Survivabillity, Building Character, and Not Giving Up

I was talking with my wife Anna this morning, and we got into a discussion about the benefits of lifting heavy weights that most people don't really think about.  Obviously, a lot of people train to look better, or just be healthier.

For me, these things are important, but there's another aspect to training that drives me.  Gaining strength.  While "looking better" and "getting healthier" may help get a lot of people into the gym, I feel that getting stronger keeps them there.  I've heard it said that being stronger makes you harder to kill.  Sound intense?  It damn well should!  That sounds to me like one of the most important reasons you should be trying to get stronger.  Off the top of my head I can think of so many scenarios where being stronger could save your life.  Imagine getting into a car accident.  If you have more muscle protecting your limbs and organs, it makes you more likely to survive.  Imagine you have to defend someone you love from an attacker.  Wouldn't you be better able to survive and win the encounter with more strength?  Having more muscle leads to less fatigue, less chance of getting sick, less chance of getting seriously injured.  There are other examples, but you can obviously get the point I'm making here.

Another benefit of lifting heavy weights?  It builds character.   

I read an article a while ago that really moved me.  Of course, I can't find it now to put up the link, but I'm pretty sure it was on 70s Big somewhere. (A really great training blog btw) Either way, the author talked about how consistently getting under the bar and lifting heavy weight takes grit and determination.  If you can get yourself to the gym to train your ass off 3 times a week, you can handle almost anything.  I'm not talking about hopping on the treadmill, or just doing some "bicep curls."   I'm talking about the big lifts that, when done heavy, wreck your life.  Things like the deadlift, the squat, shoulder press, and bench press.  The determination you use to add an extra 5 lbs to your next lift, or to do that extra set of deadlifts even though you're annihilated... it helps shape your mindset when handling all other aspects of your life.  It builds a quiet confidence, and the ability and willingness to own the situations you have to deal with in your daily life.

I lift because I want to be stronger.  And strength gives you a better chance at defending those you love, and a better chance of living longer.  I'm nothing great when it comes to weight training.  I do what I can, and a lot of time I hit plateaus, and sometimes I fail.  Hell for the most part my progress has been terrible for a couple of months now.  But I keep on truckin.  And I'm not giving up.