, of course, sometimes they don't. They get busy. They get tired. They get lazy. They travel, for business and pleasure. But what I notice is this: the more they come, the more they smile. The more they come, the happier they same. The more they come, the higher they hold their heads. I am a writer by trade and a trainer by avocation and experience has taught me exercise, using your body, stressing your muscles, perspiring, getting your heart rate up makes people happy. It makes them strong and confident. And if it also makes them healthier, that's a bonus. Man, and woman, was not put here to sit around on their duffs.
17
@Bill Simpson You said it! I agree with every word.
1
Great article. Thank you. I’ve lifted for 30 years. As I get older, I enjoy the focus that clears my mind. I enjoy the adrenaline rush of a heavy lift, and the danger of a blown joint or coronary lurking around the corner. Feeling strong boosts my confidence and makes daily tasks easier. The pain, risks, and challenges make me feel alive. No other form of exercise does that for me.
1
Thank you, it aptly describes the dedication to craft, necessary to allow oneself to live a fuller, more alive, and joyful life, independent of anyone else's input. It's an inside job, an unlimited possibility as you allude to, which gives us a better way to live in these finite bodies of ours
I am a painter of pictures, a solitary vocation, one which is entirely contingent upon one's often slow steady progress towards a vision hidden inside of oneself and developed over a long time. No one else is required for this process. The audience is also secondary. The divinity lies in each new day of the work ahead, the painting in my own case, and this, is the never-ending gift. You describe the work of all poets, writers, and musicians. among so many others. Ever stop and watch an old mason repairing a stone bridge in Venice? You describe his craft perfectly.
8
I first started lifting weights nearly 30 years ago at a time in my life when several challenges seemed nearly insurmountable and pushing and lifting the weight offered a kind of mental control and challenge that gave me independence, autonomy. Eventually I made my way through challenges and great change came to my life which ended up meaning that I needed the increased strength and endurance for the immense challenges. I went from being a middle-aged lifter to being an "old" guy still lifting and confronting life.
7
pix?
1
The article is well written and has great insights. But how is this news?
2
This is called “good news.” It’s almost unrecognizable. Glad I found it.
2
Thank you
1
I’m a personal trainer in San Diego, and I could not have stated the joys and challenges faced by me and my clients more eloquently. I am 67 and work mainly with people “of a certain age. “ Regular motivation is required to get them beyond plateaus and to new levels of achievement, but arriving there is a huge confidence builder that carries over into other domains of their lives. Thanks for this very thoughtful article.
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Hey, Bob. Put your clients together in a small class. You’ll be impressed at how they motivate each other. (I speak from experience as lifter and coach.)
2
Weight lifting makes the sound of one hand clapping.
1
Fact of the matter, I lifted heavy things most all my life. wasn't much 'Zen' in it.
Now, I fly radio control model airplanes....er, well, mostly crash them, because I'm not a very good pilot,,,but I'm here to tell, there is more 'Zen' in toy airplanes than you can shake a stick at,, and I took pictures of smashed aircraft at sunset to prove it!
I'm with Jack LaLanne, who said "I hate working out. Hate it. It's a pain in the gluties. But I like the results."
Guy died at 96 a physical specimen, when his immune system couldn't fight off pneumonia.
4
I started lifting about a year ago, at 57, to support my fencing (as in en garde not around the yard). There is such amazing joy in picking heavy things up and putting heavy things down. I now back squat and dead lift 240 at age 58. I have learned how to snatch and clean and jerk (not well, but I do it.) It is challenging. It is all consuming. You must be in the moment with what you body is doing. So amazing.
3
Weight training for us old guys means trying to hold chaos at bay.
2
I ran a gym, weightlifted, and did violent Japanese karate for which we had to learn Zen. I had known Zen since eight. It involves focus such as focus only one this one paralyzed muscle, move it (yes, I've cured paralyzed people). Zen is used for sleep: blacken your mind, breathing lightly with the diaphragm. It is similar to aspects of raja yoga which I studied with a guru (for free, as expected). In weightlifting, one works with inapposites: biceps/triceps is the easiest way to understand. There is no breaking through. Only time and blacking out the mind to let the lifting occur by focus or even without as the Zen or raja takes over. As for abs, sit in a V shape and have someone else trained in violent karate hit your abs with the sharp end of bamboo. No pain. Broken bones do not matter. As for push-ups, flat hand, knuckles, or front two knuckles and have someone heavy sit on you. Then do the push-ups, back straight. No pain. When I ran the gym for six years I watched personal trainers teach terribly. But look at their bodies: huge biceps, small triceps and forearms; thin calves, large thighs; no lats or neck muscles. They did not know muscles. Everything and everyone are solely involved as 'spas.' One day, outside a yoga center, this fellow appears to say discount today to $600 for one year of raja yoga and you get a certificate. I went into some dojos: all hopping around. No 500 special punches per arm to warm up. So I know a fat man and after five years of training, fat.
I've been lifting weights since I was a teenager. After a terrible car accident and subsequent back injury, I lift to keep my back and body strong. I also love what it does for my overall health and mental fitness.
Everyone has to find the exercise they love, or at least are willing to do frequently. Then, just do it and don't ask why. Enjoy the benefits and the boost to your sex drive. Yes! Those endorphins will kick in and you will reap the benefits.
6
Get yourself a copy of the old Bob Hoffman daily dozen
I started with that when I was 13 ( later became a competitive lifter and coach ) and now over 50 years later am back to basic weight training
I miss the old gyms like Fritches in Phila., Mid City in New york and the old York Barbell Club
Just hard workers- No music, no drugs ( or obvious drug use anyway ) and no posers
4
15 year old girl here. I’ve been training consistently for about 1.5 years. Weights have helped me accept my body after dealing with anorexia, as well as adding structure and a sense of achievement to my life. It’s also illuminating to be part of a very masculine culture — I’m always the only girl at my school gym, not to mention the only one deadlifting 90kg for 5 reps. My friends are always surprised to hear that I weightlift 5x a week, but it’s truly a lifestyle, not a means to an end.
241
I am so glad that you shared this. As a young woman in high school and college, I struggled mightily with anorexia. Now I'm 35 and I've started lifting weights for the first time. Lifting weights has done more for me than 20 years of therapy and nutrition counseling combined.
It's truly wonderful that you've found something that brings you such confidence and peace at age 15 - you have wisdom beyond your years. I wish you all the best for your continued recovery.
48
@Sonja I hope you'll be able to keep at it and continue to find fulfillment in the hobby! And wow, a 90 kg deadlift is no small feat, especially considering your age. :-)
8
@Sonja power lifting and strength training are, in my opinion, something that I’ve seen be so spiritually transformative for many young women I’ve met.
I’m so glad to hear it has had a positive impact on your life!
10
I started lifting in college because it was hard yet mentally relaxing. I was the only woman in the free weight area. I used to read those crazy Wilder weight lifting magazines to create a workout for myself. Remember those? I’m in my late forties now and have been back at it for the past few years. It’s awesome. I’m strong, curvy and have excellent balance. Give it a try if you’re curious. It’s a completely healthy way to maintain movement, strength and cross body balance. And specifically directed to women in midlife, I’ve never gotten bulky, just toned - currently squatting 150 lbs - 3 sets of 5 reps. It’s important to fatigue your muscles when lifting, so no matter what you do make sure that rep number five physically challenges/stresses your muscles.
70
@HS Many, many years ago, I raked Charles Atlas' leaves at Point Lookout, NY. "The World's Most Perfectly Developed Man." He was old school "dynamic tension."
2
@HS - I don't think you meant "Wilder" - I think you meant "Weider," i.e., Joe Weider. I read 'em too. They were very helpful and instructive.
2
I have a son with cerebral palsy. I started weightlifting when he was still young to stay ahead of his weight. He’s twenty-two now, and more to the point, 110lbs. He still can’t move on his own. I’m still able to help him move. Years of deadlifting have kept me able to keep live-lifting without injury to either of us.
I’m not young and someday my back will tell me the party’s over, but I’m pretty sure my son and I owe weightlifting for our good luck so far.
53
@David Good on you!
7
In July 1981 at an intensive Russian language program in Bloomington, IN, a professor asked a group of students if any of us would like to go to the gym and learn to lift weights. Three of us tagged along and, truly, it was one of the best invitations of my life. Three years earlier, a dear friend from high school came home from college with a svelte physique, excluding confidence and joy. She offered to teach me how to run - another one of the most life-enhancing invitations of my life. Twelve years ago, a next-door neighbor inspired me to take up yoga, adding the perfect balance to the lifting and running. Each has brought tremendous discipline, fluidity, insight and peace of mind, not to mention mental, social, spiritual and physical strength and endurance. Thank you for sharing a beautiful homage to this graceful activity!
186
I decided to strength train after having my daughter and discovered one day I couldn’t lift her as a toddler and a small bag of groceries at the same time. I had been practicing only yoga and running at that point and it was a wake up call. I decided to start strength training and never looked back. Now I can pull nearly double my body weight off the floor, do numerous unassisted pull ups, push-ups and hip thrust 2.5 double body weight for reps. Weight training is far from mindless- it consistently demands your full attention and effort. And there’s no instant gratification. I agree with other commentators that getting stronger is only beneficial, especially when you practice some mobility. I can’t imagine life without it now.
105
@Expat CA Lifting demands full attention if you use free weights, not the pulley systems. I have lifted since the 60's. Like the writer, I think of weight lifting as me and the bar.
1
I am past 80.
I enjoy going on a hilly walk (the more uphill the better) for an hour, playing with a 10 Lbs weight in each hand
It does wonders for my back, my legs and my posture.
Yes, I chop wood. I write this from a from a room heated with wood I cut and chopped
But I find working out with weights does more for me
155
@Matt 70 and I agree
11
@Matt Matt, check the book: "Heavy Hands" which goes into the benefits of your hand weights when walking, etc and suggests different ways of using them. Be careful of overstressing muscles tying the elbow together. Good luck.
I've weight-trained pretty consistently for 30+ years. I don't use any sort of "competitive" attitude during the activity - it's mindful, self-contained, almost meditative. I don't use arbitrary goals (bench-pressing X pounds, etc). I track my progress, but only with a goal toward improvement.
