
How Strength Training Changes Your Body for Good - dashboard
http://time.com/4824531/strength-training-women-exercise/
======
spodek
Since I bet the overwhelming majority of our 300,000 years worth of homo
sapiens ancestors and countless more years of prior ancestors exercised in
these ways as a matter of course, I would instead title it

"How sedentary lifestyles and lack of strength training degrade your body and
mind."

~~~
gutnor
Not sure if I made that comment already on HN. But I was watching a
documentary on some amazonian hunter-gatherer tribe.

All the men from teens to elders looked like gym models. It never struck me
until I was in my 30's - but really I have the body of a sick individual and
the guy on the gym adverts is actually what the human body looks by design,
not some sort of aspirational dream.

~~~
jseliger
_All the men from teens to elders looked like gym models. It never struck me
until I was in my 30 's - but really I have the body of a sick individual and
the guy on the gym adverts is actually what the human body looks by design,
not some sort of aspirational dream._

I've seen comments like this before, and they're valid, but I've also seen
evolutionary biologists and/or anthropologists point out too that many if not
most people who are wounded or sick die. So you're also seeing selection bias,
where the healthy thrive and you don't see the unhealthy because they're dead.

~~~
nandemo
I don't get it; I mean, I understand the idea of selection bias but what does
that have to do with grandparent's point?

OK, a relatively large percent of hunter-gatherers die due lack of antibiotics
& other modern medicine. But gp isn't claiming it'd be a good idea to return
to a full hunter-gatherer lifestyle. They're just observing that "this is what
a biologically normal, healthy homo sapiens looks like". And if you go to the
gym you might replicate that -- presumably without incurring the fate of
short-lived hunter-gatherers.

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shahbaby
One thing I wish I realized earlier in regards to strength training:

It's very easy to do at home if you have the space for it.

You don't need an expensive machine. A used power rack and bench can be found
for cheap. I now get my workouts done in the amount of time it would've taken
me to drive to/from the gym. Listen to whatever music I like. Don't have to
worry about other people. Don't have to worry about weather.

~~~
cameldrv
Very true. Dialing it down even further, a bench and a set of adjustable
dumbbells can be had for even cheaper and take up a lot less space. You won't
be able to progress as far, particularly with leg exercises, but a small flat
bench with dumbbells under it fits in the corner of a room when not in use.
The power rack, bench, weights, and barbell may not be too expensive, but the
extra room to hold all of them is.

That said, I'm a huge fan of the home workout. There's at least an hour worth
of time overhead in going to the gym, and there's mental activation energy
too. At home, I can easily start a workout, I never wait for a machine, I
change in my bedroom instead of a locker room, I'm using my own shower, and it
takes zero time to get there.

Especially for beginners, the downsides of only having dumbbells are dwarfed
by the benefits of doing it at home.

~~~
Chris2048
Honest question:

I live in a small apartment, is another issue not smell?

i.e, the room with gym equipment may begin to smell of sweat?

~~~
hokkos
Not it won't, your SO will notice the smell after a session, but with proper
ventilation it will be quickly gone.

But the coating of the weight may smell very bad, it depends on the material :

un-coated plates won't smell, but will make lot of noise when stacked together
and will easily put a dent in a wooden floor

rubber coated plates are silent, but will smell horrible for months, depending
on the storage where you brought it, I had to clean mine 3 times with lots of
recipes, and put it on the balcony for weeks, and even now I still notice a
smell in the room.

I would go for urethane plates, won't smell and are silent.

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donretag
"The average American flat-out loathes strength training. While about half of
people do the recommended amount of aerobic activity each week, only 20% also
do the muscle-strengthening moves that work major muscle groups."

That definitely sums up myself. I am a cyclist. My totals for this week are
147.1 miles with 15,497 feet of climbing (I do nothing but mountains, flat is
boring!), but if you ask me to do 10 push ups, I will complain! For me aerobic
activity engages my mind. There is a destination. The environment moves and is
changing. When climbing up a hill, I have no choice to push myself if I am
ever going to get to the top. Push ups? I simply stop when my body resists.

