Today with God’s help I joined the 1,000-pound club—the total pounds for 1 bench press + 1 squat + 1 deadlift.

250 pounds (bench press)
+ 340 pounds (squat)
+ 440 pounds (deadlift)
______________________
= 1,030 pounds (total)

A lot of men can lift way more than that. (Arnold Schwarzenegger recently shared, “My best bench press was 525, my best deadlift was 710, and my best squat was 610.” That’s 1,845 total pounds.) Lifting 1,000 total pounds isn’t hard for super strong guys, but it’s a milestone for me. I’m 43 years old. I’m about 6 feet tall, and I just bulked up to about 200 pounds. And I didn’t start strength training until I was 37.

Here’s the story of how I got stronger (with advice for beginners along the way).

Why I Started Strength Training

The reason I started strength training goes back to January 2016 when I preached in Myanmar and taught a theology course to pastors there. At age 35, I caught a disease that resulted in an 18-month stretch with chronic low energy. It was awful. God graciously restored my health after I started following a new plan to be a better steward of my body.

4 Basic Lifestyle Changes

Ever since summer 2017, I have been aiming to become healthier and stronger by consistently doing four activities:

Eat well. Prior to summer 2017, I had one criterion for what I ate: How does it taste? My metabolism and health finally caught up with me in my late thirties. For five years starting in summer 2017, I tracked what I ate and attempted to stay within a calorie-range for each day based on a macronutrient calculator. My daily goal is to eat about one gram of protein for every pound I weigh, which means that I eat a lot of meat and that I drink whey protein powder in the morning (and sometimes casein protein powder before bed). My food tastes have changed dramatically. I used to crave peanut M&Ms for lunch; now I crave grilled chicken, over-easy eggs, broccoli, rice, and air-fried potatoes (and Oikos Triple Zero Yogurt for a snack).
Do strength training. I do strength training four or five mornings per week. Each training session takes about an hour. I focus on compound lifts with barbells—especially the big four: squat, deadlift, press, and bench press. (More on that below.)
Do cardio. I do brief cardio or metabolic conditioning at the end of strength training sessions, and on Saturday mornings I do a longer cardio session. For the past several years, I typically did a Murph outside on Saturday mornings (at least from about April through November). There are three parts to a Murph: the first part is to run one mile; the second part is to do 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300-squats (I usually break this up into twenty sets of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats); and the third and final part is to run one mile. I do it with a twenty-pound backpack on and usually with a group of guys from my church and school. My personal record with a 20-pound pack is 40 minutes, 52 seconds.
Sleep 8+ hours. I had been sleeping five to seven hours per night. Now I aim to sleep at least eight hours each night. Good sleep is important for your muscles to recover and grow, and it helps your energy level, mood, and focus.

I wish I would have implemented these four basic lifestyle changes as a teenager. I didn’t start until I was 37 years old and skinny fat. After about seven months of strength training, my weight dropped from about 190 to 150. After a few years of strength training, I gained about thirty pounds of muscle. Those are called “newbie gains.” As I’ve kept at it, I have gradually become stronger, and my energy has dramatically increased.

For most of this period, I have not focused mainly on getting stronger but on getting all-around fitter. In mid-August 2023, I stopped doing weekly Murphs because my right knee was getting sore. After completing over 150 Murphs, I realized that doing 300 squats is not great for your joints! Apparently, it’s also not great for gaining strength. After I stopped doing weekly Murphs, I got stronger as I focused mainly on strength training (and ate even more protein each day). On May 29, 2023, my one-rep max on the four big lifts were 230 pounds for bench press, 265 pounds for squat, 375 pounds for deadlift, and 155 pounds for press. (The total of the first three lifts is 870 pounds. That’s 160 pounds short of 1,030.) Six months later, my one-rep max on the four big lifts were 250 pounds for bench press (20 pounds more), 340 pounds for squat (75 pounds more), 440 pounds for deadlift (65 pounds more), and 175 pounds for press (20 pounds more).

8 Resources That Have Helped Me

God has used several resources to help me be a faithful steward of my physical body. I’ll highlight eight of them.

Two Disclaimers: First, beware of doing strength training with sinful motivations and to the neglect of more important priorities. Don’t spend all your time working out to the neglect of being a godly man—a faithful husband, a faithful father, a faithful church member. Second, I reject worldly motivations in these resources such as trying to impress others by showing off your ripped or strong body. I am sharing these resources because they helped teach me how to lift heavy weights with proper technique and how to plan a strength-training program.

