If you’re first stepping foot on the journey with weight and health, or you’re fairly new to the world of fitness, it may seem as though strength training is only associated with athletes or avid gym goers. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth! In fact, strength training is a valuable component of any exercise plan – no matter where you’re at with your personal journey toward improved health.
With a strong variety of both physical and mental benefits, this powerful workout is beneficial to anyone. If the idea of strength training seems a bit intimidating, or leaves you with questions about incorporating it into your own routine, we encourage you to check out the benefits of strength training below!
Key Benefits of Strength Training You Need to Know:
- It Boosts Your Metabolism and Burns Calories – Our bodies require more calories to build muscle than it does fat, which helps boost our metabolism when we participate in strength training. Likewise, we’re burning calories not only during our workout, but afterwords too!
It Helps You Develop Better Body Mechanics – By devoting considerable time to this power workout, you can improve your posture, your flexibility and even your balance.- It Gives You Energy and Improves Your Mood – A successful workout can leave you feeling energized and happier by releasing endorphins. It can even help you get a better quality of sleep, which aids your weight-loss journey tremendously! For more about the connection between weight and sleep, CLICK HERE.
- It Adds Variety to Your Workouts – Diversifying your exercise will keep things fresh and expose your body to a wide range of movement. That way, you have plenty of ways to build strength and endurance!
- It Improves Your Overall Health – Your physical health will improve in many ways by adding strength training to your routine, including lower blood pressure, less stress and anxiety, more bone mass (less of a risk for osteoarthritis), lower risk of cardiovascular disease, reduced risk of diabetes, etc.
How Should You Get Started?
There are a variety of different strength training routines you can begin incorporating into your exercise plan beginning today! No matter where you choose to workout, you can benefit from this excellent exercise.
Use Your Body Weight – Even with little to no equipment, you can strength train with exercises such as sit-ups, pull-ups, push-ups, leg squats or crunches.- Free Weights – For fairly low cost, you can purchase free weights such as barbells or dumbbells. These are classic strength training tools that you can utilize even when you’re watching television or cooking dinner!
- Resistance tubes – these are lightweight tubes that provide resistance when stretched. In nearly any sporting goods store, you can find a variety of these.
- Weight Machines – These are the pieces of equipment you can usually find at the gym because most fitness centers offer them. If you’re serious about making strength training a regular part of your fitness regimen, you can even purchase them for your home.
No matter who you are or where you’re at on your journey, you can use strength training to your benefit! Just remember to start slow, begin with exercises you can manage and consult your doctor before beginning any fitness routine you’re unsure about. You’ll be reaping these benefits in no time!