Interestingly, I've found that the experience of a training session bears a fair similarity to a session of yoga. Working with weights productively for a long period of time requires knowledge and thoughtful consideration of personal physical weaknesses, good judgement about how far to push and when to stop pushing. Safety demands a close focus on the activity - you need to avoid allowing mental focus to wander, maintain good form, etc. Spending 60-90 mins in this mental space leaves me feeling similar to the sort of calm mental state that a similar duration of my personal yoga routine would.
Also, it's difficult to describe how much EASIER almost every physical activity seems when you posses overall greater strength.
I personally don't consider weight-training to be a "sport" as others here have labelled it. It's more of a personal wellness practice for me.
110
@StatBoy I’m right there with you, weight training is my meditation, I cannot do typical meditation but when I’m lifting I’m in my zone, shut out everything else
2
This is a wonderful article. I was sixteen when I graduated from high school (1959). I was skinny, weak, and afraid I might be drafted into the military and I could hardly do a single pushup. I joined the local YMCA and started lifting in a dingy basement weight room. I did that religiously for 3 years after which I had a power lift total (dead lift, squat, bench press) of 1500 pounds. I even entered a power lift competition. Weight lifting changed my life. I was no longer afraid and got the confidence that I could do anything if I set my mind to do it. I eventually went to college and got a Ph.D. Never did get drafted, instead I became a Vietnam protester. I am now in my late 70s and although I can no longer use free weights due to vision and balance problems, I am in the gym most days and use machines.
125
@Robert at 87, similar problems with vision and balance. Machines are a good alternative. I suggest you work on all muscles which stabilize the pelvis, including add/abductors on lateral/medial sides of the femur. The pelvis is the fulcrum of movement and essential to movement/balance. As we get older, the importance of this increases due to potential of falls. Good luck.
1
Weight training changed my life. I’ve always done aerobic activity and loved it. However, weight lifting quite literally saved me when my marriage fell apart, and I had to pick up the pieces (and some heavy stuff) while caring for my sons without a partner by my side. Feeling powerful physically, for me, translated into emotional strength. Keep lifting, people!
138
Your life sounds like mine. Good luck
5
Right on man me too
1
@Livia Franca Me too at middle age. My parents were sick, I was going through a divorce, lost a job I loved because of a recession. Weight training was the only thing I could control. The gym trainers commented on how much more relaxed I looked when I was leaving, than when I arrived. Aside from muscle growth, my breathing (ex smoker) improved too.
2
Little old lady here (well, 71, 125 lb). I've been lifting weights since 1982, with varying levels of motivation. I love the focus that free weights demand, the pleasure of finding everyday activities easier than they used to be, and the pride of having good form even if the weight is nothing to brag about.
179
@Rosie Redfield I love your point about form. It almost feels like dancing. It's a very powerful feeling; disciplined in an empowring way.
3
@Rosie Redfield
"...the pleasure of finding everyday activities easier than they used to be..."
Amen! I posted earlier, but after reading your comments, Rosie, I want to add that my wife - now 67 - every time she lifts a full carton of heavy cat litter at the supermarket, or takes a 40 bag of dog food out of the shopping cart to put into the back of the car - says: "Thanks, Joe!" Joe is our trainer at the gym we have been going to - together - for the past almost 10 years. Yes - everyday activities are easier for sure!!
5
@Rosie Redfield Good point about the weight.
I am 63. Been lifting since I was 14. Doing something 7 days a week. I have virtually the same muscle mass I did when I was 35. When I’m in the gym, it’s the best part of my day.
131
@Michael Bachner - Me too, Michael, and coincidentally at the exact same ages, 63 and 14. Lifting is life.
1
When you'd lifted weights for almost 8 years - after starting at age 60... Then you had two abdominal cancer surgeries a year apart; both followed by a couple months of chemo and such... Then you were finally "allowed" to go back to lifting weights...and are now finally getting back to your pre-cancer "plateaus"... You don't ask "what's it for?" You don't ask how long you'll need to spend getting comfortable there. You just keep lifting weights.
205
@Ted
You're a better man than I , Gunga Din. Great letter and so true. It's so simple and so effective. For me, it shuts down the intellectual thought chasing and panic. I just do the routine and keep my focus on what I'm doing right at that time.
I'm also a rower, a sculler. In the boats we have a saying: "Just shut up and row."
It's pretty simple and like the weights, it's very effective. You're and inspiration to me, Ted. Just got a prostate biopsy with bad results. I shut down my mind and lift, row, and live. Thanks for the letter Ted.
I’m in my 70’s and have been lifting regularly for many years. The yin and yang analogy is important as one ages. I have to accept that I cannot lift as much as I did as a younger person and I must subordinate my pride. There is also evidence that, if you miss a session or two that a six minute workout ( reps to failure ) has benefits as well. My centenarian mother used to say “ first you don’t , then you can’t”. Keeping lifting, baby.
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I am female and enjoy training with free weights more than any other form of exercise. Properly done, weight training forces you to concentrate on your breath and focus your mind like a laser on the very specific muscle(s) you are trying to engage. It has a rhythm of life.
After a good workout with weights it is a joy to feel the fatigue and then watch over time as the muscles rebuild, stronger and stronger each time. Between you, the weights and dedicated time you can transform your body.
Mentally, the benefits stay with me long after the workout.
In short, it is a meditation with physical benefits.
317
@DMurphy OK, I'm inspired. I'm off the the gym!
15
@DMurphy Worcester MA represent. I'm a greendale Y regular myself
2
I totally get it. I like cycling not for health, but because I like pushing myself. I think most who stick with physical exercise do it for reasons beyond health.
5
I am so grateful for this article. it articulates what I have never been able to explain to friends and family. Since i don’t speak Spanish very well, I don’t have a lot of give and take with my gym mates. But I also know that it helps just being together with others who are lifting. I also appreciate the comments by others on this thread who are in their 70’s, like me. Glad to see I’m not the only one.
7
Weight training teaches you the danger of the ego. Make yourself more important than the weight; more important than steady progress and technique; and convince yourself you're the big man of the gym, and the iron will beat you every time. All injuries I've had while lifting have happened when my ego was doing the lifting.
12
As I age (78) I find I have to work harder to maintain my strength and no matter how hard I work I still am losing muscle mass. Does that stop me from trying? The short answer, no.
Like many of my weight lifting friends if I skip a few sessions for some reason (like a trip to Burning Man) my body tells me go get back at it.
13
I didn't see a single comment here complaining that weight training had damaged them, or was bad for them. That tells you something right there. At 73, I lift regularly (and very carefully) and still compete occasionally.
Meanwhile, I have yet to see a smiling jogger.
33
@Alan Dean Foster Smiling "joggers"? Just hang out at the finishing area of any running race. You'll see nothing but happy, smiling, laughing runners. We may look serious while running, but the smiles and joy afterwards lasts for a long time.
6
As long as a person doesn’t get the feel of Zen high from such activity he will not be able to continue long term , actually a lifetime . I can tell as a 71 years old who exercise virtually all my life , running , dumbbell , push ups , expander ...that it is all Zen high for me . Can’t exist without .
11
62-year old weight trainer here. I also cherish the extra benefits of weight lifting that are not necessarily intuitive, such as endorphins and feeling mentally good. The reference to the "same people" at the gym is something to really be appreciated. As we age, friendships -- especially for men -- may be harder to find. My gym friendships don't necessarily extend beyond the gym, but that's OK. They're still real and valuable.
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@Dave I agree with you completely Dave. At 64, most of my friends are gym buddies. I might not know them outside the gym but inside, the morning weight room crowd looks after each other.
7
Why not actually chop wood and carry water? How many people do you know who pay to have their grass cut, leaves cleared (by a noise-polluting machine), snow shoveled ... while also paying to work out at a gym? Turn off the streaming audio, put the phone away and spend that hour or two making your (and maybe an elderly neighbor’s) home and yard neat, clean and functional.
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@Linda Smith That's a great question! It's because the amount of snow they need shoveled is beyond their ability at this time. In the gym they can perform a couple of wood chops with guidance on form to avoid injury and progress to the ability to chop the wood they need at home. The folks at the gym who are strong enough to chop all the wood they need and have the strength and balance to shovel all the snow they need to move are most likely doing it themselves ( and often their neighbors) rather than paying someone. And people who spend all of their time at a desk risk injury if they hop and do those kinds up tasks as their only exercise in months.
11
@nyc-no-more
In my old neighborhood I often noticed that those that left the house with their gym bag to the car had the stakes for snow removal operators. Seems like today it’s work, gym and family time. Chores are not on the priority list or so old fashioned. Just to be clear these were not long winding driveways. Nothing against weights just noting they don’t always translate that energy to daily chores.
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@Linda Smith
Exactly! We seem to snub our noses at manual labor and maybe even the practitioners themselves as a society but ironically trade the pursuit of a faster time or heavier weight as more meaningful. Or something. Interesting for sure.
6
Been doing hand-to-mouth chocolate curls....holiday season and all....Great for anxiety.
11
Thanks for your lighthearted comment!
My father used to scoff at my weight training in the gym, he felt it narcissistic. I have been consistent, as life allows, in cardio training and lifting. Sometimes, especially in these days when darkness falls early, I push myself to go to my gym, same place, same people, same weights. My motivation is knowing that it will not only make me feel better, but I will also gain some mental clarity and perhaps resolution to some issue that is occurring in my life. Now in my mid fifties, I have also seen the long term results of this discipline, I move, look, act, much younger than many my age who became complacent or neglect regular physical exercise.
I do not lift as heavy due to an aortic aneurism that is being closely monitored until it is determined that it be repaired. I have been encouraged by my cardiac team at Columbia to continue weight training and cardio training but avoid and modify certain aspects of my routines. I have had to make a mental adjustment with the help if a certified cardiac rehab trainer, in this area, finding again a balance. One major reward will be that when the surgery happens, my vessel will be in a much better place to make a faster and better recovery. So dear dad my lifting is not due to narcissism, it is for a better balanced life and I too have found the Zen in life long lifting.
27
@JBR
So what if it's narcissistic?
