There’s freedom in being strong. You can lift your own bag into the overhead bin on airplanes (although sometimes it’s nice to accept help when it’s offered). You can power up the stairs without losing your breath. Your body just works better when it’s supported by strong muscles, toned arms, and powerful legs.
For decades, thin women – sometimes too thin to be healthy – were seen as desirable and, thus, powerful. Now, power no longer comes in the form of thin. It comes in the form of power…physical power.
Whether it was Madonna’s obsession with all things yoga, Hollywood starlets transforming their waif-like bodies into lean powerhouses with Pilates, or the explosive growth in amateur runners and triathletes, being healthy (and desirable) now means being strong and shapely, not sickly thin. That’s a good thing.
Men have always wanted to be strong. Women, it seems, have only recently begun to see the benefit of striving for strength first, weight loss second. In my experience with clients – both men and women – weight loss happens when you’re looking the other way. (It’s sneaky like that.) So why not focus on building strength as a little distraction from the stress of wanting to lose weight? You may end up with more benefits than you imagined.
Why be strong?
- Feel better. When you’re strong, you just feel better walking around in your life…more confident, more capable. You’ll stand taller waiting for the subway, walk more confidently down the street, effortlessly change that 1000 lb water cooler bottle at the office, and struggle less lugging your grocery bags to the car. Your muscles will work more efficiently which makes your body work more efficiently. Life just feels better when you’re strong.
- Perform better. If you’re an athlete, strength training will help you push your performance to a new place. Think of it this way: If you build a strong base, then you don’t have to worry about whether you’ll finish the race. You know you’ll finish, so you can focus on finishing faster.
- Burn more calories. It’s a fact: muscle burns more calories than fat…even at rest. So if you increase your lean muscle mass, you’ll burn more calories all the time. (Sneaky weight loss seekers, take note.) And remember that the goal is to look and feel better. If you don’t actual lose a bunch of weight – which may happen – but you have to buy new clothes because your old ones are hanging off of you, isn’t that a win? Just sayin’.
And last but not least…
- Strong is hot. There. I said it. It’s hot to be strong. Not like Hulk Hogan…more like Evangeline Lilly in Lost. People say things like “What’s different about you? You look great!”. It’s cool.
How to be strong (but not bulky).
- Pilates or yoga. These disciplines really do give you a long and lean frame without the bulk. And flexibility work is built right in, a good thing to have since strength training can make you a little stiff if you don’t stretch. This way, you don’t have to remember to stretch! (Why does everyone hate to stretch, by the way? Just wondering.)
- Strength training. “Traditional” strength training works too. Here are a few strength exercises you can do at home, without weights (courtesy of my friend Michael Conlon at Finish Line Physical Therapy in NYC). These exercises are specifically for runners, but they’re good strengthening exercises for pretty much anyone.
- Cross training. If you’re a runner, cycle. If you’re a cyclist, run. If you’re a cardio-fiend, try a boot camp class. Point is, mix it up. You’ll get stronger all over if you challenge your body in different ways over time. And it’s way more fun than doing one thing all the time.
- Core training. It’s become a bit of a cliché, but if your core isn’t strong, you’re not strong. One of my favorite cues for Pilates clients struggling with an arm or leg movement is “This time, shoot that core energy out to your arms and legs.” When you harness the power of your body’s strongest and largest muscles and redirect it outward, your arms and legs get a boost. Try it. Works every time.
Why do you want to be strong? Tell me in the comments.
