When I injured my hip and wasn’t allowed to lift, I gave up. I wanted my body to be fixed as soon as possible so I could get back to lifting. When doubt crept over my sports doctor’s face about training upper body, I decided to stop completely. In hindsight that was the worst possible thing I could have done. Training is as much about looking after your mental wellbeing as your physical, and by not training, my confidence started to dwindle.
Right now I’m going through a period of change and instability. It’s exciting, but it doesn’t come without its challenges. Amongst all of this, one of the things I am most grateful for is my strength training practice.
It provides stability.
When you build a training practice you build a rhythm. As long as the heart continues to beat, we’re ok. As long as you’re in the practice, it can go through periods of fluctuation - more intense training phases, lighter recovery phases and periods of rest. But as long as we are intentional in our practice and in our way of training, we are ok.
Humans love stability. It’s ingrained into us. Sure, there are some people who get a thrill out of extreme adventure and high risk, but underneath it all, we all fall somewhere in the middle of the stability-risk continuum. We see it in children. They need stability. They crave adventure — but not too much. And although they might not comprehend it yet, they need patterns, rhythms and certainty.
As we get older we get to experiment with it a bit more. You find the things that you need for your own stability, be that relationships, jobs, place and adventure.
One of mine is strength training.
For me, it’s not about the gym or training community — although those things are nice-to-have. It’s about the practice. It's about knowing that if you are feeling vulnerable, your training time should be a priority.
Whether you schedule it into your day intentionally or are deep enough into the practice that you will go regardless, both ways of training provide stability.
Lifting weights in a sustainable way, regulates cortisol and lowers stress.
When the body perceives a threat, it releases cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that’s automatically released as part of your fight or flight complex. It basically works to shut down any functions that are less critical in that moment so that you can deal with the immediate threat. It’s pretty cool really.
The problem comes when we are living in constant states of stress.
Exercise is indeed perceived by the body as a stress state. However, the more we train and the more we expose the body to stimulus over an extended period of time (sustainable training), the less threat it perceives and the better it can regulate cortisol release. Ultimately we can handle more stimulus both physically and emotionally, without becoming stressed.
You feel a sense of accomplishment.
Nothing compares to lifting a weight you never thought you would be able to lift. I have clients who were self-confessed ‘gym-averse’ when they started with me. People who said they had no intention of ever getting under the barbell, yet 3 years later are now regularly squatting 100 kilos.
Learning to lift weight in a safe and sustainable way, not only future-proofs your body but shows you what you are truly capable of. Once you have established a strong foundation, eliminated any movement compensations and learned to listen to your body, you get to own your training practice.
You flip a switch when you step up to the bar
This morning I was struggling. I was in my head too much and it was nothing to do with training. Deep breathing wasn’t working. Positive self-talk wasn’t working. But as soon as I stepped up to the bar and clicked my lifting belt closed I felt my mindset change.
I was no longer focused on whatever else was going on in my life and I could completely zone in on the lift.
It wasn’t PB territory for me, but I really wanted it to go well. That’s my perfectionism right there.
I visualised how I wanted the bar to move and I tuned into the muscles I needed to activate. The lift was smooth. The weight moved well and I immediately felt more at peace.
Of course, not every session will go like this. But the key is to stay in the practice. There are so many more benefits than just physical. And if your training session is one hour out of your day that you get to step away from other troubles, I’d say that's a win.
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