Are You Skinny FAT?

From CrossFit Verve


Lifting heavy has an amazing amount of benefits. I’ll list my top four top reasons.




■Burns more fat then aerobic activities and defines the muscle

■Increases bone density thus decreases chances of Osteoporosis

■Builds self-esteem

■Prevents injury

Now, it’s important to notice the word “HEAVY” in the equation. The research (in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise) indications that load needs to be 65%+ of 1RM to contribute to the above benefits. When you look at the list above, hopefully you can see that NOT lifting heavy weights is actually be more dangerous then lifting heavy. Common myths regarding lifting heavy is that it will make you look “bulky” or will cause injury. Let’s talk about the “bulky” first.

The reason this ever became a concern is the huge body building craze of the nineties. Where women grew their muscle to sizes that quite frankly grossed people out. I’m not sure why people think that if you lift a heavy weight you will inevidibly look like that, but I’m here to tell you it takes those women not only years of specific training, but also doses of illegal drugs to make that happen. Also, you don’t just wake up one day bulky. If you do have a genetic disposition to build massive amounts of muscle, it takes years. A very small amount of women have this ability, especially if they haven’t lifted weight from a young age.

Another common misconception is that lifting heavy will injure you. This just isn’t true and there is no evidence that suggests otherwise. Can you get injured? Sure you can, just like you can in anything else in life, that is why we emphasis form so much at Verve. What’s important here is the vast majority of humans are getting injured because they don’t have the strength they need to withstand basic human function. The body needs to have a minimum amount of muscle to support daily living and healthy joints. The truth is, we have built a society that sits and sits and sits, the human body is not meant to do that and thus most people no longer have the basic strength to support their body through lifes challenges.

Many negative opinions about lifting heavy are just that opinions, and most have no factual evidence to back up their distain. The reality is it’s hard and uncomfortable. Most people don’t like pain. There is a price for a strong and healthy body. You will be uncomfortable, you will have to focus an extreme amount of energy on your own kinesthetic awareness in movement patterns,

and that will at times be frustrating. However, the benefits FAR out weigh the bad. Look hot, feel better about yourself, perform better. Prevent bone decrepitude, have something to hold that skin to your skeleton, and prevent common injuries! Yeah, I’ll take a little uncomfortable moments for that!