Benefits of strength training
Intra-abdominal fat (aka visceral fat) is the type of fat that surrounds our organs and presents a lot of serious health risks including stroke, diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer's.
Strength training has been found to significantly reduce visceral fat. Not only do you burn calories during your workout, but your metabolism remains elevated for up to 72 hours afterward.
And by consistently training and maintaining a healthy amount of muscle mass, you'll keep your metabolism running along smoothly.
Without a healthy mind, a healthy body isn't worth much. But if you engage in the right activities, you can help yourself get healthier both inside and out.
Strength training is a great tool to support our mental health. It has been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety, fatigue, and depression.
If chronic pain slows you down, it can also help alleviate that so you can feel better during your daily activities.
Strength training also helps improve cognitive function to keep your mind sharp into the future.
So don't think about lifting weights as a purely physical endeavor. You can really help yourself feel better in a lot of different ways.
Many people seek out a magic bullet to slow down or reverse aging. They want a pill or potion that will serve as a fountain of youth.
While it requires a little effort, Strength Training is one of the most powerful anti-aging tools we have.
After the age of 30, we naturally lose muscle mass, which slows our metabolism and leads to increased fat gain. Without strength training (along with adequate protein intake), our bodies start heading downhill.
By staying active and lifting weights (or using other types of resistance), we can reverse this process and keep our energy levels high and our bodies performing optimally.
Strength training, even relatively brief sessions,imprsoves leanour lean muscle mass. And increased muscle mass keeps our metabolism healthy, meaning we're less likely to put on excess body fat.
It also helps lower blood pressure and increase insulin sensitivity, which can be very helpful in fighting off chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
A healthy metabolism is a great sign our bodies are functioning properly, and strength training is one of the best things we can do to help with that 💪🏾
Strength training has been shown to ⬇️ our "bad" cholesterol (LDL) and ⬆️ our "good" cholesterol (HDL). At the same time, it can ⬇️ triglycerides.
Improving your blood lipids in these ways can have huge impacts on preventing cardiovascular and other chronic diseases ❤️🩺
And you don't need to be lifting super heavy weights 5 days a week. Just build the habit of consistent strength training 2-3x/week and you'll see big-time benefits.
Unfortunately, osteoporosis and osteopenia are becoming more and more common as we age, and they come with some significant consequences.
Strength training is actually one of the best things you can do to improve bone mineral density. Studies have shown significant improvement after only a few months of regular strength training.
So if you're looking to add yet another thing to the list of strength training benefits, it can help prevent and manage osteoporosis and osteopenia.
Strength training can help prevent injuries in a number of ways.
First off, it helps strengthen your bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. When those are strong, they're more resistant to wear and tear.
Also, when you strength train the right way (a smart program that balances different body parts and different movements), you can improve your posture and balance, which may help you avoid both traumatic injuries and long-term aches and pains.
Strength training is one of the best things you can do to make your body more "bulletproof" in the long run.
Strength training has been shown to reduce blood pressure and improve our blood lipid profiles. It can lower our LDL ("bad" cholesterol) and triglycerides, while improving HDL ("good" cholesterol).
Improving your blood lipids in these ways can have huge impacts on preventing cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.
Strength training has been shown to help improve insulin sensitivity and reduce intra-abdominal fat, both of which can help manage and prevent type 2 diabetes.
Not only that, but more stable blood sugar can help balance our energy throughout the day and MINIMIZE ENERGY SWINGS AND CRAVINGS.
In conclusion, Strength Training is awesome both for its short-term effects and long-term effects.
Strength training impacts more than just your muscles.
Research has shown consistent strength training to significantly improve cognitive function, such as memory, processing speed, and executive function.
These are all things that can be helpful in fighting off degenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's.
So lift weights for your body and also for your mind!
Strength training has anti-aging effects. As we get older, certain parts of our bodies wear down. But strength training can help reverse many of these processes.
By maintaining (or increasing) both muscle and bone strength, we can continue doing many of the activities we enjoy, and also our activities of daily living like bathing, dressing, and going up and down stairs.
Overall, strength training improves our physical and mental well-being to help us live healthier and happier lives.