There have been many studies on how cardio and aerobic exercise can be beneficial towards the body, often highlighting the benefits of weight loss, decreasing chances of developing cardiovascular disease, and much more. However, as gyms have become more popular in recent times, one of the more popular forms of exercise is now strength/weight training. This can be attributed to dissolving prior misconceptions about weight lifting, one of which include the idea that weights don’t offer as many diverse health benefits compared to other forms of exercise. However, this has proven to be untrue, and experts have come up with multiple key points that demonstrate how it’s an effective form of training that can improve your quality of life.
Strength training can increase overall body mobility.
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1. Lowers Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors
A Harvard study found that weight training was better at stunting abdominal fat gain compared to cardiovascular exercise. Abdominal fat surrounds vital organs and can cause inflammation that can increase blood pressure, cause damage to blood vessels, and lead to other cardiac issues. Therefore, stunting the increase of inflammation, can lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Strength training also burns calories, increases muscle mass, stimulates your metabolism, and increases your HDL (also known as “good cholesterol”), all of which help to boost your heart health.
2. Improves Mobility and Body Stability
The North American Journal of Sports posted a study that showed how doing eccentric movements in strength training can noticeably improve flexibility and mobility. Eccentric movements are muscle lengthening movements such as lowering a weight after doing a bicep curl, or lowering yourself into a squatting position. Weight training can also help prevent injuries as healthy muscles lower stress on tendons and joints. Lastly, a study from the Journal of Family and Community Medical found that doing consistent strength training can even stimulate an increase in bone density, reinforcing your bones to lower the likelihood of developing osteoporosis.
3. Supports a Healthy Mind
Another benefit of strength training is how it impacts one’s body image, cognitive abilities, and management of mental health conditions. A 2013 study found that older women had a better perception of their physical appearances, regardless of the amount of physical change they underwent. Another study by the Journal of American Geriatrics studied cognitively impaired older men and women, observing how doing strength training twice a week compared to other forms of exercises improved their scores on cognitive tests. Strength training has even been shown to help with anxiety management, as demonstrated by a study in Frontiers in Psychology.
All forms of exercise are great for maintaining a healthy lifestyle as well as improving body and mind. Knowing this, it’s still important to explore all types of exercise to find what best suits you. Though cardiovascular exercise often has the spotlight, keep an open mind to how strength and resistance training could be a life changing avenue in your fitness journey.
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