# Why don’t you lift weights? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** diet-weight-loss\ **Created:** [August 15, 2020, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144 "2020-08-15T01:48:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 46
**Author:** ![JaneA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@JaneA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneA)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/901 "2025-08-14T21:32:58Z")
Over the past three days I lifted 160 pounds up 4800 feet. Not what you all mean by weight lifting I definitely built some muscle! ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/902 "2025-08-14T22:17:15Z")
Sounds good! ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/903 "2025-08-14T23:56:48Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > > > I believe that chia goo is largely protein > > Not so. A 30 g serving of chia seeds is a fair protein source, 5 g (compared to 10 g of protein in the same 30 g of hemp seeds). What it is good on is healthy fats (9 g) and great on fiber (10 g) almost all soluble, which what gels up into the goo. Huh, the mucilage is, indeed , mostly soluble fiber and water. I knew chia, overall, had high protein (for a seed) and that most of its **overall** fiber was insoluble. Likewise, I knew that egg white was a mucilagenous protein slurry and I’d read that you could cook up chia omelettes. I assumed that totaled up to them being the same. Assumptions! Good to know. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/904 "2025-08-15T01:56:45Z")
I for one am impressed! ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/905 "2025-08-15T02:14:26Z")
> [@JaneA](#): > > Over the past three days I lifted 160 pounds up 4800 feet. Not what you all mean by weight lifting I definitely built some muscle! I once had a job palletizing coffee beans. About 200 tons in an 8 hour shift. I guess I could say I lifted 200 tons 1 ft. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/906 "2025-08-15T02:20:45Z")
I was comparing my life today to what it was 4 months ago. 30# lighter. I can cut my own toe nails, walk around the block without gasping for air. Do my yard work, normal house repairs and painting, I go dancing again. I am outside working on projects almost every day for at least 4 hours. 4 months ago. I was pretty much confined to my computer desk. I still have a long way to go but I think I set the clock back about 5 years. My workouts are not over 15 minutes a day and I am aiming at 45 minutes to an hour. The first two months I was just waking up the muscles and I can’t say I really pushed it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/907 "2025-08-15T02:32:32Z")
Nicely done! ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/908 "2025-08-15T02:55:24Z")
That sounds great! Bring able to function is so much nicer than not being able to function. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/909 "2025-08-15T20:10:33Z")
🧑‍🎤 That is supposed to be a rock star I think. @JaneA ’s hiking is up there but @HoneyBadgerDC ’s accomplishments shared here probably deserve that emoji even more! 😀 ---
**Author:** ![JaneA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@JaneA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneA)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/910 "2025-08-15T21:09:44Z")
I agree! ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/911 "2025-08-15T22:15:23Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I was comparing my life today to what it was 4 months ago… You, sir, are a warrior. I like to think that you are summoning the dormant spirit of your ancestors, and becoming more in tune with your natural connection to the world. Or, y’know, _looking good bro_. 🤜🏽 ---
**Author:** ![JaneA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@JaneA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneA)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/912 "2025-08-15T22:29:04Z")
A question on rest and recovery. My leg muscles are still a little wobbly today–not at all painful but sore. I understand that part of getting stronger is letting fatigued muscles recover and repair. But do I need to wait until they feel completely okay to work them out again? If I were to strength train two days a week and hike another 3-4 days a week I think my leg muscles would be pretty sore most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/913 "2025-08-15T23:03:00Z")
Muscles hurt because they’ve literally been damaged at a microscopic level. It’s like lots of little tears and cuts embedded all through the muscle. As you heal, your body will build back stronger if it has the resources available to do so, has the extra energy, and has the time to finish the work. If you’re always tearing the muscles again, over and over, without letting them heal then you don’t have any of those things. If you really want to get as strong as possible, as fast as possible, the usual advice is to rest until healed (and make sure that you’re eating well) or only exercise the parts of your body that don’t hurt so much. But the latter may steal energy from building back stronger so it’s not clear that it’s better to do that, versus just truly taking it easy. Personally, I’d be less focused on that and more on life quality. If you’re always miserable and in pain, then it makes it hard to want to continue. Trying to put on muscle as fast as possible can incentivize you if you see that it’s working, or it can disincentivize you because of the constant pain. If you’re going to be doing a lot of hiking, then you might lean towards upper body exercises at the gym. If there’s bad weather or you’re unable to go on a hike, then you can throw in some lower body fitness. You might also want to do some lower body fitness at the gym, every once in a while, just to keep your muscle memory for the movements. But you could do just a single set instead of three sets, for example, or use lighter weights that won’t be hard for you to lift. ETA: I’d probably consider a hike to be just one form of fitness training so if you’re trying to achieve 2-3 sessions per week, then each hike would count towards your session count. ---
**Author:** ![JaneA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@JaneA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneA)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/914 "2025-08-15T23:04:36Z")
Really helpful, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2025, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/915 "2025-08-16T02:27:45Z")
