Most of us need a good reason to try something new.  Whether it’s ordering a type of fish you’ve never had before (because you hear it’s supposed to be good for you) or trying a Yoga class for the first time.  We all need a push to go out of our comfort zones.

Today I want to push you out of your comfort zone to try something new.  I want you to lift weights.  I want you to commit yourself to being fit and strong.  Not just for a few weeks, but for the rest of your life.  Let me give you the reasons why you should get strong and hopefully you will come to the same conclusion.

10 Reasons You Can’t Ignore

  1. You strengthen your bones (along with your tendons and ligaments) which reduces your risk of fractures and osteoporosis
  2. You become more resistant to injury (imagine a professional football player who didn’t lift weights getting tackled–Ouch!)
  3. Strength training increases muscle mass and improves your overall body composition
  4. Therefore you burn more calories (even while you’re sleeping) because 1 pound of muscle burns 3 times more calories than a pound of fat  
  5. Therefore you can eat more food (so many of my friends sit down to a great meal saying “I work out so I can eat!”)
  6. Strength training improves your posture (which makes you look thinner)
  7. Getting stronger has been shown to improve psychological health by improving your self-esteem and self confidence
  8. Strength training improves your muscular endurance (you’ll be thankful the next time you go on a “fitness” vacation with your friends)
  9. Cutting back on calories without lifting weights results in losing muscle mass too.  This is a bad idea.

10.  You’ll win the fight against Mother Nature.  She intends for you to lose a quarter of your strength by the time you’re 65.  But guess what?  If you lift weights, you can be just as strong at 65 as you were at 35.

Good News & Tips

The good news is that you can get all the benefits I listed above in as little as 40 minutes per week!  Yes—you heard me.  Twenty minute sessions, two times per week will work.  Many gyms have a line of equipment set up so you can do one machine right after the other.  When you get to the end of the line, you’ve done a full body workout.  It’s as easy as that.

All I ask you is that you concentrate on each exercise (do NOT rush through it) and perform each machine one time.  Try to get 8-12 repetitions and the last rep should feel like you just can’t do another one.  We call this “pushing to failure” which is a term I don’t like to use.  I prefer thinking “I’m REALLY glad this is my last rep”.

With more than ten thousand minutes in a week, it’s not that hard to find 40 minutes to dedicate yourself to getting stronger.  Why wait?  Today is the day to get started.

Think strong and be strong!

Molly

Originally published in GO, GlobalFit’s online healthy living newsletter.”  http://www.globalfit.com/gonewsletter/default.asp