Strength Training For Non-Athletes
Josh Kaufman is the bestselling author of books on business, entrepreneurship, skill acquisition, productivity, creativity, applied psychology, and practical wisdom. About Josh »
By way of context: I'm an entrepreneur / researcher / author, not an athlete. I'm not training for competition, don't have a ton of time to spend at the gym, and I don't want to look like a bodybuilder.
That said, there's an enormous amount of research that strength training is one of the best things you can do for overall health, general fitness, and longevity.
I started by lifting freeweights, which I haven't done since competing in high school Track & Field. 1 Weightlifting has never been my favorite form of physical exertion, mostly because delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is one of my least favorite sensations in the world.
That said, there's a ton of evidence that freeweights make your entire body stronger in ways that matter a great deal to overall health and longevity: your muscles get stronger, but the increased load on your bones and connective tissues encourages them to get stronger as well. 2
