Do You Need to Lift Weights to be Fit?

Do you really need barbells and dumbbells to be fit?

It depends on what you want to be fit for!

Let’s first take a look at some of the main pillars of fitness. Then we’ll decide if lifting weights is necessary.

Cardio Fit

• Your heart and lungs' ability to supply oxygen during sustained aerobic activity
• Running, swimming, biking, rowing
• Measured by VO2 max, one-mile time, resting heart rate

Strong Fit

• The amount of force your muscles can produce
• Squats, deadlifts, pushups, pull-ups
• Measured by max reps (how many reps you can do in X amount of time) and rep maxes (how much weight you can move for X amount of reps)

Muscular Endurance Fit

• How long your muscles can perform repeated contractions
• Planks, high-rep exercises, circuit training
• Measured by repetition to fatigue tests, timed isometric holds

Power Fit

• How quickly you can produce force (strength x speed)
• Sprints, jumps, power lifting
• Can be measured by vertical jump, sprint time, medicine ball throw

Flexible Fit

• Range of motion at a joint
• Stretching, yoga, focused mobility
• Affects how well you move and how efficiently you lift. It’s about being more than flexible, it’s usable, controlled range of motion

Balance Fit

• Ability to control your body position
• Keeps you stable
• Standing on one leg is a good way to measure balance

Agility Fit

• Ability to change direction quickly, efficiently, and under control
• Ladder drills, shuttle runs, skater hops

Body Composition Fit

• The proportion of muscle mass and fat
• Not based on bodyweight
• Healthy range for women is 21-31% fat
• Healthy range for men is 14-24% fat
• Measured by DEXA Scan, Bioelectrical Impedance, Skinfold Calipers

A good question to ask yourself is “What kind of fitness do I want?”

Because you can have excellent fitness in some of these categories without ever picking up a weight.

You could do nothing but yoga and be flexible fit. You could eat super clean and balanced and have an optimal body composition. You could only walk and be aerobic fit.

And any of those would be better than not being fit at all! But you’d be missing out on the real purpose of fitness, which is to help us get better at getting older.

Longevity-focused fitness is about staying strong, independent, and active for decades. And that is achieved by preserving the physical qualities that decline with age.

If you want to be fit for longevity — maximizing muscle, building bone density, bullet-proofing joints, aging powerfully — then weighted resistance training becomes very valuable.

You don’t need a bunch of machines or a squat rack. Even light dumbbells or kettlebells can work well.

The Longevity Formula that works for most adults:

1. Lift 3x/week
2. Walk often / Move daily
3. Train balance and power weekly
4. Maintain muscle mass (with lifting and protein)