The Strongest Investment You’ll Ever Make
By Meggan Meyers
Imagine you are 75 years old, retired, and have all the free time in the world. What are you able to do with it? Are you able to take your grandkids to the park? Take care of your yard? Go on vacation adventures, maybe that hiking trip you have always dreamed of?
What we do when we are young, or even middle age, affects the quality of our future. In the past, it seemed that fitness and strength training were only things you did if you wanted to lose weight or needed to improve in your sport. Now we can see that no matter who you are or what your daily goals are, improving your strength and fitness is an essential part of taking care of yourself. It supports your joints and tendons, boosts your metabolism, and helps you stay physically strong and mentally resilient.
Like drinking water or getting sleep, strength training is contributing to not only your health and vitality now, but each workout is an investment in your future. Your future mobility, range of motion, bone density, heart health, and independence. It is free medication to prevent disease, injury, and the need for elder care. However, this isn’t just about the future. Strength training has immense rewards in the here and now.
If your future self isn’t enough motivation to start lifting weights, consider the confidence you will gain from building muscle and seeing what your body is capable of. It feels awesome to lift something heavy and feel your body getting stronger. Our brains are naturally goal oriented and we love accomplishing hard things. Hitting a lift you didn’t think you could, or finishing a set that felt impossible not only feels amazing in the moment, it gives you that extra boost when you step out of the gym and into your life.
That “outside glow” is worth the work, but what’s actually happening behind the scenes? Strength training creates tiny tears in your muscle fibers, and your body goes to work not just repairing them, but rebuilding them back stronger. Your brain and muscles also get better at working together, a process called neuromuscular coordination. It is a simple, powerful application of “adapt and overcome.” If you think about it, how many times do we have to do that in real life? Each training session is not only building your body, but it is also building your mind.
For beginners starting with bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges and planks will build muscle and improve balance. Moving to resistance bands, free weights and weight machines should be gradual. Resistance bands are great tools for beginners, while free weights work on range of motion and muscle building. Weight machines provide a controlled environment and are particularly useful for isolating specific muscle groups and building strength in a targeted manner. Guidance from a certified personal trainer will assure your form is correct and help you get the best results.
Whether you are looking to feel better now, in the future, or both, strength training is one of the best habits you can build. Sure, building muscle is cool, but even more than that, strength training is about building a quality of life where you can keep living fully for as long as possible.
Meggan Myers is the owner and Program Director of The Bar Fitness Collective, a CrossFit gym in New Baltimore, where she helps people build strong, confident lives through strength training and sustainable nutrition.
