The fear underlying this question is that the body will become `loose’ and also gain a disproportionate amount of weight. It is so easy to see logic/cause-and-effect relationship in many areas of life…

…Stop brushing your teeth – mouth will be foul.

…Stop bathing – Ugh, feel itchy, sticky and smelly.

Can one have everlasting clean teeth and body without brushing or bathing every day? No! Then how can one have permanent fitness gains with sporadic efforts? Will not the gains get reversed on cessation of weight training? Since we are not gifted with everlasting youth, bone density will deplete as we grow older; and so will cartilage around the knees. Stiff joints, fragile bones and knee pain therefore are common complaints.

Loss of muscle mass starts around age 30 and continues throughout life; the number and size of muscle fibres decrease resulting in Sarcopenia (degenerative loss of muscle mass). By age 50, muscle size shrinks by 20%; by age 80, muscle mass is down by 50%. Loss of muscular strength places unwanted stress on joints – especially knees and spine.

All these debilitating and incapacitating effects of ageing can be SIGNIFICANTLY slowed down by a program of weight training. Weight training builds muscle mass, strong bones and prevents adult onset of diabetes (Type 2 diabetes).

By choosing not to weight-train NOW, fearing the consequences on its cessation is throwing away the wonderful potentials of the present moment. It is the simple principle of `Use it or lose it’. The question to ask is “How shall I go about strengthening my body?” and not “Should I weight train or not – is it necessary and What if…?” Unless you lift, you cannot strengthen. Period. It is not possible to be sedentary and healthy.

Asking “What if I stop Weight training….” implies that gymming is temporary and is not planned as a long term activity.  It is often a `fix’ to get rid of excess weight; With cessation of exercise, there will be little or no motivation to observe discipline in eating – but natural then to put on weight. Gymming has to be habitual and integrated in daily life. The present moment is all that we have. Inside of this, we can take a preventive approach to our health and well-being. So why speculate over an imaginary future scenario?

 

LATA RAJAN

Sr. Faculty & Sr. Fitness Counsellor