Are you looking to be strong and fit for life, strong enough to take off for the slopes at a moment's notice, continue playing a sport, or spend holidays tramping in out of the way locations around the world? The simple answer to achieve any of these levels of fitness is two words: Strength Training. When it comes to building and maintaining strength, no other form of exercise offers a better bang for your buck and here's what it can do for you: 1. Avoid Muscle Tissue Loss Through inactivity adults lose between 2.2 kg and 3.2 kg of lean muscle tissue every decade. Only strength training exercise will stop this happening throughout our lives. Although endurance exercise such as running, swimming etc improves our cardiovascular fitness, it does not prevent the loss of muscle tissue. 2. Avoid Metabolic Rate Reduction Because muscle tissue is a very active tissue, muscle loss is accompanied by a reduction in our resting metabolism (the rate the body burns fuel) by 2 to 5 percent every decade. Strength training prevents muscle tissue loss preventing the accompanying decrease in resting metabolic rate. 3. Increase Metabolic Rate Research reveals that simply adding 1.4kg of muscle tissue increases our resting metabolism by 7% and our daily calorie requirements by 15% reducing the likelihood of body fat accumulation. 4. Reduce Body Fat Muscle tissue is metabolically active, meaning it burns calories. The more of it we have the more calories we burn while we are sleeping, working, and through exercise. For example, think of your metabolism like a car, the more muscle you have, the larger your engine and the more calories (fuel) you burn. If we neglect strength training, our metabolism might be closer to that of a scooter instead of a grunty V8! 5. Increase Bone Mineral Density Not only does strength training exercise stimulate muscle growth; it also stimulates the growth of bone tissue. Bone mineral density peaks at age 20 then gradually declines for the rest of our lives. This makes us very susceptible to fractures, "shrinking" and diseases such as sarcopenia (muscle loss) and osteoporosis bone loss) as we age. 6. Improve Glucose Metabolism. Strength training increases the use of blood sugars into the muscles, helping reduce the chance of developing diabetes. Researchers have reported a 23 percent increase in glucose uptake after four months of strength training. 7. Reduce Resting Blood Pressure Strength training alone has been shown to reduce resting blood pressure significantly reducing risk of heart disease. If our muscles are stronger, less stress is placed on our cardiovascular (heart/lung) system while performing day to day activities. 8. Improve Joint Strength and Stability Increasing the strength of muscles, also greatly enhances the strength and stability of the our joints. This decreases the stress put on them in day to day activities reducing degeneration of our joints. Arthritis is prevented or symptoms reduced with stronger muscles. 9. Improve Vitality and Quality of Life The condition of our muscles is responsible for our energy, vigor and our ability to perform everyday activities with ease. Muscles are like an engine of a car, if they are well looked after, you can drive it regularly without fear of it breaking down and strength training is the means to keep them in top condition. 10. Improve Sporting Performance All forms of power, speed, coordination and explosiveness come from having a good base of strength. Strength training is an effective means of increasing our physical capacity, improving our athletic performance, reducing our injury risk and increasing our enjoyment of our chosen sport. So as you can see strength training should be performed by everyone. Men, women, children and older people can all benefit from strength training. It prevents our body from deteriorating enabling us to live longer and enjoy more of life as we age. Strength training really is anti-aging and can match our health span with our life span.
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