The Health Benefits of Weightlifting and Strength Training

Resistance training, also known as strength or weight training, has become one of the popular forms of exercise for both improving individual fitness and conditioning athletes. No disrespect to cardio, but if you want to burn fat, get in shape, and shake everything that comes your way, lifting weights is what you need. Certified experts. Heavy work is in! You can’t move a kettlebell these days without consulting some training guru, exercise program, or book that advises women to not only lift weights, but lift more weight.

Research shows that lifting weights consistently not only maintains bone mass, but also helps build new bone, and heavy lifting will build bigger, stronger muscles, strengthen the muscles that surround and support joints, and help prevent injuries. If you have osteoporosis you should seek the advice of a personal trainer and if you can’t afford it don’t worry. Susie Hathaway, a certified personal trainer, will guide you on how to train safely and slow bone loss in two workouts per week, without long-distance cardio. She simply follows the simple steps on the DVD that comes with her book and she will reap the benefits of weightlifting…

Another benefit of weightlifting is that it increases the level of testosterone in both men and women. When you lift weights, your body begins to release natural growth hormone and a healthy level of testosterone. Testosterone helps you burn body fat, build muscle, put you in a good mood, and increase sexual function. If you are a woman of that age, strength training, interval training will normalize your testosterone level and help you get through menopause. These are not drugs or bioidentical hormones, they are secrets to help you stay healthy.

Benefits of weightlifting

If you knew that a certain type of exercise could benefit your heart, improve your balance, strengthen your bones, and help you lose weight while looking and feeling better, wouldn’t you want to start? Well, studies show that strength training can provide all of those benefits and more. Most athletes do strength training as part of their overall training program. Their main interest is not how much weight they can lift, but whether the increased strength generated by training results in better performance in their sport.

Strength Training and Chronic Illness

Studies have documented the many wellness benefits of strength training, including helping with weight loss, people with chronic diseases manage their conditions. If you have arthritis, strength training can be just as effective as medication in reducing pain. And for the 14 million Americans with type 2 diabetes, strength training along with other healthy lifestyle changes can help improve glucose control.

How to add weightlifting to your routine

If you’re looking to add weightlifting exercises to your routine, you have several options. You can hire a personal trainer, go to the gym, or get a strength training program that allows you to work out in the privacy of your own home. You can even use your body weight as resistance, squatting on a chair, push-ups, planks are very effective. If you have health problems, ask your doctor what type of strength training is best for you. According to The American Council on Exercise, when you do strength, weight, or resistance training, your body demands more energy. The harder you are working, the more energy is demanded. That means more calories burned during the workout. There you have it, the health benefits of weightlifting and strength training,