Despite my complaints, I do some strength training. Core strength is important
in cycling and it is my upper body that fails during long rides, not my legs.
My legs can keep going, but my shoulders give out due to constant vibrations.

~~~
randlet
You'd probably see nice returns in your cycling if you started doing heavy
barbell squats too.

~~~
brandonmenc
Maybe.

afaik, most elite cyclists do not squat. I'm guessing endurance and low body
weight are more advantageous to the sport.

I'm sure there are studies. Can anyone else chime in?

~~~
dchapp
Elite track cyclists--i.e., the ones who ride at 40+ kmph on velodromes--
definitely do squat. I wouldn't be surprised if they also incorporated power
cleans and deadlifts.

Example:
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aOImvJOaGiY](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aOImvJOaGiY)

~~~
brandonmenc
Yes, track cyclists do indeed lift, but it seems OP is an endurance cyclist.

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Aron
Weight training doesn't make your muscles bigger, it inspires your body to
make your muscles bigger. So my question has always been, if having bigger
muscles is good why doesn't the body just do it? It certainly has to be aware
that I'm operating with a calorie surplus.

~~~
garraeth
Even if you are operating with a calorie surplus, you'd need to eat an optimal
mix of nutrients to maintain extra muscle. Most people (most likely) cannot
simply ramp up amounts of what you currently eat.

For example, if you suddenly require 5000 c/day, you cannot simply eat more
pizza, MT Dew, etc. You have to eat 5000 c/day of nutrient rich food. Your
muscles do not only require calories. This is actually very hard to do
(imagine how much actual food volume you have to process)!

You also need many more macronutrients to keep things going (all that extra
food needs to be processed), and clean (significantly more waste byproducts
produced).

Your cardiovascular system needs to grow in conjunction with the extra muscle
-- it must keep up. As does your skeletal (bones, ligaments/tendons).

~~~
ec109685
Which nutrients are pizza missing for building muscle? The problem with pizza
is that it is way too easy to over indulge, but I don't think it is lacking
"nutrients".

~~~
tejohnso
Protein. Pizza is a high carb dish in most cases. If you're getting a whole
chicken breast worth of chicken per two or three slices, that's a different
story. But in general it's mostly a bunch of white bread with some tasty sauce
on it.

~~~
ntsplnkv2
Pizza has cheese which has a decent amount of protein in it.

Lots of pizzas also have meat toppings as well.

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havella
Indoor climbing/bouldering is a nice alternative for ppl who find lifting
boring. Despite mostly engaging upper body, it really gives you a good workout
with the added problem solving challenge, balance and flexibility training.

~~~
agumonkey
What I like about climbing, despite never having done it,

    
    
      - blends power and subtlety
      - blends static and dynamic
      - involves almost all limb chains
    

The added "route planning" effort also forces your brain into deep focus. A
climber said for him every second is an hour.

And on actual rock, having to judge a grabbing surface on the fly is beautiful
to me, like playing violin.

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deskamess
Do we always need additional/external weights, or are there any body weight
exercises that can target your bones? Perhaps leg bones are easier since the
body weight goes through them. How about upper body (like shoulder area) and
the spine?

~~~
js2
You can do a lot with just bodyweight, but even the r/bodyweight folks
recommend using a barbell for squats and deadlifts.

~~~
tejohnso
You can get pretty far with kettlebells too. And they're easier to deal with
for a home gym.

~~~
js2
Do you have a site you recommend with good routines? r/kettlebell maybe?

I'm familiar with kettlebells from Crossfit, but I know CF catches a lot of
flak for how they use them.

~~~
tejohnso
Haven't been to r/kettlebell but I like what they have over at onnit[1] for
beginners. I'm in the camp that would recommend against crossfit.

[1] [https://www.onnit.com/academy/full-body-kettlebell-
workout-f...](https://www.onnit.com/academy/full-body-kettlebell-workout-for-
beginners/)

