Weightlifting Essay

Everyone has a highly tuned machine, that is capable of both physical and mental labor. Throughout history, this machine has solved some of the hardest problems and lifted thousands upon thousands of pounds. There is a name for this complicated machine; it is called the human body. The human body has done great things, but one action that has can significantly enhance its ability to operate: weightlifting. Although it can be difficult to find time to go to the gym in the busy world of today, weightlifting can offer indispensable lifelong benefits to people due to its impact on both mental and physical health.

First off, weightlifting lifts people's everyday mood. When people workout they expect the exercise to make them feel “more cheerful”

Elite athletes have “fewer annual sick days” than average people (Link 1). In order to be an elite athlete, people need to do a lot of physical conditioning. This conditioning includes weightlifting. Due to these athletes taking part in weightlifting, it is fair to assume that the weightlifting had something to do with the lack of sick days. Along with this, not as many average people tend to weight lift as much as athletes; so that results in them having a higher chance of getting sick more often. Beyond the immune system, weightlifting helps fight off disease by “increasing bone density”, which helps “prevent osteoporosis” (Fergusson 1). By strengthening bones, the body is able to grow more bone cells; some of which help with the immune system. Since the immune system is getting helped, the body is able to fight off disease better. Having high cardiovascular fitness from consistent aerobic activity means the body has a “greater ability” (Roach 1). Greater ability in the body means many things, one of them being growth in the immune system. It is also notable that weightlifting can correlate significantly with the cardiovascular system. Consequently, weightlifting helps the immune

However, a large factor leading people to not go to the gym is lack of knowledge, which leads to fear of the gym. A lot of people don't know “what muscle groups to focus on” (Olson 3). It is often intimidating to try something new, especially when you know nothing about it. As a result of this, a lot of people are afraid to ask what to do, instead just copying what they see the nearest person doing. People may also fear the altercation of their appearance after weightlifting; the sight of “bulging biceps” doesn't exactly fit with some peoples ideal body (Brusie 1). People tend to associate weightlifting with large bodybuilders. While this physique does catch eyes, it's not everyone's ideal body. Because people don't want that physique, they don't want to do things that may result in that type of body. Therefore, this leads people to not go to the gym. “Going to the gym as a woman is so scary and intimidating; you feel like you want to be smaller and not take up as much space¨ (Rajaram 1). This may be intimidating because new gym goers may not realize that these people were new once too. Consequently, they are afraid of being judged and are hesitant to start. Therefore, due to not knowing this fact they are afraid to start weightlifting There are also post workout methods that may seem strange to potential gym goers. Injury prevention and coming back from “injury bigger, stronger and quicker” is