PEAK: 4 Ways that Strength Training Transforms You

Fewer than 25 percent of U.S. adults meet the weekly recommendation for strength training at least twice a week.¹ Here are four reasons to make strength training a priority:

1. Strength training improves your metabolism and body composition.

When combined with quality sleep and nutrition, strength training improves your body composition by reducing fat and increasing muscle. Strength training is an essential part of the equation if you want to lose weight.

Consider the example of Rhonda Germany-Ballintyn, a former Partner at Booz Allen Hamilton, a global management and technology consulting firm. Years of working long hours and being sedentary left Rhonda overweight. Nonetheless, she lost over 100 pounds after age fifty by lifting heavy weights. 

“When I started lifting heavy, that’s when my dress size really dropped. Now, I’m a size two,” Rhonda told me in an interview for my book Work Stronger. 

“It’s all due to nutrition and lifting heavy weights. It’s amazing how much stronger and fitter I am now,” she says. 

2. Strength training reduces and prevents injuries and aches.

Strength training improves your posture and builds up your bones and joints. Many physical injuries, aches, and pains result from a sedentary lifestyle and insufficient strength training.

While cardiovascular activity is essential, many people follow lopsided workout programs that overemphasize cardiovascular activity and neglect strength training.

3. Strength training preserves your muscles and delays your aging process.

You can lose up to 8% of your muscle each decade starting at the age of forty if you neglect strength training.³ 

According to Dr. Jeffrey Stout, a Professor at the University of Central Florida and a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, the best ways to defend against muscle loss are through strength training and eating a protein-rich diet. “The more muscle mass you have, the better your life is going to be [as you age],” he says.⁴

4. Strength training builds confidence and improves your identity.

I started strength training midway through high school. I was embarrassingly puny as a young teen, had little confidence, and grew tired of being and feeling weak.

An interesting thing happened when I started lifting weights. As my physique improved and I grew stronger, my identity changed.

I stopped seeing myself as a weak person and started seeing myself as a strong person. My new identity carried over into other areas of my life. 

I started standing up for myself, taking on bigger challenges, and stepping out of my comfort zone. This led to more confidence, which led to the accomplishment of even bigger challenges, and on and on.

When you feel strong physically, you cannot help but feel strong in other areas of life. Strength training boosts your confidence, makes you tougher and more resilient, and expands your beliefs about what is possible. This makes you more likely to succeed with whatever you pursue.

Do strength training at least twice a week and watch your body and identity transform.

References

1. “National Center for Health Statistics,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed on August 6, 2017, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/exercise.htm. 
2. Rhonda Germany Ballintyn, Interview with Pete Leibman, 2017.
3. Tae Nyun Kim et al., “Sarcopenia: Definition, Epidemiology, and Pathophysiology,” Journal of Bone Metabolism, (May 2013): 1–10, https://doi.org/10.11005/jbm.2013.20.1.1
4. Amanda Woerner, “Strength Training May Help Keep You Young, Study Shows,” Daily Burn, October 27, 2014, http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/strength-training-aging-study-100714/. 

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