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Weight Training Is the Best Exercise for Bone Strength

119 points by deegles 9y ago

htormey 9y ago
Personal anecdote: I used to get wrist and back pains a few years ago. The two big changes which I attribute to completely getting rid of these issue was 1) Switching to a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard and 2) Regular weight training 3 times a week. I also find weight training really helps me deal with stress. I highly recommend it.
- snissn 9y ago
  Had the same thing, but besides the MSFT keyboard I also needed an evoluent vertical mouse 4 ( not the c) for wrist pain
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- appleiigs 9y ago
  For back pain, yes weight training definitely helped me too. For wrist and elbow pain from computer use, however, weight training made it worse for me. At that time I did a bit of googling and for RSI seems like rest and stopping the repetitive motions is best. The exercises irritate the same nerves. To solve the issue, I switch to a trackball instead of a mouse. (To be clear, weight training was miraculous to me when I first started, but for RSI, fix the cause)
  - emelski 9y ago
    Unfortunately very many people casually lump a huge range of maladies under the umbrella of "RSI" and treat them as if they all have the same root cause and the same remedy. Wrist/arm pain could be carpal-tunnel syndrome, or it could be tendonitis, or it could be any of a bunch of other things all of which are technically "RSI". For some, strength training can certainly help; for others, as in your case, it may do more harm than help.
    - htormey 9y ago
      I totally agree. I never actually went to a Dr to get my wrist pain looked into so I don't know 100% that it was RSI. I just kind of assumed that it was based on RSI being an occupational hazard for many tech folks. Changing my keyboard got rid of the immediate pain I had been experiencing for months. I started weight lifting at around the same time. The only reason I attribute lifting as being part of the solution is that I went back to typing on my laptop again after 6 months. I now do quite a lot of typing on my laptop (90% of the software I write) and I no longer have any pain in my wrists. This advise is probably not for everyone, I just offer it up as an interesting anecdote. If you have persistant wrist pain, its probably best to go see a specialist.
Mankhool 9y ago
I'm in my mid 50s and haven't been in a gym in almost 4 months after being religious about weight training for 40 years. I really don't care if I ever do another workout in my life, but I know the importance of weight bearing exercise so I guess I will go back eventually.
- remriel 9y ago
  Why?
  - glibgil 9y ago
    Because he knows the importance of weight bearing exercise
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
gxs 9y ago
For those curious to get started, Starting Strength, by Mark Rippetoe is the gold standard in beginners programming. http://startingstrength.com/ http://startingstrength.com/ It takes you through the basic compound exercises and talks about some important concepts in weight training, highly recommend it. I worked on this basic program that requires you to go to the gym 3 times a week and basic linear progression got me up to a 400lbs squat for reps at the age of 28. It took about 18 months to get there. My biggest regret is that I stopped going to the gym, if you do start, please keep going. It's better to go and do something easy than to undo the habit.
- vinay427 9y ago
  There's no consensus that Starting Strength is the gold standard. Other popular programs are StrongLifts and now a variant on Greyskull LP [1]. [1] https://i.imgur.com/iLhAJBl_d.jpg https://i.imgur.com/iLhAJBl_d.jpg
  - appleiigs 9y ago
    FWIW, I've heard of it as the gold standard too. At minimum, it's a good place to start.
  - dpark 9y ago
    None of those are meaningfully different. At core, they're all the same program: 1. Basic compound lifts 2. Linear progression 3. 3x5 (StrongLifts also switches to 3x5 once the weights get heavy) There are some differences, but they're pretty minor and people nitpicking them for beginners are mostly wasting time because it really doesn't matter that much.
    - TheCapn 9y ago
