What is So Great About Resistance Training? And What is Stopping You?
Resistance training is one of my favourite ways to train, as is it the favourite of most of my face to face personal training clients, past and present. But why do we love it so much? in this article I am going to talk about what resistance training is as well as some of the benefits. I’ll then give you some information towards the end of this blog on a few of the things that stop people from resistance training and my solutions to them.
What is resistance training?
Resistance training is the method of training where added resistance is used on the body, on a muscle, or group of muscles, in order to develop one’s performance of physique. In essence, it’s weight training. That is, in most cases. The term resistance training is a better term than weight training, because it indicates that the resistance can come from other means than just weights., such as elastic bands for example. The resistance you use to train with could come from barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, resistance machines, even your body weight. There just needs to be some form of resistance applied to the body to provide something to push or pull against for example. When we do this, often enough and with enough resistance, it causes changes in your body that lead to improvements in how much resistance you can act against (strength), muscle development, muscle growth, and changes in the shape of your body.
Benefits of Resistance Training:
A whole host of benefits can come with resistance training. I’ve listed a few of them below.
Improving and changing the shape of your body.
Improved body composition (muscle to fat ratio)(being leaner)(“toning up”)
Improved mental health.
Increased strength, resulting in more self confidence.
Increased strength, resulting in a greater ability to protect yourself and your loved ones/others from danger.
Longer lifespan and a reduced decline in movement ability in old age.
Reduced risk of health conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and depression.
Reduced risk of musculoskeletal injury due to stronger soft tissue and increased bone density.
Can burn more calories than cardio and HIIT (high intensity interval training).
Improved performance of every day tasks.
Improved quality of sleep and reduction of insomnia.
It might even reduce the decline of your cognitive ability in old age. Now, if any of those reasons aren’t a reason in themselves to resistance train then I don’t know what is. Let alone all of them. When I type them out like that, it actually seems to good to be true. But, it really is all true.
Barriers and Limitations
I’m not going to pretend the idea of resistance training feels easy to everyone. Even with the immense list of benefits i’ve just listed, some of you will still be sceptical or even fearful of the idea of lifting weights or even setting foot in a gym. So i’m going to give you a list of common barriers and limitations that I know many people experience. Following that list, i’ll give you another list. This one is some proposed solutions or helpful considerations in response to those issues.
Fear of injury.
Not knowing how to resistance train.
Feeling uncomfortable in the gym.
Fear of looking like a bodybuilder or getting “too big” or “too muscular”.
The misconception that lifting weights is only for athletes and “big muscly men”.
Solutions and Responses
I will start by addressing the fear of injury with one of my favourite fitness related quote from one of my favourite people in the fitness industry. It comes from Bret Contreras and it goes like this: “If you think lifting weights is dangerous, try being weak. Being weak is dangerous”. I't’s true, the benefits of being stronger, being more equipped to deal with what life throws at you, and having a more conditioned body that can withstand greater pressures will far outweigh the risks of weight training itself. Do you currently feel confident in your ability to deal with lifting something heavy off of yourself or a loved one in danger, or to protect yourself from an attacker? I hope neither of those things ever happen to you. But they do happen.
Furthermore, resistance training has a far lower injury rate when compared to almost all sports. Resistance training when in the form of crossfit or olympic lifting do come with a greater injury risk, but they are a sport in themselves with a different nature. Resistance training isn’t a sport. Consider it a lifestyle, a hobby, a passion, and something to improve your life, just like sleeping or eating vegetables. If done correctly and with good technique, resistance training is incredibly safe.
I know that to someone new, who may have never resistance trained before, there are a lot of techniques to learn and different pieces of equipment, and you don’t know whether you’re using the right techniques or procedures. luckily, we live in a time where there is a plethora of accessible information in the palm of your hand. Also luckily, you’re reading this, which means you know how to contact me (or at least you will be able to find out fairly easily). I’m always happy to give you any information you need to get you going or help take your technique, body or performance to the next level. I can be contacted on my instagram or email accounts, which you can find links to on my website, brookadnitt.com (you’re probably there already). I also offer face to face and online coaching services where I will give you all of the support, knowledge and accountability you need to get started.
If i’m not good enough for you, i’m sure any PT or instructor in your local gym will at least help you out for free. If not, find a new gym.
If you’ve never been to a gym before or if you have bad experiences of gyms, I know that the gym can be a frightening place. Furthermore, if you do go a gym, I know the free weights area can be a frightening place. To that I say, it will only become less frightening when you get in there. But, I can also do better than that. You don’t need weights in the gym to resistance train, you can use gravity, the floor, and your own body to add resistance to your muscles. If you really can’t get to the weights, you can make great developments and improvements to your body using your bodyweight, as well as cheap equipment you can use at home or in the park. Especially if you are a novice.
The fear of getting too muscular by accident is not justified. I used to work in a school with a great sporting reputation and a strength and conditioning department for the student athletes. I used to have countless conversations, mainly with girls (but girls and boys) where they were scared of lifting weights in case it made them look like a “bodybuilder” or get “too muscular”. When I started as a PT, I spoke again to countless women and men (but still mainly women) who would ask “how can I get more toned”. When I would reply with resistance training, many of them would say “but I don’t want to get really bulky and muscly”. My response: “it is incredibly difficult to get ripped and huge. It is incredibly hard to become even a half decent bodybuilder. You are not going to do it by accident”. Building muscle is hard. Having a lot of muscle and also having the incredibly low body fat percentages you could see in competition-ready bodybuilders is even harder. It takes a long time and it takes a lot of food. Furthermore, if you are a female, you don’t have the natural hormonal profile to even be able to build that kind of muscle in that way. Trust me when I say, you won’t do it by accident. If you don’t want to get “too muscular” you won’t.
Many athletes do lift weights, and so did most muscular people to get there. But like I said in point one, they’re doing it for a sport, making it completely different. Or for a lifestyle completely different to yours. With the plethora of benefits I listed at the beginning of this article, should I really have to spend much time explaining why resistance training is not only for athletes and muscly shredded people?
So there you have it. Resistance training, why it’s so wonderful, how it can change your life. Complete with a full debunking or solution to many of the things that may be stopping you right now.
So, what are you waiting for?
If you want to learn more about resistance training and how to it safely, you can contact me about coaching, or simply for a conversation and some tips. I am always happy to help.
If you have a different barrier, perhaps a previous injury or disability, there is almost always another way. There is something you can do. Maybe it’s something else. Contact me and I will give you any advice I can.
I hope you enjoyed,
Brook
