Why Everyone Should be Lifting Weights, Not Just Athletes

I want to talk about the importance of lifting weights. If you have been doing so for a while, awesome, but if you have been hesistant to make it the MAIN part of your workout routine, then this is the article for you. And yes, I said, it should be the MAIN part of your workout routine.

Let’s clear something up though, you do not need to be a bodybuilder, a pro athlete, or a gym junkie to start lifting weights

In fact, if your goal is to age well, stay active, lose fat, or just feel better in your own skin, like most of us, lifting weights is one of the smartest things you can do, no matter your age or fitness level, and this is something that needs to be programmed into your mind and weekly routine for the rest of your life.

Here’s a couple of the big reasons why:

1. You’ll burn more calories at rest AND when you’re active.
Muscle tissue is very metabolically active, meaning the more you have, the more your body burns even when you’re just sitting at your desk or watching Netflix. It’s the cheat code we didn’t know we had. For example, by lifting weights an average of 3 times per week for a year could increase your lean tissue by 3–5lbs (which is not much when spread throughout your entire body). Those 3–5lbs of more muscle could help you stave off around 2lbs of fat per year. I know, it doesn’t sound like a lot but remember, this is fat loss while at rest!! AND to make things better, those 3–5lbs can now produce more overall work each day when you are active, which translates to burning more and more calories each day as you workout, go for walks, and so on. The combination of the two is how you create real body composition change and/or maintain your progress over time.

And the best one …

2. It improves your mindset.
Lifting weights isn’t just physical. It builds confidence, resilience, and a sense of control that spills over into the rest of your life.

But here is the hook…

I recently left a presentation that explored why people have such a hard time adhering to diets and exercise programs long term and one of the biggest points that was made had to do with emotional resilience, and more specifically maintaining a positive emotional state.

There were a few important factors that were highlighted.

1. Most people have trouble getting started on a diet or exercise program because they are unhappy with themselves or their life situation, they may not like the way they look, or their inability to be where they want to be. The more unhappier they were, the longer it took to get started, or the harder it took to continue beyond a few days when they did begin.

2. When people did get started and made it beyond the first few days, they do well and their adherence to the diet or exercise program is high. Why is this? Well, because they feel happier. They begin to feel happier with how they look (initial weight loss, clothes feeling different, digestion better) and their overall energy / mood state improves. BUT, when their emotional states starts to decline (feeling of a plateau, not getting the same emotional response from the workouts, or life begins to interject) their adherence suffers and the effect is the positive emotions turn negative.

Negative emotions begin to drop adherence and the spiral of being on again/off again begins again.

This is where lifting comes in. Lifting provides the continued heightened emotional response that can help and continue the progress that people are looking for. Changing your body composition, feeling stronger, being more confident, keeping the feeling of more energy and better ability to accomplish daily tasks helps to maintain a positive state.

Lifting for your Body + Lifting for your Emotional State

= Higher adherence + Success long term

You don’t need a gym. You don’t even need weights to begin.

Start with bodyweight: squats, push-ups, planks, lunges
Add resistance bands or dumbbells when ready
Train 2–4 times per week, focusing on full-body movements
Always prioritize form over weight

This isn’t about “bulking up.” It’s about building a stronger, more capable version of yourself.

If you’re not already strength training, this is your sign to start.

Let me know if you’d like a simple beginner workout, I can get one to you.

You’re stronger than you think.

Dr. Dan Dodd is an Exercise Science and Nutrition Coach and is an avid writer on Nutrition, Exercise, Metabolism and Body Composition. If you’d like to receive more stories, subscribe to get these stories and more.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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