Resources 1–2: These are the main resources I first learned from:

Mike Matthews, Bigger, Leaner, Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body, 3rd ed. (Clearwater, FL: Oculus, 2019). Website: Legion Athletics.
Mark Rippetoe, Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, 3rd ed. (Wichita Falls, TX: Aasgaard, 2011). Website: Starting Strength.

My biggest regret about following Mike Matthews’s book early in my strength training is that I focused too much on getting lean and not enough on getting strong. The only way to get bigger and stronger while doing strength training is by eating a caloric surplus with lots of protein. And that means you’ll gain both muscle and fat as your body recomposes. Your first year of strength training is when your “newbie” gains are biggest, and you can add 20–25 pounds of muscle. Mark Rippetoe and Andy Baker include this helpful chart in Practical Programming for Strength Training:

Grant Broggi, a Starting Strength coach, explains the stress-recovery-adaptation cycle in two helpful videos:

“How Do I Get Stronger? Stress. Recovery. Adaptation. EXPLAINED.” (5:45 min.):

“How to Get Stronger and Increase Longevity | Lift Heavy Weights!” (6:30 min.)

If you’re in your first few years of strength training, I’d encourage you to target getting stronger and not primarily getting leaner (unless you are grossly overweight). It’s much harder to build muscle than to lose fat. The best way to get stronger is to focus on progressive overload with the four big lifts: squat, deadlift, press, and bench press. The “Starting Strength” method of Mark Rippetoe is a good way to go.

Resource 3: Paul Horn, Radically Simple Strength: A Practical Plan to Help Average Guys Build Awesome Bodies (2022). Website: Horn Strength. Horn has been a Starting Strength trainer for a few decades, and he understands that guys want to be both strong and lean. His approach is a happy medium between Mark Rippetoe and Mike Matthews (with the exception of his eccentric meal advice—to eat the same thing for both lunch and dinner every single day!).

Resource 4: Matt Reynolds’s “Barbell Logic” website and videos. Reynolds builds on the Starting Strength fundamentals.

Resource 5: Grant Broggi’s “The Strength Co.” website and videos. Broggi is owner of The Strength Co., and he is a Starting Strength Coach (and brother-in-law of my friend Grant Castleberry). If I could afford online coaching, I would choose either Matt Reynolds or Grant Broggi. Bonus: Matt Reynolds and Grant Broggi are Christians.

Resource 6: Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 program for strength training. When your strength performance starts to plateau (e.g., after a few years of the Starting Strength method), your training complexity needs to go up to compensate. This is the best program I’ve found to help me break through plateaus. It’s simple and effective. It’s what I used to join the 1,000-pound club. (Later I may try what Grant Broggi recommends in “Efficient 5x5s for the Intermediate.”)

Below is the version of the 5/3/1 program I’ve been following since the end of summer 2023. It’s a four-week cycle. After each cycle, I increase my working one-rep max for press and bench press by 5 pounds, and I increase my one-rep max for deadlift and squat by 10 pounds. For weeks 1–3, the focus is doing as many reps as possible on set 3 of the first big lift. Week 4 is a deload to recover. This is a good rhythm of volume and intensity for a guy my age.

Resource 7: Jeff Cavaliere’s Athlean-X website and videos. Jeff Cavaliere earned a masters degree in physical therapy, and he doesn’t simply tell you what to do; he explains why.

Resource 8: CrossFit. I haven’t joined a CrossFit gym, but I have benefitted from many CrossFit MetCons (i.e., metabolic conditioning) such as Murph (see above). And watching the guys compete at the CrossFit Games is inspiring. My favorite CrossFit athlete is Rich Froning.

How to Do the 4 Big Lifts: Squat, Deadlift, Press, and Bench Press

Here are some videos and notes I have accumulated about how to do the four big lifts—influenced mainly by Mark Rippetoe. A simple and sound plan for strength training is to focus on these four lifts and to view everything else as supplemental.

Disclaimer: Some videos may have objectionable elements (e.g., Mark Rippetoe may use coarse language—I don’t recall if he does in the videos below). I am sharing them because they have been helpful for teaching me how to lift heavy weights with proper technique.