      They're meaningfully different in how they approach failure. StrongLifts is worse off in this regard for the reason that they teach reducing volume once you start running into plateaus in order to artificially progress. "Benching that lift too hard? Well cut out 40% of the volume and keep going!" Starting Strength fails in teaches the idea of deloading by dropping weight then taking a run at it without changing any of the training methodology which is arguably a reason for the "spinning the wheels" approach you see from several lifters who claim to run the program for months on end upwards and beyond a year. It's also seen as a less ideal program for its poor split on upper/lower volume and really benefits from accessory lifts thrown in when the lifter is capable.... but at that point you might as well just run a better program. They're decent programs in that they get a untrained individual to put up enough weight to get themselves out of a horribly weak position but they don't teach anything meaningful for long term. Other programs achieve the necessary linear progression that is capable during your noob gains without having stupid programming quirks that lifters need to unlearn when they move onto intermediate programs.
irishcoffee 9y ago
I've always viewed weight-training like brushing teeth: spend a small amount of time each day for big payoffs in the long run. Now to be fair, I optimized for this by putting a squat rack in my basement along with second-hand weights.
- criddell 9y ago
  When you say small amount of time, what exactly are you talking about? Have you seen any payoffs yet?
  - irishcoffee 9y ago
    My philosophy has always been, if I'm [in the gym/in the basement] longer than 45 minutes working out, I'm doing it wrong. For me personally this counts warm-up sets. I have seen payoffs, mentally almost more than physically. Without going into details, I've been in a legal battle for a while (nothing criminal) and lifting is a great way to blow off steam. Physically, if you "eat right" you see results very quickly at first, and then more slowly as time goes on. Diet is the most important part if you're looking for physical results. You could lift with proper form for years and years, following every program under the sun. If your diet sucks, you're wasting your time if aesthetics if your goal. If you'd like example of quick results, r/fitness is full of em. This one for example, this fellow seems to have made a whole lot of progress in what he claims is 60 days: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/6gpsxr/well_i_guess_i_cant_blame_genetics_anymore/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/6gpsxr/well_i_gues...
    - echlebek 9y ago
      45 minutes? Are you incorporating stretching and mobility work into that?
SurrealSoul 9y ago
"Going to the gym is the 2nd best thing you can do for your body, besides quitting smoking; if you don't smoke, you should focus on the gym" -Some guy on youtube I always seen the gym as an investment into health as opposed to losing weight or getting fit, although those are nice secondary results.
raamdev 9y ago
Julian Shapiro (a HN member) wrote a great free guide called How to Build Muscle [0] that's a nice resource for anyone new to weight training. 0. https://www.julian.com/learn/muscle/intro https://www.julian.com/learn/muscle/intro
- criddell 9y ago
  Thanks for posting this. I read part of the first page and already I'm getting sucked in. The first thing that surprised me was him saying it is a myth that machine exercises are less effective than barbell ones. That's surprising to me.
  - MaxfordAndSons 9y ago
    > The first thing that surprised me was him saying it is a myth that machine exercises are less effective than barbell ones. I found the guide useful, particularly the commentary about sleep and nutrition, but disagree with the author on that quote and relatedly on his exercise programming. The program is hypertrophy focused and the machine exercises are useful for targeting secondary muscles for hypertrophy work, but they're certainly not as good of an overall exercise as the compound movements one does with a barbell. Barbell exercises are more effective both for gaining strength and muscle mass.
  - fpgaminer 9y ago
    > The first thing that surprised me was him saying it is a myth that machine exercises are less effective than barbell ones. That's surprising to me. Depends on the definition of "effective". Since the eBook is titled "How to Build Muscle", then yeah, machines are just as effective as free weights. But in terms of building "strength" (picking up random heavy objects), machines will make life a lot more difficult than it has to be.
throwaway-1209 9y ago
I had really bad lower back pain years ago. Started going to the gym and doing weight training. Went from not being able to deadlift 80 lbs without pain to 495lbs for 3 reps. No back pain now. I also recommend "Starting Strength" by Mark Ripptoe. It works. I wish I could convince my wife to do back squats and deadlifts. She's also having back problems but she's stubbornly refusing to do anything about them.
- jonnycoder 9y ago
