It is great to have a daily fitness routine, but what exactly should be part of it? The options are many, but you need to choose the ones that are best for you and combine them into one routine.
If you’re thinking weight training (also known as strength training) is just about lifting weights and buffing up, you’re wrong. Weight training can help you with many things including strength, weight loss, and lean muscle gain, in addition to overall fitness.
Strength training has proven to yield spectacular results in those who have failed with just diet or cardio. Here are a few convincing reasons as to why weight training should be part of your daily fitness routine:
You’ll be less likely to get injured:
Injury in training is inevitable, but wouldn’t it be great if the chances of injury were lowered?
In 1986, Fleck and Flakel found that weight corrects the imbalances in muscle groups and therefore offers a reduced risk of injury in trainers. Studies since then have only confirmed that strength training lowers the risk or severity of injury.
For example, risk of ACL injury in female soccer players was decreased by 88% utilizing a 15-minute-a-day exercise regimen to strengthen the hamstrings and balance the thigh muscles (Mandelbaum et al., 2005).
Consistent weight training can provide benefits including but not limited to the following:
- Increased muscle-fiber size
- Increased muscle contractile strength
- Increased tendon strength
- Increased ligament strength
You’ll Look Younger:
We all know that we sweat when we work out. But what we do not quite know is that, for reasons scientists haven’t entirely comprehended yet, sweating helps to purge bodily toxins through your skin’s pours. This magical of process of dermal catharsis gives your skin an anti-aging benefit and wrinkles are prevented.
Moreover, lifting weights helps encourage the production of oxytocin and progesterone. Together these two anti-ageing hormones impact your system’s circadian rhythm in ways beneficial to your skin, as they ensure you get the most out of your beauty sleep.
In an article on Daily News, an expert shared the following:
“Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics and exercise science, led a team of researchers who have found that people over the age of 40 who exercise regularly have healthier skin.
In fact, the study showed their skin to be closer in composition to that of 20- and 30-year-olds.”
If adding 15-20 minutes of weight training helps you look 15-20 years younger than your age, it’s not that bad of an investment is it?
Your Bones will be Healthier:
Studies show that weight training can help protect your bones and prevent osteoporosis-related fractures, and may even help build new bone.
Beatrice Edwards, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine and director of the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, has to say about the relationship between strength training and bone health:
“We lose so much muscle as we age that by the time we’re 70, we only have about 50% to 55% of our muscle mass left,” says “That explains why we feel weak and tired as we age, and we can prevent some of that with weight training.”
One thing that you must ensure is that, if you are new to weight training, it isn’t really advisable for you to delve into it all by yourself. So try to hire a fitness coach who is experienced and accomplished like Shear’Ree.
A weightlifter, speaker, strength training coach, philanthropist, humanitarian, economic developer, and Presidential Candidate, Shear’Ree is truly dedicated to the betterment of others and building strong communities through employment, recreation and education.
He works with disadvantaged people, welfare recipients, gangs, ex-gang members, and especially the so-called incorrigible youths with the aim to help them achieve positivity and success.
What is better than a fitness coach who not only knows how to build strength but also believes in building a stronger America through his generosity and skill?
Hopefully these reasons were convincing enough for you to add weight training into your daily fitness routine. Good luck!
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.