Health Benefits to Strength Training
Today I am going to explain to you 12 reasons why strength training matters and is so imperative to increasing your quality of life and your overall health. Once you understand and become aware of all the benefits, you’re going to want to hop on board where we are more than happy to welcome you. Remember, it is never too late to get started, taking small actions day by day is as good a place to start as any. The beginning is always the hardest, and just reading this article means you have taken the right first step.
As you read on you will notice that the first half of the list is all physiological benefits which people tend to think of first when you think of health benefits to strength training. As you read on the latter half is all psychological benefits, which in my opinion are as important if not more important than the physiological.
1.Increased Muscle Mass- While many people partake in strength training for the aesthetic benefits and love seeing themselves strong and toned, they’re many more reasons to want to put muscle on your body. When you put on muscle your functional fitness will increase. Whether you are bringing a load of firewood into the house during the winter time, or carrying the maximal amount of groceries you can fit in your hands to make sure it’s just a one tripper in the house, or even playing a pickup game of ball to relive the glory days; it will only help to be more muscular. The better your muscular fitness, the more everyday things you will be able to enjoy with less effort and without fatigue or risk of injury.
2. Fat Loss- As I have mentioned in my “Ultimate Guide to Fat Loss” E-Book, strength training will be essential for your fat loss journey. You will burn calories by lifting weights and more importantly you will put muscle on your body, which in turn boosts your metabolism, and will make your body burn more calories while at rest.
3. Stronger Bones-Why does having strong bones matter you may ask? When you have strong bones you will be physically stronger and provide your body with more balance and support. Strong bones make sure you have better posture, which will improve your appearance and make you feel better, younger with less aches and pains. Strong bones also prevents osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease that causes the thinning and weakening of bones. See every year, after the age of 35, men and women lose 1 percent of bone mass and adults who don’t strength train may experience up to a 3% reduction in bone mass each year of their life. Bones that are weakened by osteoporosis are more likely to fracture, impeding you from enjoying the many fruits of an active life.
4. Joint Flexibility- Studies have shown that strength training alone can increase flexibility in previously untrained individuals by increasing their range of motion. Flexibility is important in living a pain free life as it decreases our risk of injuries and improves our posture and balance. Incorporating a 5–15 minute warm up prior to strength training composed of static stretching, dynamic stretching and mobility work will also have massive benefits on flexibility and increase the effectiveness of your training.
5. Cardiovascular/Heart Health- Strength training allows us to have much more control over potential risk factors that are associated with cardiovascular disease such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. According to research, strength training can help in the management of obesity as it results in more muscle mass on the body and less fat mass. Studies have also shown that strength training helps guard against a lot of potential complications of diabetes. It improves glucose storage and decreases harmful belly fat that can inhibit the body’s effective use of insulin. For people who have type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, managing blood sugar is pivotal. Lastly, hypertension is another huge risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease. It’s a medical condition in which the body’s blood vessels become clogged and can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Strength training has been shown to decrease blood pressure and ultimately prevent hypertension.
6. Reverse Aging- Yes you read that correctly, strength training can even alter the natural effects of aging. Human aging is linked with loss of muscle mass, deterioration of muscular strength and a decreased ability to perform everyday life activities. Sarcopenia is the term for these instances and it is estimated that 7% of adults over 70 years old and 20% over 80 are affected by crippling sarcopenia. Muscle aging causes have been related to oxidative stress or (a condition where antioxidant levels are lower than average), cell death, inflammation, hormonal deregulation, inactivity, alterations in protein turnover, and dysfunction of the mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell). Strength training with older populations has been shown to reduce oxidative stress and increase antioxidant enzyme activity. Studies have also shown that strength training not only slows but also reverses the aging process at the gene level. Lastly, mitochondria impairment, which is typically seen with inactivity, reverses consequently after strength training.
7. Mental Health- When people think of strength training, they mainly focus on the physiological benefits and fail to recognize the myriad of psychological benefits, which I would argue are just as, if not more important than the physical. The latter half of this article is going to be geared toward all of the amazing things strength training can do for your mind, or the thing that controls the body, not the other way around! Studies have shown that strength training is a significant intervention for individuals with anxiety. Anxiety can cause people to have poor sleep, mental distress, bodily pain and more. Anxiety symptoms are known to reduce in the gym, creating a whole new outlook for those who suffer from it through the rest of the day. Anxiety is something that has to be constantly worked on each and everyday, this is also why the routine of lifting is so beneficial. Order and predictability are calming for those with anxiety and strength training needs to be done consistently, so each time you lift throughout the week you are also helping to ease your anxiety! Self-esteem is another factor that becomes greatly enhanced after strength training. Self-esteem is a person’s opinion about themselves and how they regard their own self worth, self-respect and integrity. When people have a high self-esteem, they are confident in themselves and are true to themselves. They accept new challenges and are not fearful of uncertainty. They are resilient; they don’t need the approval of others and are okay with not knowing everything. When self-esteem is increased there is an undoubted correlation with physical and mental well-being. Sleep is another major component that is improved when an individual incorporates strength training into their lives. Humans spend 30% of their lives asleep and insufficient sleep is extremely problematic when it comes to mental health. Sleep deprivation is associated with cognitive impairment, mental illness, hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular disease, stroke, motor vehicle accidents and a lessened quality of life. Research has shown that people who strength train have healthier sleep patterns and a lower risk of sleep apnea as they are exerting more energy throughout the day. Depressed individuals with sleep disorders have shown 30% improvement in sleep from regularly strength training.
