Article provided by Hamish Newall – Owner, Personal Trainer
Here are 5 reasons we should either start or continue training with resistance.
- Resistance training makes you stronger and fitter
Muscle strength is crucial in making it easier to do the things we need to so on a day-to-day basis. Especially as we get older and naturally start to lose muscle. Resistance training is also called strength training because it involves strengthening and toning your muscles by contracting them against resistance force.
Isometric Resistance involves contracting your muscles against a non-moving object, such as against the floor in a push up.
Isometric strength training involves contracting your muscles through a range of motion, as in weight lifting. - Resistance Training Protects bone health and muscle mass
At around age 30 we start losing as much as 3-5 % of lean muscle mass per decade thanks to aging. Just 30 minutes twice a week has shown to improve functional performance as well as bone density, structure, and strength. As well as muscle mass preservation and an increase in muscle mass, strength and power which are essential for bone joint and muscle health when we age. - Resistance training helps burn calories efficiently.
All exercise helps boost your metabolism (the rate your resting body burns calories throughout the day) With both aerobic activity and strength training your body continues to burn calories. The process is called ‘’excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.’’ The harder you train the higher the caloric burn which equals a higher post calorie burn. - Resistance training boosts energy levels and improves your mood.
Exercise boosts mood because it increases endorphins. But for resistance training, additional research that’s looked at neurochemical and neuromuscular responses to such workouts offers further evidence that it has a positive effect on the brain. There’s also evidence that resistance training helps you sleep better and we all know a better nights sleep can go along way in keeping your mood up! - Resistance training has cardiovascular health benefits
Along with aerobic exercise, muscle strengthening activities help improve blood pressure and reduce risk of hypertension and heart disease. Resistance training also helps ease symptoms in people with many chronic conditions such as neuromuscular disorders, pulmonary disease, type 2 diabetes, glucose control and even some cancers!