Gym Podium
The importance of weightlifting
Weightlifting is not just about bulking up and building muscle mass. Its benefits include improving bone density, improved posture, better sleep, maintaining weight loss, boosting metabolism, regulating blood sugar, and staving off chronic disease.
Six reasons why resistance training is incredible for your health
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It keeps your bones strong and healthy
Your bones need to stay challenged, just like your brain needs exercise to stay sharp. After about age 30, you start to lose bone density at a small percentage each year. Resistance training creates force on the bone and helps it stay strong.
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It improves posture, sleep, mood and energy levels
Weight training is proven to improve the quality of a person’s sleep and therefore has a positive impact on someone’s mood and energy levels throughout the day.
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It boosts metabolism and fat loss
Most gym users will do plenty of cardio but neglect the weight training. Initially they will see good results but then they will hit a plateau. A great way to overcome this plateau is to incorporate resistance training into their program, this is because your metabolism will change. If you have more muscle then you will burn more calories throughout the day. It’s an active tissue, it burns more energy at rest compared to fat.
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It reduces the risk of serious disease
It is widely accepted that cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and all the classic chronic diseases including cancer are not as likely with any form of activity, from strength training to cardio. The stronger you are, the more resilient you are against disease and serious illness.
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It regulates insulin
Along with keeping away chronic disease, strength training burns through glucose, which is good news for those grappling with Type 2 diabetes who consistently need to manage blood sugar levels.
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It improves strength and endurance
As you train, your body grows stronger, and the effects will transfer into other aspects of your physical activity. If your legs get stronger, then the amount of time you can spend on a walking challenge, on a treadmill, on a hike, will be longer. Even very good runners who do weight training improve their running efficiency. They can run at the same speed while using a lower capacity of their leg strength.