A pat on the back to me and all of my gym rat colleagues for taking some responsibility for their health.
On the whole, do we live longer by dint of working out? That's not clear, but I'd wager that our impact on the Medicare budget is less than that of sedentary people. Times, any studies on this?
5
I’m almost 50 and use dumbbells and a weight machine 3 times a week. I also run 2 to 3 times a week , 10miles during the weekend. I can confidently say that lifting weights definitely helps the running. I recently read an article about body weight exercises and is quite intrigued by it.
12
Go for lighter weights and more reps as you age, PARTICULARLY the shoulders. Choose a weight you can lift for 20-25 reps on your first set. No more than 1 minute between reps so you also incur am aerobic type workout.
ALWAYS stretch 10 minutes before you start lifting.
Never spend more than 50 min to a hour lifting. (so you don't burnout)
Change your routine every 3 weeks. Ask a trainer to recommend different routines.
Get a massage once a week.
7
@Bill Woodson
That sounds like great advice. Now I wish there were gyms where utter novices could go to learn and practice without feeling at a total loss and on display at same time. Weight lifting is an exercise that is crucial to execute well, the first time out.
3
@Bill Woodson As I approach 70 with arthritic knees and wrists, light weights are definitely the way to go. Sets with weights that can be lifted 15-20 reps with sets separated by 60 second intervals works fine. The key, I believe, though, is to lift until the last 2 reps are very difficult. Too many people don’t add that important intensity.
3
@Bill Woodson I like that last one! Good advice, all of it.
A lot of what people like about lifting weight also applies to other forms of exercise. I think the key is to find exercise that you enjoy and will keep doing. Stretching, cardio, strength, core work all have benefits.
17
Much truth in this article. Regular weightlifting always provides a natural physical and psychological balance. I recently suffered an aortic dissection at age 38 and am unable to lift ever again. Despite being alive and relatively healthy, the loss in daily well-being is staggering.
8
@Robert
Get a second opinion. Light weight training -- as opposed to competitive or power lifting -- is almost never contraindicated if it's not actually painful.
5
A great article! Carrying wood-and yes, potable water-is a near daily task. Shovelling snow! I know readers south of the Great Lakes can identify. Tedious tasks, but accomplishment and time to reflect, mirror the author’s observations on weight lifting.
10
Writing, meditation etc. are so much more than meaningful disciplines, and by no means should we treat them like that. I personally find it disappointing that we think that activities like reading are just "good habits" and this is a mere underestimation of their value not only on ourselves, but on everyone. Beyond that, this is a great and inspiring article.
7
@chris
I have re-read this comment a few times and come away completely mystified as to what your point is. Honestly: just say what you mean.
2
Most people who respond to this article have been lifting for years, and even past 'retirement' age.
Interesting that younger lifters didn't respond. (my 2nd comment).
7
@Svirchev
Young people don t read much
2
95 lb. farmer's walk is impressive.
10
So true— so very true. Weight training is a blessing.
10
Great article. I’ve enjoyed lifting weights since I was 12 (I’m now 69) and attribute much of my current good health to it. The comments re plateaus we’re particularly insightful and of nearly universal application (so maybe I’ll go less crazy the next time I miss an easy backhand (tennis being another of my passions)).
7
A thought-provoking piece. Rowing provides the same sensations and emotions, with the added benefit of moving tangentially along the air-water interface; a rower does not think about the weather affecting his performance, but rather how can he adapt his movement, leverage, and angles to the weather.
15
I’m a rower, tennis player, cross-country skier.... I fail when I try to work out without it being a sport. The added inspiration of the world around me is important.
8
I’m a cyclist and I’ll say the same. Peloton is no substitute for being out and experiencing the sensation of actually moving .
6
Strength training with a barbell is not accessible to many in typical gyms that do not have power/squat racks or trainers who can properly instruct. I started barbell strength training over three years ago after an lifetime (I am 72) of a variety of vigorous training regimes when I happened to see a trainer at my gym who was a recent college graduate in a program where they used a book, Starting Strength. He was also a competitive Olympic lifter and taught me the clean and jerk and snatch, as well as proper form for a low bar back squat and deadlift. Starting Strength also has an app that includes each day's sessions, tracking and even videos of the proper form.
Most tell me that I am too old to do barbell training, the sessions of which usually take about an hour and a half due primarily to rest periods between warmup reps and work reps. It happens that with the correct form, which is absolutely essential to remain healthy, low bar back squats (at least to parallel) and dead lifts are therapeutic and have corrected my mis-aligned hips and relieved occasional sciatic pain from a martial arts injury of years ago.
The bar and weight plates are always doing their job so it is up to the lifter to do hers or his. It is very satisfying to gain strength with the proper recovery period between sessions, which for me are 48 hours or sometimes 72 hours. The aforementioned app is my trainer as are the instructional videos on it and the Starting Strength site.
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We all keep our health in different fashions. My +80 year old father runs +20 miles 3 times a week. He's done this every week; since I was a toddler.
I'm 65.
The thought of running repulses me. Too boring. Or maybe it's the usual "anti" reaction of child to anything the parent does. But this doesn't mean I don't keep my health. I do.
I push heavy metal around (and bike) 344 times a week, and do stretching exercises in my off days. I've done all of this for something like forever at this point. The ritual of it is inculcated into my life.
I had to laugh at the title of this op-ed. I've always been more a "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" kind of guy. But the title hooked me in.
I started off pushing the metal partly for the perceived health benefits; but mostly because I thought it made me look good. I was a young man. What can I say? But the older I get the more those two ideas have flip in importance.
Now the grind is more the Zen of maintaining a pace that keeps my body, this vehicle that carries my consciousness around, healthy. In its way it's a pace similar to my runner father. So in this he and I are much the same.
The whole idea now, conscious or not, is maintenance of health. For autonomy purposes first and foremost. And yes indeed, that comes solely from the effort you commit to doing it. A rule truly useful regardless of that which you do.
And so it goes.
John~
American Net'Zen
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@John
Wondering if you meant to write 3 to 4 times a week not 344.
Either way I grew up running and every time I try now 50’s my one knee collapses in pain. I had to give up. They say strengthen the knee so maybe weights helps runners knee go away?
I miss the running high and think your Dad is fortunate to still have his.
4
Soon to turn 60, I’ve been a gym rat for a good 4 decades. I concur with many of the things mentioned by this author. I could however argue that the shiny object we are pursuing in the gym is our muscles and how good we think we look with them- “curls for the girls” if you will. Show me a weight lifter who doesn’t rock those muscles for visual consumption and I’ll show you a golden retriever that doesn’t run.
6
@John
Strength training to me is just that and has virtually nothing to do with appearance. I have been barbell training for several years and except for pull-ups do no biceps exercises. One could do prone upright barbell rows with serious weight if biceps are a big deal. Programmed strength training uses a 20 kg. bar exclusively with weight plates that include micro weights for incremental progress. I have found that barbell training is optimal for my metabolism and is therapeutic for alignment. Low bar back squats done properly, which is to say squatting to at lease parallel, are a full body movement and obviate any need for assistance exercises or isolated abdominal exercises.
I am a serious weight lifter who could care less about "rocking" muscles for visual consumption. If you check out the Starting Strength website that is for serious strength training you will see no people "rocking" muscles for appearance.
6
@Andrew it’s a big world Andrew and I certainly did not mean to point the finger directly to you. That said, I consider myself pretty serious about weight training. I also swim laps and trial run regularly. That is to say I cannot help but be around extremely fit people all the time. And they tend to rock what they got. Peace be with you.
3
@John I"d expand your quote, "curls for the girls, and tri's for the guys"
6
My phyisical therapist (shoulder rehab) has me lifting/"working out" using water bottles - 500ml = 0.5kg = 1 lb, 1L = 1kg = 2.2lb, 2L = 2kg = 4.4lb. If I need to work with 1.5kg, I just dump 500ml out of the 2L bottle. Easy peasy.
I find it more than a little strange that on Saturday's home page, the article about weight lifting is next to an article about electric bikes making mountain biking easier. Which is it??
2
It can be both. My husband, who has had one hip replaced, finds that an electric-assist bike makes it possible for him to get a good workout with no worries about fatigue making it difficult to get home. He also lifts weights. The point is to keep trying to do the best you can, while recognizing that your best at 75 might not be quite what your best was at 45.
12
@NK the article on ebikes is not at all strange and perfectly aligned. As the article notes, electric assist in cycling helps people go farther and faster. It's not a two-wheeled couch. it's just another way of getting around and getting exercise in the way that works.
2
For anyone feeling inspired – the classic book 'Starting Strength', and a good local Olympic weightlifting/powerlifting gym to teach you correct form is a great place to start; depending on goals and injury/health history you can tweak things from there...
Simplicity helps: a 3x5 rep, or 5x5 programme just 2x per week focused on 'the big lifts' (squat, deadlift/RDL, bench press, row) with perfect form, and a handful of accessory movements is suitable for the vast majority of people, at almost any age, and can make an amazing difference to strength, as well as overall mental and physical wellbeing.
I started lifting free weights seriously as a young athlete (cyclist), and while I still ride bikes, the benefits and practice of weightlifting described so well by Mr Stulberg have been one of the great gifts in my life, and given me a thread of continuity through the different phases of my athletic career, and the joy of mastering something important well enough to pass on and teach others. Although after 25-odd years I'm still learning myself... I still lift 2x per week, barring illness, and I'm a much healthier, saner, and better person and athlete for it, even at my own advanced age (late 30's...).
Tracking progress in many sports can be fickle and hard to measure or coach, but as Henry Rollins says "the iron doesn't lie"...
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@R
Yes, Starting Strength is literally the book on strength training. The instructional videos on the site by the same name and the regular podcasts reinforce correct technique.
Too bad the weightlifting gyms are so scarce, at least around Boston. Most gyms do not have power racks or 20 kg. bars and plates, which is a shame when they spend so much money on all manner of machines. Maybe it is an insurance liability concern, as overhead lifts not done properly can be quite dangerous.
3
@Andrew indeed. But I bet there’s a IPF/USA Weightlifting-affiliated club or two around if you look....