> [@JaneA](#): > > If I were to strength train two days a week and hike another 3-4 days a week I think my leg muscles would be pretty sore most of the time. Devils in the details. First add in the concept of an _active recovery_ day as something different than a rest day. Low intensity exercise can actually speed recovery. Low intensity aerobic including cross training options, balance work, so on. If you are still sore maybe not an be addition rest day but an active recovery day instead? I agree with not going hard again (by time or intensity or both) in the same body portion until totally okay. Your priority is your long hike each week, preferably with some steeper sections, gradually progressively more challenging, and recovery after that. But that long challenging hike is just once a week. But there is nothing wrong with doing some strength training on the same day as a lighter hike or easy run day. If you do any heavy lifting prioritize keeping it at least 48 hours separated from the weekly longer challenging hike day. And only if feeling totally okay. Your program is likely best considered as more akin to a marathon training program than anything else. One other thing to add: you have a year? You can do this in blocks. Separate periods focused more on different aspects, with one more strength emphasis and another more endurance focused, so on. You are never not incorporating both but you definitely want to have more focus on your hiking than on the strength training in your final block. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2025, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/916 "2025-08-16T17:13:01Z")
I have been following Ben Askren, he is a retired MMA fighter who recently underwent a double lung transplant. While in the hospital he lost 50# in 45 days. I would imagine that 25# of that was muscle. He barely has the strength to walk and struggles with 5# dumbbell curls. I am really curious as to how fast his muscle will come back. He seems determined. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2025, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/917 "2025-08-16T18:21:48Z")
Lifters need to understand the difference between aches, strains and pains. if you work hard or do tough novel exercises you are not used to doing, your muscles tend to ache. This is microscopic damage that results in a stronger muscle when healed. It is not very painful as such. But if going down the stairs, say, there might be a stiff or slightly uncomfortable sensation. This is often “delayed onset muscle soreness”, and it can come 12-48 hours after a workout. It often gets better with time, when the exercises are no longer novel. It often gets better with naproxen or Tylenol tablets if needed. These will not generally interfere with muscle growth. You can work through this type of discomfort. But it is better to do a lighter workout or avoid concentrating on those muscles. A tough leg muscle workout often takes 2-3 days to recover, where lighter work should be done. If you are lifting a heavy weight and immediately feel a sharp twinge, it is time to stop that exercise. Use very light weights and see where you are at. Often the muscle is okay and there is no difficulty using moderate weights or different exercises. But listen to your body. Do not work through sharp twinges - better to rest and work around them. You do not want to turn it into an injury. And you always work around a pain; not through it. Stop if there is significant sudden pain. It takes time to heal from injuries. If you have significant pain and it persists through light weights or different exercises or several days, you must let that area heal for longer. If you workout, do exercises that do not tax that muscle or joint or ligament. Take medicines as needed. Soft tissue injuries can take 4-8 weeks to heal. Start with very light weights when restarting. Serious injuries in weightlifting are quite rare, much less than in games of soccer or football. But let them heal in their own time. As a general rule, legs need 2-3 days of recovery if doing a tough strength workout. You don’t need to return to baseline - you can do a light leg workout or hike if the pain has eased somewhat but is still sometimes there. If doing two strength workouts a week concentrating on legs, include some upper body exercises or do one tough and one easier workout or do your squats and deadlifts on different days. Machines tax the legs less and recovery times are quicker. A tough uphill hike or hiking with a heavy pack should be considered like a tough strength workout if it is. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2025, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/918 "2025-08-16T18:57:21Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > While in the hospital he lost 50# in 45 days. I would imagine that 25# of that was muscle. He barely has the strength to walk and struggles with 5# dumbbell curls. I am really curious as to how fast his muscle will come back. This is where that epigenetic muscle memory article that @Dr_Paprika linked to, the one that documented > Cells possess a “memory” such that adaptations can be more quickly regained when a previously encountered challenge is reintroduced. is very relevant, along with the fact that his neuromuscular adaptations are ready to go. I’d bet on his rebuilding fairly quickly. Doping considerations aside, I think of Lance Armstrong in times like this who came back from his cancer treatment rebuilding his muscles very specifically adapted for his sport. For we normies having built up some strength and mass allows a serious medical event which burns through muscle mass to leave us with enough still left that we can function enough to recover. ---
**Author:** ![JaneA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@JaneA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneA)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/919 "2025-08-17T18:36:56Z")
All good stuff on soreness and pain, thanks! Really helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144/920 "2025-08-17T20:39:44Z")
Exercises to help with knee and shoulder pain (gift links). > **[Want to ease persistent knee pain? Try these at-home exercises](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/2c74378c75ce69f3bd05148883e9aa787edbcaa15de44e8517335ccc76bfb73e/RL2OTT746BHNBFNAG6B2V3P7NI/)** > > These movements will target your hips, ankles, mobility and balance to alleviate one of the most common ailments for adults over 45 > **[Improve your shoulder mobility with these three movements](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/2c74378c75ce69f3bd05148883e9aa787edbcaa15de44e8517335ccc76bfb73e/4JCP5G6EQJAGVGMIHH7T7JJYGM/)** > > These exercises targeting postural alignment should enhance your range of motion [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144.md?page=45) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-don-t-you-lift-weights/918144.md?page=47)