Why do we lift weights?

"The iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds."

Henry Rollins - The Iron and The Soul

Recently at training a client of mine expressed to me how he really enjoyed the training we were doing, in particular the bodyweight exercises, but how he wasn't so sure that "all the stuff with weights" was for him.

This feller his feller has made substantial gains in recent months - he is way stronger, has less belly fat, improved posture, and i would guess that he is sleeping better and feeling better all round. He is on the lightweight side and has a natural propensity to be good at lifting his own bodyweight - pull ups, push ups, dips etc. so naturally he loves that stuff. However when we get him under the barbell, or picking up a car or whatever,  he still performs like a legend though he seems to have less enthusiasm in doing so. It was at this point that he voiced his concern, so it was important that we discussed the reason why we do all of 'that stuff with weights'.

There are many reasons we lift weights, and some have different reasons to others. I will outline a few of the main reasons that i like to lift weights and why i have all of my clients do the same.

1) DEALING WITH AN EXTERNAL LOAD IS PART OF LIFE
Life constantly demands that we touch, hold, move and control all forms of external load. Pick up your backpack from the floor, carry the shopping home, take the bins out, hold your baby, judo throw your girlfriend onto the bed - all tasks such as these involve an object (load) that is outside (external) of our body. It is indeed a necessary skill to be able to safely control your own body, but it is equally necessary to be able to safely control another body of weight.

2) LIFTING WEIGHTS UNCOVERS INSTABILITY
Moving well with your own bodyweight is necessary and a cool thing. If we are aiming to get a little better at life, we need to add some weight and find the point that we can no longer demonstrate sound movement. Squat, press, deadlift - all functional human movements that we need to be able to execute daily to some degree (to a much larger degree in sports and physical activities). If you can execute said movements correctly with a bunch of metal balancing on top of your spine (as in a back squat), then you are looking good. On the other hand if your left knee dips in a little as a you drive up out of the bottom of that squat, we've just found your go-to weak spot - the point that is most likely to sustain damage when you find yourself needing to execute the movement under stress (think 70 minutes into a football match, or 15k into a mountain race, or jogging around the block after work).


3) LIFTING WEIGHTS IS HEAPS OF FUN

This is where we need to draw the distinction between lifting to be a bodybuilder and lifting to be strong. Lifting to be strong will generally involve big multi-joint movements that our bodies are designed to do, as opposed to smaller movements that will focus on stressing a specific area. Strength training as such is more complex in its application and thus requires more skill. In my opinion, developing a skill while training is a must as it gives us something to focus and progress on, besides the feeling of burning our muscles out with repetitive movements. Kettlebell clean and press, barbell snatch, Turkish get-up - are all great examples of this. Once you have started to grasp the basics of any of the complex lifts you can start to take pride in refining your technique and improving your movement. I still take great pride in a most basic body-weight squat.

4) LIFTING WEIGHTS IS INSTANT REALITY
Check out the awesome quote from Henry Rollins at the start of the post - the weights don't lie (link to quote at bottom). From an outsiders perspective one would assume that the nature of repeating the same movement week-in and week-out would be highly monotonous. However, weighlifting has this awesome way of being the complete opposite. It is progress in its most simple form. Continually refining your technique, striving for perfect execution, all while working at the margins of what your body is capable of is anything but mindless. Its a simple and engaging pursuit. You may leave training feeling like the winner who overhead-pressed a new PB (personal best!), or you may leave training feeling like the loser who pressed less than last week - either way it will make sure you have no doubt about exactly where you stand and what you need to work on next time you're there.

As mentioned before, there are a million other reasons one may choose to lift weights - these are just a few of my favourites and are the driving reasons behind all of my clients dealing with something heavy on a regular basis. 

Check out the full essay by Henry Rollins here. Its freakin' awesome and has become a classic and well know article amongst dudes, and dudes (and dudettes) who like to lift weights. Really, read it.