Interview: Shifting from Cardio to Strength Training Workouts

I am extremely proud of my boyfriend, Asa, who inspires me every day with his work ethic and motivation. Today, I am interviewing him to talk about building muscle by weight lifting. He has had amazing results from shifting from cardio workouts (mostly tennis) to strength training. He struggled with GAINING weight for the longest time and he has come so far! I hope you enjoy learning more about Asa and learn more about weight lifting!

Tell us about yourself!

Hello, my name is Asa. I'm from Joplin, Missouri, I love to learn, work out, and try new things. I'm a pre-med student double majoring in biology and biochemistry at MSSU. Though it can be tough to find time to move and exercise, I try to find it.

Why have you embarked on this muscle-building journey? What challenges have you faced?

I didn't just start lifting weights out of the blue. I've played tennis for 12 years and recently haven't had time to play as much as I would like to. It takes a lot of time to play with someone, keep my racquets strung, have fresh tennis balls, and drive out to the court. Towards the end of my tennis career, I started using weight machines because I wanted to hit the ball harder. It worked really well and I was getting stronger (but not bigger). I decided to pretty soon after that I wanted to build muscle on top of strength. Over time, I started to realize that machines and bodyweight exercises were not the best way to go, so I started to use free weights. At some point, I transitioned from tennis to weights. I found that it was really easy to go to the gym that was 5 minutes away. When COVID hit, I started using what we had at home. I've been really fortunate to have the equipment that I have at home. I can work out just about any muscle with dumbbells, barbells, a squat rack, and a few simple gadgets. 

I have faced a tremendous challenge with putting on much weight at all. I have ADHD, and I have to take medication for it. It takes away part of my appetite and speeds up my metabolism. I need to take it so I can concentrate on daily tasks, but it has been difficult to build muscle when you don't feel hungry enough to eat a surplus of calories. For a solid 3 years of high school, I was stuck at around 140 pounds. I wasn't bothered too much by it, but I did want to put some weight on. I have found that the most effective way to build muscle mass is to set weight lifting goals and to let the extra eating take care of itself. I naturally want to eat more food as I keep sending my body signals that I need to build muscle by lifting weights. I couldn't force myself to eat more, as it would just make me less hungry the next day. I've been working on my maxes for bench, squat, and deadlift. At first, I heavily favored bench because it was easy to learn and I didn't feel very sore afterward. Over time, I started to see the value of the other two. If you want to build muscle, try strength training. Setting goals in strength training is motivating, fun, sustainable, and an overall very efficient way of building muscle.

What type of workouts are you doing to build muscle? What are your favorite exercises/activities?

My favorite workouts involve the big 3: bench, squat, and deadlift. They're compound movements that target very large muscle areas. I like to mix it up with dumbbells and different variations of each, like inclined bench and split squats. There are plenty of other smaller workouts that I do as well, but there are too many of them to name. If you do the big 3, you will do well. I also think that it's good to take a day off of weights and go outside. Walk, explore nature, and find a fun activity to do. It can get stale doing weights every day. Mix it up!

While trying to gain muscle, what's your diet like? 

I haven't changed too much in terms of how I eat. I was burning it all when I was playing tennis, but now that I'm not, I have found that a lot of my calories have been diverted into muscle. Though, I am eating higher protein than I was before. I usually have a protein shake with creatine and a protein bar every day. Other than that, just make good choices. Don't snack too much, but it's okay to reward yourself every once in a while.

Do you take any supplements? If so, what kind of supplements?

When I'm having trouble sleeping, I take a melatonin supplement, but that's really it. I ought to take more though.

If someone who's never worked out before wants to start building muscle, what advice would you give them? Where should they start?

Start with the basics. I know you want to jump in and start trying to max, but you will hurt yourself. Learn how to do every exercise and train with light weights for a little bit before you try to go heavy. Also, if you normally don't work out, don't start lifting 5 days a week. You will burn out and start to hate it. Instead, start off with baby steps that you can maintain for the rest of your life. Go to the gym twice a week and work your way up. Though you might have a goal you want to reach, it is not the end of your fitness journey. If you stop, then you will go right back where you were. Learn to love the process, not just the goal.

What are your favorite books, podcasts, resources, etc for learning about health and fitness?

I love to listen to Mind Pump {via} for fitness advice. They are very knowledgeable and entertaining. 

What's your definition of health?

Making choices that improve your mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional well being. Extra emphasis on the mental. You cannot be healthy just because you're built well. You have to be happy.

I hope you enjoyed this interview! Thank you for reading!

Gabby