Four Traits You Develop Through Strength Training That Set You Up For Success

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We are all aware of the obvious strength training benefits: muscle growth and strength gain. But did you know that lifting weights a few times per week can set you up for success and long-lasting fulfilment?

Most people coast through life, never realising their full potential, not because of bad circumstances but because they lack initiative and never take action. Everyone is quick to blame unfavourable circumstances, but ask yourself this:

Are you genuinely unable to work toward your goals, or are you stuck because you can’t muster the energy or set aside the time to work on things that matter?

The good news is that, regardless of where you are now, strength training can change the way you look at life and make you more biased toward action. Let’s review what that means for you and what traits you can develop through weight training.

1. Strength

Strength, which refers to the ability to exert force on physical objects, is an obvious benefit of weight training. You lift weights, and your body responds by building muscle mass and getting stronger. If you remain consistent and push yourself hard enough, you will eventually work your way up to impressive lifting numbers and the ability to perform advanced movements that require strength and coordination.

But, what many people are surprised to learn is that lifting weights can also develop mental strength and equip you with a trait that makes you more likely to succeed in life.

Squatting is the perfect analogy for life because you’re forced to move up while supporting a heavy weight on your back. Life’s challenges aren’t always as obvious as a barbell on your back, but we all have to deal with adversity and overcome resistance to reach our goals.

While many people see strength as this fixed trait we have or lack, that isn’t the case. Every person can grow physically, mentally, and emotionally stronger. Pushing yourself to lift more weight and overcome greater training challenges makes you stronger and better equipped to tackle difficulties in life.

What’s more profound about developing strength is that you cannot rush the process. Things take time, and looking for shortcuts will only result in setting yourself back or getting hurt. Just as you develop strength in small increments at the gym, you do so in real life. Similarly, you must build your capacity to do work and handle stress in life as you take on increasingly challenging tasks.

2. Patience

We live in truly amazing times because modern technologies and developments have made life easier and more pleasurable. Part of the reason is that we can now enjoy quick access to information, services, and products. Amazon offers overnight shipping, the local pizza place promises 30-minute delivery, and plane travel makes it effortless to visit other countries within hours.

The problem with modern living is that we’ve grown increasingly impatient and expect everything to happen instantly. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work that way, and many people find themselves frustrated. Why? Because our capacity to wait, endure difficulties for long-term payoffs, and deal with delays has shrunk. In other words, we’ve become impatient, and when things don’t happen right away, we get angry, give up, or change course.

Luckily for us, weight training is a fantastic way to develop patience, which is a valuable trait for everyone who wants to succeed. Training forces us to internalize that anything worth having takes time, consistency, and effort. We cannot visit the gym a few times and expect to get fit, just as we can’t start work on something and expect it to turn us into overnight success stories.

Life is about small steps, steady growth, setbacks, and going back on track until we eventually reach the desired milestone.

3. Discipline

Most people associate discipline with working out at five in the morning, drinking raw eggs, and following a restrictive diet to look good at the beach. When looking at it that way, discipline can certainly send a chill down your spine. But what if, instead of looking at discipline like that, we started seeing it as this valuable trait that sets us up for success in life?

At its core, discipline is self-control. You’re not doing something because of extrinsic motivation but because you know it will pay off for you in the long run.

Learning to set aside short-term desires and align your actions with goals is the foundation for success in life. That holds true at the gym, in your professional life, and everywhere else. Each time you skip dessert or do a workout despite feeling tired, you get closer to your fat loss goals.

Weight training is fantastic for developing discipline because the entire process is tough. You will be tempted to skip many workouts, avoid uncomfortable exercises, and cut sets short because your muscles burn. But, by choosing to push forward despite your feelings, you flex your discipline muscle, forcing it to get stronger.

The exciting thing is that you’re not just getting better at doing more reps, picking challenging exercises, or hitting the gym instead of watching TV. You’re developing a trait that makes you more likely to do what’s right instead of picking the path of least resistance in life.

4. Focus

Many people fail to become successful simply because they cannot focus and go down one path until they reach a goal. Instead of focusing on one or two things, folks jump from one shiny object to the next, hoping to learn what it takes to be an overnight success.

For example, weight loss is a common goal today. But, despite the overall simplicity of the process, most people fail to reach their goals not because of poor genetics or lack of knowledge. Folks fail because they lack focus and often jump from one diet, training program, supplement, or another gimmick to the next.

The beauty of weight training is that it teaches you to focus and go down a single path until you become successful. Sure, you can experiment by doing various training programs, trying new exercises, and changing your training schedule. But, the fundamental principles behind effective strength training don’t change, and applying them teaches you to avoid distraction.

Plus, successful strength training is about tuning out distractions and learning to focus on the task at hand, regardless of where you are. For instance, when you’re about to do a heavy set of squats in a public gym, focus on what gets your mind in the game, allowing you to push yourself to your limits and make progress.

Coach Michael

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