Fitness (Weight Training) Reflections

This is an article I wrote some time ago, now moved over to my blog.

I’d like to share some thoughts on weight training. The reason I started was that after completing my military service, I was diagnosed with spondylolysis. Quoting from the Dr.Ortho website:

Spondylolysis refers to a crack or stress fracture in the pars interarticularis of a vertebra. The pars interarticularis is the weakest part of the vertebra, connecting the facet joints above and below the vertebral body, and it is the area most susceptible to repetitive stress and overuse injuries. However, many sports repeatedly use the pars, so excessive pressure or overuse may cause spondylolysis.

At the time, the doctor advised me to strengthen my core muscles to protect my back, so I decided to start weight training. In 2019, I signed up for a month of personal training sessions and learned the basics of classic barbell movements for different muscle groups, such as squats, deadlifts, and bench presses.

After coming to Japan, I joined Anytime Fitness, but in fact I didn’t go to the gym very often. Sometimes I’d go once or twice a week, and sometimes I’d stick with it for a month at a time, but whenever I got too busy or lazy, I wouldn’t go at all. As a result, the muscle-building effects were quite limited.

Why weight training matters so much

Exercise offers many benefits, and weight training is especially effective for building muscle. More muscle naturally means a better-looking physique, and it also helps burn calories, creating a body that’s less likely to gain fat.

(After your thirties, you can really feel a noticeable decline in physical capacity.)

I’m on the slimmer side, so if I wait until my body has problems before getting into fitness, the results won’t be nearly as good. For example, I’m very prone to lower-back soreness, and because of my spondylolysis I’m afraid to lift too heavy.

If you want a more scientific answer, you can check out Ho Li-an’s book, “抗老化，你需要的是大重量訓練,” as well as his 2017 article, “清晰而迫切的危機.” They may offer you a different perspective.

According to the author, many aging-related issues are actually connected to muscle loss. Muscle loss leads to a decline in metabolism, fat gradually accumulates, and various chronic diseases follow. Once older adults no longer have enough muscle to support themselves, even basic daily living can become difficult, and a fall may lead to a fracture.

Many people think their exercise routine is good for their health, but in reality it has serious problems.

As we age, we lose muscle and bone mass, so the goal of training should first and foremost be to “increase muscle mass” and “increase bone density,” so that we can further improve physical performance.

Of course, any exercise is good if it gets you started. Beginning with cardio is totally fine too, but I still really want to recommend the benefits of weight training to everyone.

Current results

The hardest part of weight training for me is consistency. I don’t particularly like running or lifting, so even though I know it’s important, I often adjust the balance depending on what I’m focusing on at the time. Recently, I even let it lapse for several months.

This photo was taken in my second year in Japan:

This one was taken after about eight months of weight training:

It’s not the kind of dramatic “you can really see I got bigger” transformation, but for me, it was still a significant improvement. There are lots of posts online from people who became huge in less than a year of training; sometimes they motivate me to train harder, and most of the time I just feel envious.

I usually went weight training after work in the evenings, and that happened to be during a period when I had more breathing room at work. Looking back, I really admire myself for being able to keep it up for so long.

How to get started

Everyone has different goals when it comes to fitness. For me, the goal is to become healthier and, ideally, to build muscle as well. There are plenty of online resources about lifting techniques and program design, so here I’ll share how I managed to keep the habit going.

After moving to a new place, I bought a bicycle because I really hate the walk to the gym and feel like that time is wasted. Sometimes I subconsciously resist going to the gym because of that; with a bicycle, it only takes ten minutes to get there, so the barrier is much lower.

Another thing is keeping records consistently. For example, the fitness goals on the Apple Watch let me see whether I’ve met my calorie burn target. If I don’t hit it, I’ll unconsciously push myself to do more. Also, I record the weights, sets, and reps for each workout, and watching the numbers gradually go up makes me happy. What’s the thing that keeps you from starting fitness? Find a way to remove it.