It is critical for those new to lifting to get good coaching on technique to avoid injury (and keep one’s ego in check on the loading, at first!), and not a lot of commercial gym personal trainers and CF coaches can’t provide that for the big lifts — surely there are a few good ones, but difficult to know what you’re getting into from the outset; and some crossftters seem to use Olympic lifts as interval training... nothing like 50 heavy-ish snatches in a row to have your form deteriorate and do in your rotator cuff...! Or worse.
On the other hand, there’s really nowhere better to learn the main lifts than than a real weightlifting or powerlifting club. Everyone there will be competent. Squatting and deadlifts/pulls are their bread and butter...
Such a good article. Six months after I started at the age of 42, I returned home to see my mother. Her first words: "When did you get shoulders?"
Part of the reason was reading Arnold Schwarzenegger: the muscle doesn't control the lift, the brain does. When your muscle tells you 'no more' engage the brain and the weight will come up.
The benefits were immense: the shoulders, the posture, the rigor of form, the health benefits, and the mental discipline. The challenger is yourself, not the wight and not the person next to you.
Great article.
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Here's the answer about "what it's for".---- It's a lifestyle. If I have to explain it to you, you wouldn't understand it.
11
Lifting is great. The normal activities of daily life require a much reduced percentage of your total strength as compared to a non-lifter.
Moreover, surgeons like you to be in really good shape before they seriously wreck your flesh.
6
Highly recommend the documentary “Pumping Iron” for anyone who enjoyed this article.
3
I just love lifting! Hard to convince women to go heavy - it pays off. Progressive overload = muscle.
13
Aloha from Hilo Hawaii! The Zen of Weightlifting shows one path towards Optimum Health. Kudos. Would like to share the various paths I have taken to achieve Zen and Optimum Health at 62. Fortunate to secure the exclusive rights to build and sell Soloflex home weightlifting equipment in Japan at age 25. Became involved with selling American exercise equipment to gyms in Japan. 30+ years of exploring different Zen and Optimum Health paths. Fast forward to my birthday at age 54, when I became a CrossFitter. Concurrently received 1000+ hours of yoga instruction. Working with a local medical doctor association we developed the first cooperative gym business in the U.S.. Introduced to Medical QiGong at age 57, and after weightlifting related injuries switched to home practice of 60 minutes per day of QiGong and 10 minutes of high intensity interval training bodyweight exercise for strength and endurance. My level of Optimum Health has both physical and spiritual components now, which I find very beneficial. No need to go to the gym or own equipment plus can do this anywhere at my own convenience. Do miss the community benefits of the cooperative gym and am thinking about how to replicate. Many different paths to Zen and Optimum Health. Kudos to all who are exploring these paths.
4
The Farmer’s Carry came in handy when I walked the block and-a-half from my office to my house with the weights I had ordered online. So totally relative to my real world needs.
8
Thought you'd never get to it: before, after, during. Just this.
3
If the goal is health and mental wellbeing, why is there a need to do any more than pushups, situps, leg lifts, & jumping jacks?
Weight lifting is about building muscle mass - which, in my view, is not different than the goals of cosmetic surgery and makeup.
This is not Zen.
@Bill Wolfe. Do you recognize differences between strength training, functional training and bodybuilding? I think lifters do.
8
@Bill Wolfe - 'This is not Zen.'
'Weight lifting is about building muscle mass' - the body.
Zen is about - the mind.
You can have both - one - or neither.
No conflict necessary.
No mind ? – no matter !
5
Brad, i recently moved to the Olympic Peninsula and have a little property. I need help chain sawing and cutting my wood for the fireplace. You are welcome to workout out at my property any time for free. I even offer a fairly steep hill to carry the wood to my newly built woodshed.
8
@Jzu dude, that’s very funny
Fantastic last paragraph. This is about much more than weightlifting. As a 50 year-old man dedicated to fitness, consistency and persistence have always been the keys to success.
12
Maybe the "what's it for?" meant what useful purpose are you actually achieving? Anyone who lived more than a coupe of centuries ago would look at a person repeatedly hoisting a chunk of iron over their heads and shake their own in disbelief. Just satisfying the most basic of human needs required strenuous physical activity; that's how muscles were built. Chopping wood, drawing up water from the well, pushing a plow; at least you could see the immediate fruits of your labor. One reason so few people exercise is because they, at some level, see the absurdity of exertion without any practical result.
5
@stan continople
The practical result is that you become strong and healthy and lean, and don’t need to spend time and money at the doctor’s office as often. That’s good enough reason for me.
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@GBR
Totally agree. It's well established that both fat and muscle actively secrete various homones. Too much fat (particularly belly fat) and your systemic inflammation creeps up. Muscle has an anti-inflammatory and positive effect on the body.
I recently discovered the website "Barbell Medicine," which is run by two doctors who are power lifters. It's very interesting to hear what actual doctors have to say about the benefits of lifting and increasing muscle mass.
The video below is a lecture by one of them on Sarcopenia (loss of muscle tissue as result of aging), how it affects the body, and puts to rest any claims that there is "no practical result" from lifting. Exactly the opposite is true: muscle mass is associated with better health outcomes. Lack of muscle is a predictor of worse disease outcomes (i.e. death.)
Sarcopenia Lecture with Dr. Austin Baraki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJBqBDZoSvQ
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@GBR
I have no doubt everything you say is true, but my point was that exercise used to be coupled with an actual purpose. The time you spent working was also the time you were exercising; there was no distinguishing the two. Now, after a full day at a numbing desk job,with your soul sucked out of you, you are expected to go to a gym and lift weights. There is only a small percentage of the population that has this dedication.
1
I've done a lot of different exercising (white water kayaking, running, bicycling, stepper, rower, getting into calisthentics.) One thing I really like about weight lifting is the ability to push yourself in small increments but enough to feel it and make progress. If you overdo it on a specific muscle, you recover pretty easily. In things like bicycling and running if you do that you might actually make yourself sick (depress the immune system) and have to layoff altogether for an extended period of time. (OK, yeh. I do have a tendency to push too hard. Too old to change at this point.)
The other thing I'd say is the "Zen effect" of lifting lasts. Back when I was putting in more effort in the gym, if I knew on a given day I was going to spend 2-3 hours in a boring meeting I'd schedule a robust leg and chest workout the afternoon before. Next morning I'd be pretty sore, relaxed, and could easily sit through 15 minutes of substance spread over three hours of blather -- all the while feeling and knowing my body was getting stronger. Relaxxxxxxing.
25
@Paul B - 'the "Zen effect" of lifting lasts'
sounds like dopamine
1
@Frank
I've often thought that, like everyone else, I'm addicted to chemicals. For some people it's chocolate, sugar or fats. For me it's the chemicals my system produces in reaction to exercise (the best kind.)
3
Actually it is more like a dope addiction that will always motivate you . No matter the problems a good sweaty workout solves most of it . At 71 sometimes I am wondering how people can find outlets when life gets tough . Meanwhile a large number of people relying on antidepressants ...
1
I don't know why the author didn't come to his own obvious conclusion: instead of lifting weights, actually carry water, chop wood, and everything else that you currently use fossil fuels to do in your life.
You don't need to go to a gym if you look for opportunities to "work out" in your daily activities. You can even help others to do those things more sustainably. Then you can claim a truly a Zen feeling.
If you need more, there are easy ways to do resistance training to achieve similar results (I do chin-ups at home, for example, to train for rock climbing). Any more muscle than that is unnecessary.
Do it if you want to of course but, sorry, there is nothing Zen about driving to a gym to lift weights. Indeed, "what's any of it for?" Use your lifting to help our planet and other people. Seriously Zen.
9
@kgilford Perhaps he likes lifting weights.
8
A great piece. One point that is omitted is that it really can be a Zen feeling. When I deadlift or have a kettlebell balanced over my head in a Turkish get up, there is nothing else in the world I can think about. It requires total concentration. No room for outside thoughts. Actual zen.
30
@Adam You might want to explain that a Turkish get up is an exercise. Otherwise, some folks might think you go to the gym dressed like Aladdin.
17
@Mark P.
Google it for a video. Turns out that odd maneuver which a lot of young people do at my gym has a name!
1
A lovely piece, thank you.
I am neither a jock nor a lifter but what I can say is that my five years in the lab for my PhD at Caltech, sciencing thereafter, then my three years in law school at UCLA, and lawyering thereafter were one log chopped and one bucket of water carried, one after another, after another, ....
6
I have been weight training for many years now. I spent three and a half working with a personal trainer. When you exert yourself and are pushed beyond the limits that you thought you could handle you experience an endorphin high. I return to the gym 3x a week without question, my body says let's go! The mind is focused and you forget everything else. You have to have good form to prevent injury.
16
Pretty much all of this is true in my experience. One key is consistency- set a schedule and stick with it week-in, week-out. Another is to be realistic about what can be accomplished depending on physical type- a 170# male like myself may bench press 225# but is unlikely to be able to bench press 350# (although I have seen some who have surprised me so there is more to it than size alone) and, short of using drugs, there is a genetic limit to how much muscle a person can add. A third insight is to understand that the "mental" or psychological consequences of trying to do too much may be more likely to derail the best laid plans than the physical. It is both mentally satisfying and exhausting at the same time and it can be easy to justify missing sessions because something more important needs to be done.
Very few people, in my experience, have the compulsive nature to stay with something as demanding as lifting heavy weight over a period of years on a regular schedule. The countervailing demands of "life" tend to get in the way.
6
Well written, thoughtful piece. A favorite idea of mine is that as we go through life and are paying attention we learn, we gain wisdom.
Weight training in any of its many formats has proven to be a significant deterrence to many of the negative physical manifestations of older age. From depression to heart health, from bone strength to muscle strength, weight training offers uncomplicated benefits, if you are paying attention to how you go about it.
I especially agree with the process described of plateaus and progress. This is an important life challenge that our culture very much struggles with. If you can learn it from weights, wonderful. It's there in parenting and in career progress and in the very act of looking at oneself.
Be calm, chop wood and carry water.
6
Mr. Stulberg writes an interesting article. I like a lot of what he writes. There's no doubt that he is a passionate weight lifter.
