The Tao of Lifting Weights

I love the beautiful simplicity of lifting weights.

In the arts and in so many other fields, meritocracy is a sweet illusion. Not so with lifting weights. If you put in the time and energy, you will get results. That’s it. It’s that simple.

No endless debates filled with arguments and counterarguments. Opinions have no place here. No planning for the future nor regretting the past. Few things bring me back to the present as much as lifting weights. The intensity and focus required silence the excess thoughts floating around my head. Everything gets quiet as the focus shifts to the body. For at least a little bit, there’s only breathing and the contracting of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. For as long as it lasts, it’s very peaceful. I was never any good at sitting meditation, but I think lifting weights is the closest I get to it.

Because of both nature and nurture, I am a nerd who has spent thousands of hours with my head buried in books. I am also blessed/cursed with oversized emotions. Not that I think there’s anything wrong with strong emotions or with being a bit of a nerd, but since early on it became crystal clear to me that I needed something to balance me out. Some kind of practice rooted in the body, in the ‘here-and-now’, in a place where thoughts and emotions take a backseat. This need to experience a rather different part of life is what led me to begin lifting weights about the time I turned fourteen. Three years later, I added martial arts. The vitality and raw energy found in lifting and fighting freed my nerdy self from mountains of mental heaviness. There’s a wisdom in sweating that I never found anywhere else. Shifting your consciousness through a hard workout almost feels like a psychedelic experience. One moment you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, and unpleasant emotions are frustrating all your efforts at having a decent day. And then you start lifting, and friendly endorphins show up, shaking things up.

That’s why I tend to advocate it to anyone halfway willing to listen. I’m happy that my lady lifts and my daughter is starting to. Typically, women who work out tend to focus on things like yoga, cardio, and perhaps squats. Many think that if they pick up a weight and engage in strength-training, they’ll become huge (never mind that every man on earth can tell you they wish it was that easy). Of course, there are obvious differences between men and women, but strength is good for everyone. Going through life in a strong body is not just about the body. It changes emotions and thought patterns. Of course, I’m not quite so delusional as to think it’s a miracle cure to solve all your problems. But it certainly helps.

As a great Taoist practice, lifting weights is about finding the right balance. You lift too light and you get minimal benefits. You lift too heavy, and the chances of injury skyrocket. And yet, there’s a sweet spot in between the extremes where you can avoid injury AND gain strength.

Even if you are not like me, and you are not stuck at the emotional maturity of a thirteen year old whose highlight of the day is going around shirtless and flexing in front of the mirror, strength training may just be what you need in your life.