Lifting Heavy Things

By Corey Anderson – Personal Trainer

For me, picking up a barbell in my late 30s was a life-changing decision, in the best way. I fell in love with lifting heavy things, and all the incredible benefits that came along with it. For me, these benefits included: increased confidence and energy, improved mood, changes to physique, the ability to compete in a new sport (powerlifting), and a passion for coaching others to discover for themselves the empowering benefits of strength training.

My goal as a new trainer at Paseo Club is to impart to members how a regular strength training routine can lead to some pretty amazing things, no matter your age when you begin or your current level of fitness.

One of my favorite intangibles that comes with strength training is that “can’t get enough” feeling of accomplishment upon learning new skills and seeing evidence of getting stronger week to week. Lifting heavy things can also:

• Help build and maintain muscle mass as we grow older (and women – you won’t get bulky. That’s incredibly hard to do, even if you want to! And if you want to build visible muscle, that’s awesome too!)
• Make your joints stronger, and support bone density (helping to prevent osteoporosis)
• Lessen symptoms of depression and improve overall mental health
• Improve strength, balance, and coordination. These skills strengthen your ability to perform everyday movements and in sports like tennis or pickleball with confidence. Such as: lifting a heavy bag into an overhead compartment with ease, taking groceries into the house, lunging for a volley in tennis, etc.
• Help your body burn more calories (increased muscle mass = boosted resting metabolism = burning more calories)
• Improve perception of body image and self-confidence, even if aesthetics haven’t changed

One thing I hear is that strength training can be intimidating, or that it’s difficult to know what to do when you go into the gym as a new lifter. At Paseo, I’m here to take the “fear factor” out of learning the fundamentals of strength training. I always aim to make it fun, empowering, and rewarding to people of all fitness levels, and experience. If you have questions about lifting, come say hi to me. I would love to share with you how to learn new skills with machines, dumbbells, or barbells–safely and with proper form.

In July, I will be offering an introduction to barbell strength class as well. In this group class, I will teach the fundamentals of several incredibly beneficial compound movements, including the squat and the deadlift. I can’t wait to share my knowledge on the gym floor with as many members as possible so that others can experience everything great that comes along with lifting heavy things!