Some Strength Training Benefits
It’s becoming a more common place for professionals to recommend strength training for a better life. Most of us get into this type of training for muscular growth, better bone density and to live life with more independence but the recent research highlights a few more reasons to pick up something heavy today, and put it down.
Brain Gains
Mental toughness is imperative when it comes to doing a lot of things that aren’t particularly easy. We intentionally stress our brains and our bodies when we take part in a strength training program. We begin to understand what our body can do and we start to give it new challenges to which our bodies and minds continue to adapt and learn new and better strategies
Strength training increases cerebral blood volume resulting in the growth of new blood vessels and neurogenesis (the growth of new neurons). This benefit means that those with atrophying brains will find benefits from strength training. For example, according to Science Daily, the aging population and those with M.S. are now encouraged to strength train whereas it used to be common to stay away from such activities for fear of exacerbating the said illness. Now it is known that this training not only grows smaller portions of the brain and prevents atrophy, it also relieves excessive fatigue and mobility impairments.
Level Up Your Metabolism
Once you raise your metabolism and you will find it more difficult to gain weight. Sounds like a good problem, doesn’t it? Strength training not only helps reduce the fat you have by helping you burn more calories daily while resting, but it also helps you keep it off. A study conducted by exercise physiologists at UAB concluded that those that stop exercising after weight gain or never began exercising, averaged about a 33 percent increase in visceral fat. Visceral fat is the more dangerous kind. The kind that resides deeper, under your musculature and around your organs. The more visceral fat you have, the greater the chance you have of developing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It’s nice to know you can prevent visceral fat gain with a relatively small amount of exercise, just 40 minutes twice a week. If you’d like to reduce your weight, it is recommended to increase this amount of time.
Quality Movements Over Quantity
The quality of your life matters. More isn’t always better. Being present, feeling your true happiness in the now, and understanding where your mind is going, then being able to bring it back to center has proven to be essential to a successful mindset. The same thing goes for training. When you show up to the gym, understand that mental effort is just as important as your physical effort. Making a change in your current strength will result in improved insulin pathway profiles and lowered inflammation. It’s one thing to get on a treadmill and walk. It’s another to push your limits and be present. Try to push it faster, hold it longer, and move it slowly. Be intentional.
Confidence
The confidence I get to feel after doing something difficult that I didn’t believe I could do is worth every second I spend sweating and pushing myself in the gym. When my client messages me about being able to get a case of water by herself and not needing a cart to carry it through the store and then to her car, I couldn’t be more proud. This could’ve gone very differently. What if she wasn’t strong enough? What if she wasn’t prepared and hurt herself? I could imagine this conversation going very differently. Thankfully, there are no hospital or physical therapy bills to worry about.
The benefit of strength throughout life is very clear. You get to live an independent life with less worry and stress. No thoughts about what might happen if you were to fall. Some people will break ankles, strain tendons, sprain ligaments, or even bust a hip but you? You’ve trained for this and it’s not going to be a big deal. Brush yourself off and continue with your day.
How Many Benefits?!
With the increases in bone density, hormone regulation in men and women, tendon, ligament, and muscular strength adaptions, reductions in fatigue and healing time, boosts in immunity, and better brain function plus a spike in your libido – One might think strength training was a fallacy. How can one receive so much benefit from one activity? But the truth is, studies are still coming out, research is still being conducted and the benefits just keep rolling in.
Take your time to begin any new exercise routine. Find something you like and start there. Increase your activity over time and only push yourself when you feel confident to do so. It won’t take long, I promise.