Lift 1. Squat

Barbell Logic: “Gym Shorts: The Squat” (0:53 min.)

CrossFit: “The Back Squat” (0:59 min.)

Wear weightlifting shoes. I regret waiting several years to buy weightlifting shoes. They make a big difference. (I wear Adidas Powerlift 5 Weightlifting Shoes.)
Grip the bar. Place your thumb over (not under) the bar; keep your elbows up; all of the weight should be on the back—none on the hands or wrists. Use a narrow grip—not a wide grip (otherwise the bar won’t set on your back correctly).
Get under the bar. Use the low-bar stance (lower on the back), not the high-bar one. Align the barbell vertically over your mid-foot the entire process. Tighten your muscles first and then place the bar on the lower back while in squat position (not with one foot forward like a lunge). Set the bar between your traps and posterior deltoid—under the spine of the scapula. Adjust your hands so that they are as close to your shoulders as possible while keeping your wrists straight when you get under the bar.
Unrack the bar. Stand squarely on both feet. Keep your elbows back, wrists straight, and chest up. Secure the bar by lifting your chest and elbows at the same time (elevate your elbows to the rear). Take one step back from the rack, and place your feet shoulder-width apart. Point your toes out about 30 degrees. Press your heels and toes into the ground.
Squat. Take a deep breath and hold it for each rep. The first movement is to bend at the hip (shove your backside back) and to shove your knees out in a straight line with your feet. Point your chest at the floor. Keep your back flat and at about a 45-degree angle. Look down about 4–5 feet away with your chin down (imagine pressing a tennis ball against your sternum). Squat so that the top of your thighs are parallel with the ground and so that the bottom of your thighs are below parallel. As you descend, imagine that you will slightly bounce as you drive your hips straight up. Rebound at the bottom; don’t pause. Imagine a chain pulling your backside straight up; raise your backside out of the bottom (don’t imagine pushing the floor). When you come up, do not move your hips forward; drive your hips up, not forward; at no point should you bring your hips forward.
Rack the bar. Step straight forward until you hit the uprights; then set the bar into the hooks.

Master cue: Think about keeping the barbell over the mid-foot, and push your hips straight up.

More videos:

Barbell Logic (Matt Reynolds): “How To Squat: A Beginner’s Guide” (6:27 min.)

Paul Horn: “How to Squat” (0:57 min.) [written instructions]

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “Learning to Squat | The Starting Strength Method” (5:46 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): How to Low Bar Squat With Mark Rippetoe | The Art of Manliness (10:51 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): The Squat | Rip Coaching – Starting Strength Method (23:24 min.)

CrossFit: “The Back Squat” (1:06 min.)

Athlean-X (Jeff Cavaliere): “The SINGLE BEST Squat Tip I’ve Ever Used!”—i.e., move your hips and chest at the same time (5:16 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): The Squat – Bar Position with Mark Rippetoe (18:26 min.)

The Strength Co. (Grant Broggi): “5 Common Squat Mistakes and How to Fix Them” (14:33 min.)

Lift 2. Deadlift

Barbell Logic: “Gym Shorts: The Deadlift” (0:48 min.)

CrossFit: “The Deadlift” (0:57 min.)