  I cannot agree more based on evidence of myself and my wife who do weight training. Now only if losing weight was as simple as gaining strength...it only takes discipline multiplied by weeks and months!
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - cheald 9y ago
    Losing weight is honestly just about developing good habits and being aware of what you eat. Over the past year I've lost 65 lbs calorie counting on an IIFYM-style diet, while lifting. Once the routine is established and you have a go-to set of foods you can hit, it becomes pretty easy. The big thing for me was not having off-limits foods. If I want pizza, I'll have pizza, but I log it and adjust my intake for the rest of the day to get those macros balanced. This kills the "I want it because I can't have it" temptations and has the effect of pushing me towards more naturally-healthy foods, because I can have 2 gigantic chicken breast instead of a piece of pizza, and I know which one is going to satisfy me more.
- mslate 9y ago
  Over 6 years ago I came across the same online resources about strength-training as you. Without question, weight training has been the best outlet from my professional + social life. for decompressing and preserving my body's well-being, specifically with regards to posture and mental focus over 8+ hour workdays. Many conservative training cycles later and I'm squatting/deadlifting over 200kg. Like you, the only sad part about it is how hard it can be to persuade some men and women to take part in the sport. Some people have major hangups about their body image, injuries and discipline.
Boothroid 9y ago
Weight training is like magic for me. I've slipped into some bad habits over time and am struggling my way slowly out of them and back into training. The difference when I'm training is crazy. It supercharges my body and lifts my mood from all the extra hormones and so on. Recently I had had a weird pain in my back for months every time I breathed in, and it disappeared with a single back workout! I now wonder whether something was out of alignment and the weighted stretching pulled everything back into place. Certainly seemed that way. I've been banging on about weight training to anyone that will listen for years! My special tip: get some cheap bulk whey concentrate (cheaper than isolate and not really that much more calorific in the wider scheme of things) and bang down enough protein shakes to get your protein up to a reasonable level. I used to do 1 gram per pound of bodyweight per day, but looking back I think that was excessive. You also have to make sure you drink plenty of water whilst on a high protein diet, and obviously don't go into it if you have any history of kidney trouble. But seriously though - training vs training + protein is incomparable. Combine the two and watch your muscles expand.
Paul-ish 9y ago
> If all that isn’t convincing enough to turn you onto weights, perhaps this is: maintaining strength later in life “seems to be one of the best predictors of survival," says Peterson. “When we add strength...almost every health outcome improves.” This sort of thing is repeated a lot, but isn't this just a correlation? We don't know which way it goes. Maybe sick people get weaker, rather than weak people get sicker. That makes just as much sense.
- brational 9y ago
  There's separate research as well into how much, if any, exercise can slow/reduce Sarcopenia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcopenia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcopenia). So they are at least researching it separate from simple correlation as well. "Exercise is of interest in treatment of sarcopenia; evidence indicates increased ability and capacity of skeletal muscle to synthesize proteins in response to short-term resistance exercise.[18] A 2009 Cochrane review also found evidence that in older adults progressive resistance training can improve physical performance (gait speed) and muscular strength,[19] which are two key components of sarcopenia."
- VLM 9y ago
  The docs seem fairly certain the direction it flows is weakness leads to sickness. Apparently something to do with muscle tissue vs insulin response. Lower muscle tissue leads to lower BMR which leads to obesity related issues and insulin resistance issues. Its almost too trivial to point out the orthopedic issues like weak back muscles leading to back problems. Also the accidental injury issue is trivial obvious; when I was younger working on a home improvement project I dropped a solid wood (not hollow core) door and then caught it, wrenching my back, obviously if my arms were stronger I wouldn't have dropped the door to begin with, and if my back had been stronger (I had been taking a break from lifting) then my back wouldn't have been as messed up. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15107011?report=abstract https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15107011?report=abstract
