Everyone, no matter how young or old, should be doing some kind of regular strength training. This could be at the gym, or at home using very little equipment. Resistance bands and balls, small hand weights, water and even your own body weight can be used as resistance when designing a strength training program. If you do strength training and do it regularly then you will significantly lower your blood pressure and also have more good cholesterol. This doesn’t mean you should completely skip cardio altogether, but you should definitely lift some weights if you want to take good care of your heart. The best way to consistently strength train is to find a workout routine that you like. Lifting weights will increase the density of your bones so you will be stronger overall. This way you can significantly lower the risk of osteoporosis and you can be confident that you are doing the most to keep your bones nice and strong. It doesn’t really matter how much weight you lift, as long as you do it consistently you will be helping your bones immensely.
After you hit a particular age, somewhere around 30-35 you might start to lose muscle mass. If you don’t do strength training then your muscles could completely waste away which is known as atrophy. If this happens to you then you will begin to have trouble doing easy everyday things like carrying a shopping bag or your purse. Strength training will make sure that you not only maintain your lean body mass (LBM) but you will gain more. The ultimate goal is to try to stay strong and to do so for a very long time. Strength training makes everything easier because it lowers the percentage of nervous system activity you need to complete everyday repetitive tasks.
Scientifically speaking, muscle is a far more metabolically active tissue, which increases your basal metabolic rate, which in turn, increases your requirement for calories in a day. The more metabolically active tissue you have the more calories you will burn at rest, effectively creating the negative energy balance necessary for weight loss, even if you don’t change your caloric intake. When we’re trying to lose ‘weight,’ what we really want to lose is fat mass. Resistance training preserves lean mass better than anything else — other than maybe protein intake or even better, in combination with higher protein intakes — and ensures we lose the right kind of weight.
Basically resistance training in combination with dietary changes is by far the best option for weight loss. Strength training is probably the most effective way to reduce injuries across a variety of sports participation too. Along with keeping away chronic disease, strength training has you burning through glucose, which is good news for those grappling with Type 2 diabetes who consistently need to manage blood sugar levels. Besides the aesthetic, physiological and strength benefits, it affects just how we feel and how clearly we think. Weight training [has] proven to improve the quality of a person’s sleep,” (Thorne told Global News).
Making an appointment with a personal trainer or fitness specialist is a great first step when starting weight training. These professionals will be able to show you proper form, explain the basics, and set up a weekly program. For experienced athletes, these professionals can explain how to overload the body so you keep achieving strength and endurance gains. When we are stronger, we’re able to do more things, feel more energetic and healthy, be more active, and dominate our daily lives. Improved muscular strength and conditioning makes it easier to get up and down throughout the day, pick up or play with young children, carry more than one grocery bag from the car, vacuum the living room and other daily activities.
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