Why I love weight lifting....

Hello from the Jersey Shore!

It's been a rough couple of weeks. Not nearly as rough as it could have been or as it has been for some of my family and friends and for that I am so grateful. We had our power restored yesterday afternoon and a couple of hours later the Nor'easter ripped it away again :(

We (my kids and I) spent last weekend helping several friends that live on the water. We were gutting houses in a neighborhood that we used to drive through and remark about how clean and pretty the streets were, how well kept all the houses were. It was so sad and uplifting at the same time. People just parking their cars and helping to carry something heavy out, or offer to loan you some supplies.

It just dawned on my this morning how much physical work we actually did and realized that if I hadn't listened to most of you here on MFP, I may never have started strength training which probably would have made it much harder, maybe even impossible for me to do some of the things I did.

It helped me to be able to rip sheetrock and plywood out of houses and carry it to the curb.
It helped me to be able to hoist desks and chairs over my head and walk it 100 feet out of the house.
It helped me to be able to move furniture..couches even..by myself, from one side of the room to the other.
It helped me to swing a sledge hammer at a kitchen counter and carry the pieces away to the dumpster.
It helped me shovel mud and debris out of basements.
It helped me carry a 5000 watt generator, filled with 5 gallons of gas, up the six steps to my deck.
It helped me be able to stand in line at the gas station for an hour, then fill two 5 gallon gas cans and walk them back to my car, with ease.

It even caused some of the men I was working with to call on me to help them carry or crush something. At the end of the day, several of them told me they were impressed with my strength and a little surprised :))

The main reason I am so thankful I lift has nothing to do with physical accomplishments.

Lifting has made me realize I can do things I never thought I could do. It gave me the mental and emotion strength that I needed to help me get through the past couple of weeks and allowed me to be there and help the people that mean the most to me.

Moral of the story : If you don't lift now ... START!! You will amaze yourself :)

Replies

  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    :drinker: :heart: :heart: :heart:
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    Hell yeah!! Great example of how lifting is really beneficial to real life scenarios! :drinker:
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    Hello from the Jersey Shore!

    It's been a rough couple of weeks. Not nearly as rough as it could have been or as it has been for some of my family and friends and for that I am so grateful. We had our power restored yesterday afternoon and a couple of hours later the Nor'easter ripped it away again :(

    We (my kids and I) spent last weekend helping several friends that live on the water. We were gutting houses in a neighborhood that we used to drive through and remark about how clean and pretty the streets were, how well kept all the houses were. It was so sad and uplifting at the same time. People just parking their cars and helping to carry something heavy out, or offer to loan you some supplies.

    It just dawned on my this morning how much physical work we actually did and realized that if I hadn't listened to most of you here on MFP, I may never have started strength training which probably would have made it much harder, maybe even impossible for me to do some of the things I did.

    It helped me to be able to rip sheetrock and plywood out of houses and carry it to the curb.
    It helped me to be able to hoist desks and chairs over my head and walk it 100 feet out of the house.
    It helped me to be able to move furniture..couches even..by myself, from one side of the room to the other.
    It helped me to swing a sledge hammer at a kitchen counter and carry the pieces away to the dumpster.
    It helped me shovel mud and debris out of basements.
    It helped me carry a 5000 watt generator, filled with 5 gallons of gas, up the six steps to my deck.
    It helped me be able to stand in line at the gas station for an hour, then fill two 5 gallon gas cans and walk them back to my car, with ease.

    It even caused some of the men I was working with to call on me to help them carry or crush something. At the end of the day, several of them told me they were impressed with my strength and a little surprised :))

    The main reason I am so thankful I lift has nothing to do with physical accomplishments.

    Lifting has made me realize I can do things I never thought I could do. It gave me the mental and emotion strength that I needed to help me get through the past couple of weeks and allowed me to be there and help the people that mean the most to me.

    Moral of the story : If you don't lift now ... START!! You will amaze yourself :)

    I love this! I just started strength training this year, and I have noticed positive changes. Then Monday hubby asked me to help him load his generator and air compressor into his pickup truck. He warned me that they were heavy...but I was amazed how little trouble I had with it--it really didn't feel very heavy at all!
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
    Win.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    The personal mental development is a side that is all too often ignored. Good share :)
  • juliebeannn
    juliebeannn Posts: 428 Member
    it helped me carry 2 five-gallon bottles of water up 3 flights of stairs to my friend's house b/c they ran out of water. when i walked in the door, my mom and my friend's family all stared at me like "how did you carry all that...?". my response...."you know how you guys ask all the time why i work out as hard as i do, and why i want more muscle....THIS IS WHY!"

    love how weight lifting makes real life scenarios easier.