I've been weight lifting almost every week of my life since I was 15. Only the most severe injuries have interrupted my commitment. Now I'm 68 and still lifting three days a week. In between I walk long distance and do other activities. Fitness has allowed me to live a very active life into older age. It has changed my life in dramatic ways.
The goals and any "objective standards" proposed by Mr. Stulberg disappear from weight lifting sometime after the age of 50. From that time on, lifting involves attempting to stay on the plateau, not to rise above it. The old weight lifter learns to keep going despite injuries that never occurred in younger years. Sometimes you stop an exercise, sometimes you work thru it, other times you modify weight. You get to know your injuries and become accustomed to working around pain, but it's not all bleak. It's just not as satisfying or fun as in younger years. But when you've been lifting for over 50 years, it's part of who you are. Stopping is dying.
Many nights I've gone to the gym when it was the last thing in the world that I wanted to do. In fact, that's the way I feel now. My work out starts in 15 minutes.
26
57 here. I lift handweights regularly throughout the week listening to favorite exercise music and going thru various reps of different type exercises. Makes me feel good and improves my overall appearance, strength, and posture. And except for the weights doesn't cost a dime. Stretch bands can be employed while on the road.
4
I was a personal trainer a few decades back (a strength and conditioning specialist) and I'll add this to a fabulous article:
See a trainer. Don't start lifting on your own, or just follow the routines or advice of friends; we're all different. The more information, structure, and direction you have, the better you'll do.
Cheers, and healthy lifting, all.
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@R Mandl Gifted trainers are worth their weight in gold.
5
Great advice.... I started working with a very capable trainer about ten years ago at age 57... changed my life...focuses on lifting the “right” way...I can’t imagine what I mess I would have made of it without him...if you cannot afford a trainer, there are some excellent videos out there as well.
1
"What's it for?" It's for avoiding sarcopenia, and the frailty that goes with it, the inability to stand up out of a chair that may send you to an assisted living facility. "What's it for?": it's for providing focus, a pursuit of unassailable importance after you have retired and continue to age. Often it's tough to get in the pool, early morning, three days a week, or to focus through lifting sessions the other three days. But, sometimes, those times that I am swimming or working out are the only times that I am at peace, not questioning the value of what I am doing. Seventy now, been running or doing some kind of gym routine for over three decades, and continually grateful that I somehow got on a path to get a bit more out of my head and into my body.
36
I have been weight training for 40 years and have never uttered the words 'lifting heavy'
I will be lifting weights for another 20 years long after the 'lifting heavy' folks have gone onto some other pursuit.
4
@SteveRR Heavy is relative... although, quite right there is more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak, and fairly light weights, and many bodyweight exercises can produce excellent results depending on your rep scheme and overall goals...
But I tend to read 'lifting heavy', as just shorthand for actually doing 'enough' work for the chosen reps.... and certainly not injurious levels of it if you know what you're doing. Rather than, say, just looking busy while watching TV on your way around the Nautilus circuit at your local commercial gym... sigh.
1
@R Indeed, in terms of weight being relative. When I see women using 2 and 5 pound weights for curls I want to ask them why they are even doing it. They aren't 70, 60, or even 40 years old! Heavy for a 30 year old woman in good health might be 10-20 pound curls - and perhaps worth more than going to the gym to be ogled or to ogle, but what do I know?
2
Weight training brings out the feel good endorphins, pride in accomplishment and the organization in my life. Time well spent three days a week. Some guys like cigars for relaxation, I prefer weights and I have more to show for it.
12
...and some people prefer alcohol — in no way does drinking give you the safe effect.
1
Yeah, been there since I was 18 and am now 58. Started off as a runner in HS, then added swimming and weight lifting and still do all 3. All very similar mental aspects and rewards. My personal thoughts on tough days are "you can do this" and "just finish it." Those thoughts seem to get me through the tough days whether it's running, swimming, or lifting. And to Glenn below, yes, I can do 20 pull ups; that's more than 1.
4
That's great to hear Paul.
I wonder if the author and any others who responded to this piece that lift weight can lift their own? I swear by calisthenics and pull-ups and push ups are an excellent measure of one's true strength. I also work out at the Y and very few of those that grunt their way to a successful weight lift fail to pull their own body to a bar above the height of their arms.
2
@Glenn I did just calisthenics for 9 months, and am now transitioning into the gym. I've been lifting heavy weights for a little over a month now, and have interacted with others who go there. I can recommend-by experience- this approach, to master lifting both my own body and external weight. However, I would like to point out the fact that I have witnessed many of these muscle-bound "grunters" busting out strict pull-ups and the like. Not only are they able to move themselves, but they can also lift very heavy weight with admirable form.
4
Couldn’t disagree more. Body weight exercises will make you a little stronger if you’ve never lifted, but mostly become a cardio exercise. Every Y trainer I’ve encountered thinks like you. Truly strong weightlifters lifters can blow through body weight exercises with ease.
8
@Glenn If you lift for several years and cannot lift well above your weight you are doing something wrong.
4
Been weight lifting for about 40 years. I appreciate the author's sentiments but I have to say that a lot of what you see in gyms; people swinging heavy weights back and forth, bouncing the bar off their chest, or carrying a weight as they walk or lunge across the room; is pretty poor exercise. Simple exercises using strict form and smooth movements across a full range of motion are far more efficient and dramatically easier on your joints. Make the exercise as hard as you can as opposed to moving as much weight as you can with lousy form.
20
@Teal Great point, but for many people in the gym, it's a numbers game. The "How much do you bench?" attitude is reflective of our culture where we emphasize quantity and ignore quality.
4
I started lifting heavy after my children were born. More than I thought I was capable of, and far more than some would say is ladylike. Whether it's acquired on a farm or in a weight room, raw physical strength makes you better at life. If you gave me a choice between cardio and weightlifting, I'd elect to lift weights faster.
25
75 years young and have been lifting progressively more weight at the local gym now for almost 3 years. Feel great, don’t look too ridiculously out of shape, and all parts still work. The farmers carry - both symmetric and asymmetric - has been part of my routine. When I finally drop the kettles it feels like my arms are wings.
13
Author clearly doesn’t know what Zen is. It’s not some buzzword to be used however you like and, it has nothing to do with weightlifting.
5
@Thom Meh. No one defintion has to be adhered to, but I understand where you are coming from a bit. Still, a complete and intense mind/muscle connection during extemely heavy, compound, demanding workouts is something I consider "zen". I may be pushing the definition somewhat, but it's extremely helpful to think "zen" when I have 315 pounds on my back!
3
...by you becoming rattled for his use of the word “Zen” in this context and what it means to him, it sounds like you need weight training.
4
Thanks for getting Van Morrison’s song “Enlightenment” stuck in my head with the title of this article! (But perhaps that was the goal of the author...)
1
No matter the chaos around you, 100 kg is always 100 kg.
12
@Andrew It kind of depends on the plate manufacturer. Quite a few have shoddy quality control and the same plate can weigh a kilogram or two (or less) than an "identical" plate made by the same company.
@Andrew as Henry Rollins said in Details Magazine, "the Iron never lies to you". ref: https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/articles/the-iron-by-henry-rollins/
1
@MDB1 thanks for the link, exactly what I had in my mind!
Go to the gym and pick up a barbell. Don't sit on machines or mess around with other contraptions. Just a simple barbell. Put weight on it, and pick it up. It will change your life.
13
@Frank K - I don't drive a car here in Seattle so when I need lumber for a project, I walk to the home center, buy the 2x4's and carry them home. Same with groceries, etc. The kids in the building, i.e., millenials call grandpa "amazing" just because I can walk to the store and back much less carry anything like the big bags of dirt.
But thanks for reminding me of something. I have a bedroom full of dumbbells and I could do quite a nice arm workout sitting at my desk watching NCIS: (insert city) every week. I don't need a lower body workout because I ride a bike as my transportation in this city.
1
This could just as easily be a metaphor for life. Whether you run, hike, or anything else the principals remain the same. I’m happy for anyone who finds their ‘thing.’
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Well said from Someone mostly on the plateau for 40 years now!
4
@BS Spotter
George Leonard(Mastery) advises us to love the plateau.
Cute piece.
Weight lifting in the gym, or ones home is NOT a sport. Sorry Mr. Stulberg, and others, its simply not a sport. Period. I wont waste the words or space belaboring on the obvious whys. Suffice to say, weight lifting of any kind, outside of a competitive stage where there are judges and rules and other athletes - is a method of training. Period. The farmer carries I do in my yard is not me engaged in a solo sport. No more then the miles put in before a race, are race miles. They are training miles, for a race. For the sport of racing, against others.
If such activities were a sport, then training on how to grab, dive or otherwise pull a "flag" off of a garbage can is also a sport, and not a silly exercise in preparation for a flag-football game on Sunday. (Yes, I know a guy who tried the flag-garbage can thing.)
Very simply, weight training is a preparation activity. Used by most athletes, across most sports. Personal bests in the gym, be they with weights or on a treadmill, or the uneven bars in gymnastics - are still just training for a sport activity outside the gym.
Weight training for the non-athlete, which is the majority of people who ever regularly lift a weight - is a means to train their body to do better(often look better) in everyday activities. Hence, a loaded-carry aids people in carrying their kids, their groceries, or anyone doing yard or construction work.
The term says it all; Weight training. Training with weights. Training the body.
3
@Boregard
A full clean and snatch is one of the most beautiful movements in sports.
2
@Boregard Hmmm. And here all this time I thought my powerlifing competitions against other trained powerlifters was a sport! Turns out, it's just a preparation acitvity! All that time training for physiological specificity, overload, balance, and endurance wasn't even needed! I'm always so incredibly relieved when someone's narrow definition gets expanded into a edict by using a faux-definitive writing style with one word sentences and sweeping generalizations. And someone please tell Simone Biles her uneven bar medal was in prep for a "sport activity" outside the gym. She may indeed be relieved of the competitive burden! Dang those medals for an Olympic "Sport"!!!
7
What a lot of rubbish about lifting heavy in these posts! It's all about good form, persistence, sensible training methods -- and not doing dumb, dangerous, machine-based isolation exercises.
It's tiresome to cite oneself but here goes: I'm 72, lifted weights since I was 16 and have never been injured. My power lifting total is 800#. Nothing special there, it's just about showing up most every day.
Oh forgot to mention, I don't have arthritis.
Been powerlifting for 8 years. Totally agree with the articles points. Thanks for writing and NYT for publishing this.
3
Hi Brad,
I think what the older man was asking was why are you spending two hours a day moving stuff around, perhaps because he had first hand experience of doing those things a job or a chore. Obviously our economy is no longer dominated by physically demanding work. Still I will always think of the dairy farmers and machinists I knew growing up who be knocked over to learn that I pay to move heavy steel objects and sit in hot steamy rooms. If you love lifting weights you might have a blast putting up hay for a vacation. Go for it!
4
OK with everything you say... but all of this is rather pointless. People get it or they don't. This is one of those self-evident things such that, as someone famously said, if I have to explain, you wouldn't understand.
Besides, you're kidding yourself if you think there's something so magical about weight lifting. Pretty much everything here could also be written about running or swimming. Or about playing the violin. Or practicing calligraphy.
3
@t I agree. In fact, my reaction to the older man asking "What's if for?" was "If you have to ask ..."
I would say it's more of endorphin like high you get from pushing yourself in a sport than the zen-like calm you need for some types of activity like archery.
Regarding terminology, I think today when people who lift regularly say weightlifting they mean Olympic weightlifting which consists of two very specific lifts, clean and jerk and the snatch. The way the author uses the term isn't totally clear but I think he means it as resistance training, any type of regular training that involves weights or resistance.
2
Thanks Brad, you're right on the money. For me the greatest benefit is the opportunity for objective self assessment. Let the world judge me as it will, but in the gym I learn things about myself that are unassailable. Sixty-nine years old and still eager for the challenge.
6
Try cutting trees for five 5 cords of wood, cutting up the trees, loading the wood into your pickup, unloading it, splitting it, stacking it, digging, planting, and weeding in the garden, taking care of animals, building sheds, and building and repairing fences. And walking in the woods, canoeing on the rivers, and taking nice long naps. And reading, lots of reading. Who needs to lift weights?
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@Dick Koubek
"Who needs to lift weights?"
Well, someone who has a job that doesn't involve vigorous physical labor, has other demands on their time, and wants the many benefits that a couple of hours of weight lifting each week imparts. Get it?
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@Dick Koubek Some people do other things for a living.
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@Larry Dickman I'm 77 and retired. I've spent a long time doing other things for a living, and I did weights, but I never stopped doing the things that I love.
Autonomy; Mastery; Belonging
The same characteristics apply to other pursuits, as well. As a skier entering his 66th consecutive season, each of these characteristics are relevant. Although I'm not a practitioner of golf, bowling, or other similar sports, I expect they also apply. I do, however, study Zen and practice meditation. As those in my Zen community observe, we "practice." It's through continuous practice that we achieve autonomy, mastery and belonging and, possibly, become closer to enlightenment.
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@Outsider in Utah
I noticed the similarities to practicing tai chi chuan. Especially being on a plateau for a long time, and then in a moment a new level of understanding opens up. Again and again over the years.
2
I was hoping, from the lead-in that the author was going to honor the value of real physical work, as opposed to merely promoting the simulation of real work in a gymnasium. My moderate weight training regime does however bolster my wood chopping, trenching digging, lawn mowing, ladder climbing, etc. It with a degree of sadness about this trend toward simulated work (weightlifting) that I realize it allows Americans to rationalize paying for services in the convenience economy rather than doing the physical work themselves.
4
@DLJ
Weight lifting, if properly planned, is a much more efficient and safer way to exercise all of the muscle groups vs. the mundane house and yard chores we spend time on. Ladder climbing is dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. Painting needs to be done correctly and is pretty boring, it is also skill that many do-it-your-selfers don't really understand.
Time is your most valuable asset and in general I think a lot of Americans spend too high a percentage of their free time on mundane yard work and house chores instead of things that are good for both their body and mind.
When you die do you want to say you spent 20,000 hours on chores or an extra 20,000 hours enjoying life more?
2
@DLJ So many mentions of wood-chopping in these comments! A nation of wood choppers! All, of course, with the underlying idea that weight training is somewhat superfluous. Indeed, real physical work should be honored and thankfully still has a place in the "convenience economy" that allows "most Americans to rationalize paying for services." But don't subtly negate the mental, physical, and community benefits of weightlifting and gyms. Just because your world and values are different, doesn't mean - in any way - that they are better.
7
@DLJ Recommending your comment didn’t seem sufficient. It deserves shouting from the rooftops. Thank you!
At 55, I just recently began weight lifting about a year ago... I quickly realized what a rewarding hobby it was: how your progress will be a direct result of your efforts. So rewarding to be doing something that’s not left to the judgement of anyone but oneself!
7
Thank you Mr. Stulberg. Like you, I enjoy weight lifting for many reasons. I usually have an old text book open between sets while I'm benching. This leads to many inquiring minds, which leads to discussions about thinkers like Descartes and Locke. The fellowship of the book includes lawyers, IT analysts, Army vets, and a pilot. The only dull moment occurs right before I don't have enough gas to push 225 off my chest. Then it's back ideas. Later, we'll discuss lifting techniques and methods, and we'll brag about how much we can max. When it's time to leave, I never regret that I've exercised my mind-body duality.
1
I'm 68 and I lift and train for good joint health for one. Modern life de-emphasizes a balanced muscular skeleton configuration. Strengthening muscles like the rhomboids, rear deltoids, rotator cuff muscles, for shoulder health really can only be done in a gym or by targeting these muscles at home. Balancing external rotation and internal rotation is good at any age and is important. Muscle strength pulls the body into its proper form when applied in a targeted manner. Lifting is good BUT targeted lifting creates a more functional body-tool for everyday use. Also you get to meet cool people and learn useful lifting styles you will not at home.
11
I started training in 1976 while in the Navy. Stayed with it through the years enjoying my apprenticeship. Didn't compete as a bodybuilder, natural, until I was in my forty's. It's a different experience when your older. Quiet, almost meditative when fully involved, sometimes with significant weight, and your mind goes quiet belying what the world sees on the outside. I suppose I've achieved mastery of a sort but still consider myself a pupil. Guess if I had to use a single world for it would be...strive. You have something to strive for. Gotta go...chest and back. Chop wood, carry water...
3
I too am in my 60s, and have been weight training since my early teens. All kinds of weight training - bodybuilding-type exercises, Olympic lifts, powerlifting, kettlebells, etc. I've pretty much tried everything, not because I was searching for the "one", just to try out different things, put some variety in the routines. And I have to say - it's all good! Pick what you like and do it. It all makes me feel good when a solid workout is completed.
As has been said by some commenters, people ask "what's it for?". Or, why do you spend so much time in the gym? All of that kind of stuff. To them I say this - the resulting strength and fitness does not stay in the gym; it accompanies and benefits you every minute of every day. Got a bunch of flights of stairs to climb? No problem. How about carrying all the groceries at once to the kitchen? Got that. Help someone put their too-heavy bag in the overhead? It's done. The list goes on and on. So enjoy your strength and fitness every moment - you deserve it!
29
Dad got me a 110 pound set for my 14th birthday, showed me how - sixty some years on I'm convinced weights are by far the most efficient and least self-harming use of time for exercise that there is. Maintaining a healthy "plateau" is fine with me - the incessant media and commercial pitching to force higher and higher performance levels is mindless and destructive for ordinary citizens, a mania for peak fitness is not healthy except for megacorporation proffit margins.
10
For me, the aha was when I realized it was something I'm naturally good at. I'm not a great runner and don't excel at team sports. But I sure can lift heavy weights!
13
Asa counterpoint, I have been lifting weights consistently for 30+ years. I really don't enjoy it. I go in, try to bring some intensity and get it over with. I do it solely for the ends (better physique and health and a heartier, justifiable appetite etc.) I find the means a bore. I get a bit discouraged when the weight I can lift goes down (when I take a week off, say or just from aging) but that is the extent of my emotional involvement with the process.
8
All well and good. But not really Zen. Zen as a religious practice is more than just 'being in the moment' and the 'journey'. It is non-gaining, no idea of progress or improvement, and it's about surrendering your ideas. And your 'self'!
And the 'old Eastern adage" has a context. It's a lay person, named Pang, in 8th c. China, who did realize enlightenment. He is recorded to have said, "How wondrous, how mysterious! I chop wood, I carry water". Everyday activity, nothing special.
12
I found Olympic weightlifting at 47 and have been making my way to my workouts 3 days a week for past three years regardless of how I felt physically. Some days are a struggle. The transformative effect on my body has been a revelation even though I’ve been an athlete all my life. The mental, social, emotional aspects of being part of the weightlifting community have far outpaced any of the physical gains in muscle and strength. The training sessions are the scaffolding of everything else in my life. They are the priority because they provide me with the tools to contend with everything else outside the gym. I related to every single word in this article. It all could not be more true in every aspect. I can’t imagine not wanting to train. It is absolutely my zen.
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@Andrew Scrivani Bravo. I still don't understand the odd and subtle judgements about weightlifting and gyms. I agree wholeheartedly about all your points!
1
As someone who has done multiple water and land sports at a relatively high level for decades, I've always supplemented my actual activities with weight training. The benefits in terms of power and injury prevention are undeniable.
Now, as someone who is aging, my weight training keeps me in the game so that I can continue to enjoy my sports with my son.
To the question, "what's it for" I say, "what's it for for you?" There-in lies the answer to most everything :)
9
This article really says it all in a concise and understandable fashion. The only element that I believe could’ve been explored in more detail, what some turn as weightlifters rapture or the zone, where once you get past the initial discomfort and pain stage, you become hooked on the positive affects of a post workout. For many they never get past this phase. But once they do the rewards are endless. And you set yourself up for a lifetime of replenishment and positive feedback. Bravo and charge on!
3
There’s a lot of value here about the sport, and perhaps the life lessons the author cites for it.
Although he is right about a lot, I wanted to focus on a minor part of it: a perspective I see in many areas of life, but also in many fields that have embraced measurement. That both the measure, and what is being measured, are simple. Here the author points out that unlike measurement in other fields, which can be effected by many things (“contrived metrics” is nice), when it comes to weight-lifting “You either make the lift or you don’t.” It’s “straightforward” and “objective.”
