Weights and why everyone should use them

I'm going to get a little preachy for a few minutes, because it's important, guys. For reals.

I've had loads of female friends over the years who have been interested in going to the gym, improving their health, or getting fitter. Some of them went out and pursued it, while others had the same level of ambition I always used to have. (Until I didn't.)

Nearly all of these ladies had the same thing in common: they didn't want to lift weights.

"Oh," they'd say, "I don't want to look all muscley."

I would nod along with them, as though it were indeed a terrible fate to be a female with muscles. Heaven forbid!

But here's the thing: those 'muscley' women on the covers of fitness magazines didn't get that way overnight. They didn't get that way by going to the gym a few times, or even a few times a week. They didn't get that way over the course of a month or two.

They got that way through months, if not years, of a strictly-regimented diet and a fitness routine of hours a day, six days a week. I sure as heck won't get there from picking up a set of dumbbells twice a week.

Additionally, all this fat I have is hiding my muscle, anyway. The muscles I've worked so hard to build are still hidden. As that fat begins to disappear, the muscles will become evident, and let me tell you, I can't wait for that day.

So if lifting weights a few times a week won't make a person ripped, what will it do? Well, I'll tell you.

It'll burn calories while you're doing it. It'll burn calories after you're done. It'll create the sort of body that's made for doing work, which makes exercise that much easier. Just as eating and weight gain became a sort of horrible self-fulfilling prophecy for me, weight training and cardio feed off each other. It all just plain gets better.

Even more significantly, weight training provides all of us, including older adults, with numerous health benefits. Just as aerobic activity is good for cardiovascular health, weight training contributes to overall wellness and should never be overlooked in a fitness program. They're too important to skip out on.

There. Now that I've got that out of the way, I would like to tell you that my trainer made me do legs on Monday. It was exhausting and grueling, and I considered running for the door at least once. (I'm pretty sure J is faster than me, though. So I didn't.)

To nobody's surprise, I was visibly limping yesterday. Being the trooper that I am and wanting to stick to my fitness plan, I went to the gym anyway and decided to concentrate on arms. At the time, it was a great idea; I went on lunch break, so I was on a schedule. I didn't have long to invest, and I went in, got the job done, and went back to work. I felt terribly accomplished.

At 3am, however, when I wanted to roll over and disentangle myself from my blankets, it wasn't nearly as enjoyable. Having neither working legs nor working arms creates a significant challenge, and I flailed around like a beached fish just trying to get to the other pillow.

It was spectacular.

So tonight is a night off from the gym. I sit here, typing, sad that I'm not on the treadmill instead... until I try to get up, make that grunty noise (you know the one), fail to get up, and continue to sit here, not feeling so bad about it anymore.

Here's hoping for a better tomorrow!