Macon Magazine

August/September 2025| maconmagazine.com 103 B efore I get into the main point of this article – that you can fit strength training into your life by employing supersets – let's establish this: Everybody, including you, needs to be lifting weights. While, as a society, we've largely moved away from seeing weightlifting as an activity reserved only for male bodybuilders and "bros," it remains necessary for me to make the point that everyone should lift weights for several reasons. First of all, many women still believe that lifting weights will make them into huge "meatheads" with bulging veins and visible muscle fibers everywhere. This is simply not true. Lower levels of testosterone in females ensure this won't happen. In fact, if you are a woman and you lift weights, you will sculpt your body in a way that you'll be pleased with, while making it easier to lose unwanted body fat. Second, lifting weights is important for combating age-related muscle loss, known as sarcopenia. In the fourth decade of life, as our hormonal profiles shift from their peak during the teens and 20s, the body tends to get rid of unused muscle more easily. Continued lack of use over time means that more muscle is lost, which can significantly impact overall health—including worsening posture, decreased insulin sensitivity, fat gain, reduced mobility, and increased susceptibility to many diseases. However, if you engage in a consistent strength training routine, not only can you combat sarcopenia—you can successfully build muscle even into your 60s and beyond, making weightlifting a preventative measure against many ailments we consider part of the aging process. Finally, as a society, we're still recovering from what might be considered an overemphasis on cardio. Since the 1980s, exercise has often been defined as activities that get the heart pumping and the lungs breathing, such as jogging or running. The only thing is, such Shawn McClendon is an ACE-certified personal trainer and owner of Back to Basics Health and Wholeness LLC, an organization dedicated to empowering people to take control of their health and avoid lifestyle disease. He runs a YouTube health and fitness channel, writes on health and fitness topics at shawnmcclendon.com, speaks on health and fitness, and has authored several health/fitness books. activities – while beneficial for heart and lung health – can cause muscle loss as the body adapts to long-term, steady- state activity by making itself more efficient. That often means letting go of both unnecessary fat and muscle. Losing muscle can make it harder to burn fat. Now that we've established the importance of lifting weights, the question for the leader and/or business owner remains: How do you make time to lift weights in the midst of a busy schedule? As someone who owns a couple of businesses and wears many hats, trust me, I understand. And because I also understand from a fitness perspective what it takes to get in shape, I can say this about making time to lift weights: First, you must simply make time to do it. Set a time for weights – yes, it will be a time when you could be doing something else – and just do it. Second, you can employ techniques during lifting that make your workouts not only effective, but also efficient. Enter the superset. What is a superset? A superset is a strength training technique in which you perform one set of an exercise for one part of the body – say, 15 squats – and immediately follow that with a set of an exercise for a different body part, like "The question for the leader and/or business owner remains: How do you make time to lift weights in the midst of a busy schedule?" rows. You're able to save time by filling in what would normally be rest time with work for a different muscle group. You're also able to add in a cardio component, since you'll be continually moving between exercises. This approach can condense a 1-hour strength training workout into a 30- to 40-minute session. The key is to superset exercises for completely different muscle groups. For example, you might perform a back exercise, then superset it with a leg exercise, as mentioned above. Another approach would be to superset opposing muscle groups—such as biceps and triceps, chest and back, or quads and hamstrings/glutes. Either way, employing supersets in this manner prevents fatigue in any single muscle group to the point that it disrupts your session. With all of that said, since you're now ready to start training those muscles, here's a list of exercises you can take to one of our local parks – like Amerson River Park, Jackson Springs, East Macon – rec centers, or gyms to start building strength today. Note: There are many variations of the following weightlifting and/or calisthenics exercises. Chest – Pushups, bench press, dips Back – Chinups, rows Legs – Squats, deadlifts, lunges Abs – Crunches, ab wheel, plank Triceps – Chair dips, tricep pulldowns Biceps – Curls

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