During the past few years more and more clinical studies have shown that sensible strength training produces many health and fitness. Here are 12 good reasons for improving your levels of strength for improving the quality of your health and wellbeing.
Benefit One: Avoid Muscle Loss
Adults who do not strength train lose between 5-7 pounds of muscle every decade and although endurance exercise improves our cardiovascular fitness, it does not prevent the loss of muscle tissue. Strength training however, maintains our muscle tissue levels through our mid-life years.
Benefit Two: Avoid Metabolic Rate Reduction
Because muscle is very active tissue, muscle loss is accompanied by a reduction in our resting metabolism. The latest research facts indicate that the average adult experiences a 2-5 percent reduction in metabolic rate every decade of life. Because regular strength exercise prevents muscle loss, as an added benefit it, prevents the accompanying decrease in resting metabolic rate.
Benefit Three: Increase Muscle Mass
Because most adults don’t perform strength exercises, initially they need to replace the muscle tissue they’ve lost through inactivity. Luckily, research shows that a standard strength-training program can increase muscle mass by about 3 pounds over a 14-day training period. This is typical for previously inactive men and women, who do 25 minutes of strength exercise, 3 days per week, and in terms of health, represents an excellent return on a time-efficient investment.
Benefit Four: Increased Metabolic Rate
Research reveals that adding 3 pounds of muscle increases our resting metabolic rate by 7 percent, and our daily calorie requirements by 15-20 percent. At rest, a pound of muscle needs about 35 calories per day for its maintenance, and during exercise calorific demand increases substantially. Adults replacing muscle via sensible strength exercise use a great deal more calories all day long and in so doing, dramatically reduce the likelihood of fat accumulation.
Benefit Five: Reduce Body Fat
Studies found that strength exercise produced 4 pounds of fat loss after 3 months of training, even though the subjects were eating 15 percent more calories per day. This is to say that a basic strength training program produced 3 pounds more muscle, 4 pounds less fat weight and both whilst actually eating more, to fuel the increased demand, to the tune of 370 more calories a day.
Benefit Six: Increase Bone Mineral Density
The effects of progressive resistance exercise are similar for both muscle tissue and bone tissue. The same training stimulus that increases muscle proteins also increases bone proteins and mineral content. Tests have clearly demonstrated very significant increases in the bone mineral density of the upper thigh, after 4 months of a well-designed strength training program was done.
Benefit Seven: Improve Glucose Metabolism
American research has reported a 23 percent increase in glucose uptake after just 4 months of strength training. Due to the fact that poor glucose metabolism is closely associated with adult onset diabetes, efficient glucose metabolism is an important benefit of regular strength exercise.
A Canadian study showed a 56 percent increase in gastrointestinal transit time after 3 months of strength training. This is a very important finding, due to the fact that delayed gastrointestinal transit times are linked to higher risk of colon cancer; worrying for those every three day types!
Benefit Nine: Reduce Resting Blood Pressure
Just strength training alone has been shown to significantly reduce resting blood pressure. The Canadian study revealed that strength plus aerobic exercise is also effective for improving blood pressure readings. After 2 months of this combined exercise format, program participants dropped their systolic blood pressure by 5 clear mm Hg and their colleagues by 3 mm Hg.
Benefit Ten: Improved Blood Lipid Levels
Although the effects of strength training on blood lipid (fats) levels needs further research, at least 2 studies in the United States have revealed significantly improved blood lipid profiles after several weeks of strength exercise. It is important to note here that improvements in blood lipid levels are producing similar reactions for both cardio-vascular (heart and lungs) and strength exercise regimes.
Benefit Eleven: Reduce Low Back Pain
Several years of research on strength training and back pain conducted at the University of Florida Medical School in America has shown that strong low-back muscles are less likely to be injured low-back muscles. A recent study by Professor Risch in London (2006) found that low-back patients had significantly less back pain after 10 weeks of specific (full-range) strength exercise for the lumbar spine muscles. Because 72 percent of all Britons experience low back problems at some point in their lives, it is very advisable for all adults to properly strengthen their lower back muscles.
Benefit Twelve: Reduce Arthritic Pain
According to a recent edition of the Tufts University Diet and Nutrition Letter (2007) in Boston, USA, sensible strength training also eases the pain of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. This is good news, because most men and women who suffer from arthritis pain need strength exercise to develop stronger muscles, bones, and connective tissue.
Summary
There are 12 physiological reasons to perform regular strength exercise. On a more basic level, it is important to understand that proper strength training may help us to look better, feel better, and function better. Remember that our skeletal muscles serve as the engine, chassis, and shock absorbers of our bodies. Consequently, strength training is an effective means for increasing our physical capacity, improving our athletic performance, reducing our injury risk, enhancing our personal appearance, and improving our self-confidence. Everyone can benefit from a sensible program of strength exercise, but if you decide to retain one, be very, very careful about your choice of professional to guide you.