If your finances allow it, signing up for personal training is the most efficient option. Your diet and training plan will be arranged for you, and your progress will be tracked. On top of that, an experienced trainer can prescribe the right approach for your specific situation, and over time you’ll definitely see results. If you don’t have the money, that’s okay too—you can watch videos and figure it out yourself, starting with machines first. If you use barbells, make sure the safety bars are set properly, but absolutely do not get overconfident and load up heavy weight right away.

Once you get familiar with it

After training for a while, you should also adjust your eating based on your goals. For example, during my muscle-building phase, I’d eat 135g of protein per day. If most people don’t pay special attention to their diet, they usually don’t get enough protein. A large chicken leg only has about 25g to 40g of protein, and with all the sugary drinks culture, it’s easy to go way over on sugar. Consciously increasing protein intake can be very helpful for muscle gain.

I was originally quite skinny, and during my bulking phase I once ate so much that I started to dislike eating. Luckily, I’ve mostly adjusted now. For skinny people, you really have to eat a lot to see results. But fat gain will rise as well, so diet control is important.

In my own case:

• Don’t drink alcohol
• 거의 never drink sugary beverages (sometimes I’ll drink energy drinks)
• Breakfast is always oats + protein shake (low calorie, filling)
• Mainly chicken breast; when I get tired of it, I switch to chicken thigh; occasionally salmon, red meat, or mackerel
• Drink EAA before training
• Supplements (various B vitamins and zinc)
• Do 20 minutes of cardio after weight training
• Four meals a day

Maintaining high-quality weight training takes time and money, so I try to cook in the easiest possible ways, like boiling or using an air fryer. And I found that boiled chicken breast with curry powder is ridiculously delicious—highly recommended.

As someone who has benefited from weight training, of course I want to recommend that you start fitness too. But everyone’s life situation and priorities are different, so you can begin with short sessions and bodyweight training. If the gym is too far away, you can buy a pair of dumbbells and keep them at home—you don’t have to aim for perfection all at once.

Progressively increasing weight is one of the keys to muscle growth, so try to add a little more weight than last time whenever possible. Also, don’t keep rest periods between sets too short; aim for 2 to 3 minutes if possible. For compound movements like bench presses and squats, longer rest is fine too.

Mindset adjustments

Muscle is very hard to grow! Over four months, I went to the gym almost six days a week, about 90 minutes each time, and gained around 2.7kg of muscle. Personally, I think that’s a pretty good result, especially since there’s a beginner’s bonus, but I’ve also hit a plateau now. Muscle really grows slowly—you may need several months before you see results. Of course, if you’re a once-in-a-generation training prodigy, that’s a different story.

From my own experience, to see results within a few months, you need to hit the gym for weight training at least four times a week.

Halfway through training, I realized that if you want to look more muscular, the best bang for your buck is shoulders. The shoulder-to-waist ratio has a huge impact on appearance, so prioritizing shoulder training is very rewarding. But remember to start with light weights—shoulders are easy to injure. Arms are harder to notice once you put clothes on, but broader shoulders make clothes look much better. Next is the chest; chest muscles also help fill out your clothes so you don’t get that loose, saggy look.

As for legs, once you put pants on, they’re basically not obvious unless your quads are so big that they’re bursting through your trousers. But in daily life, training your legs well makes walking, cycling, and going up and down stairs much easier. Lower-body muscles account for more than 65% of the body, so while leg training doesn’t add as much visually (unless you’re wearing shorts), it has very high value in terms of daily function and calorie expenditure.

There are also some great exercises that I don’t do very often, like hip thrusts. Without a machine, setting up a barbell bridge is a hassle and wastes a lot of time, and with equipment you often have to wait. When choosing exercises, it’s worth considering how easy it is to get access to the equipment.

So what happened later?

Over the past two years, my weight-training frequency has dropped significantly, and I haven’t paid as much attention to my diet either. Part of it is that my life priorities changed, and I had to focus heavily on work; part of it is simply that I lost the motivation to keep lifting consistently. In the end, I guess it really is easier to stick with it when you have a training partner. If I want to maintain my current pace and keep the habit going, I’d have to wake up early—but I just don’t really like waking up early 😂

If any readers also went through a period of weight training, dropped off, and later managed to keep it up again, I’d love to hear your story!