Strength Training Has Nothing to Do With Exercise

When you hear strength training, you may picture bulky bodybuilders, clanging weights and intimidating machines you’re not quite sure how to use. But that image? It’s outdated! Today, more people than ever—especially women—are picking up weights! Not to “bulk up,” but to feel strong, capable, confident, and in control! And honestly? It’s one of the best shifts happening in fitness right now. As a coach, I’ve been waiting for this exact moment the last 20+ years! Here’s why: Strength training isn’t about bodybuilders. It’s about real life. It’s about your life! At Results Fitness, we love weights, but lifting isn’t really about the weights themselves. It’s about preparing you for everything outside the gym. Because those weights aren’t just building muscle—they’re helping you:

• Walk, sit, and stand with ease
• Carry groceries, luggage, or a full laundry basket without thinking twice
• Pick up your kids or grandkids and actually enjoy it
• Stay balanced, mobile, and confident while traveling, exploring, and chasing new experiences
• Keep doing the things you love—without fear of injury or limitation

Being strong isn’t about flexing in the mirror or lifting the heaviest weight in the room. It’s about independence. It’s about knowing you can get off the floor, out of the car and through your day without help. It’s about protecting the life you’ve worked hard to build—and being able to enjoy it for decades to come. And here’s the best part: It’s never too late to start! Start now, and you’ll feel stronger, healthier, and more energized—while setting yourself up for a future where your body supports you instead of holding you back! Don’t start, and life doesn’t just get harder… it gets harder sooner than you expect! That’s why strength training is the core of everything we do here at Results Fitness. It’s the single best long-term investment you can make in your body, your confidence, your mental health, and your quality of life! Because strong isn’t a trend—it’s a requirement for living well! In today’s blog, you’ll learn:

• Why You Avoid Weights (and how to move past it)
• 14 Reasons to Start Lifting Weights NOW!
• Tips to Get Started

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ WHY YOU AVOID WEIGHTS There are plenty of reasons you may avoid lifting weights —misconceptions, past experiences, injuries, or just not knowing where to start. Let’s clear the air so you’ve got the facts and confidence to make strength training work for you! Reason #1: “Weights Are Harder Than Cardio” Cardio seems simple—you hop on a treadmill and go! Strength training, on the other hand, feels more intimidating because it requires learning proper form and technique, and most gyms don’t show you how. If you’ve ever walked into a gym, looked at the weights and felt lost—you’re not alone!

That’s why you always work with a coach here at Results Fitness – so you can exercise safely and effectively! And yes, lifting can feel uncomfortable at first—but that challenge is exactly what makes it so effective for your health, strength and longevity!

That’s why more and more women, especially 40+, are shifting from cardio to strength training. Many of our members came to Results Fitness feeling weaker in daily life or dealing with osteopenia, osteoporosis or arthritis—and strength training is what’s helping them feel stronger, healthier and more capable than ever!

Reason #2: “Weights Are for Bodybuilders and Athletes” Forget the image of grunting bodybuilders! Strength training is for all ages, all fitness levels!  The beauty of it is adaptability: with the right coach, your workouts can be safe, effective, and tailored to your fitness level and needs. That’s why every program at Results Fitness is 100% customized to YOU! Reason #3: “My Joints or Injuries Can’t Handle It” Got bad knees, hips, or back pain? You may have been told lifting isn’t safe—but the truth is the opposite! When done properly under the direction of experienced coaches like our team here at Results Fitness, strength training reduces your pain, improves your mobility and strengthens the very joints you’re worried about! Many of our members came in with arthritis, knee replacements or chronic aches—and now move better than ever! Reason #4: “Lifting Weights Will Make Me Bulky!” This is the #1 fear among women—and it’s simply not true.  Lifting weights helps you get leaner, stronger, and more “defined”- cardio alone won’t do it! Muscle takes up less space in your body than fat, so adding muscle actually makes you look smaller, not bigger. The “bulk” you feel and or fear is really body fat, which comes from what you eat—not lifting weights. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 14 REASONS TO LIFT WEIGHTS

If you want a workout that truly improves your health, helps you look and feel your best, and supports an active, capable life—strength training delivers.

That’s why it’s the foundation of everything we do at Results Fitness. While cardio has its benefits, strength training provides the biggest return on your time and effort.

What matters most is how you do it. The right coaching, proper technique and a program built around your goals, abilities, and limitations make all the difference.

Every Results Fitness program is fully personalized—from where you’re starting, to how hard you want to push, to accommodating injuries, aches, or mobility concerns.

Here are 14 reasons strength training is essential—no matter your age or fitness level—and why you want to start now! (Note: “heavy weights” is relative to  YOU).

1. Builds Confidence: Picking up a heavy weight is empowering and that confidence carries into every role you play outside the gym—as a spouse, parent, friend, employee, etc.

2. Improves Strength:  Being strong makes everyday life easie—from carrying all the groceries in one trip to picking up your kids or grandkids pain free!

3. Decreases Joint Pain: Stronger muscles support weaker joints which reduces chronic pain in shoulders, knees, hips, low back.

4. Decreases Fat & Builds Lean Muscle:  The more muslce you have, the more fat your body burns, creating a leaner, more ‘toned’ aesthetic!

5. Increases Metabolism: Muscle requires energy, even at rest so the more muscle you build, the higher your daily calorie burn—plus, up to 48 hours after a workout!

6. Prevents Injury: Connective tissues adapt and strengthen with weight training, making it harder to get injured!

7. Strengthens Your Heart: Heavy lifting challenges your cardiovascular system in a powerful way, forcing the heart to work harder and ultimately get stronger!

8. Creates Stronger Bones:  Builds stronger, thicker bones that are harder to injure and protects against / slow the progression of osteoporosis and osteopenia!

9. Repairs Cartilage: Stimulates nutrients to flow through cartilage, aiding repair and improving joint health—something high-impact cardio can’t do.

10. Increases Athleticism:  Improves your ability to generate power—critical for movements like sprinting, jumping, and simply staying active and agile.

11. Prevents Disease: Lowers your risk for chronic dieseases and quite simply, stronger people tend to live longer—and better!

12. Enhances Recovery: Lifting helps your body release “repair hormones” so you get stronger and recover faster!

13. Creates Mental Toughness:  Pushing through tough workouts builds grit and resilience you’ll use in all parts of life!

14. Promotes Continued Improvement: Allows for endless progression compared to most other workouts! While activities like cardio or yoga offer some level of gradual progression, they don’t compare to the ability to improve so much for so long.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

TIPS TO GET STARTED

Now that you know why strength training = a healthier, happier, stronger YOU, you may be wondering how often you should train—and if you’re new, where (and how) to start.

First, the frequency.

The sweet spot for most people is at least 3 strength training sessions per week, paired with active recovery or cardio-based movement like walking, yoga, or Pilates. What matters most is consistently hitting those three sessions—it doesn’t matter if they’re spread out or stacked into a busy week.

But here’s the part that matters most if you’re new to lifting weights: How you start is everything.

Strength training is incredibly powerful—but only when it’s done correctly, safely, and at the right level for your body. Jumping into random workouts, copying what you see online, or lifting weights that don’t match your current abilities is one of the fastest ways to get frustrated—or injured.

That’s why working with a coach and following a program that adapts to your starting point isn’t optional—it’s essential.

At Results Fitness, we meet you exactly where you are. Every workout is built around:

• Your experience level (even if that level is “brand new”)

• Your goals and comfort level

• Any injuries, aches, or movement limitations

• Progressing at a pace that builds confidence and results

If you’re ready to jump on the strength trainnig bandwagon and live the best life possible, book a free intro call with our team HERE!