Why Strength Train
It keeps your bones strong and healthy
Your bones need to stay challenged, just like your brain needs exercise to stay sharp. After about age 30, you start to lose bone density at a small percentage each year. Keep in mind, women make up 80 per cent of osteoporosis cases as loss of bone mass can be accelerated due to menopause.
Resistance training creates force on the bone and helps it stay strong.
It staves off disease
The research community is recognising that we can reduve our risk of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and many classic chronic diseases including cancer if we are active, anything from strength training to cardio
They say running is good for your heart, your brain, your waistline and your mental health. That applies to weight training too.
The stronger you are, the more resilient you are against disease and overall risk for mortality.
It boosts metabolism and fat loss
You burn more calories if you have more muscle. Muscle is an active tissue, it burns more energy at rest compared to fat.
Weight training can aid in weight maintenance and change your body’s composition.
Muscle weighs more than fat. A pound of feathers is the same as a pound of bricks, but one’s less dense taking up less room.
It regulates insulin and lowers inflammation
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.
Lifting weights even aids in fighting off inflammation, a marker tied to many diseases. Studies have suggested that regular resistance training sessions, about twice a week, resulted in drops in inflammation in overweight women.
It improves posture, sleep, mood and energy levels
Weight training comes with other bonuses.
Besides the aesthetic, physiological and strength benefits, it affects how we feel and how clearly we think. Weight training [has] proven to improve the quality of a person’s sleep.
It improves strength and endurance
As you train, your body grows stronger and the effects will have a positive impact into other aspects of your physical activity.
If your legs get stronger, then the amount of time you can spend on a walking challenge, on a treadmill, chasing your children, will be longer.
Even very good runners who do weight training actually improve their running efficiency. They’re able to run at the same speed while using a lower capacity of their leg strength.
It improves balance and reduces the risk of falls
For now it is about being physically strong for the day to day activities we want to enjoy and how far we want to push ourselves but as we age it will be about maintaining mobility and autonomy.
Strength training, even in the elderly, provides better balance and strengthens your legs. It means being able to carry heavy groceries up a flight of stairs, keep doing day to day activities and enjoy health and longevity.
Our muscle mass really deteriorates in old age. Strength is a clinical marker for functional dependence.
Fifty per cent of seniors who get a hip fracture from a fall don’t live past two years following the incident. With improved balance, they’d better equipped to regain equilibrium.