    AWESOME POST!!!!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Love this post. :heart: Hate that you're dealing with such a mess in NJ. :flowerforyou:

    I've always been the kind of person to move furniture and tvs and sheet rock and that kind of stuff by myself. The difference since strength training is that I don't hurt myself doing it. :bigsmile:
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,089 Member
    Yess
    if the zombies attack the runners my win. but on the daily basis lifting is so much more useful
  • lglg11
    lglg11 Posts: 344 Member
    [I love this! I just started strength training this year, and I have noticed positive changes. Then Monday hubby asked me to help him load his generator and air compressor into his pickup truck. He warned me that they were heavy...but I was amazed how little trouble I had with it--it really didn't feel very heavy at all!
    [/quote]

    Nice job! Isn't it a great feeling?!
  • lglg11
    lglg11 Posts: 344 Member
    Love this post. :heart: Hate that you're dealing with such a mess in NJ. :flowerforyou:

    I've always been the kind of person to move furniture and tvs and sheet rock and that kind of stuff by myself. The difference since strength training is that I don't hurt myself doing it. :bigsmile:

    Thank you !

    LOL I'm glad you don't hurt yourself anymore! You are one of the profiles I used to look at to get inspired :)
  • Zylayna
    Zylayna Posts: 728 Member
    :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
    Great post!!
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    Brilliant! I love it, just wish I'd started doing it regularly earlier in life. So much more fun then spending an hour on cardio machines! Probably more beneficial too, but thats a whole other thread...shhhh.....:laugh:
  • lglg11
    lglg11 Posts: 344 Member
    Yess
    if the zombies attack the runners my win. but on the daily basis lifting is so much more useful

    This is true . Glad I can run too :)
  • bluelena
    bluelena Posts: 304 Member
    Brava! Love this post!
  • kandilynn03
    kandilynn03 Posts: 110 Member
    Okay, this is awesome! I really want to start lifting weights now.
  • lglg11
    lglg11 Posts: 344 Member
    Okay, this is awesome! I really want to start lifting weights now.

    DO IT! It's empowering :)
  • empressichel
    empressichel Posts: 730 Member
    I so agree, it makes so many everyday tasks so much easier.
    DH and I had to cut down some trees, chainsaw them up and stack them for drying. He was in charge of the chainsaw so I was in charge of picking and stacking. Just amazing how quickly and easily I did this compared to a year ago.
    Makes so many things easier.
    Thanks for this post and hope your life is returning to 'normal' :smile:
  • SueSlick
    SueSlick Posts: 268 Member
    Awesome! You hit the nail on the head!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    I love this post. It shows just one of the the many benefits of strength training - one that is often not mention - the practical side of being stronger. good.gif
  • Cranktastic
    Cranktastic Posts: 1,517 Member
    BADA$$!!!!!!!!!!!

    Love this.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    Love it! Your ability, that is, not the hurricane damage and work related.
  • lhergenr
    lhergenr Posts: 242 Member
    that's amazing! my victory, though not as admirable, is being able to carry water softener salt bags from the car to the house with ease.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Awesome.
  • jetscreaminagain
    jetscreaminagain Posts: 1,130 Member
    The personal mental development is a side that is all too often ignored. Good share :)

    This! Lifting is great all around, but the realizing that you can do stuff is the best part!

    Yay you OP. Hurricane recovery sucks. Stay strong.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    [I love this! I just started strength training this year, and I have noticed positive changes. Then Monday hubby asked me to help him load his generator and air compressor into his pickup truck. He warned me that they were heavy...but I was amazed how little trouble I had with it--it really didn't feel very heavy at all!

    Nice job! Isn't it a great feeling?!
    [/quote]

    yes :) I am loving the muscles I have developed, and am excited to maybe see more of them.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    See now this is the kind of thing I like to hear (not the damage of course but you get the idea)

    The unfortunate truth is that there are a lot of women still who do not recognize the practical benefits of becoming stronger, or that becoming stronger is unfeminine and that duties that require more strength should always be left to men. To all the women out there who still have this attitude in today's day and age, I have one thing to say to you:

    Natural selection is waiting for you...