THE BENEFITS OF RESISTANCE TRAINING
Resistance training is any training that uses a force, for example a weight, to resist the force of a muscular contraction. Often, resistance training is simply called weight training or strength training.
According to the American Sports Medicine Institute, the purpose of resistance training is to “gradually and progressively overload the musculoskeletal system so it gets stronger”. In simple terms this means gradually increasing the weight you are lifting over time to build more muscle size and strength.
As well as muscle size and strength, resistance training also has the following benefits:
- Increase in bone density (your bones get stronger).
- Burning off fat – any exercise uses up energy and therefore can help reduce that excess body fat. Resistance training is great for burning fat because your body continues to use more energy for hours after your workout as it repairs and thus builds your muscles.
- Increase in useful strength. This is your capacity for performing every day tasks like lifting boxes, moving furniture, lifting a child etc. Being stronger overall makes these tasks much easier and reduces the risk of you injuring yourself.
- Helps to lower LDL cholesterol – protecting your heart and arteries.
- Higher metabolism – muscle tissue requires much more energy to stay alive than fat. So the more muscle you have, the more energy you burn even when you’re doing nothing!
- Finally, and perhaps the most important for the vanity in all of us – resistance training builds muscle and that means a healthier, sexier body!
Tags: muscle, overload, resistance, strength, training
