Benefits of Strength Training Besides Building Muscle
Strength training is more than a way to get fit and boost your metabolism. It’s also an excellent way to improve your physical health and prevent disease. If you lift weights regularly, it can strengthen your muscles, increase bone density, reduce body fat, and even help you manage stress better. There are many benefits of strength training.
When I was younger strength training intimidated me because I thought it was all about lifting heavy weights and building muscle. I didn’t want to get bulky so I stuck to the cardio machines at the gym.
Now that I’m older and wiser 😉 I know that strength training is important for not only getting into shape but for many other reasons.
Strength training is so much more than building muscle. There are many benefits of strength training that go beyond getting ripped. It can make you healthier in many ways. Read on to learn about five ways strength training can make you healthier.
1. It’ll Help You Lose Weight and Maintain a Healthy Weight
Strength training is an essential part of any weight-loss program. It can help you lose weight and keep your metabolism high because it increases muscle mass.
Muscle burns calories, even when you’re not exercising. So the more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn throughout the day. Also, with more muscle, you’ll have a faster metabolism and lose more weight.
I’m not a fan of cardio so I love adding strength training into my workout routine. I used to think the only way to lose weight was to do cardio workouts. But I have learned that strength training is much more effective regarding weight loss.
If you don’t know where to start there are many programs online you can follow. I use Beachbody on Demand. It makes it so much easier to get my workouts done and to stay consistent. I get to work out at home without worrying about going to the gym.
2. It Can Help You Build Strong Bones
Building stronger bones are perhaps one of the best reasons to lift weights. What you may not know is that weight-bearing exercises like lifting weights, yoga, and walking offer some of the best ways to prevent osteoporosis.
You’ll want to make sure you’re lifting enough weight to work the muscles in your body, not just the joints. If you don’t feel your muscles working, then you need to increase the amount of weight in your lifting routine.
By lifting weights and doing other types of exercises that put some stress on your bones, you’ll increase your bone density and reduce your risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens your bones over time.
3. It Can Help You Fight Depression and Anxiety
Lifting weights helps your body regulate serotonin and dopamine. Two important neurotransmitters in the brain that control your mood.
Even when you’re not actively working out, your body is using nutrients to repair your muscles. Which leads to the release of endorphins. Endorphins are natural chemicals that provide mood-boosting benefits.
Cardio exercise is also great for your mental health. But it may not be enough on its own to treat depression and anxiety.
4. It Can Improve Your Cardiovascular Health
Regularly lifting weights is one of the best ways to keep your heart healthy and lower your risk for heart disease. It can lower your blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, reducing your heart disease risk.
5. It Can Help You Sleep Better
Strength training can improve your sleep by helping you to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Strength training helps you to burn energy. So by the end of the day, you feel tired and ready to sleep.
6. It Will Help You Stress Less
Getting regular exercise is important for your physical health. But it can also help you emotionally. A great way to manage stress on a regular basis is by getting your body moving. This keeps your mind occupied. Releases endorphins and serotonin in your brain. And can be a healthy way to distract yourself from your problems.
7. It Can Help You Look Leaner
Another benefit of strength training is that it can improve your posture so you’ll look leaner.
This is because it builds muscles in the right places, which in turn strengthens your core. A strong core helps you to stand taller and not hunch over. Standing tall will help you to look leaner and more confident.
How to Get Started with Strength Training
You don’t need much to get started with strength training. Basically, all you need is your body. You can strength train with your own body weight. Do familiar moves like push-ups, lunges, and squats. You don’t even need weights, your own body weight will do.
However, if you want to step in up you can purchase some hand weights and follow a program like Beachbody on Demand.
Beachbody has hundreds of strength training programs to choose from. Some of my favorites are:
Try Lifting Weights
You don’t need to get a gym membership to start lifting weights. Just get a pair of light, medium, and heavy weights. You’ll want to use the lighter weights for upper body exercises like bicep curls and tricep exercises. The heavier weights will be for leg exercises like squats and lunges.
Last Thoughts on The Benefits of Strength Training
Strength training is a great way to build healthy muscles. By adding a few strength training workouts each week, you can improve your overall health and quality of life. And the best part is, there are countless ways to strength train.
You can lift weights, do yoga, or even incorporate some strength training exercises into your daily routine. The trick to getting the most out of strength training is to focus on doing the exercises correctly.
You don’t have to lift heavy weights to benefit from strength training. So don’t feel like you need to push yourself to the limit. If you found this post helpful please share it on social media:)
