1. Build up your muscles
Strength training, as the name itself suggests, improves the strength of muscles. In addition to being a great base for any other sport, it’s essential for a healthy and slender body.
If your goal is to get a slimmer and firmer figure, strength exercise should be an absolute must-have in your training routine. Some people might associate this type of workout with bodybuilders showing off their impressive muscles, but you don’t need to be concerned about excessive muscle growth.
In the context of shaping the body, strength training can also help with improving the proportions or working on a particular muscle group. For example, if you want to tone your legs, buttocks or arms, strength exercises are the way to go, as they make it possible to isolate the work of specific muscle groups and focus on the parts that need fine-tuning.
What’s more, strength training enhances performance not only in sports that require strength, but also speed, power or endurance, so it should be a staple in every athlete’s training plan.
2. Burn off fat faster
The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism. Skeletal muscles require energy to carry out their functions. The more muscle tissue you have, the bigger your energy expenditure. That’s why it’s advisable to combine strength training with cardio exercise during the weight loss program. In addition to burning calories ‘here and now’, it will speed up your metabolism even during periods of physical inactivity.
3. Reduce the risk of injury
The skeletal muscles can be compared to a ‘corset’ that strengthens and stabilizes the whole locomotor system. The stronger the muscles, the more support they provide around the joints. Resistance training improves the strength and range of motion in the joints, which reinforces the entire joint structures, including ligaments and tendons. Strength exercises are a common element of rehabilitation programs after injuries, but it’s definitely better to use them for injury prevention, not only injury recovery.
For example, if you enjoy seasonal sports, such as skiing, you should engage in a strength-training program in the off-season. Carefully selected resistance exercises will help you enjoy your favourite activity safely.
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2. Szybciej spalaj tłuszcz
Im więcej mięśni, tym szybsza przemiana materii. Mięśnie szkieletowe potrzebują energii do pracy, a im jest ich więcej, tym większe jest zapotrzebowanie na energię. Z tego względu poza ćwiczeniami cardio warto poświęcić swój czas na treningi siłowe podczas odchudzania – poza spalaniem kalorii „tu i teraz”, jest to inwestycja w szybki metabolizm nawet wtedy, kiedy nie uprawiamy aktywności fizycznej.
3. Ogranicz ryzyko kontuzji
Nasz szkielet mięśniowy można porównać do gorsetu, który wzmacnia i stabilizuje cały układ ruchu. Im silniejsze są mięśnie, tym bardziej stabilne są nasze stawy. Trening oporowy poprawia siłę oraz zakresy ruchu w stawach, co przekłada się na siłę całych struktur stawowych, w tym więzadeł i ścięgien. Ćwiczenia siłowe same w sobie są częstym elementem rehabilitacji po kontuzjach, jednak zdecydowanie lepiej wykorzystywać je jako prewencję ewentualnych urazów.
Przykładowo, jeśli uprawiasz sezonowe sporty (np. narciarstwo), nie zapomnij o siłowym przygotowaniu swojego ciała do danej dyscypliny. Odpowiednio dobrane ćwiczenia oporowe pozwolą Ci bezpiecznie cieszyć się Twoją ulubioną aktywnością.
4. Strengthen your bones
Looking at the locomotor system, strength training reinforces not only the muscles but also the bones. The mechanism is quite similar to that underlying the growth of muscle tissue: during resistance exercise, the bones must withstand high mechanical forces. These forces serve as stimuli for bone cells that rebuild the bone tissue, making it even stronger, which helps to reduce the risk of fractures and osteoporosis.
It is worth bearing this in mind especially in elderly people, as strength training may bring benefits for the skeletal system at any age.
5. Lower your risk of diabetes
Muscle mass helps regulate glucose and insulin metabolism. Since glucose is the ‘fuel’ for working muscles, the more muscle tissue you have, the greater the uptake of glucose from the bloodstream into the muscle cells. As a result, blood glucose levels are reduced and insulin sensitivity is improved. This is extremely important in people who suffer from, or have a family history of health conditions including insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia or diabetes.
In other words, research shows that strength training reduces the risk of developing diabetes and improves glucose metabolism in diabetics.
6. Boost your confidence
Resistance training ramps up the production of endorphins which are known as the body’s ‘feel good’ chemicals. In this way, strength exercises balance the mood, and improve the sense of self-agency and efficacy, which gives a confidence boost. A higher sense of confidence is useful in sports but also in all other areas of life.