Stance. Either take your shoes off, wear weightlifting shoes, or wear shoes with a flat sole. (At home I have deadlifted barefoot, wearing Reebok Men’s Nano 9 Cross Trainers, or wearing weight-lifting shoes.) Stand with your shins about an inch from the barbell and your feet under the bar so that the bar divides each foot into two equal parts; place your heels 8–12 inches apart (much narrower than the squat), and point your toes out slightly. Press your heels and toes into the ground; your heel should not come off the ground at all.
Grip. Without lowering your hips, grip the bar to the outside of your shins—as narrow as you can grip it without hitting your legs while going up and down. Grip the bar overhand with both hands if you can; it’s better to be symmetrical. Use an alternate grip only if the weight is too heavy for double-overhand. Grip the bar well down into the hook of the fingers so that the bar doesn’t slide. It’s okay to use straps if you can’t hold onto the bar.
Shins. Bend your knees until your shin touches the bar. Your bottom should be sticking out in the air in a half-squat position—not in a full-squat position. The bar must be over the middle of your foot. Your shins should be at an angle, and your arms should be at an angle (not straight up and down over the bar). Your back angle is not the key because that changes based on a person’s anthropometry. Do not round your back.
Chest. Squeeze your chest up in the air to set your back; imagine pointing your belt buckle at your face or dropping your belly between your legs or pointing your chest at the wall. If you lean forward too much, you will hurt your lower back. It should be a challenge to raise your chest. Don’t drop your hips (because then you’d push the bar forward on the floor and the bar is already exactly where you want it). Inhale while the bar is on the floor, and don’t exhale until you place the bar back on the floor at the end of the rep.
Pull. Drag the bar straight up your legs—touching or almost touching your shins. Imagine keeping the bar over the middle of your foot at all times as you pull in a straight vertical line. Pull the bar up as quickly as you can by pushing through your mid-foot (not through your heels); your mid-foot is the balance point. Move your hips and shoulders simultaneously. Look at the floor about 12–15 feet in front of you with your back straight (not rounded!) and your chest out; lift with your legs—not your back or arms (keep your arms straight). At the top of the rep, don’t lean back and hyperextend your lumbar or shrug your shoulders; simply lift your chest with your shoulders back. Imagine pushing your legs into the floor rather than pulling with your arms.
Drop. Don’t lower the bar to the ground slowly. Stick your backside back to get your knees out of the way so that the bar does not hit your knees and so that you don’t need to move the bar out around your knees. The bar should go down in a straight line above the middle of your foot. At the end of each rep, place the barbell completely on the ground; each rep should be a dead-lift; don’t bounce the bar off the floor.

More videos:

Barbell Logic: “How to Deadlift (Best Setup) in Five Easy Steps” (5:42 min.)

Paul Horn: “How to Deadlift” (0:52 min.) [written instructions]

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “Learning to Deadlift | The Starting Strength Method” (4:22 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “Proper Deadlift by Mark Rippetoe” (2:06 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “How to Deadlift With Mark Rippetoe | The Art of Manliness” (7:53 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “The Deadlift in 5 Steps | On the Platform” (3:58 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “Deadlift Stance | On the Platform” (4:02 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “The Deadlift | Setting Up” (6:20 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “The Deadlift | Rip Coaching” (15:26 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “The Deadlift | Sets of Five” (4:02 min.)

Athlean-X (Jeff Cavaliere): “The Official Deadlift Checklist (AVOID MISTAKES!)” (15:15 min.)

The Strength Co. (Grant Broggi): “The Deadlift Grip: Overhand, Hook and Alternate” (7:45 min.) [article: “How to Grip Your Deadlift”]

The Strength Co. (Grant Broggi): “Should You Use Lifting Straps” (3:42 min.)

Lift 3. Press

This is also called a standing barbell shoulder press or military press.

Barbell Logic: “Gym Shorts: The Press” (0:53 min.)

CrossFit: “The Shoulder Press” (0:54 min.)

Grip. Pick the bar off the rack at about shoulder-level. (Rack the bar at the same height for the squat and the press.) Grip the bar at shoulder-width or just outside the shoulders; a close grip gives you more leverage. Grip the bar by pronating your hand; point your thumbs at the floor so that the bar rests on your palm and not your fingers.
Stance. Elbows up, chest up. Hold the bar as close to your chest as you can while keeping your elbows vertical. Keep your wrists straight with your forearms directly under the bar and your elbows just in front of the bar. Keep your shoulders back tight. Tighten your core and backside to plug energy leaks. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart in a squat-stance (wide and stable). Press your heels down. Look straight ahead.
Press. There are two options for breathing: (a) Take a deep breath when the bar is down, and hold it until you bring the bar back down, or (b) instead of breathing at the bottom, breathe at the top when the bar is fully extended overhead. Aim for your nose on the way up and down; that’s a cue for keeping the bar close to your shoulders. On the way up, get under the bar as soon as the bar passes your head. Press all the way to the top—extend as high as you can; shrug up. Hold the bar above your head (so it looks like it’s over the back of your neck). Bring bar down to the top of your chest—the clavicle or collarbone, not nipples. Lift straight up and down, not at an angle.

Alternate method: Begin the movement with a hip thrust. Mark Rippetoe recommends this tweak so that you can press heavier. Right before you press up, thrust your hip forward as far as you can with your knees locked (it helps to think of thrusting your upper thighs forward rather than your hip); bring your chin back; point the top of your chest at the ceiling and move your head back so that the bar can travel straight up right next to your nose. The hip thrust should produce a slight dip and then a bounce up as you press up explosively.

