There's plenty of research on the benefits of cardiovascular exercise for your lungs and heart health.
There's also plenty of research on the benefits of lifting heavy weights for your joints, muscles, metabolism, and bone density.
I'm not here to tell you that lifting weights will help you lose weight -- even though it can. I'm not here to tell you that burpees will help keep your heart healthy -- even though they will. I'm not even here to tell you that overcoming your own limits will improve your mental health and make you feel great about yourself.
Sometimes, people aren't motivated by amorphous "benefits." Kind of like how we know vegetables are good for us, but we still don't really eat them enough.
I'm thirty-two years old. I have four children. I'm overweight, especially for how tall (or rather, how short) I am. I regularly go to the gym to lift heavy things and participate in some pretty grueling conditioning workouts: rowing, burpees, running, biking, bear crawls, box jumps, wall balls, hill sprints etc. I recently took my kids on a road trip from Iowa to Idaho for a family reunion without help from my husband or any other adult.
After a day of 8 hours behind the wheel, I was stiff, but not sore. My knees and hips were strong enough to take that punishment with minimal complaints.
Our first hotel room was on the second floor. There were no elevators. I carried the pack-n-play, the backpacks, the suitcase, and the baby up the stairs in a single trip, and I was fine. I had the grip strength, I could manage the weight, and I had the core stability to keep everything balanced.
We arrived at our destination -- a cabin partially up the side of a mountain. I unloaded my car, pulling gear in a wagon uphill from a gravelly parking lot to the door. It was tough, but I could do it.
I went on a hike with my aunt. It was a tough hike with consistent elevation gain. My heart and legs were fine on the way up. On the way down, I had the stability and strength to navigate the steep downward grade without much issue. The tendons in both my legs were aching, and by the time we got to the bottom, my calves, hamstrings, and quads were all equally burnt out, but not to the point of regret or injury.
The trail was less intense, but still had many steep places, especially toward the summit. While the increased elevation and thinner air were challenging for my companions, I did not notice any difficulty in catching my breath. The conditioning workouts at Sisu Strength Academy prepared me to hike at a much higher elevation without a decrease in oxygen delivery. Shortly before we reached the top, my hiking companions began to wonder if it was worth continuing on. I volunteered to scout ahead and was able to quickly run to the top, returning back down to reassure them it was not much further. My niece felt too tired to continue, so I was able to put her on my back and carry her for a good portion of the remaining distance.
We descended the mountain, returning home for lunch. I was tired, but the kids wanted to try tubing the small rapids from the river that runs through the town of Lava Hot Springs. I agreed and we rented a tube. We thought we'd only go one time, but the kids were all clamoring to go again after our first run. Because we'd anticipated only going once, we had not paid extra for the shuttle to take us back up to the top of the river with our four-man tube. Well, there was nothing to do but carry it back. I slung it over my back like a turtle shell and held it up with both arms in the air. It was not heavy at first, but after a few blocks, I definitely began to feel the ache in my shoulders and upper back. But, I did it. We went down again, and it was a good time for everybody.
I still had the stamina to make dinner, play some games, and make several trips to and from the car and up and down the stairs to the basement.
The next day, we loaded up the car. More stairs and hotel rooms. More carrying tired children. More saying yes to swimming in the hotel pool even though I was pretty tired. More hours behind the wheel.
These sorts of things aren't unique to me. Anybody who follows a similar fitness regimen would have the same abilities, or honestly, better ones. At my gym, I'm not a headliner. I'm just average.
What people don't talk about and what isn't apparent in before and after pictures is capacity. I didn't have limitless energy on this trip, and I certainly needed sleep by the time each evening came, but I felt so capable the entire time. I felt I could just continually keep tapping into the strength I've developed. I didn't need help, even if I might have wanted it. I could carry everything myself, even if it was uncomfortable to do so. I always felt like I had more in the tank. It's more than just physical strength -- it's mental strength as well. I was capable.
You should try strength and conditioning because it's not just a box jump -- it's a painless mountain descent. It's not just a deadlift -- it's carrying a crate up a flight of stairs without injury. It's not just a strict overhead press -- it's hauling a heavy tube over your head for half a mile. It's not just a hill sprint or meters on a rower or calories on a bike or how many burpees you can do in a minute -- it's the process of incrementally increasing your capacity to breathe without a problem in much thinner air. Increasing your capacity to be useful. Ready for more.