evanspa 9y ago
Blatant self-promotion. I just finished initial development of a web app [1] for tracking your reps, and have just submitted an iOS / Watch app to the App Store (currently in review). [1] https://www.rikerapp.com https://www.rikerapp.com
mothers 9y ago
perhaps the best exercise for bone strength, but is it the best thing you can do for your bones? assuming a moderately active lifestyle (e.g. an hour of brisk walking a day), we're skeptical that exercise has any significant advantage, if any, compared to improved nutrition and non-exercise lifestyle changes (more and better quality sleep, better friendships, etc.). that being said, exercise certainly isn't bad.
- NoahTheDuke 9y ago
  Do you have any sources for those claims?
- antisthenes 9y ago
  Brisk walking [every day even] doesn't qualify as a moderately active lifestyle, sorry. If it doesn't raise your heart rate to at least 100+, it's nearly useless as an exercise. Sure, you'll burn slightly more calories than sitting at a desk, but the benefits are nowhere near actual exercise. > more and better quality sleep, better friendships, etc. Sleep quality generally improves with exercise, as long as you're still getting 8 hours. Better friendships are completely orthogonal to exercise/weightlifting.
  - mothers 9y ago
    Brisk walking for an hour daily is absolutely considered moderate exercise. High quality relationships can reduce stress which is related to sleeping.
  - vldx 9y ago
    Isn't such perspective limited? My parents are 67 and 65 years old; I would say say that daily brisk walking is possibly much more suitable for them (their body) in comparison to weightlifting -- irrespective of your personal definition of "exercise". And I'm damn sure their heart rate easily exceeds 100+ if that's the main variable to control.
- toasterlovin 9y ago
  FYI, there is a guy in the Starting Strength community who had pins throughout his legs as a result of falling off of a roof. His bones became so much more dense as a result of lifting heavy that he had to have surgery to have the pins removed; they were literally being pushed out of his bones. I don't think any amount of nutrition is capable of something comparable. If you stop to consider what's going on, it makes a lot of sense. Your body is adaptive. This includes bones as well as muscles. In the same way that you need to add muscle mass in order to lift progressively heavier weight, your bones, too, need to become stronger to support lifting heavier weight. They do this by becoming denser.
tacon 9y ago
It's surprising that no one has mentioned Body by Science[1], SuperSlow from Ken Hutchins, Arthur Jones and Nautilus, and other research based programs from the last forty years. Free weights can be very dangerous as you approach muscle failure, and all sorts of momentum, breath holding, etc. are problematic. Unless hypertrophy and/or bad time management are your goals, I prefer the system of deep muscle inroading in 12 minutes a week, and then I work on sport skills, not building muscle mass, the rest of the week. I have a median genotype, not the genetic makeup of a muscle magazine. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Body-Science-Research-Strength-Training/dp/0071597174 https://www.amazon.com/Body-Science-Research-Strength-Traini... "Body by Science: A Research Based Program for Strength Training, Body building, and Complete Fitness in 12 Minutes a Week" [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PdJFbjWHEU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PdJFbjWHEU [3] http://techzinglive.com/page/1500/268-tz-interview-dr-doug-mcguff-body-by-science http://techzinglive.com/page/1500/268-tz-interview-dr-doug-m...
s0uthPaw88 9y ago
I was a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) before I became a software developer, and I would just like to emphasize that the benefits mentioned can be realized from some pretty simple exercise routines. The keys are to perform them consistently and to progressively increase the training load so that you are constantly providing a stimulus that your body must adapt to.
justforFranz 9y ago
huh huh uhh huhuhuh uhhhh huhuhuhuhuhhh.
alamgir_mand 9y ago
I had my DEXA test a couple months ago and found out I have 3.5x the bone density of others my age due to my heavy weightlifting. It's probably why I've had 3 motorcycle crashes and never broke a single bone. Furthermore, the technician told me that I will probably never have problems with osteoporosis as a result! TL;DR - keep your squats low and your standards high

