Reflections on Strength

When I first started exercising regularly, I had one friend who preferred weights to cardio. I just didn’t get it. I loved to move and sweat. I did the minimal weight segments that might come at the end of a gym class or the light weights that were incorporated into The Firm videos, but I never would have dedicated a whole workout to weights.

As I got into running, I learned that I needed to do more weight training to strengthen weak muscles and avoid injury. So, I reluctantly (and gradually) cut down my cardio days to add weights days.  I typically ran M/W/F/Sat and did weights T/Th.

Fast forward a few years, through some injuries that sidelined me for weeks or months on end, and my basic schedule has flipped. I generally run T/Th/Sat and do weights M/W/F. On my weights days I try to warm up for 15-30 min on the elliptical (depending on how many times I hit the snooze button), but I find myself cutting that cardio time down so I can do more strength moves.

I am afraid not to do push-ups because it took so long to build up that strength. Now, I actually enjoy the feeling of doing them with good form (strong abs and back). Lateral raises always have been a challenge, and now that I can do those with 10 lb. weights I want to keep those up as well. Bicep curls are my least favorite moves, so if I’m short on time those will get cut. On the other hand, I enjoy doing military presses and French presses. Lunges, squats and leg lifts are important to my running, so they are a pretty standard part of my routine, although I’ve slacked on the lunges lately.

I can’t explain why I like my weights days now. For the most part, I still hate pushing through a tough set, and eking out that last rep or two, but I like the immediate  satisfaction of getting through it. I do most of the moves in front of a mirror to check my form, and its one of the few (only?) times that I really look at myself in the mirror uncritically and like what I see. All those arm moves are paying off and even my abs have some definition. After a lifetime of hating my thighs I smile when I see the outline of my quads.

Don’t get me wrong–I still prefer running to weights–but instead of seeing weights as a *necessary evil* to keep me in shape for running, I have come to enjoy them for their own sake.

I have another friend who has adopted the motto “strong is the new skinny” (and yes, she just bought the t-shirt!). That resonates with me. I enjoy fitting into my “skinny jeans,” but my goal is not to be skinny, it is to be healthy, fit and, yes, strong.