Benefits of Resistance Training

For many of us, exercise means walking, jogging, treadmill work or other activities that get the heart pumping, mostly cardiovascular activities. But often overlooked is the value of strength-building and resistance exercises.

Regular strength training promotes good health, reduces the risk of developing many diseases, and helps you live a longer and healthier life.

Scientists explain that by age 60 we lose about one quarter of our muscle strength and by age 80 about half of it. This means that is not sufficient to do only aerobic cardiovascular exercises. Once we reach our 50s and beyond, strength training is critical to maintain the ability to perform the most ordinary activities of daily living, and be able to have an active and independent lifestyle.

Strength training has a lot of benefits:

• Increase of muscle mass. By doing resistance training and lifting weights, you increase your muscle mass which naturally decreases with age.
• Stronger bones. Strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk of fractures and osteoporosis, which also leads in decrease of injuries.
• Increases joint mobility. Resistance training helps joints stay flexible and can reduce the symptoms of degenerative joint diseases.
• Improves balance. Strengthening exercises can increase flexibility and balance as people age, having a good muscle base is important for all movement, coordination and injury prevention.

• Weight loss. As you start gaining muscle, your body begins to burn calories more easily, making it easier to control your weight.
• Decreases abdominal fat. Abdominal fat, or known as visceral fat, sits in and around the vital organs, including the heart. Strength training can help reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even cancer.
• Cardiovascular health. Strength training improves blood pressure and triglyceride levels similarly to cardiovascular exercise, but it has even greater benefits on cholesterol. By reducing any excess abdominal fat through strength training you can also improve heart health.

• Improves mental health and increases cognitive functions, by decreasing depression and anxiety symptoms.
• Sharpens your thinking skills. Some research suggests that regular strength training in combination with aerobic exercise may help improve thinking and learning skills for older adults.

When to expect results?

You don’t need to spend hours a day lifting weights to benefit from strength training. You can see significant improvement in your strength with just two or three 20- or 30-minute weight training sessions a week. The Department of Health and Human Services recommends incorporating strength training exercises for all major muscle groups into a fitness routine at least two times a week.

How to start?

You can start resistance training by just using your body weight. If you use weights aim for 15 reps and three sets per exercise. Go for a weight that feels heavy enough to challenge you, but not so heavy that you sacrifice your form. Sometimes is better to stick to the same moves each day when you’re starting out.

Never forget to refuel your body with good nutrition and water. Take rest days when your body tells you to; if you feel tired do not push yourself.

References:

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2. Winett RA, Carpinelli RN. Potential health-related benefits of resistance training. Prev Med. 2001 Nov;33(5):503-13. DOI: 10.1006/pmed.2001.0909
3. Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2012 Jul-Aug;11(4):209-16. doi: 10.1249/JSR.0b013e31825dabb8.
4. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. 2nd ed. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition. Accessed Feb. 13, 2019.
5. Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults: Guidance for prescribing exercise. American College of Sports Medicine. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2011;43:1334.
6. Resistance training for health and fitness. American College of Sports Medicine. https://www.acsm.org/read-research/resource-library. Accessed Feb. 13, 2019.
7. How exercise can help you. National Institute of Aging. https://go4life.nia.nih.gov/how-exercise-can-help-you/. Accessed Feb. 13, 2019.