119 points by deegles 9y ago

Personal anecdote: I used to get wrist and back pains a few years ago. The two big changes which I attribute to completely getting rid of these issue was 1) Switching to a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard and 2) Regular weight training 3 times a week. I also find weight training really helps me deal with stress. I highly recommend it.

snissn 9y ago
Had the same thing, but besides the MSFT keyboard I also needed an evoluent vertical mouse 4 ( not the c) for wrist pain
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
appleiigs 9y ago
For back pain, yes weight training definitely helped me too. For wrist and elbow pain from computer use, however, weight training made it worse for me. At that time I did a bit of googling and for RSI seems like rest and stopping the repetitive motions is best. The exercises irritate the same nerves. To solve the issue, I switch to a trackball instead of a mouse. (To be clear, weight training was miraculous to me when I first started, but for RSI, fix the cause)
- emelski 9y ago
  Unfortunately very many people casually lump a huge range of maladies under the umbrella of "RSI" and treat them as if they all have the same root cause and the same remedy. Wrist/arm pain could be carpal-tunnel syndrome, or it could be tendonitis, or it could be any of a bunch of other things all of which are technically "RSI". For some, strength training can certainly help; for others, as in your case, it may do more harm than help.
  - htormey 9y ago
    I totally agree. I never actually went to a Dr to get my wrist pain looked into so I don't know 100% that it was RSI. I just kind of assumed that it was based on RSI being an occupational hazard for many tech folks. Changing my keyboard got rid of the immediate pain I had been experiencing for months. I started weight lifting at around the same time. The only reason I attribute lifting as being part of the solution is that I went back to typing on my laptop again after 6 months. I now do quite a lot of typing on my laptop (90% of the software I write) and I no longer have any pain in my wrists. This advise is probably not for everyone, I just offer it up as an interesting anecdote. If you have persistant wrist pain, its probably best to go see a specialist.

Mankhool 9y ago

I'm in my mid 50s and haven't been in a gym in almost 4 months after being religious about weight training for 40 years. I really don't care if I ever do another workout in my life, but I know the importance of weight bearing exercise so I guess I will go back eventually.

remriel 9y ago
Why?
- glibgil 9y ago
  Because he knows the importance of weight bearing exercise

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

gxs 9y ago

For those curious to get started, Starting Strength, by Mark Rippetoe is the gold standard in beginners programming. http://startingstrength.com/ http://startingstrength.com/ It takes you through the basic compound exercises and talks about some important concepts in weight training, highly recommend it. I worked on this basic program that requires you to go to the gym 3 times a week and basic linear progression got me up to a 400lbs squat for reps at the age of 28. It took about 18 months to get there. My biggest regret is that I stopped going to the gym, if you do start, please keep going. It's better to go and do something easy than to undo the habit.

vinay427 9y ago
There's no consensus that Starting Strength is the gold standard. Other popular programs are StrongLifts and now a variant on Greyskull LP [1]. [1] https://i.imgur.com/iLhAJBl_d.jpg https://i.imgur.com/iLhAJBl_d.jpg
- appleiigs 9y ago
  FWIW, I've heard of it as the gold standard too. At minimum, it's a good place to start.
- dpark 9y ago
  None of those are meaningfully different. At core, they're all the same program: 1. Basic compound lifts 2. Linear progression 3. 3x5 (StrongLifts also switches to 3x5 once the weights get heavy) There are some differences, but they're pretty minor and people nitpicking them for beginners are mostly wasting time because it really doesn't matter that much.
  - TheCapn 9y ago
    They're meaningfully different in how they approach failure. StrongLifts is worse off in this regard for the reason that they teach reducing volume once you start running into plateaus in order to artificially progress. "Benching that lift too hard? Well cut out 40% of the volume and keep going!" Starting Strength fails in teaches the idea of deloading by dropping weight then taking a run at it without changing any of the training methodology which is arguably a reason for the "spinning the wheels" approach you see from several lifters who claim to run the program for months on end upwards and beyond a year. It's also seen as a less ideal program for its poor split on upper/lower volume and really benefits from accessory lifts thrown in when the lifter is capable.... but at that point you might as well just run a better program. They're decent programs in that they get a untrained individual to put up enough weight to get themselves out of a horribly weak position but they don't teach anything meaningful for long term. Other programs achieve the necessary linear progression that is capable during your noob gains without having stupid programming quirks that lifters need to unlearn when they move onto intermediate programs.

