Health Benefits Of Lifting Weights

Women tell Ritu Ailani how they lift the 'weight' of society's opinions off their shoulders and reap the health benefits of lifting weights instead

- Ritu Ailani

When the Tokyo Olympics 2020 kicked off, people across India sat in front of their televisions, waiting for an athlete to bring home a medal. Most had their eye on shooting, boxing and badminton, as our country has already proved its caliber in these sports. To everyone's delight, the first to secure a rank turned out to be Mirabai Chanu, a weightlifter from Manipur who stunned us with her incredible strength. Smilingly, she lifted a total of 202 kilograms, and won India its first silver of the season. And yet, our society continues to believe that lifting weights is only for men that women who take to it become 'manly' disregarding the many benefits the practice brings to the mind and body.

STRONG, NOT SLIM

Sheetal Anand, a 53-year-old mother of two young girls, forayed into fitness pretty late in life; it was when she had her second daughter 15 years ago that she decided to take charge of her health. Diagnosed with hypertension, climbing one flight of stairs would leave her out of breath. Add to that, she was suffering from a heel spur and severe sinusitis. Low on confidence, she avoided social gatherings.

I joined the gym with the sole intention of losing weight, Sheetal shares. They told me to stick to cardio and avoid the weight room, so I kept running on the treadmill. One day, I saw a woman lifting dumbbells and barbells and it sparked something in me. I wanted to give it a shot and she was kind enough to guide me.

Sheetal instantly fell in love with weightlifting. Her passion for it only increased with time. A lot of people tried to talk her out of it. They reiterated that women were supposed to be gentle and petite, and weightlifting would make me look like a man, she recalls. Some even gave her disdainful glances every time she joined the men in lifting weights.