
Why I lift - dmit
https://www.snoyman.com/blog/2017/06/why-i-lift
======
nxsynonym
Lifting (free weights) has done more for my life than I could have ever
imagined.

I was always the guy who thought only frat bros, meat heads, and convicts
spent time lifting. I was dead wrong.

I've been lifting consistently for just over a year now, and while the
physical changes are great, the mental changes are immense. I sleep better,
hold on to anger less, am more focused, and have MORE energy. But the biggest
lesson I've learned is how to fail consistently. I am at a point where I am
failing a lift almost every week, but still make progress. This lesson has
carried over into every avenue of my life.

I would encourage everyone (male and female) to at least try two weeks of
starting strength or SL5x5. It takes 3 hours a week and the benefits show
within the first few gym days. If you are an active person already but haven't
tried lifting, try it. You won't get "too bulky" from picking up weights 3
times a week. Most people train HARD 5-7 days per week to achieve body-builder
status, and it's not something you can get accidentally.

------
acconrad
> _But here 's the best part for me: lifting is an escape, in a way that most
> other "leisure" activities (reading, watching TV, etc) are not. When I'm
> doing a bench press, it is a simple battle between me and gravity. There are
> no complex deadlocks to debug, no decisions around corporate strategy to
> make, no challenges with children's education._

This. Lifting is my meditation, my center. When I was a kid I was very
agitated and irritable...I was voted "Most Intense" as my high school senior
superlative (and that was meant to be pejorative). I was also super skinny and
picked on for that. People who only know me recently have told me they
couldn't believe that was possible because I always seem so level-headed and
well, bigger than most people...well years under the bar will be that kind of
therapy for you.

Lifting / fitness, the whole thing has been my savior in a way. Without it I
don't think I would have the skills to get me where I am today. It has also
gotten me to appreciate the journey, and not simply reaching the end of a
goal/todo item. You never "lift all the weight"...there's always more to lift,
and it's an eternal race between you and what your body can produce. It's
incredible.

------
tsomctl
One thing that is omitted is stretching. Stretching is absolutely critical to
preventing injury and helping you gain. At the very least, bend over to touch
your toes, do lunges, and stretch out your chest. Anecdotally, I was having
rotator cuff pain (both my dad and grandpa have ruined their right rotator
cuffs) and I wasn't gaining on bench presses. Stretching out my pecs
completely solved it.

And I also recommend StrongLifts 5x5.

~~~
cholantesh
Static stretching hasn't really been correlated with injury prevention or
improved performance. Depending on the exercises you were doing, though, you
might have achieved greater shoulder stability, which is important for the
bench press.

------
thehoff
I just got back from the gym a little while ago ending my third week of this
program:

[https://www.julian.com/learn/muscle/intro](https://www.julian.com/learn/muscle/intro)

It's been great and I actually look forward to going now. I spend 45min to an
hour there so it doesn't take up a ton of time.

I want to move on to SL5x5 after this one but go to my apartment gym which
does not have a barbell. Any suggestions/comments about a smith machine (which
it does have) and/or dumbbells?

~~~
cholantesh
The smith machine is dangerous and suboptimal for most forms of training. If
you want to do inverted rows as a stepping stone for pullups, go ahead.
Otherwise, avoid them.

Dumbbells can be used for SSLP/SL, but are not ideal:

1) They make incremental loading, which is the core of these programs, very
difficult. If you're lucky, your gym will have 2.5lb increments; if not, you
may have to buy a pair of 2.5 magnet weights.

2) The lower body movements in these programs are most ideally performed with
barbells; there aren't really good dumbbell analogues for squats, deadlifts,
and especially power cleans.

However, for strength imbalances, especially in the upper body, they can be
very helpful. Many trainees end up using dumbbell bench to this end. Dumbbell
OHP/military press/Arnold press is also possible and probably good for
hypertrophy of the upper back.

Ultimately, though, for the best results you'll want to do the programs as
intended - with a barbell.