In some ways it is. But most often I’ve seen that we often have a need to see things as simple, so that’s what we happen to see. But if the aspects of the real world we’re dealing with are actually complex, we might be missing important things. And that could have consequences when we’re facing uphill societal problems.
To his credit, he does cite both a “paradox” and non-linearity’s. These can be common, but often these fundamental realities are missed once metrics-think takes over a culture.
Some commenters say he missed a major complicating factor: injuries. He also missed the impact of a trainer. It took me decades to afford one and they can really help. What also helped is I was finally able to reduce (not eliminate, and it’s a constant battle) complicating factors in my life to be able to better focus on this. Too many really effects the results in the gym.
Continued success with the “farming.”
1
A well written article that applies in the gym or out on the road. Solitary sports have their own psychology "it's all you, it's only you" is what I love about them.
The toughest thing for me has been patience to rest.
6
The farmer's carry looks like a great exercise that is reasonably analogous to actual physical movements I undertake in my life outside of a gym(always something I look for in a weight training exercise), but where in the world is there room in the average busy, cramped gym to safely walk around carrying 200lbs of weight?
2
@Todd I'd be surprised if there wasn't somewhere in your gym where you could walk holding a pair of dumbells or kettlebells and not disrupt others' routines... even if it's 15 feet back and forth ... all the turning around will make the workout even better...
You might feel self-conscious at first lugging the weight around, but it's definitely worth it once you get used to it... My view is that you're paying good money to use the gym, so use the space as you see fit (within reason -- and loaded carries are definitely reasonable)!
1
@Jon
There are those of us who don't like the gym environment. It can all be done at home, either with "official Howdy Doody" or with homemade equipment. If you are careful, progressive with your activities, and honest about regularly examining your results, it's all good.
3
@Todd
The farmer's carry is pretty near worthless. Think about the range of motion each of your joints has. How much of that range are using as you shuffle around with as much weight as you can carry? Sure your grip is engaged and your trapezius muscles (shrug your shoulders) are really straining, but there is so much more that you can do to safely work each of your muscle groups. Why maximize the strain on your joints while you minimize the actual movement of your limbs? Sure it is hard, but not in a particularly effective way. Think logically about what progressive resistance exercises do. They stimulate a response in the muscles that are used. Smooth movement, a full range of motion, and hard effort leads to healthy joints and stronger muscles.
I like the Belonging part. I always feel that at my gym. I belong to a group that works for good health.
7
@Steve - As a gay man, I have always felt the complete opposite. It just looks like a bunch of heterosexuals trying to mate:)) I feel like I'm watching a National Geographic documentary. "Here, we see the female of the species pedaling nowhere while the males grunt and drop loads of weight on the ground to impress them". And a gay gym? I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face looking at the outfits. I have weights at home.
4
Thanks Brad,a great piece!I have been lifting weights for 33 plus years and would not be working today in the job I do today if not for working out.Lifting is a part of my life style.If I don’t work out I feel somehow I’m letting myself down.I still lift heavy,though I alternate my routines with light weights and more repetitions.I’m not interested in breaking records,I haven’t benched 300 in about 5 years.I max at 235 and I’m almost 60.I work 12 hour days and never workout on my work days, I’m just to tired.Lifting has given me focus and most of all energy on my work days.Once again thanks and look forward to hearing from you again on this subject.
9
As a non-gym person (it is a personality profile), I did spend some time in the gym a few years back. I previously thought of weight lifting as rather mindless - I can see why it is emotionally and physically rewarding to those who enjoy it, but personally could not see the appeal of 'lift up, put down'. I was - astonished may not be too strong a word - to discover that there is a beauty in the Olympic style weight lifting, i.e., free weights on bars not machines. The person who taught me was almost obsessive about technique, and made us practice with almost no weight at all until we had the motions correct. To me the insight was that it is not (just) about strength, but how to gain maximum efficiency from the strength you do have. There is a relaxation in concentrating on performing a simple task perfectly, and repeating it until you get it right. Again, and again. Then add some more weight if you want. I was not interested in the perpetual 'quest for personal' best (for me - if I can do it at all, then it probably is a personal best), but I did enjoy the activity and probably should try it again.
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@john
You can do it at home. It is best, however, to find someone to help you with form. It's not too difficult once you figure out why you need to have form.
In a perfect world. I must add frustration as I wait for a young person to finish their cell phone workout on the squat rack I am waiting for. Please be considerate of others who want to attain what the author describes. The equipment is for everyone.
17
@Doc Bill
and don't dead lift in the squat rack!
1
I can resist noting that out my way, homeowners forgo the varied and gratifying mostly outdoor maintenance and building activities where more is achieved than numbers on a weight scale, and hire all this stuff out so that they can go to a gym. I sort of get it. However, the plateau the writer mentions does seem to be real in other realms: music, math, maybe writing. At some point I feel that things suddenly gel or reveal structure. It’s a good feeling, and practice is the route.
By the way, when it happens when splitting wood, it’s as if you’ve somehow become clever and strong, and effort and frustration vanish. Then you use the wood, and feel very good about it!
6
Am I the only one who sees the irony in using two weights as a way to simulate hard work? There are plenty of real buckets out there in the world that need moving, go out there and get it!
8
No, you aren’t the only one! As my husband and I, heading out to saw and split nine cords of firewood can attest. Those of us who are country folk lift plenty of weight, never having to drive anywhere to do so, either.
4
@Aaron Hart Judging others is hard work too.
9
@Aaron Hart In my small community of about 240,000 in a borough of NYC, you'd be hard-pressed to find "real buckets in the world that need moving." Thinking it through, it's not even an apt comparison. It's apples to oranges, so to speak. Just becaue both involve "moving" doesn't mean they are comparable.
4
My guess is any baby boomer who says, "I've been lifting weights my whole life" is a person who suffers today. Usually in the form of joint wear and tear, arthritis, weight lifting injuries, or weight lifting injury repairs. Remember the famous boomer mantra espoused by Arnold, "No Pain, No Gain?" Today, Arnold is a physical wreck. If you're going to lift weights, don't lift heavy.
6
@Jwood As a 62 year old hockey player, former ski patroller, etc. with multiple skeletal issues from a variety of injuries from a variety of endeavors including driving a cab, I can make two points: Not lacing them up (skates, boots, whatever) isn't an option, and weight training, yoga, etc. enhance my ability to do so. Additionally, the "Zen" aspect of such training is real. Function breeds function.
7
@Jwood Arnold is hardly a wreck, as you say.
6
@Larry Dickman. "Injuries happen when your mind is beyond your body, largely when you think you're King Kong and lift weights heavier than the body can handle. "
Arnold Schwarzenegger
2
Lifting weights was always my favorite part of going to the gym, which wasn’t my favorite thing at all. But after many years I found it so pointless. As I did walking and running. Growing up in NYC I walked because I had to get to school, to the subway, to the grocery store. The I moved to New England where everyone drives. Then I started classes and weightlifting- and when the weather cooperated, running, walking and biking. Now I like my exercise with accomplishment. I stack wood, pull weeds, haul compost, haul on the sheets on my sailboat. A farmers carry should come with a farm.
5
@Mossflower Congratulations on the accomplishments inherent in your lifestyle, but I'd point out that most don't have a fireplace, a garden, or a sailboat, and weight training offers a reasonable alternative.
9
@Jeff Yes! It is funny/odd that some of these comments became about lifestyle judgements, right? I cut wood! I dig ditches! All you terrible other peole who don't do this are missing out! I have a sailboat! I have a garden! I have time to pull weeds! My fireplace needs wood! It's probably all harmless judegement, but, really?
Know what I've got?
And old bike that gets me to an old gym filled with old lifters in an old neighborhood.
And I couldn't be happier.
6
Lifting heavy weights exposes you to a high risk of injuries - and not minor injuries at that. The injury risk seems to be irresponsibly dismissed in this article.
As many former heavy-weight trainers can tell you:
"It all seemed great until I felt that disk pop in my back. The 6 months of crippling back pain followed by the discectomy and spinal fusion were not worth the moment of zen"
7
@Brad Steele Injury risk exists in all physical activity, but can be reduced with proper coaching. There are studies that show that injury rates in weightlifting are lower than most other sports and activities, including running.
At the elite level, probably no sport is healthy and that includes non-contact sports.
6
@Brad Steele A number of studies indicate weight training actually has an incidence of injury similar to non-contact sports. The one below also indicates the rate of injury for weight lifters is lower compared to folks who participate in contact spors.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27328853
1
@Brad Steele - I ended up with disk issues just by building a website at my desk that resulted in numb fingers, excruciating pain, etc. Once we changed my desk/monitor and got me to walk away from the desk rather than sitting hunched over for 12 hours at a time, things got better.
Bad form is bad form is bad form whether its at a desk, running, ballroom dancing, or lifting a heavy bag of groceries.
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Thank you for this! I've experienced much in life, working at acclaimed arts institutions, publishing companies and, world recognized luminaries from writers, the stage and screen. All these experiences have been transformative, shaping who I am today. But, I would say, not as transformative as my years with my fitness trainer, one of the best in the country, in my estimation (who is now training, you know, his own luminaries and zillionaires and I can't afford him ha!). I was fortunate to have him early in his career and he's still one of my closest friends.
Not only am I in the best physical condition, underscored by the deeply researched and sourced science I learned behind every weight-lifting and circuit training effort, my trainer brought me to a higher level of life, wholeness and confidence. I remain engaged in thought and activities and relationships with friends and family in a more optimistic and healthy lifestyle.
Of all my accomplishments in life, what colleagues have called my "rock star resume," my fitness, getting to the gym, making the commitment - and with the guidance of a true and caring expert - realizing that I could excell in something akin to an Olympic athlete, embracing the rewards as well as the failures, has been the greatest thing I've accomplished. Period.
Again, thanks for your eloquent summary.
