If
you knew that some type of exercise could benefit your heart, improve
your balance, strengthen your bones, and help you lose weight as it made
you look and feel better, would not you Not start? Well, studies show that strength training can do all this and more. Weight training is not limited to bodybuilders who lift weights in a gym. It can benefit people of all ages and can be especially important for
people with health problems such as arthritis or heart disease.
Muscle strength: the benefitsYes, strength training will add a definition to your muscles and will give men and women more fit and toned bodies. But working with weights does much more:1. Strength training helps to keep the weight for good.Not only helps with strength training in losing pounds, it helps in maintaining weight loss, too. A
recent study found that women who followed a bodybuilding routine 3
times a week increased the amount of calories burned in normal daily
activity (in addition to those burned during exercise), helping them to
maintain their weight current.2. Strength training protects bone health and muscle mass.After puberty, whether you are a man or a woman, you begin to lose about 1 percent of your bones and muscle strength each year. "One
of the best ways to stop, prevent, and even reverse bone and muscle
loss is to add weight training to your workouts," says Troy Tuttle, MS,
physiologist at the School of Medicine From the University of Texas to Houston.3. Strength training makes you stronger and more fit.Strength
training is also called resistance training because it involves
strengthening and toning your muscles by contracting them against a
resistant force. There are two types of resistance training:
Isometric resistance involves contracting your muscles against a non-moving object, for example against the floor in a push-up.
Isotonic strength training involves contracting your muscles through a range of movement as in weight lifting.Both make you stronger and can put you in better shape. Remember that with muscle building your muscles need time to recover, so it should be done on alternate days. Always take some time to warm up and cool down after strength training.4. Strength training helps you develop better body mechanics.Strength training has advantages that go well beyond the appearance of nicely toned muscles. Your balance and coordination will improve, as will your posture. More importantly, if you have poor flexibility and balance, strength
training can reduce your risk of falling by nearly 40 percent, a crucial
advantage, especially as you get older.5. Muscle training plays a role in disease prevention.Studies have documented the many benefits of bodybuilding. If you are suffering from arthritis, bodybuilding can be as effective as reducing arthritis pain. Muscle training can help postmenopausal women increase their bone density and reduce the risk of bone fractures. And for the 14 million Americans with type 2 diabetes, strength
training as well as other healthy lifestyle changes can help improve
glucose control.6. Strength training increases energy levels and improves your mood.Strength training will raise your level of endorphins (natural opiates produced by the brain), which will make you feel good. As if this is not enough to convince you, strength training has also
been shown to be an excellent antidepressant, to help you sleep better
and improve your overall quality of life.7. Muscle training translates into more calories burned.You
burn calories during strength training, and your body continues to burn
calories after strength training, a process called "physiological
duties. More calories are used to make and maintain muscles than fat, and
actually strength training can boost your metabolism by 15 percent -
which can really jumpstart a weight loss plan.Muscle Training: Getting Started"Please
do not limit yourself to thinking that lifting weights, expensive
machines, or gym membership is the only way to do weight training,"
Tuttle said. "Pushups, jump squats, lunges, and mountaineering are all examples of exercises that provide bodybuilding."If you have any health problems, ask your doctor