Having an improved self-esteem is essential to success not only in sport but in the personal and professional spheres as well. Strength training can also be of benefit to people struggling with low mood, anxiety or depression. Naturally, it can never replace drug treatment and therapy, but it can be an important part of recovery.
7. Boost your brain function
Strength training improves brain function by staving off the aging process and protecting the brain from neurodegenerative changes. By increasing blood flow in the brain, resistance exercise reduces inflammation and stimulates the production of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor).
BDNF regulates the development and growth of nerve cells, and enhances learning and memory. Low BDNF levels are linked to neurodegeneration, a process involving the loss of nerve cells that occurs in such conditions as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Regular physical activity – including strength training – increases the production and levels of BDNF in the body, contributing to enhanced information processing and memory function (even in the elderly).
8. Look after your heart
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in developed countries, including Poland. More than one third of the Polish adult population have hypertension, which is one of the main causative factors of diseases of the cardiovascular system. Regular resistance training reduces cardiovascular risk factors: it decreases blood pressure, lowers both total cholesterol and its ‘bad’ LDL fraction, and strengthens blood vessels and the heart.
9. Relieve back pain
About 70% of adult Poles experience back pain, most commonly in the lumbar region. Exercising the muscles responsible for stabilizing and strengthening the spine can reduce pain and contribute to preventing the condition from happening again. Strength training targeted at the back, abdominal muscles, buttocks and thighs builds up the muscle ‘corset’, helping to prevent or relieve back pain.
As well as having a beneficial effect on the spine, regular strength training improves posture and eliminates slouching.
10. Draw strength from community
Contrary to what you might think, going to the gym is not all about exercise. When working as personal trainers in fitness clubs, we often see that people form closely-knit groups, make friends or even... get into romantic relationships. Many regular gym-goers are motivated not only by the opportunity to improve their physical health and fitness, but also to feel connected and be around other people. Working out at the gym is a great opportunity to meet people with similar interests, fitness goals and needs. Frequently, this is a good basis for making new friends or strengthening the friendships you already have.
Human beings are social creatures, and relationships with other people are known to have a direct positive impact on mental health. In addition to fitness-related aspects, strength training brings people together and offers a great way to forge friendships.
11. Be in shape for other leisure activities
Strength training improves overall fitness, which comes in useful in other leisure pursuits. If you’re physically fit and strong, you find it easier to keep up with your children’s active nature or engage in interesting experiences.
A good physical preparation helps to enjoy outdoor activities, such as cycling, rollerblading, skiing or ice skating, to a greater extent. Strength training will prepare you well for many hours of sightseeing during your dream vacation, trekking in the mountains or practicing water sports.
12. Enhance your quality of life
In addition to leisure-time activities, strength training also supports you in day-to-day activities. Physical fitness comes in handy when taking care of children (or grandchildren) to keep them happy and safe, doing your regular chores, carrying home groceries or even running to catch the bus.
It’s also worth noting that the aging process is naturally associated with a decline in muscular strength and number of muscle fibres, which markedly impairs the physical performance in elderly people. Strength training is a very good way to maintain your physical fitness for later life.
References:
1. Maestroni L, Read P, Bishop C, Papadopoulos K, Suchomel TJ, Comfort P, Turner A. The Benefits of Strength Training on Musculoskeletal System Health: Practical Applications for Interdisciplinary Care, 2020.
2. Lauersen JB, Andersen TE, Andersen LB. Strength training as superior, dose-dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sports injuries: a systematic review, qualitative analysis and meta-analysis, 2018.
3. Hong AR, Kim SW. Effects of Resistance Exercise on Bone Health, 2018.
4. Shiroma EJ, Cook NR, Manson JE, Moorthy MV, Buring JE, Rimm EB, Lee IM. Strength Training and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease, 2017.
5. Gordon BR, McDowell CP, Hallgren M, Meyer JD, Lyons M, Herring MP. Association of Efficacy of Resistance Exercise Training With Depressive Symptoms: Meta-analysis and Meta-regression Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials, 2018.
6. Wilke J, Giesche F, Klier K, Vogt L, Herrmann E, Banzer W. Acute Effects of Resistance Exercise on Cognitive Function in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review with Multilevel Meta-Analysis, 2019.
7. Costa RR, Buttelli ACK, Vieira AF, Coconcelli L, Magalhães RL, Delevatti RS, Kruel LFM. Effect of Strength Training on Lipid and Inflammatory Outcomes: Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression, 2019.