8. Increased Energy Levels- 25% of Americans experience constant fatigue symptoms which is an all too common excuse for not strength training or making it to the gym. Ironically, 94% of 70 randomized studies on exercise and fatigue have shown that strength training results in the biggest improvements in people dealing with chronic fatigue and is even more beneficial than drug or cognitive-behavioral interventions.
9. Brain Boosting Chemicals- Science has shown that strength training releases many natural neurochemicals in your body including Endorphins, Serotonin, Dopamine, and Norepinephrine, which have a variety of positive effects. Endorphins are one of them and are produced by the central nervous system and pituitary gland. Endorphins reduce pain and inflammation and boost pleasure; they’re the ultimate natural high chemicals, giving you that feeling of euphoria after a solid strength training session. Serotonin is the chemical that contributes to well-being and happiness, improves your mood, your sleep/wake cycle and digestive system regulation. Getting your heart rate higher is a sure fire way to increase serotonin production. Dopamine is the reward and motivation neurochemical. Regular strength training remodels the reward system, which leads to higher circulating levels of dopamine and creates more readily available dopamine receptors. Without dopamine we wouldn’t have the motivation to accomplish goals or feel the reward for accomplishing them. Dopamine is a main reason for putting forth our effort toward anything we value. Norepinephrine is a hormone and a neurochemical that is produced by the adrenal gland. When norepinephrine flows into the bloodstream you are instantly more focused and attentive. It also plays a big role in concentration and memory storage so you are better able to retrieve information stored in your brain. This is a big case right here as to why it is such a great idea to strength train first thing in the morning; it will only improve the quality of the rest of your day.
10. Brain Cognition- Lots of research has proven that strength training has been shown to enhance many aspects of cognition in older adults. Cognition is the brain’s processing ability to gather knowledge through one’s thoughts, experiences and senses. Similarly to how cognition is improved, the same has been shown to occur with executive functioning. Executive functioning is the director of a brains control center and what is in charge of all of the tasks a person does throughout the day, such as writing, preparing, organizing and doing research. Finally, one of the most amazing effects strength training has on the brain is the improvement in memory and memory-related tasks. A study led by researchers at the University of Sydney conducted a clinical trial for older people at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease due to mild cognitive impairment. The results found that strength training led to benefits linked to protection from degeneration in specific sub regions in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a major portion of the brain with a big role in learning and memory.
11. Increased Awareness/Mindfulness- Lifting weights allow you to be completely present with yourself and the steel you are trying to propel from the ground. It’s a time to focus on the task at hand one breath and one rep at a time. You feel your muscles working the way they were intended too and deliberately feel the mind muscle connection. Mindful strength training is all about preparing your mind for the task that your body is about to perform. You focus your energy toward a specific goal and feeling and send your thoughts and intentions to that place. In a society where everyone is always thinking about the next place to be or the next thing to do, it’s very refreshing to be present with lifting. I mean it’s tough to be scatterbrained while you are pressing dumbbells’ overhead on a chest press. You are forced to slow down and concentrate on the movement. Embodying this place of mindfulness at the gym will also help leak into other areas of life as well when you really need to access it.
12. Self Efficacy- Self-Efficacy is a person’s belief in their ability to succeed in a particular situation. It plays a massive role in not only how you feel about yourself, but whether or not you successfully go after and achieve your life goals. Strength training helps to teach us self-efficacy because we learn to understand that change through action is not only possible, but something that we can actually direct and control. When you strength train, you aren’t just putting on muscle and getting physically stronger but you are building confidence in bringing about meaningful change through training. You are completing challenges and setting personal records (PRs) one by one and proving to yourself what you are capable of when you finally quit listening to others chatter and the self limiting voice in your head. Each time you complete a challenge is another step in proving to yourself what you are truly capable of when you commit to something. I often say “how you do one thing is how you do everything.”I strongly believe this, once you begin to see progress and get stronger and lift more than you ever thought possible, you begin to get addicted to progress and success and won’t tolerate anything but excellence in all of the other aspects of your life.
As you can see, strength-training benefits transcend just the physical and aesthetic benefits and directly contributes to how we feel each and every day at any given moment in time. It’s something that is a long-term investment and when just beginning can be performed 2–3 times a week to see these incredible changes. Give strength training a chance and learn to love the process and live the life that you have always envisioned for yourself. What do you say? The Choice Is Yours.
If you are interested in beginning strength training or taking it to the next level and need guidance then please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. My email is brandonpeda@gmail.com