irishcoffee 9y ago

I've always viewed weight-training like brushing teeth: spend a small amount of time each day for big payoffs in the long run. Now to be fair, I optimized for this by putting a squat rack in my basement along with second-hand weights.

criddell 9y ago
When you say small amount of time, what exactly are you talking about? Have you seen any payoffs yet?
- irishcoffee 9y ago
  My philosophy has always been, if I'm [in the gym/in the basement] longer than 45 minutes working out, I'm doing it wrong. For me personally this counts warm-up sets. I have seen payoffs, mentally almost more than physically. Without going into details, I've been in a legal battle for a while (nothing criminal) and lifting is a great way to blow off steam. Physically, if you "eat right" you see results very quickly at first, and then more slowly as time goes on. Diet is the most important part if you're looking for physical results. You could lift with proper form for years and years, following every program under the sun. If your diet sucks, you're wasting your time if aesthetics if your goal. If you'd like example of quick results, r/fitness is full of em. This one for example, this fellow seems to have made a whole lot of progress in what he claims is 60 days: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/6gpsxr/well_i_guess_i_cant_blame_genetics_anymore/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/6gpsxr/well_i_gues...
  - echlebek 9y ago
    45 minutes? Are you incorporating stretching and mobility work into that?

SurrealSoul 9y ago

"Going to the gym is the 2nd best thing you can do for your body, besides quitting smoking; if you don't smoke, you should focus on the gym" -Some guy on youtube I always seen the gym as an investment into health as opposed to losing weight or getting fit, although those are nice secondary results.

raamdev 9y ago

Julian Shapiro (a HN member) wrote a great free guide called How to Build Muscle [0] that's a nice resource for anyone new to weight training. 0. https://www.julian.com/learn/muscle/intro https://www.julian.com/learn/muscle/intro

criddell 9y ago
Thanks for posting this. I read part of the first page and already I'm getting sucked in. The first thing that surprised me was him saying it is a myth that machine exercises are less effective than barbell ones. That's surprising to me.
- MaxfordAndSons 9y ago
  > The first thing that surprised me was him saying it is a myth that machine exercises are less effective than barbell ones. I found the guide useful, particularly the commentary about sleep and nutrition, but disagree with the author on that quote and relatedly on his exercise programming. The program is hypertrophy focused and the machine exercises are useful for targeting secondary muscles for hypertrophy work, but they're certainly not as good of an overall exercise as the compound movements one does with a barbell. Barbell exercises are more effective both for gaining strength and muscle mass.
- fpgaminer 9y ago
  > The first thing that surprised me was him saying it is a myth that machine exercises are less effective than barbell ones. That's surprising to me. Depends on the definition of "effective". Since the eBook is titled "How to Build Muscle", then yeah, machines are just as effective as free weights. But in terms of building "strength" (picking up random heavy objects), machines will make life a lot more difficult than it has to be.

throwaway-1209 9y ago

I had really bad lower back pain years ago. Started going to the gym and doing weight training. Went from not being able to deadlift 80 lbs without pain to 495lbs for 3 reps. No back pain now. I also recommend "Starting Strength" by Mark Ripptoe. It works. I wish I could convince my wife to do back squats and deadlifts. She's also having back problems but she's stubbornly refusing to do anything about them.

