Weightlifting

Everyone should start lifting weights. Except for the obvious health benefits exercising brings, I see at least four additional advantages weightlifting has over other sports.

First, it’s highly efficient to build muscles and endurance. One thing I hate about bodyweight exercises is how long each session takes after a few months of practice: it’s incredibly boring to me. In weightlifting, each session is easily time-bounded, and thus predictable. You just have to do X series of Y repetitions 3 times per week with some rest time in between sets, and growth will come. Consistency (and sleep and diet, of course) is the only thing you need to progress, but the duration of each session stays roughly the same.  

Progressive overload is also amazingly satisfying. Adding 2.5kg for one session to the next, a beginner quickly makes progress. Seeing how the weights pile up and how the body changes after a few months can only be encouraging. It gives confidence, a promise of both change and control: if you have control over your body, you get a hold of your mind to create the changes you need.

Weightlifting can appear quite repetitive. It can rebuke some people, but I think it’s one of the best things about it. Repetition gives room to a meditative practice. When you start lifting weights, the first step is to learn proper form and proper breathing. It’s a form of meditation where you have to focus on your breath and scan your entire body. Gym mirrors give very little clue about proper form. It’s often about listening to your body and seeing how it reacts. You need a little bit of pain to gain muscles, but a broken back won’t do you any good. It’s all about feeling the right balance, from within.

Speaking about pain, weightlifting is great to teach yourself resilience. A weightlifter has to face failure every time she shows up. If your muscles aren’t failing, you’re not making any progress. It can be discouraging to fail to complete a set, or hit a plateau and being forced back to lighter weights, but it’s part of the process. You need to lose a little bit to win a lot.

There is more to weightlifting than Instagram models and meatheads. I find it highly philosophical, just like walking. This is probably the reason why I like to lift in my garden or go to the gym early in the morning when there is no one around: it’s a privileged moment where you have to focus deeply and live in the moment.