Strength training is a vital, yet often overlooked, element of injury rehabilitation, long-term health, longevity, and sports performance. The benefits of strength training surpass those of many medications and surgeries, aiding in injury healing, prevention, endurance, longevity, bone density, fall risk prevention, metabolic health, mental health, and cardiovascular health.
We’re not making this stuff up: Nearly every professional health or medical association recommends two strength training sessions per week, including:
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American Heart Association
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World Health Organization
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American College of Sports Medicine
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American Medical Association
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American Physical Therapy Association
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Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
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Centers for Disease Control
It’s rare to find such a consensus among these organizations!
Although many in Flagstaff prefer the great outdoors (including us!), integrating resistance training a few times weekly can yield remarkable health benefits and improve how you feel when outside.
We find that resistance to strength training is often due to common myths. These misconceptions are not harmless; they significantly impede our community’s overall health and longevity.
Myth: Heavy weights are dangerous.
Fact: Lifting weights you are unprepared for can contribute to injury.
Only when lifting weights beyond your current capability does the risk increase. Injuries during resistance training typically involve weights that the individual is not yet prepared to handle. We recommend a gradual increase in weight, similar to how a new runner should not start with a half marathon. With the right progression and consistency, heavier weights become safe as your body adapts.
Myth: Lighter weights like 5 or 10 pound dumbbells are enough.
Fact: Life demands capacity beyond 10 pounds.
Daily life often requires handling heavier objects. Starting with 5 or 10 pounds might be appropriate, but as you develop, these weights typically become insufficient for significant muscle adaptation. Consider common items:
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A Fully Loaded Weekend Backpack: 30-40+ lbs, unless you’re packing ultralight
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A Large Bag of Dog Food: Often sold in bags ranging from 30 to 40 pounds
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A Child’s Car Seat: Can weigh between 20 to 30 pounds, not including the child
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A Full Suitcase: Typically reaches weights of around 40 to 50 pounds
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A Sofa, Dining Room Table, or Desk: 75 pounds or more
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A Medium to Large Watermelon: Easily 20 to 30 pounds during peak season
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A Stack of Laundry or Laundry Basket: 20 to 30 pounds, especially when loaded with towels or wet clothes
We’re not suggesting that you jump into lifting 100 pounds on day one, or that every exercise needs to be super heavy. Rather, our goal is to find ways to progress gradually and consistently over time, building your capacity safely. If individuals do not progress beyond 5 or 10-pound weights, their progress will typically stall, and daily activities may become more injurious due to insufficient strength to handle heavier loads safely.
There are some medical conditions where weights need to be kept light; however, these cases are relatively rare. Even in these contexts, we seek out ways to build strength at lower weights through specific program design elements
Myth: Strength training will make you bulky.
Fact: Significant muscle gain requires intensive training, specific nutrition, and often hormonal support.
The notion of becoming “bulky” from casual strength training is a misconception. Individuals who achieve substantial muscle growth typically engage in rigorous daily routines, often supported by supplements and specialized diets (and sometimes pharmaceuticals). Incorporating regular resistance training into your regimen won’t lead to “bulkiness” but will promote overall health and longevity.
(Side note: At EVOLVE, we try to move past discussions centering on aesthetics and body composition because we believe that exercise and strength training offer benefits to all bodies that transcend appearances. These activities can improve nearly all aspects of physical and mental health, build community and connection, stimulate personal growth, and enable full engagement in life. Focusing solely on appearance minimizes the transformative potential of exercise on individual and public health. Additionally, the emphasis on specific aesthetics in diet and fitness culture can be incredibly damaging.)
Myth: Light weights create ‘toned’ or ‘lean’ muscle.
Fact: Muscle tone and appearance are primarily determined by genetics.
Muscle shape and appearance are largely genetic. The pursuit of “toned” muscles often misunderstands the effects of resistance training. While training can enhance muscle function and size, it does not change the inherent characteristics of the muscle.
We acknowledge that muscles might feel different during or after certain activities, but this change is not due to any alteration in muscle structure. Activities like hot yoga or endurance exercises can lead to perspiration, which might give a temporary sensation of being “toned,” although the muscle structure remains unchanged. The same is true of exercises with very high repetitions at light weight – they can create a “burn” that is often associated with vague ideas of “toning” or “lean muscle,” when again the muscle structure will be unchanged.
In the initial weeks of strength training, there may be 1-2 days of slight swelling in the muscles after workouts, which can create a sense of “bulkiness.” However, we encourage you to move beyond this initial phase, trust the process and the science, and if concerns about body image persist, consider exploring your relationship to your body with a therapist or coach.
Myth: Heavy weights hurt endurance performance.
Fact: Properly integrated strength training enhances endurance and reduces injury risk.
Contrary to popular belief, heavy resistance training can improve various aspects of endurance, including speed, stamina, and overall performance. For athletes, it’s crucial to balance strength and endurance training to optimize health and capabilities in and out of sport.
Myth: Resistance training is only for younger people.
Fact: Older adults benefit significantly from resistance training.
As we age, maintaining muscle and bone density becomes more challenging, increasing risks such as falls and reduced mobility. Starting with manageable weights and progressively increasing the challenge can markedly improve the quality of life and longevity for older adults.
Myth: I need to be in the gym all the time to make progress.
Fact: Two or three workouts per week are often enough.
With a quality program, good technique, and the right resistance level, you will see significant benefits from just two strength training workouts per week. There are some additional benefits from adding a third workout, but this also depends on your activity outside the gym.
Myth: I bike/run/hike/ski, so I don’t need to do lower body strengthening.
Fact: Resistance training has benefits that are different and support other endurance sports.
Endurance sports and aerobic exercise work the body differently than resistance training. Although your muscles are working during these activities, they are primarily driven by your cardiovascular system. We frequently see high level endurance athletes who are still lacking strength. Proper resistance training can improve endurance performance by working different qualities of the muscles. It also improves tendon and joint health, promotes bone density, improves balance and agility, and reduces injury risk.
Myth: Resistance training will negatively affect my endurance sport performance.
Fact: Resistance training can improve performance and reduce injury risk.
Countless peer-reviewed scientific studies show that strength training, typically twice per week, supports endurance performance, specific time to fatigue, top-end power, and running efficiency. It also has substantial injury risk reduction benefits, and benefits for health outside of endurance performance. All top professional endurance athletes have specific strength training routines as essential parts of their training program.
Myth: Resistance training isn’t for me because I have complex medical conditions / prior injuries/surgeries / currently have pain/injuries.
Fact: Resistance training is typically an essential part of injury rehabilitation and disease management.
It’s difficult to exercise when you’re in pain, have a lot going on medically, or when your injury history makes a lot of common exercise options uncomfortable. However, resistance training is still for you!
Progressing from low-level rehabilitation exercises towards structured and progressive resistance training is typically an essential part of full rehabilitation of injuries, and a common reason for pain recurrence is incomplete rehabilitation of an injury due to failing to progress to real resistance training. Similarly, guidelines for management of a wide variety of orthopedic and medical conditions, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, and even heart disease.
Finding the right routine for you can be difficult, and that’s when a physical therapist who specializes in progressing to strength training, and a qualified strength coach or trainer, can be essential members of your healthcare team.
Key Takeaway: Resistance training is for everyone, no matter where you are starting from!
If you are struggling to find an approach to resistance training that works for you, we would love to help. We have a range of options, including adult group classes, semi-private training, personal training, open gym memberships, and personalized strength training program design from a Doctor of Physical Therapy. If you’re not sure where to start, please reach out. We’d love to help!