DAY 73
I have been going to the gym for more than twenty years. My workouts have never included much muscular training. I have always found the mere idea of lifting weights extremely boring. In the past few weeks, I’ve been reading about the benefits of muscle development. On Friday, I finally decided to follow a muscle toning class. I liked it, although I felt the teacher looked far more gracious than I did. I kept on tensing my face muscles… I don’t think I was supposed to do that. When she was showing us the movements, she made it look so easy.
I have been going to the gym for more than twenty years. My workouts have never included much muscular training. I have always found the mere idea of lifting weights extremely boring. In the past few weeks, I’ve been reading about the benefits of muscle development. On Friday, I finally decided to follow a muscle toning class. I liked it, although I felt the teacher looked far more gracious than I did. I kept on tensing my face muscles… I don’t think I was supposed to do that. When she was showing us the movements, she made it look so easy.
On Sunday, I went back to the gym. This time, I went with my friend Christina who has been incorporating muscle training in her workout routine for the past 6 months. As we were doing some weightlifting, I asked her what she felt were the psychological benefits of muscle training, she answered: " It makes you feel stronger."
There are obvious physical benefits to muscle training. First of all, after the age of 30, we lose half a pound of muscle a year. Over a couple of years, muscles melt away and are replaced with FLAB. And nobody wants flab! Besides the impact on physical appearance, this bodily transformation contributes to the slowing down of the metabolism, which is the reason why we gain weight as we age, without really changing anything in our food consumption.
Weight training obviously increases muscular strength, but also augments tendon, bone and ligament strength. Furthermore, because of the role played by muscles in shock absorption and balance, developing our muscle mass helps diminish the risks of injuries when practicing any activity.
Last September, my friend John who is 50 years old and has been intensely weight training for about a year got hit by a car while biking. He flew off his bike and landed on his shoulder. He was riding at 30 km an hour. Although he was bruised all over and was off work for a couple of weeks, he miraculously did not have a broken bone in his body. The doctors told him, that his strong muscles, tendons and ligaments helped absorb the shock when he fell down.
Studies show that muscle training also increases psychological health. It boosts self-esteem, self-confidence, self-worth and gives an overall feeling of well-being. When you physically feel strong, it helps you mentally feel strong. So, why aren't we all following a weight-training program?
No matter the reason why I have never done it in the past, in my quest to maximize my happiness, I will now incorporate weight training to my exercise routine and my daily life!
I’m sure if I stick to it and I manage to eliminate some of the unwanted accumulated layers on my body, it will make me very happy!
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