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I started lifting weights when I was 27. It was the times, The Village People and their song YMCA was all the rage. Now, 37 years later I am still at it. I firmly believe weight lifting is what has allowed me to age gracefully.My mood is always elevated after leaving the gym. I often wonder how do people who don't lift weights or go to the gym cope with their stress and down moods? Gym time is truly zen time for me.
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This is a wonderful article. I agree with almost everything you said. I am in my mid 70's and I have been lifting weights for over 30 years. When I worked as a trial attorney lifting was a great stress reducer. I used to tell people all I had to do was make sure there was equal weight on each side of the bar and count to ten. Not that I am retired my goal is to stay relatively fit and content. I no longer try to increase the weight I lift; I am happy maintaining my current levels. I have adjusted some of my exercises to accommodate various aches and pain, but i am still in the gym three or four days a week, with an occasional week off. I do not think I will ever stop.
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Even though I'm at the gym five days a week cycling through legs, arms, cardio, every time I do a farmer carry, I am embarrassed. I grew up on a farm. It strikes me as a little bit ridiculous that I have to "work out" instead of just working. The sentiments of the elder at your gym resonate with me; my career path requires a lot of sitting at a desk, but part of me would rather be out doing physical work like humans have done for thousands of generations. My ancestors had strong bones and arms like Popeye without ever stepping foot in a gym.
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I began lifting weights at 18, after I graduated from high school weighing 118 pounds. I remember walking into a dank basement gym, in the Burrard Street YMCA in Vancouver.
There was a life sized poster of Arnold Schwarzenegger on the wall, and I still vividly remember looking at it and thinking, "Well now I don't feel so bad, because he's got all kinds of muscles I was obviously born without."
It turned out I did have them, and about 12 years later, I reached my lifetime best powerlifting total of 1,115 pounds at a bodyweight of 165.
Now I am 65. I still lift almost every day. My goal is not to get stronger – that's just not realistic – I suppose I'm fighting a strategic retreat, and trying to preserve as much strength as possible, for as long as possible.
The only thing I really have to add to this essay relates to chopping wood and carrying water: I am grateful, I suppose, for the memories I have of that period in which I was very strong. I am definitely grateful for the capability that still remains.
The body remembers.
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@Mark Gardiner
Hey, that's a nice lift!
I could have written this same response. Good living to you.
3
Nice essay, but there’s a contradiction at its core: While the writer talks on the one hand about the journey, the process, the moment, he also seems to assume that anyone lifting weights is seeking progress and breakthroughs and personal bests.
I started strength training eleven years ago, at the age of fifty-one. For the first year or so the progress and breakthroughs were very satisfying. But over the next few years two things happened: I injured my back doing a deadlift—not seriously, fortunately, but still frightening—and I not only plateaued but started to regress: fewer pounds lifted, previous bests becoming unreachable. As I entered my late fifties, it became clear that measurable progress toward explicit goals was no longer realistic.
By then I was convinced of the physical and mental health benefits of strength training, as well as addicted to regular workouts, so I shifted mostly to less quantifiable bodyweight exercises. When I did use weights or machines, I stopped paying attention to how many pounds I could move or how many reps I could make; I focused instead on learning to feel and control the load on my muscles.
The result is that I enjoy working out nearly every day and that I feel much better and stronger than I would otherwise. If I had continued to pursue goals and personal bests, however, I might very well have quit by now.
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@Tom Gally I get that too! The important thing is you kept moving. I developed a love of Hathaway yoga to complement my weight training. I loved the fluidity of it. A chronic foot condition has taken most yoga moves away from me. Also, can no longer do my beloved lunges.
I can’t lift as heavy as I did in my 50’s so I modified. Congratulations to you, keep adapting as life throws you curves. I hope I always can.
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@Tom Gally I am 49 and female, discovered weight training at 27 and fell in love with the way it made me feel and toned my body. Most recently I switched from 3x weekly weightlifting with a personal trainer (from age 42-46) to body weight training in my home. I travel regularly for work and needed something ultra portable. I can do it in bare feet and a T-shirt in my hotel room so no excuses ever. I absolutely love it and still feel toned and functionally strong and makes me feel happier too! So I agree there are many ways to enjoy strength training!
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I’m 56 and have been lifting regularly for about 10 years since starting as male bonding time with my son who was strength training for high school sports. Paradoxically, I have found, that I enjoy the experience with weights even more if I am not counting reps or trying to set personal records or achieve arbitrary goals. I just lift and the Zen of being in the moment without feeling a need to “accomplish” anything has truly been quite liberating.
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I have been lifting for over ten years. Some days I don’t want do it but I always go and I always feel better when I am done. This article hits on a number of reasons why lifting is so satisfying. It is totally up to me. If I work hard - I see results. I feel a certain calmness and stillness when I am done. No doubt it is an natural anti depressant for me.
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It is impossible to be depressed or cynical after a good weight lifting work out. When I am leaving the gym after lifting, life is good.
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@Jon Tolins It is still possible, though more difficult.
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@Jon Tolins Although I don't always feel great (fatigued, sore, exhausted!) I do always feel like a better version of myself than when I walked in.
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Yes, absolutely possible to still have mental illness even when exercising. See Michael Phelps’s battle with depression. If an Olympic swimmer can’t exercise his way past it, that’s conclusive.
But yes, I definitely agree it helps. There is some truth in the old expression: A great mood is only a workout away. :)
I am in my mid 60s and have been lifting weights regularly since my 30s. In the beginning I gained confidence as I gained strength and that translated to confidence in my life overall. I learned more about how my body moves and functions as I lifted through pregnancies. As I have aged, I have learned to work with my declining body and still challenge it. Over the last 6-7 years I have gotten similar benefits from taking up Tai Chi, while still engaging in weight lifting. These concrete physical challenges have helped my mental outlook, confidence and self-acceptance and make me happy every time I do them.
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Reading the description of the farmers carry, all I could think about is the compressive load on the spine. I wonder if aging weightlifters shrink more than aging runners?
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@Bello I worry about this too. And I'm someone who lifts heavy and is consistently overloading my spine. I have near perfect technique, train for specificity and proper overload, and am coached by a professional. But I still take great care when considering spinal compression exercises.
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I completely agree. At 66, the weights aren't so heavy as they used to be, but it is still beneficial. And hey, who doesn't like to bottom-out the leg press machine?
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I fell in love with lifting during medical school.
There’s something so centering and balancing to me about just the process.
I’d get home, and no matter how awful or good the day was I get to hit the reset button.
For me the hardest part has been finding a program and sticking to it.
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@CAV You may want to check out the program templates that a couple of physicians have developed at 'Barbell Medicine' -- I've been using and reallys enjoying their programs (and content). It gives me a regular program goals, and a structure for my training at the gym.
After retiring from a full-time job about 20 years ago, I joined the local Y and visited regularly. Then we moved to a place with changeable weather and incredible scenery. All my life I've been a hiker but only on those too rare occasions when I could get away from my urban and suburban homes.
Now I enjoy being outdoors almost every day, either hiking or walking or snowshoeing. I also enjoy doing volunteer work outdoors with other volunteers or on my own. I probably could not do the farmers carry, but in the course of my volunteer work I often find myself lifting weights to move things from one place to another or rake wet and heavy leaves out of a deep drainage ditch to protect hiking trails from our copious rain and snow falls. All the while I am enjoying myself, working with friends and meeting new friends.
In my experience that beats repetitious exercise in a hot and crowded gym that accomplishes nothing beyond improving oneself. I do not envy those who find fulfillment in periodic visits to the gym.
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@Jim Linnane, I belong to a gym that's open 24 hours per day. There's plenty of time that gym is uncrowded. Recently I had to carry a John Deere battery from the barn to the car, about 100 yards, It was easily done, almost one-handed. A far cry from my stroke recovery days.
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@Jim Linnane No offense to Brad Stulberg, but I agree with Jim. I wish I could harness the energy, motivation and dedication of gym people and anyone else who devotes themselves to running or other athletic pursuits--for their own sake.
There is so much good work that could be accomplished with a few of these hard-working, dedicated folks that seem to be improving only themselves.
I spend many hours fighting invasive plants in nearby conservancies; lugging chainsaws and backpack sprayers, wielding loppers and building brush piles, in slippery, rough, sloped terrain. The work is physically demanding, and involves, surprisingly, tremendous focus. Most worries disappear while I'm working in the woods.
I come home exhausted, usually soaked in sweat, but also gratified at having accomplished something for nature and my community.
This is very demanding volunteer work that many citizens would be unable or unwilling to perform.
Certainly there are other types of volunteer work that healthy people like Brad would be exceptionally qualified to perform. I encourage the gym and track denizens to consider productive ways to invest their physical talents in activities that would be beneficial both to their personal health and their community.
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Some of us, actually, can do both. and enjoy both. Giving time, money, and talent to others while enjoying the physical, mental, and social aspects of a community gym. I'm fact, some of us need one (the gym) to be of most benefit to the other.
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A few years ago, I reluctantly began weight lifting after learning it was the only way for me to avoid running injuries. Now I enjoy it almost as much as running.
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I agree with your thoughts. But I could just as easily substitute "running" in place of "lifting". For fitness and well being the optimal strategy is a combination of both regular aerobic exercise and strength training. The heart is a muscle and benefits most from a generous and regular dose of aerobic conditioning. Strive for both!
(MDHusband of WomanMD)
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@WomanMD
As a doctor you seem woefully ignorant of the need for more than a healthy heart muscle. Which when aerobic exercise is overdone, enlarges the muscle and creates health issues. Talk to older bicyclists and long distance runners...many have enlarged hearts and as such have been put off their chosen activity.
Weight lifting strengthens everything...when done properly. Even the heart can get a great workout when the program is geared towards that.
IMO, regular Doctors are not the best professionals to go for advice on physical exercise, or also nutrition. Go for the check-ups, to make sure certain activities are not a problem, then seek real exercise professionals. (not the local gym trainers!)
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@Boregard Nothing WomanMD said was in favor of overdoing aerobics. Her point is completely valid. There are plenty of older broken down former weightlifters also. In fact the "farmers carry" of this article would be risky for older weightlifters. That's a lot of pressure on spinal discs and they don't get stronger with age or workouts.
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What well written and profound article. I am a lifelong runner and the same principles apply.
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