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Why Weights? Benefits of Resistance Training

Many people still see weight training as being the same thing as body-building – and avoid using weights because they don’t want to look that big. The reality is that to achieve those proportions requires a specific approach to both exercise and diet, and can require a lot of time.

However, a small amount of regular resistance training will shape and firm your muscles without over increasing bulk, and has a number of other positive effects that have nothing to do with appearance. Here are just a few.....

1. Strength Improves Quality of Life
Having a stronger body improves your quality of life, for the simple reason that everything you do requires some degree of strength. Carrying the shopping from shop to car can be a chore, but with more strength it becomes less of a burden. And anyone with kids will really appreciate the benefits of some extra muscle!

2. More Muscle Burns More Fat
To understand this, think of a car. If you put a bigger engine in a car, it will burn more fuel, even when idling. Similarly, increasing muscle mass increases your metabolic rate – the rate at which you consume calories at rest. This means you will burn more fat in your daily activities, and during other forms of exercise.

3. Strong Muscles Reduce Injuries
Strong muscles are less likely to tear, and also provide support and stability for your joints. And strong lower back and abdominal musculature has been shown in numerous studies to reduce lower back pain. On top of this, weight training (particularly with free weights) improves your ability to control your muscles, increasing the ability to respond to a dangerous situation before joint moves to a dangerous range of motion.

4. Weight Training Strengthens Bones
Bones respond to pressure by increasing their mineral content – particularly calcium. This leads to stronger bones, and is the opposite to osteoporosis. By putting your body under a progressive training load, significant improvement in bone composition can be achieved within a few months.

5. Strength Improves Self-Confidence
Improved self-confidence is something that has been seen time and time again, and this is supported by a number of studies. Knowing that you are strong can increase your ability to stand up for yourself, or to try new things. It can also give you a sense of achievement, if for example you double the amount of weight you can lift in a relatively short period. This can be a pleasant surprise for many people.

6. Muscle Balance Improves Posture
Poor posture is a common complaint today, particularly among those who sit down most of the day. The reason is usually to do with muscle imbalance – as the postural muscles become weaker through lack of use, and stretched from poor sitting positions, the ability of your body to 6 return to, or maintain, correct posture is lost. Appropriate strengthening work can correct the imbalance.

7. Strength Training Keeps You Young
Well, maybe not literally, but it is certainly true that regular resistance training reverses many of the effects of aging. Some of these are: muscle loss, reduction of metabolic rate, loss of bone minerals, arthritic pain, increasing blood pressure, increasing fat levels, reduced circulation and decreasing activity levels.

With all of these benefits to be gained, why wait? Talk to us now.