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I know lifting weight is a big thing in the US, but not so much in my part of the world. Sometimes my impression is that many guys primarily want big muscles an

I know lifting weight is a big thing in the US, but not so much in my part of the world. Sometimes my impression is that many guys primarily want big muscles and conveniently convince themselves it is the way to go to be in good health. Not saying it's not but because it looks unnatural and isn't functional (I mean, have homo sapiens ever needed that kind of muscles?), I'm just wondering if it's really that healthy. Are there any proven benefits to lifting heavy weight (compared to let say having a regular physical activity such as swimming, hiking, cycling, bodyweight exercises?)

meroes 6y ago
I need to lift weight so I don't hurt myself carrying 65lb ladders down trails and in high wind for my job. Is that ok with you?
Baeocystin 6y ago
If you want to keep your bones strong, there's no better exercise. https://time.com/4803697/bodybuilding-strength-training/ https://time.com/4803697/bodybuilding-strength-training/ It also increases your baseline strength, which is in turn one of the strongest correlates to maintaining health at any age.
renewiltord 6y ago
The problem with asking a question like that is that you're going to get links to individual papers, but that's not a reasonable way to study science. You need the aggregate. So, if you're wondering about whether lifting is good for your health, you should first identify what outcomes you're aiming for and then look for yourself what interventions increase the likelihood of those outcomes. I cannot provide specifically the information you desire in an economical way¹. But it's unfair to just leave you with nothing, so here's a starting point in your research (apart from the Wikipedia article on Weight Training²): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2453303/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2453303/ ¹ For instance, maybe you don't care to be able to run some arbitrary distance. Maybe it isn't important to you to be able to cliff dive. Maybe it isn't important to you to live to 80. Maybe you consider being muscular to be of negative utility on its own. The state space is too large for me to capture here. ² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_training#Health_benefits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_training#Health_benefit...
_se 6y ago
Yes, there are many. It's quite easy to find the answer to that question. We're not talking about crazy hypertrophy type lifting - bench 135, squat 185, deadlift 225 and you will not have rsi problems.
- paulryanrogers 6y ago
  I do wonder if all these easily found studies have accounted for survivorship bias. I.e. those who can achieve those goals are those most likely to not develop RSI. Ironically my RSI began within a few months of starting weight training.

meroes 6y ago

I need to lift weight so I don't hurt myself carrying 65lb ladders down trails and in high wind for my job. Is that ok with you?

Baeocystin 6y ago

If you want to keep your bones strong, there's no better exercise. https://time.com/4803697/bodybuilding-strength-training/ https://time.com/4803697/bodybuilding-strength-training/ It also increases your baseline strength, which is in turn one of the strongest correlates to maintaining health at any age.

renewiltord 6y ago

The problem with asking a question like that is that you're going to get links to individual papers, but that's not a reasonable way to study science. You need the aggregate. So, if you're wondering about whether lifting is good for your health, you should first identify what outcomes you're aiming for and then look for yourself what interventions increase the likelihood of those outcomes. I cannot provide specifically the information you desire in an economical way¹. But it's unfair to just leave you with nothing, so here's a starting point in your research (apart from the Wikipedia article on Weight Training²): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2453303/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2453303/ ¹ For instance, maybe you don't care to be able to run some arbitrary distance. Maybe it isn't important to you to be able to cliff dive. Maybe it isn't important to you to live to 80. Maybe you consider being muscular to be of negative utility on its own. The state space is too large for me to capture here. ² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_training#Health_benefits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_training#Health_benefit...

_se 6y ago

Yes, there are many. It's quite easy to find the answer to that question. We're not talking about crazy hypertrophy type lifting - bench 135, squat 185, deadlift 225 and you will not have rsi problems.

paulryanrogers 6y ago
I do wonder if all these easily found studies have accounted for survivorship bias. I.e. those who can achieve those goals are those most likely to not develop RSI. Ironically my RSI began within a few months of starting weight training.