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0 pointsoskarth10y ago0 comments

Perhaps this is more a function of your social group than anything else. Of the three people I know that got into lifting (including myself, one woman and two men, all in long-terms relationships at the time), none did it to "get girls", but in order to be stronger (as opposed to just looking strong a la hypertrophy/bodybuilding).

Why be stronger? Many reasons, but it boils down to health and being strong enough to do activities that you otherwise wouldn't be able to do, both now (such as hiking or cross-country skiing) but also 30-50 years from now (not breaking a hip bone when you fall in the shower, for example).

For me, lifting heavy weights is a great counterpoint to spending time sitting still in front of a screen. Humans weren't made for that, and most humans nowadays are, to put it simply, weak (compared to what we were evolutionary selected for). As much as we would like to, we aren't just brains on a stick, we are also animals with physical demands.

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alextgordon10y ago

For men, cardiovascular health is most important aspect, heart disease being the largest cause of death[1].

While lifting weights is better than no exercise at all, it is not that effective. There are certainly many people who enthusiastically lift and are still fat and unhealthy. The same cannot be said for running enthusiasts.

Anyway, it's your right to do whatever form of exercise makes you happiest, but if someone is legitimately concerned about their health, they should start by running/cycling, etc.

[1]: http://visual.ons.gov.uk/what-are-the-top-causes-of-death-by...

dpark10y ago

> There are certainly many people who enthusiastically lift and are still fat and unhealthy. The same cannot be said for running enthusiasts.

That's mostly because running when you're overweight is murder on your joints. There are, on the other hand, plenty of overweight cycling enthusiasts.

I've rarely seen truly overweight people who spend much time lifting weights. Overweight people in general are not exercising much unless making intentional and significant progress toward the not-overweight category.

With that said, some people do lift enthusiastically and are happy to stay an a somewhat higher weight because they prefer to be "bigger", but these are not typically obese people. They're generally on the upper end of normal or slightly into "overweight" BMI, which is misleading/inaccurate for people carrying significant muscle anyway. Carrying some extra fat is also less of a concern for people who are doing significant amounts of exercise (cardio or strength). Sedentary and skinny is probably not healthier than active and chunky.

It's also worth noting that you can lift "enthusiastically" for 30-60 minutes 3 times/week and accomplish a lot. If you're a running enthusiast, you're sinking a lot more time in it than that unless you're actually doing sprints (which is more similar to weight lifting than it is jogging). Running enthusiasts are doing things like training for marathons/half marathons, which is a huge time sink.

ruraljuror10y ago

Do you have a source that shows lifting is not as effective for improving cardiovascular health as endurance exercise? Also keep in mind that endurance exercise in and of itself has a risk of heart attack while similar deaths are virtually unheard of in lifting. Most deaths from lifting are due to solo bench pressing and suffocstion, while many more people die on cardio machines. At least that is what I read in the book The New Rules of Lifting. I don't have it in front of me for the source.

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