Amazing Health Benefits Of Resistance Training

Resistance training or strength training or weight training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. When properly performed, strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being.

Resistance training is based on the principle that muscles of the body will work to overcome a resistance force when they are required to do so. When you do resistance training repeatedly and consistently, your muscles become stronger.

A well-rounded fitness program includes strength training to improve bone, joint function, bone density, muscle, tendon and ligament strength, as well as aerobic exercise to improve your heart and lung fitness, flexibility and balance exercises. You should do muscle-strengthening activities on at least two days each week.

How to perform resistance training? 

There are many ways you can strengthen your muscles, whether at home or the gym.

Different types of resistance training include:

• Free weights – classic strength training tools such as dumbbells or barbells.

• Weight machines – devices that have adjustable seats with handles attached either to weights or hydraulics.

• Medicine balls – weighted balls.

• Resistance bands – like giant rubber bands – these provide resistance when stretched. They are portable and can be adapted to most workouts. The bands provide continuous resistance throughout a movement.

• Your own body weight – can be used for squats, push-ups, and chin-ups. Using your own body weight is convenient, especially when traveling or at work.

What are the health benefits from resistance training?

• Improved muscle strength – to protect your joints from injury. It also helps you maintain flexibility and balance and helps you remain independent as you age.

• Weight management – as you gain muscle, your body burns more calories when at rest. Resistance training makes you resist weight and hence your calories burned for it. It is an ideal way for your weight management program.

• Greater stamina – As you grow stronger, you won’t get tired as easily. Resistance training increases your metabolism and muscle power hence you feel stronger than before.

• Prevention or control of diseases - Resistance training is beneficial to prevent or control of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, back pain, depression, and obesity. It reduces body fat and control heart rate. Proper breathing during resistance training makes your respiratory system healthy. It also improves your digestive system. Drink more water when you train.

• Pain management - Strength training is more useful and more efficient than most people realize, and a valuable component of fitness and most injury rehabilitation. It is beneficial to recover from the knee injury and other injuries. 

• Improved mobility and balance - strength training affects your joints in a good way. It basically strengthen your joints and hence improves your body balance.

• Improved posture - strength training improves your body posture. body weight exercises like, push ups, squat and planks are the best for it.

• Decreased risk of injury - resistance exercises makes your body joints strong and increases muscle strength. It will decrease the risk of getting injured frequently in your daily life.

• Increased bone density and strength and reduced risk of osteoporosis (a medical condition in which the bones become brittle and fragile from loss of tissue, typically as a result of hormonal changes, or deficiency of calcium or vitamin D).

• Improved sense of well-being – resistance training may boost your self-confidence, improve your body image and your mood.

• A better good night sleep - weight training makes you feel fit and strong. Regular exercising converts your sleep into a good night sleep.

• Increased self-esteem - strong physical posture makes you confident and boosts your morale high. 

• Enhanced performance of everyday tasks