Training to feel good and look good, not just because you should.

With strength training it’s simple in a way, you look like what you do – not instantly but very slowly over time. My body has adapted to cope with what I am asking it to do, and that is a miracle that never ceases to amaze me. Newspapers and the media are continuously pushing strength training to us as the answer to ageing well and retaining independence. Instagram is full of mid-lifers saying, I am not lifting to look good I am lifting to be able to be able to stand up of the loo when I am older. Good for them, and they are right, but my reasons for lifting heavy are much more centred on the here and now – I want to feel good, I want to be really strong, and I want to look good, now. And most importantly I want to enjoy the activity I spend so much of my life doing – it’s not work, it’s not punishment, it’s actually fun (and don’t let any gatekeepers tell you different) even when it’s hard.

Lockdown is partly responsible for my wholehearted embrace of the strength (and muscle building) process. Whereas much of the world was outside in the sunshine running, I instantly decided I was not going to run because that is what we were supposed to be doing, embracing the outdoors and waving at a distance to our neighbours. No, for me I decided to buy a barbell and continue my strength journey at home. I was already used to the term ‘leg day’ and had already reached the milestone of the 100kg deadlift. I had started to notice muscle appearing. Before there really weren’t any. I had lost pregnancy, and to be honest pre-pregnancy, weight on Slimming World but I had probably lost what muscle I had ever had along with the fat….

So by 2020’s lockdown I could feel that my shoulders were stronger, my arms, core (actual 6-pack) and legs, but really I was a baby compared to now. Eventually I realised that my desire to get strong was enough to ease up on trying to maintain my lightest adult weight and that I would probably progress and also find it more fun if I developed more muscles, and this involved eating more and maybe also accepting a little bit of fat that comes along with it. So there started the forever tug of war in my head between strength and aesthetics, and what I have seen as the battle between looking good in gym clothes (muscles look good in these) versus looking good in a tailored trouser suit (better suited to the flat-bottomed version of me). I think there may be a whole other post required on office dressing for gains because this is one thing I really want to get the answer to….

But this post is about the positive benefits of strength training – and I don’t mean the odd session in the weights section of the gym. I mean almost 5 years of heavy barbell, dumbbell, cable machine workouts 5+ days per week, every week even sometimes on holiday (because it is actually fun – another post coming for this part). In my 20s and 30s I had probably seen photographs of women in the gym holding very small (often pink) dumbbells but now women are comfortable in the weights section of the gym, and once I got over the fear factor, I felt very much that this is where I belonged. So here are the 4 most significant physical changes that I have noticed in myself, and how i feel about them.

1. Overall feeling of strength, capability and therefore, confidence

Having never really been strong before, there is nothing like the feeling of having achieved a really heavy lift, or having pushed through with some relatively heavy strength work at volume. There’s nothing like lifting more than you did previously, or if not more then better or more easily. When I am in the gym I feel that I deserve to be there and it’s so nice to have built that feeling of strength capability. But when out of the gym the feeling of strength which is physical, but also feels internal, remains and is always there. When people who are strong wear baggy tops or don’t really draw attention to their muscles or strength they are known as having a ‘sleeper’ physique and I guess that’s how it feels, walking round the supermarket carrying a heavy basket of shopping and feeling, well, strong and it doesn’t even need to be seen because it is now internal. There is no way that I would have walked into a social environment like a club, party or a bar with nearly as much confidence as I do now, particularly when I was unfit and also trying to hide or disguise my body because I didn’t like it. Simply, it’s a feeling of being, relatively, the aforementioned badass.

Even though I am getting older (spoiler alert: we all are!) physically I feel stronger and more competent. I still want to get stronger and do not see that there is an age-based ceiling to performance. In a way it’s lucky to start later because then you get the newbie gains, which are just so vey exciting. Starting, and just deciding to carry on is the thing. I have found reserves of determination I never knew I had, along with the muscles that I never knew were there.

2. Legs that are athletic, secure, reliable

Some of us have not got beautiful legs. That’s me. They are long but were never particularly shapely. Now I would describe them as athletic and that to me is the fucking coolest thing, frankly. They are strong, powerful and that to me is beautiful. We read all the time about the importance, health-wise, of having strong legs and how increasingly important this is as we age. That’s all true but it’s just nice to walk around daily with a really strong set of pins, that also look strong. This to me screams competence, health, athleticism. My knees no longer hurt going up and down stairs. They are bloody sore a lot of the time from training but I would not have it any other way.

3. Glutes providing power and stability (also being hot)

Glutes are the thing that everyone wants. But, for me there is a very important reason for having strong glutes and there is no doubt that it is nicer for me to have them, such as they are, than my previous pancake bottom. Having stronger glutes helps all of the lifts, and also with every day life. Mine are a work in progress and not my sole focus, but they definitely are a focus because I still enjoy the feeling of having a firmer butt, because who wouldn’t? I would say watch this space but it could be some time…..

4. A powerful, full, upper body

This is an area where there is probably much less emphasis for women in the media, and social media. There is a huge focus on lower body training, for good reason, but I have always thought why is it only the men that want bigger chest muscles? To be honest my boobs used to be my very best thing but breast feeding and gravity have not done them any favours. This is where building muscle comes into its own and in a way I would like to start a whole blog channel just on the benefits of training upper body for women. And the more that people say to me that a woman should not be ripped or have big arm muscles the more I want them. I am just fucking awkward like that. What you think I should do I will not do. So bring it on I say, my chest looks a million times better now that I have some muscle there rather than just ribs. This is so exciting to me and in fact I am going to write a bloody essay to the power of the pec for women very soon. It’s the same deal with shoulders, biceps, triceps etc. A strong upper body looks better and better as we age imho.

So there we go, a little eulogy to training to feel good rather than a holier than thou health-based campaign. Do it for the gains, why the fuck not?