Strength training is not just for bodybuilders. Male and female, young and old, everyone can benefit from resistance training. From boosting your mood to facilitating weight loss, those benefits are as numerous as they are wide-ranging. Incorporate strength training into your exercise routine and here’s what you can look forward to:
Strength training aids weight loss
Strength training’s relationship with weight loss is well-documented. In addition to burning calories, regular weight training can permanently lift your metabolic rate, enabling your body to burn more calories every day. When strength training forms part of your exercise routine, weight loss is not only achievable – it’s also sustainable.
Strength training boosts your mood and energy levels
What’s good for the body is good for the mind. Strength training can be a potent antidepressant. This is thanks to the mood-boosting endorphins that are released through exercise. To activate the body’s natural opiates, try lifting weights or performing some bodyweight exercises. Adrian James Bootcamp delivers a mood and energy-boosting workout in just 15 minutes, strengthening every major muscle group in the process.
Strength training protects your bones
As we get older, our bone density gradually diminishes. This loss of bone strength can leave us susceptible to fractures and limit our range of motion. Resistance training has been shown to increase bone density and bone mass whilst helping to prevent osteoporosis.
Strength training preserves muscle mass
It’s not just our bones that weaken as we age – so do our muscles. After the age of 30, the average person loses 2.5kg of muscle every decade. Resistance training preserves and augments valuable muscle mass, allowing you to maintain strength and improve your balance and coordination – valuable attributes, particularly as you grow older.
Strength training slows the aging process
One study, in which older adults performed resistance training, found “a restoration of a youthful expression profile”; in other words participants looked younger. Another study found individuals who performed vigorous activity – such as strength training – for more than three hours a week to be biologically ten years younger than those who didn’t.
Strength training can prevent injury and disease
Muscles aren’t just for show: building muscle can reduce your likelihood of injury. As your muscular strength increases, so does that of your ligaments and tendons. The result? Improved flexibility and less susceptibility to muscle damage and back pain. But that’s not all. Research has revealed that adults who performed strength training at least twice a week lowered their risk of cardiac-related death by 41% and of cancer by 19%.
Whether you’d like to look better, feel stronger or live longer, strength training can play a major role. Regular resistance training has the power to improve almost every aspect of your health and wellbeing. Start lifting weights or performing bodyweight exercises to discover the undisputed benefits of strength training.