More videos:

Barbell Logic (Matt Reynolds): “How to Press: Proper Overhead Press Form (Step-by-Step Tutorial)” (5:21 min.)

Paul Horn: “How to Press” (0:46 min.) [written instructions]

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “Learning to Press | The Starting Strength Method” (4:59 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “How to Overhead Press With Mark Rippetoe | The Art of Manliness” (11:43 min.)

Scott Herman: “How To: Standing Straight-Bar Military / Overhead Press” (2:47 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “Learning to Press with Mark Rippetoe” (34:37 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “Wrist Over-Extension in the Press | On the Platform” (2:53 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “Grip Width in The Press | On the Platform” (2:48 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “Rip Fixes Your Press Grip” (2:43 min.)

The Strength Co. (Grant Broggi): “Top 5 Starting Strength Press Mistakes: Fix Them Now!” (15:16 min.)

Lift 4. Bench Press

Barbell Logic: “Gym Shorts: The Bench Press” (0:54 min.)

CrossFit: “The Bench Press” (0:38 min.)

Starting position. Lie down with your eyes just short of the bar. Pinch your should blades together (like you are pinching someone’s hand between your shoulder blades); squeeze your shoulders back into the bench. Thrust your chest up high, and arch your lower back for the entire set. Place your feet directly beneath your knees and flat on the floor; push your heels into the floor during the set to produce a horizontal leg drive.
Grip. Grip the bar a few inches wider than shoulder-width. Place the bar in the palm of your hand, not in your fingers. Grip hard; leave your finger prints in the bar.
Bar placement. Unrack the bar with your elbows locked. When you bring the bar down, do not place it directly over your shoulders; move the bar down a few inches so that it is over your chest.
Bar movement. Take a deep breath and hold it for either the entire set or for each rep. Breathe only at the top when your elbows are locked. Bring the bar all the way to the bottom of your chest and lightly touch your chest (don’t bounce the bar off your chest). Don’t think about lowering the bar; instead, think about explosively driving the bar up. For the whole set, look at a fixed point on the ceiling, and bring the bar up to the same spot for each rep. Keep your forearms vertical from all angles. Keep your backside on the bench. Don’t smash the back of your head into the bench (try letting your hair touch the bench without resting your head on the bench). Finish your last rep before you try to rack the bar. Don’t think only about pushing the bar with your arms; imagine pushing the bench with your back; or better, imagine that you are pushing the bench and bar apart from each other. Slow down, fast up—that is, bring the bar down slowly, and explode up as fast as you can push.

More videos:

Barbell Logic: “How to Bench Press: Best Setup & Bar Path to Bench More Weight” (4:00 min.)

Paul Horn: “How to Bench” (0:38 min.) [written instructions]

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “Learning to Bench | The Starting Strength Method” (5:25 min.)

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe): “How to Bench Press With Mark Rippetoe | Art of Manliness” (18:34 min.)

Athlean-X (Jeff Cavaliere): “The Official Bench Press Check List (AVOID MISTAKES!)” (10:34 min.)

Athlean-X (Jeff Cavaliere): “The Chest Workout “Master Tip” (EVERY EXERCISE!)”—i.e., don’t shrug your shoulders up; keep them down and back (5:55 min.)

Barbell Logic: “How To LEG DRIVE! Increase Your Bench Press” (2:33 min.)

Barbell Logic (Matt Reynolds): “Butt on the Bench: Better Bench Press, Build Your Arch, Bigger Chest & Arms” (3:39)

Equipment for Strength Training

For the first year or so of strength training, I used equipment at a gym. But I thought it would be a better investment of time and money to create a home gym (which my wife also uses). (We were grateful to have this equipment during the Covid lockdowns!)

Here is some gear I have invested in.

Most Important Gear

a power rack like this (I use a Rogue R-3 Power Rack.)
an Olympic barbell—45-pounds (I use the Ohio Bar.)
Olympic barbell plates—steel or bumper plates (I use mostly Rogue bumper plates. I also recommend The Strength Co.)
an adjustable bench
adjustable dumbbells (I use Bowflex adjustable dumbbells.)

