5 Reasons You Should Be Doing Resistance Training

Resistance training (also known as strength training / weight training) has so many benefits. Here's why we're fans - and you should be too.

1) Live Longer And Have A Better Quality Of Life!  

You heard that right... When it comes to longevity, we often think that cardio is key. Yes, it can be good for cardiovascular health, mental health, joints (and more), but did you know that strength training is right up there too?

A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, showed a 10-20% drop in the risk of death, cardiovascular disease and cancer when participants did just 30-60 mins of strength training a week. That's a big drop for not much time.

Why? Because lifting weights boosts your aerobic capacity - making it easier to get blood, oxygen and nutrients flowing to your muscles.

Let's not forget that as we age - we naturally lose muscle mass. This is known as sarcopenia. From the age of 30, we lose 3-5% of our muscle mass per decade. Resistance training lets us combat this - improving our quality of life in our later years.

Resistance training can also help protect the brain from any degeneration or shrinkage - which leads us to our next point...

2) Improve Mental Clarity And Cognitive Function

... especially when it comes to your memory.

Resistance training is most effective when it comes to improving cognitive function and memory.

This happens because it helps create and safeguard new neurons in the brain, while also increasing the size of brain structures. This leads to better overall cognition, brain health, and strengthens the structure and signalling capacity of brain cells. Smart stuff!

3) Helps Muscle Growth

Not only does it make you smarter, it will make you look better too.

Imagine putting on clothes that sculpt your body shape and boost your confidence on so many levels. Resistance training is key for this.

Strength training exercises involve placing resistance on the muscles, which creates tension on the fibres - creating microscopic tears in your muscle tissue. The result of this is hypertrophy - increased muscle mass and power. As the tears recover, a more prominent, strong muscle is born.

This creates more definition on the body - perfect if you’re looking for that toned and sculpted look. 

4) Burn More Fat And Manage Your Blood Sugar Levels 

Investing in building muscle will help you burn more calories throughout the day -even when you're working away at your desk, sitting on the sofa or sleeping.

This happens because active lean muscle tissue is metabolically active - which means your body needs to burn more calories to sustain your muscle tissue.

Skeletal muscle also helps increase insulin sensitivity - which reduces your blood sugar levels - reducing fat storage. It does this by removing glucose from the blood and sending it to muscle cells rather than to fat cells.

This is also great for those at risk or looking to better manage their diabetes because greater muscle mass means better blood sugar management and less insulin circulating the body.

5) Resistance Training Helps Improve Bone Density

You may think this isn’t important now - but believe me, it’s never too early to start thinking about protecting your bones - and the more strength you can add now, the more grateful you’ll be in the future.

Basically, when you lift weights or perform weight-bearing exercises you put temporary stress on your bones, sending a message to bone-building cells to take action. This not only encourages the body to grow new bone tissue but rebuild them stronger. This procedure lowers the incidence of fractures and other bone-related injuries while also increasing bone density and reducing your risk of osteoporosis.

You now understand the benefit of resistance training. If you'd like help on getting started - reach out to our qualified team to develop a fully personalized plan that suits and adapts to your lifestyle.