Why Weight Training Is Good for Body & Mind

We all could use a boost to the old self-image every now and then. When you look good, you feel good. A confident person is noticed by others. One way to achieve this “new attitude” is through training with weights. Weight-bearing exercise is essential for every man and woman to maintain good health well into later life. And weight training is not necessarily about bulk but tone. Everybody doesn’t want to be Mr. or Ms. Olympia. Most people just want a well-proportioned figure that they can be proud of.

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The challenges of weight training help to improve the mind’s ability to focus. To perform the exercises properly takes concentration. You have to visualize each part of the movement. See what the muscle is doing when the weight is raised and when the weight is lowered. Focus keeps the body from injury. Proper technique brings the results you want in less time.

Weight training teaches discipline. The mind learns to associate a daily regimen with the achievement of your desired goals. Without a goal in mind, weight training becomes just another activity without purpose. We do enough of that already. Seeing the results of your daily effort will help reinforce the discipline. Discipline learned here will spill over into other areas of your life: your job, marriage, and child rearing.

Weight training also teaches optimism. When people walk around with a pessimistic attitude, the whole world looks half empty. Weight training can take the body you have now, whatever shape you are in, and transform it into the vision you have for yourself. But, you must believe that it is possible. The mind is the key. As the definition of the muscle starts to show, you gain a more positive outlook.

weight training (Photo credit: midwestnerd)

Humility can also develop with weight training. You’ll have good days and bad days just like with any other exercise. To get started, someone will need to show you what to do. If you are having trouble with a new technique, you will have to ask for help. Trainers in a gym are there to help. No one can do it alone. When working with heavy weights, everyone needs a spotter for safety. Needing help is not a weakness. Weight training shows that humility keeps us grounded and out of trouble.

One thing we all benefit from is higher self-esteem. Your newly fit and shapely body will definitely make you look good. When people notice, your attitude towards yourself changes. Negative thoughts of the past will be replaced with self-affirming ones. Who can argue with all these benefits? Your mind is a powerful tool. Changing how it thinks takes effort. Weight training offers a way to begin that change and make it permanent.