Other Gear

loadable dumbbells for heavy presses, rows, etc. (I use Rogue Loadable Dumbbells.)
a dip bar (I use the Rogue Infinity Matador.)
a dip belt for weighted dips, pull-ups, and chin-ups
weightlifting straps for your heaviest deadlifts
a weightlifting belt (I use this.)
weightlifting shoes (I wear Adidas Powerlift 5 Weightlifting Shoes.)
a pull-up bar mounted high enough for you to plug energy leaks by pointing your toes down without touching the ground (I have two Rogue P-5V Garage Pull-Up System bars hanging from my garage rafters so that I can do a Murph with a group of guys.)
curl bar for bicep curls and tricep extensions (I use the Rogue Rackable Curl Bar.)
ab mat for sit-ups
ab carver roller
ab straps for knee raises and leg raises
box for box jumps and step-ups (I use the four Rogue Resin Plyo Boxes.)
gymnastic rings for ring dips, rows, etc.
resistance bands—with loops and with anchors and handles (I use two tricep rope cables for face pulls.)
liquid chalk (cf. Grant Broggi, “Barbell Chalk: When. Why. How.” [1:31 min.])
wrist wraps (cf. Matt Reynolds, “All About WRIST WRAPS for Bench Press and Overhead Press” [6:25 min.])
Kettle Gryp for converting a dumbbell into a kettlebell
Tabata Stopwatch Pro (I use this on my iPad and iPhone. For example, for barbell squats, I may set the timer for 3 sets of 30 seconds of exercise and 2 or 3 minutes of rest. For the middle section of a Murph, I may set it to 20 sets of 45 seconds of exercise and 45 seconds of rest.)
jump rope (I use the Froning SR-1F Speed Rope 2.0.)
double D row handle for t-bar rows
barbell holder vertical storage rack
push-up bars parallettes set for deficit handstand push-ups (I use the Rogue Bolt Together Parallettes.)
Bonus: a bike desk and a walking desk for low-intensity steady state cardio.

7 Reasons Strength Training Is Beneficial

This is how I think about strength training as a Christian.

Strength training is beneficial for at least seven reasons:

Strength training is beneficial because God says so. The Bible commands, “Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way” (1 Timothy 4:7–8). God says that bodily training is of some value—not no value. So strength training is profitable. It is not as profitable as godliness. If you had to choose between strength training and godliness, you should choose godliness. But you don’t have to choose. It’s both-and, not either-or. (But the both-and is asymmetrical. Again, beware of doing strength training with sinful motivations and to the neglect of more important priorities.)
Strength training is beneficial because it helps you get stronger. It is good and fitting for men to be strong because God designed men to be protectors, providers, and leaders.
Strength training is beneficial because it increases your health and energy levels so that you can better serve others. God has called me to be a good steward of my physical body. That’s not my main focus, but it’s one of my responsibilities before God as a man. A steward manages another’s property (see Matthew 25:14–30), and your body is God’s property. Being fit and strong helps you serve your family and others. It is wise to pace yourself so that you do not burn out. Strength training helps you maintain muscle tissue as you get older, strengthens your bones, reduces body fat, improves your quality of sleep, reduces your risk of injury (especially as you get older), increases your heart’s health, and reduces your risk of age-related chronic diseases.
Strength training is beneficial because it can help you feel better (which can boost your mood) and can help you think more clearly throughout the day. As a pastor and professor, I do mostly white-collar work. I research, write, teach, and shepherd. That requires a lot of thinking. Strength training helps me be more alert and less lethargic.
Strength training is beneficial because being disciplined in one area helps you be disciplined in other areas. When I am consistently disciplined at a strength training plan, that helps establish patterns and momentum that carry over into cultivating godliness. It can build your confidence and courage to do hard things. (This is why Navy Seals learn to make their bed to perfection first thing in the morning.)
Strength training is beneficial because it is a way to please and serve your family. My wife often remarks that she likes it that I have become stronger, and my daughters often comment that they like having a stronger Daddy.
Strength training is beneficial because it can increase your capacity to treasure God in all of life. We glorify God when he satisfies us. In other words, the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. One way we treasure God is by enjoying his gifts. In some situations I can more highly treasure God by enjoying his gifts when I am healthier and stronger—such as when I carry a heavy load on my back (like one of my daughters or a backpack loaded with food and water) while my family hikes up a mountain to enjoy a spectacular view. Or when I lift my wife above my head! :)