How many days do you have? I know like you know that the next hour isn’t guaranteed for any of us but while you’re breathing and have the luxury of limbs to help you strive in good deeds it’s important to take care of the body you’ve been given. I know the struggle of work/ family/ study life, picking up a quick meal that you find enjoyment in is no crime but as weeks turn into months and the exercise equipment you have gathers dust, time only moves faster and the strain you put upon your body also increases.

How’s it going? My name is Hanif of criterionfit.com. We help men in the UK and worldwide increase in energy, motivation and confidence with our fitness and nutritional coaching. Serving men of varying sizes, goals and issues is what we do so if you want to achieve something great for yourself and in honour of the trust you’ve been given by Allah azza wa jal our creator, get in touch (contact page is in the menu). In this post, I want to talk to you about weight training for longevity. 

When you think weight training, lifting, pushing weights or whatever trending hashtag defines this type of exercise at the moment, your automatic thought may be a bodybuilder with arms that don’t extend past 45 degrees, sweaty, string vest in the winter, juiced up and angry, can’t breathe well and couldn’t outrun a mobility scooter if his life depended on it. If I’m describing someone you know please tell him to read the signs, his life really may depend on a quick change.

Weight training looks uninviting for the majority of people but it really does have a place in all of our lives. Yes, some people go to extremes in every area of life and fitness training is no different but as we age our bodily muscle mass reaches a stage where it will only decrease and issues like osteoporosis, loss of bone density, clogged arteries and loss of balance can make life that bit more challenging.

Many of us have muscle imbalances due to many factors including carrying bags on our stronger side, playing sports, sitting in a particular way or our working environment. Strength training can help us correct these issues or at least make things easier upon ourselves. The UK health recommendation is to get a minimum of 150 minutes or so of exercise per week and you don’t need to be in a gym to do this. For us men, we care about strength, who wants to be weak? Yes, strength in deen is way more important than strength in the body but a heart with strength of emaan and strength of body has doubled up on goodness.

If you look at yourself or avoid looking at yourself due to unwanted or too little muscle mass, strength training is part cure for both sides of the spectrum. A solid handle on food will also be necessary to optimise your growth but without the suitable stimulus, you’ll achieve little and spend a lot. The training programme needs to be acted upon consistently and patiently. 

Finding time to pray is on point, seeking knowledge is on point, we find time to seek wealth and sleep, eat and all those things life throws at us unexpectedly but do we find time to give our bodies, our hearts, muscles and bones the time they need? I see health-conscious elderly people in my gym and it is great to see that exercise is a part of their daily lives. Some men want to be tanks and that’s fine in moderation, the average man just wants to be able to lift himself out of a chair upon reaching his older years. If I can say one thing that hits home for you I hope I’ve already said it because weight training burns calories, builds strength and size, helps you get better sleep and so much more including increasing your confidence. 

I hope this post hits home and you’ll get started on your training. If you’re onboard to exercise and need a plan check this 3 day split programme working all of your major muscles [He’s a Monster]. It’s ideal for the beginner lifter and takes out 3 hours of your week inshaAllah, give it a go and if you need something more specific get in touch with us for us to build you a custom exercise programme for the gym, park or home training. Thanks for rolling and talk soon inshaAllah.