jonnycoder 9y ago
I cannot agree more based on evidence of myself and my wife who do weight training. Now only if losing weight was as simple as gaining strength...it only takes discipline multiplied by weeks and months!
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- cheald 9y ago
  Losing weight is honestly just about developing good habits and being aware of what you eat. Over the past year I've lost 65 lbs calorie counting on an IIFYM-style diet, while lifting. Once the routine is established and you have a go-to set of foods you can hit, it becomes pretty easy. The big thing for me was not having off-limits foods. If I want pizza, I'll have pizza, but I log it and adjust my intake for the rest of the day to get those macros balanced. This kills the "I want it because I can't have it" temptations and has the effect of pushing me towards more naturally-healthy foods, because I can have 2 gigantic chicken breast instead of a piece of pizza, and I know which one is going to satisfy me more.
mslate 9y ago
Over 6 years ago I came across the same online resources about strength-training as you. Without question, weight training has been the best outlet from my professional + social life. for decompressing and preserving my body's well-being, specifically with regards to posture and mental focus over 8+ hour workdays. Many conservative training cycles later and I'm squatting/deadlifting over 200kg. Like you, the only sad part about it is how hard it can be to persuade some men and women to take part in the sport. Some people have major hangups about their body image, injuries and discipline.

Boothroid 9y ago

Weight training is like magic for me. I've slipped into some bad habits over time and am struggling my way slowly out of them and back into training. The difference when I'm training is crazy. It supercharges my body and lifts my mood from all the extra hormones and so on. Recently I had had a weird pain in my back for months every time I breathed in, and it disappeared with a single back workout! I now wonder whether something was out of alignment and the weighted stretching pulled everything back into place. Certainly seemed that way. I've been banging on about weight training to anyone that will listen for years! My special tip: get some cheap bulk whey concentrate (cheaper than isolate and not really that much more calorific in the wider scheme of things) and bang down enough protein shakes to get your protein up to a reasonable level. I used to do 1 gram per pound of bodyweight per day, but looking back I think that was excessive. You also have to make sure you drink plenty of water whilst on a high protein diet, and obviously don't go into it if you have any history of kidney trouble. But seriously though - training vs training + protein is incomparable. Combine the two and watch your muscles expand.

Paul-ish 9y ago

> If all that isn’t convincing enough to turn you onto weights, perhaps this is: maintaining strength later in life “seems to be one of the best predictors of survival," says Peterson. “When we add strength...almost every health outcome improves.” This sort of thing is repeated a lot, but isn't this just a correlation? We don't know which way it goes. Maybe sick people get weaker, rather than weak people get sicker. That makes just as much sense.

brational 9y ago
There's separate research as well into how much, if any, exercise can slow/reduce Sarcopenia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcopenia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcopenia). So they are at least researching it separate from simple correlation as well. "Exercise is of interest in treatment of sarcopenia; evidence indicates increased ability and capacity of skeletal muscle to synthesize proteins in response to short-term resistance exercise.[18] A 2009 Cochrane review also found evidence that in older adults progressive resistance training can improve physical performance (gait speed) and muscular strength,[19] which are two key components of sarcopenia."
VLM 9y ago
The docs seem fairly certain the direction it flows is weakness leads to sickness. Apparently something to do with muscle tissue vs insulin response. Lower muscle tissue leads to lower BMR which leads to obesity related issues and insulin resistance issues. Its almost too trivial to point out the orthopedic issues like weak back muscles leading to back problems. Also the accidental injury issue is trivial obvious; when I was younger working on a home improvement project I dropped a solid wood (not hollow core) door and then caught it, wrenching my back, obviously if my arms were stronger I wouldn't have dropped the door to begin with, and if my back had been stronger (I had been taking a break from lifting) then my back wouldn't have been as messed up. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15107011?report=abstract https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15107011?report=abstract

evanspa 9y ago

Blatant self-promotion. I just finished initial development of a web app [1] for tracking your reps, and have just submitted an iOS / Watch app to the App Store (currently in review). [1] https://www.rikerapp.com https://www.rikerapp.com

mothers 9y ago

perhaps the best exercise for bone strength, but is it the best thing you can do for your bones? assuming a moderately active lifestyle (e.g. an hour of brisk walking a day), we're skeptical that exercise has any significant advantage, if any, compared to improved nutrition and non-exercise lifestyle changes (more and better quality sleep, better friendships, etc.). that being said, exercise certainly isn't bad.

