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There are some pretty amazing benefits of lifting weights. Strength training should be your number one priority if you can only do one thing for your health.
Strength training is an integral part of most exercise programs due to the growing body of evidence supporting its many benefits. If you've ever given thought to starting a strength training programme, you're probably curious about the advantages you will reap.
In this article, we will discuss some of the benefits of lifting weights and how you can start.
What are the Benefits of Lifting Weights?
Check out the following benefits of strength training:
1) Improves Body Strength
The most important of benefits of lifting weights is that it increases muscular strength. Gaining muscle makes it much less of a strain to do things like lugging around the weekly groceries or keeping up with the kids.
It also aids athletic performance in speed, power, and strength-based sports, and it may help endurance athletes by preventing muscle loss.
2) Efficient Calorie Burner
One of the best benefits of lifting weights is that it can speed up your metabolic rate. Muscle-building comes first, as it boosts metabolism. When compared to fat, muscle mass increases the resting metabolic rate.
Second, strength training has been shown to increase metabolic rate for up to 72 hours afterwards. That means the body continues to burn calories for hours or even days after a workout.
Check out these weight-lifting exercises that burn the most fat.
3) Decreases Abdominal Fat
Heart disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer are just some of the chronic diseases linked to excess abdominal fat, especially visceral fat.
One of the benefits of lifting weights is that it has been shown to reduce abdominal and total body fat in a number of studies.
4) Decreases Risk of Falls
One of the benefits of lifting weights, especially for older adults, is that it decreases the risk of falls.
Better body support from regular strength training means less chance of injury from falls. Fortunately, a wide variety of strength training methods, including tai chi, weight training, resistance band and bodyweight exercises, have all been demonstrated to be effective.
5) Improves Heart Rate
One of the best benefits of lifting weights is that it's absolutely fabulous for your heart health. Studies have shown that regular strength-training exercise has positive effects on cardiovascular health, including lowering blood pressure, total cholesterol, and LDL (bad) cholesterol, and increasing blood flow.
One of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease is diabetes. Maintaining a healthy weight and controlling blood sugar levels are two additional benefits of strength training.
6) Improves Bone Strength
Bone growth and development are intimately connected to strength training. Bone-building cells respond to the short-term stress of weight-bearing exercises by rushing to repair and rebuild the brittle tissue that has been damaged.
Having strong bones, especially as you get older, lowers risk of osteoporosis, fractures, and falls. The good news is that strength training has been shown to strengthen bones at any age.
7) Improves Brain Health
Improved brain function and health is also one of the benefits of lifting weights. People who lift weights regularly may have stronger brains and be less susceptible to cognitive decline as they get older.
Strength training has been shown in studies involving older adults to significantly improve cognitive function (such as processing speed, memory, and executive function) compared to those who do not.
Increased expression of the neuroprotective protein BDNF, which involves learning and memory, is thought to be one of the many neuroprotective effects of resistance training.
How to Start: Beginner Weight Lifting Routine
Performing three weight training sessions per week should be sufficient for you to start noticing the benefits of lifting weights. To gain muscle mass, though, you must train more frequently and with a higher number of repetitions.
You can train every muscle group in a single session by performing a few sets of each exercise at first and progressing to more sets or heavier weights as the exercises become less challenging. Alternatively, you can dedicate certain days of the week to working out only a particular set of muscles.
Monday: Upper body (Chest, shoulders, triceps, and core)
- dumbbell shoulder press
- dumbbell chest press
- plank
- dumbbell triceps extension
Wednesday: Biceps, back and core
- dumbbell single-arm rows
- resistance band pull apart
- plank
- bicep curl
Friday: Core and legs
- squats
- lunges
- calf raises
- plank
There are many benefits of lifting weights. Lifting weights effectively helps you gain muscle mass and strength. It can also help you maintain a healthy weight, burn more calories, strengthen bones and joints, and improve muscle tone as you age.
Read about why is it important to lift weights
Beginning with lighter weights and working up to heavier ones can help you get the most out of your weight training routine. Gradually add more weight or resistance to the exercise to prevent harm. For maximum strength and fitness, it's important to work all your muscle groups.
