Strength training must be your topmost priority if you can only do one thing to improve your health. It requires the use of one or more muscle groups to complete a specific task, like lifting a weight or squatting. Strength training has become an essential component of most exercise programmes because of the growing body of evidence supporting its numerous benefits.
If you have ever thought about strength training, you might be wondering how it can help you. People generally have the misconception that weight training might not be good. However, the fact is, it has several health benefits that you must be aware of.
Here are 9 reasons why weight training is incredible for your health.
It Strengthens You
Strength training activities make you stronger. Gaining strength makes daily tasks like carrying heavy groceries or running around with your kids much easier. Furthermore, it aids athletic performance in sports requiring speed, power, and strength, and it may even aid endurance athletes by retaining lean muscle mass.
Decreases the Abdominal Fat
Fat around the abdomen area, visceral fat, in particular, maximises your chances of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and certain cancers. Various studies have shown the effectiveness of strength-training exercises in reducing abdominal and overall body fat.
It Efficiently Burns Calories
Strength training increases metabolism in two ways. To begin, building muscle raises your metabolic rate. Muscles burn more calories at rest than fat mass because they are more metabolically efficient. Secondly, studies show that strength-training exercise increases your metabolic rate for up to 72 hours.
Make You Look Leaner
You will appear leaner as you gain muscle and lose fat. Because muscle is denser than fat, it takes up less space in your body. As a result, even if you don’t see a change in the number on the scale, you may lose inches from your waist. Furthermore, losing body fat and building bigger and stronger muscles reveals more muscle definition, giving the appearance of being stronger and leaner. Along with the weight training, you also need to focus on the foods that boost your immunity because it is essential to be strong from the inside.
Improves Heart Health
Several studies have found that regular strength-training exercise can lower blood pressure, total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, and increase blood circulation by strengthening your heart as well as blood vessels. Strength training helps you maintain healthy body weight and also control your sugar levels. Blood sugar levels that are high are a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Minimise the Sugar Levels
Strength training may reduce your risk of developing diabetes and help those who already have it manage it better. Skeletal muscle aids in the increase of insulin sensitivity. It also lowers blood sugar levels by transporting glucose from the bloodstream to muscle cells. As a result, increased muscle mass can aid in blood sugar management.
Makes Your Bones Stronger
Strength training is essential for bone growth. Weight-bearing exercises cause temporary bone stress, signalling bone-building cells to take action and rebuild bones stronger. Strong bones lower your risk of fractures, osteoporosis and fall, especially as you get older. Strength training, fortunately, can provide bone-strengthening benefits at any age. Strong bones are important to live a healthy life.
Improves Health of the Brain
Strength training may improve the health of the brain and protect cognitively related to age decline. Multiple studies in older adults have found that participating in strength training enhance cognitive function (e.g., memory, processing speed and executive function) when compared to those who did not.
Boosts Your Mood
Weight training on a regular basis may improve your mood and mental health. Strength training has been shown in numerous studies to reduce anxiety and improve mood. Strength training has been shown to improve mood regulation by increasing self-esteem and self-efficacy. Furthermore, exercise promotes the release of mood-enhancing endorphins, which can contribute to a positive mood.
The Bottom Line
Whether you want to improve the strength of the body or lose belly fat, weight training is always beneficial. So, if you are already following a healthy workout routine, it is time to join a gym. The professionals will help you to start the weight training in an appropriate manner. Their guidance will prevent back injury, and you will save money.