Weight training| Gym life| Fitness journey| Building muscle

9 reasons to start lifting weights

chiseled physique, vascular, vascularity, photo by Meline Höijer Schou, Melineart,

Why weight training?

Penandbarbell.com is a site dedicated to weight training. Here you will learn how to achieve a chiseled, lean and muscular physique. But first, before we let our fingers wrap around that bar, we should take a minute or two to recognize the many excellent reasons as to why weight training is the superior tool when you are in pursue of a strong and healthy body.

So, without further ado, here is a list of benefits that you can expect to gain by entering the gym on a regular basis:

Vascularity, vascular, chiseled physique, Daniel Schou, Meline Höijer Schou, Melineart, lean body

1. Endless variety.

There is no other form of workout that is so varied. Once you reach the more advanced levels of strength training and muscle building you will be facing almost infinitive possibilities when it comes to the composing of your workout routine. There is variation to be found in the exercises themselves, to be sure – but not only that; you will also be able to experiment with different approaches, methods and workout philosophies. I have myself played soccer and tennis – and I have spent quite a lot of time swim-training and running – but I have found no other form of training that offers the same variety as gym training. To dedicate oneself to gym training is like dedicating oneself to a dozen different sports at once; it is really that full of possibilities for change and variety.

2. Constant improvement possibilities.

If you make weight training your choice of workout there will always be room for improvement. In the gym you will never be finished. Perfection may be on your mind, but it will never be achieved – and this is not a source of frustration but of everlasting joy and inspiration. Body sculpting, if performed with the proper passion, borders on art – and an artist is never truly done.

3. Control over your body.

Weight training will allow you to mold and form your own appearance. In the gym you will be able to take control over the changes that your body is going through every day of your life. Do you think I am using grand words? Yes, indeed I am – but only because weight training invites grand thoughts and grand words. Just think about it: in the gym you are actually creating a new version of yourself. You are your own piece of art. This is grand. This is beautiful. This is in itself a reason to start lifting weights right now.

chiseled physique, vascularity, vascular, biceps peak, Daniel Schou, Meline Höijer Schou, Melineart

strong, biceps peak, chiseled physique, back muscles, shoulders workout, Meline Höijer Schou, Melineart

4. Everyday strength.

Weight training will result in an everyday strength that will come to use in actual life, outside of the gym walls. Tennis, swimming, soccer, etcetera are all good for your heart and for your overall shape, and thus they too provide some useful resources that can be employed in life – but there is no other activity that will make such a clear difference in everyday life as weight training. Mastering the bar will also make you better at other things. This is not as true for other sports or activities. You don’t see bodybuilders and weight lifters playing tennis or soccer in order for them to get better at what they do – but you do see the opposite; there isn’t any serious athlete in any sport, that doesn’t invest at least a little time in strength training and weight training.

5. Increased metabolism that is matched by no other activity.

Weight lifting is the best activity that you can do if you want to burn calories and increase your metabolism. I will repeat this, just to make sure that my point is properly received: yes, weight lifting is not only good for burning calories (and, it follows, fat) – it is the best. Weight training means burning not only during the exercising, but also many hours afterwards. Furthermore, the gains you make – in the form of increased muscle mass and changed body composition – will, over time, ensure an improved resting metabolism.

No other form of workout can match the effects that hard and intense weight training will have on your metabolism. Lifting weights is the superior method to employ for anyone looking to develop a muscular, chiseled and aesthetically pleasing body.

6. Fueled motivation and ease in other areas of life.

It has been shown that once weight lifting has become a regular and natural part of your life it will influence your other daily routines, for example when it comes to nutrition and sleep. If you are having a hard time changing old habits the weight lifting will actually help you on your way.

7. Aesthetically pleasing changes.

Weight lifting will make you both feel and look better. Muscles are undeniable beautiful.

8. Self-empowerment.

The weight training will not only result in a tuned body but also a tuned mind. The mindset required to not only endure, but actually long for, the rewarding pain of hard muscle training will, once conquered, help you pursue all your other endeavors and undertakings outside of the gym.

9. Injury prevention and long-term sustainability.

If you train according to the tips, advices and examples that I will provide you with at penanbarbell.com your risk of injury will be low – and it will, in fact, become even lower as time goes by and your body gets all the more strengthened. The Pen and barbell ideal involves the avoiding of all that could be deemed excessive. If you train in accordance with the recommendations made here on Penandbarbell.com you can aim for extreme results and you will employ advanced workout methods, but you are not going to achieve them by short-term thinking or extreme procedures either when it comes to your workout routine or your nutrition plan. When approached in this controlled and well-planned manner weight training is a safer way than most if you are looking to get into good shape. Excessive running, just to mention an adjacent example, is much more injury frequent.

Daniel Schou, Vshape, Meline Höijer Schou, lats, back muscles, shoulder width, Melineart

The list could easily go on. I could, for example, mention that weight training also strengthens the skeleton, improves sleep and betters overall health. I could elaborate on how it evaporates stress and mood swings. I could even allow myself to get truly poetic and try to describe to you how an intense workout at the gym actually empowers you to rule time itself, how it can enhance your feeling of presence like nothing else. The list of benefits that can be drawn from regular and well-planned weight training goes on and on. But at this point you will not need any more incitements. You are, of course, eager to begin.

Triceps exercises, triceps routine, building triceps

If you are already well versed in the art of the barbell I recommend you to continue reading either my take on what I hold to be the 7 principles that ensures results in the gym, or one of the articles where I discuss in detail the benefits of my favorite exercises:

If you are new to weight training I recommend you to start by reading this article where you will find a beginner´s workout routine: