Strength training or resistance training is a type of exercise that focuses on using resistance to strengthen your muscles. Our bodies require regular maintenance for optimal health, especially to build and maintain strong muscles, as people begin to lose muscle mass as well as decreased strength with age.

Two or three 20- or 30-minute strength training sessions every week can result in significant health benefits but always remember to check with a doctor before beginning, especially if you haven’t exercised in a while.

By mixing in weight training to your fitness routine, you’ll improve the following …

1. Makes you stronger: Strength training helps you become stronger. Gaining strength allows you to perform daily tasks much easier, such as carrying heavy groceries or running around with your kids.
2. Burns calories efficiently: As you gain muscle, your body begins to burn calories more easily, making it easier to control your weight.
3. Decreases abdominal fat: Fat stored around the abdomen, especially visceral fat, is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
4. Can help you appear leaner: As you build more muscle and lose fat, you will appear leaner.
5. Decreases your risk of falls: Strength training lowers your risk of falls, as you’re better able to support your body.
6. Lowers your risk of injury: Strength training improves your range of motion, mobility and strength that may reduce your risk of injury.
7. Helps manage your blood sugar levels: Strength training may lower your risk of developing diabetes and can help those with the condition manage it better.
8. Improves heart health: Strength training also can help improve blood circulation by strengthening the heart and blood vessels as well as decreasing blood pressure and lowering total and LDL cholesterol.
9. Promotes greater mobility and flexibility: Strength training helps improve range of motion and flexibility.
10. Boosts your self-esteem and mood: Strength training can add a major boost to your self-confidence as you overcome challenges, work toward goals and improve how you feel. Regular strength training can also improve your mental health and positive attitude.
11. Makes your bones stronger: Strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk of fractures.
12. Improves brain health: Those who engage in strength training may have better brain health and protection against age-related cognitive decline.
13. Promotes a better quality of life: Strength training may increase your quality of life, especially as you age.  Studies have linked regular strength training to increased physical and mental well-being, even reducing the symptoms of arthritis.
14. Better Posture: By incorporating weight-lifting into your routine with weights, this will help strengthens the muscles that can help pull you out of that slumped-over position, enabling you to stand tall.
15. Improve Endurance: Helps improve performance and recovery. In everyday life, recreational athletes in particular benefit from strength endurance training due to its improved strength endurance.

This can be achieved by lifting free weights or doing specific targeted muscle workout machines at the gym. However, strength training isn’t just lifting weights, you can get in a great strength-training workout using your body weight push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges, wall sits and planks), resistance bands or even classes that involve strength training (yoga, Tai Chi).

The bottom line is to get moving. Exercise and strength training play an important role in supporting and living a healthy life.

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*MOVATI’s trainers and/or consultants are not health care providers, and do not provide any medical diagnosis, treatment or advice, and any trainer and/or consultant tips are not intended to replace the advice of a health care professional.

Story Credit: National Institute on Aging (https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/how-can-strength-training-build-healthier-bodies-we-age) & Healthline (https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/benefits-of-strength-training)