You don’t have to be working toward the body of Adonis to get benefit from weight training. In fact, you don’t even have to be a man. Weight training has something to offer everyone who works out, which is why it’s becoming so popular. For years, women were discouraged from doing weight training, even though as mothers, they often lifted children weighing more than the weights themselves. The fear was that they’d build large muscles, but that just doesn’t happen. Hormone levels in the body dictate the how large muscles become. Instead, it tones the muscles and gives the woman a look that says fit and attractive.
Consider strength training for your bones.
Building strength and muscles also helps you build stronger bones. As you get older, muscle loss increases if you don’t workout. The muscle strength and working out actually helps maintain bone health and keeps them strong. In fact, several studies have found that weight bearing exercise has not only helped slow bone loss and osteoporosis, it may even reverse it. Studies comparing the effects of exercise with the effects of certain medicine designed to treat osteoporosis, found that weight bearing exercise actually worked better. Of course, there were side effects from both. The list of side effects comes with the prescription. The side effects of exercise are more energy and a healthier body.
Strength training can protect you from injury.
When you work out with weights, you’ll improve many other areas of fitness. Not only does your balance improve, just as strength does, you’ll also improve your posture. Improved posture means fewer back problems and improved balance mean fewer injuries. Weight lifting also helps strengthen the muscles, which help prevent injuries as well. When you workout with weights, you’ll be less prone to injury doing everyday types of activities.
Other illnesses and conditions can be helped by working with weights.
You might not think it possible, but the pain from arthritis is actually reduced when strength training with weights is added to the workout. In fact, many studies show it’s better than most medication. Working out with weights also helps you lose weight, which can aid in controlling diabetes and reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke and other serious problems.
- Lifting weights builds muscle tissue and the more muscle tissue you have, the higher your metabolism. That’s because it takes more calories to maintain muscle tissue than fat tissue.
- You’ll feel more confident when you lift weights, because you’ll look more confident. It improves your posture making you walk taller.
- If you’re plagued with blood pressure problems, consider lifting weights. It not only helps lower blood pressure, it also helps prevent some forms of cancer, can combat PMS and even boosts your immune system.
- Some circuit training include lifting weights. In that case, weight lifting not only builds strength, but boosts your endurance, too.