NoahTheDuke 9y ago
Do you have any sources for those claims?
antisthenes 9y ago
Brisk walking [every day even] doesn't qualify as a moderately active lifestyle, sorry. If it doesn't raise your heart rate to at least 100+, it's nearly useless as an exercise. Sure, you'll burn slightly more calories than sitting at a desk, but the benefits are nowhere near actual exercise. > more and better quality sleep, better friendships, etc. Sleep quality generally improves with exercise, as long as you're still getting 8 hours. Better friendships are completely orthogonal to exercise/weightlifting.
- mothers 9y ago
  Brisk walking for an hour daily is absolutely considered moderate exercise. High quality relationships can reduce stress which is related to sleeping.
- vldx 9y ago
  Isn't such perspective limited? My parents are 67 and 65 years old; I would say say that daily brisk walking is possibly much more suitable for them (their body) in comparison to weightlifting -- irrespective of your personal definition of "exercise". And I'm damn sure their heart rate easily exceeds 100+ if that's the main variable to control.
toasterlovin 9y ago
FYI, there is a guy in the Starting Strength community who had pins throughout his legs as a result of falling off of a roof. His bones became so much more dense as a result of lifting heavy that he had to have surgery to have the pins removed; they were literally being pushed out of his bones. I don't think any amount of nutrition is capable of something comparable. If you stop to consider what's going on, it makes a lot of sense. Your body is adaptive. This includes bones as well as muscles. In the same way that you need to add muscle mass in order to lift progressively heavier weight, your bones, too, need to become stronger to support lifting heavier weight. They do this by becoming denser.

tacon 9y ago

It's surprising that no one has mentioned Body by Science[1], SuperSlow from Ken Hutchins, Arthur Jones and Nautilus, and other research based programs from the last forty years. Free weights can be very dangerous as you approach muscle failure, and all sorts of momentum, breath holding, etc. are problematic. Unless hypertrophy and/or bad time management are your goals, I prefer the system of deep muscle inroading in 12 minutes a week, and then I work on sport skills, not building muscle mass, the rest of the week. I have a median genotype, not the genetic makeup of a muscle magazine. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Body-Science-Research-Strength-Training/dp/0071597174 https://www.amazon.com/Body-Science-Research-Strength-Traini... "Body by Science: A Research Based Program for Strength Training, Body building, and Complete Fitness in 12 Minutes a Week" [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PdJFbjWHEU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PdJFbjWHEU [3] http://techzinglive.com/page/1500/268-tz-interview-dr-doug-mcguff-body-by-science http://techzinglive.com/page/1500/268-tz-interview-dr-doug-m...

s0uthPaw88 9y ago

I was a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) before I became a software developer, and I would just like to emphasize that the benefits mentioned can be realized from some pretty simple exercise routines. The keys are to perform them consistently and to progressively increase the training load so that you are constantly providing a stimulus that your body must adapt to.

justforFranz 9y ago

huh huh uhh huhuhuh uhhhh huhuhuhuhuhhh.

alamgir_mand 9y ago

I had my DEXA test a couple months ago and found out I have 3.5x the bone density of others my age due to my heavy weightlifting. It's probably why I've had 3 motorcycle crashes and never broke a single bone. Furthermore, the technician told me that I will probably never have problems with osteoporosis as a result! TL;DR - keep your squats low and your standards high