6 Major Health Benefits from Strength Training

 For too long the weight room has been portrayed as a means for people to make themselves look better with no benefit on top of that. In addition, too many people take initiatives to make themselves healthier excluding exercise such as trying different supplements, different diets, etc. While there is nothing wrong with working out to look better or adding a multivitamin to your day, these concepts may be making you skip over dollars to pick up pennies. I’m here to show you that participating in resistance training in some capacity (weights, bodyweight, machines, bands, etc.) may be the most powerful step you take to improve your health, the quality of your life, and the length of your life.

 What is it about resistance training that makes it so healthy? Well, it’s all in the adaptations that come with resistance training. Having more muscle mass is much healthier than you might think. On top of that, there are multiple other adaptations that happen in your body that you might not be aware of. Some of the health benefits of these changes are as follows:

Increased Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and other connective tissue thickness (ligaments, tendons, etc.)

As we age, our bones have a tendency to become frailer. This is a process called osteopenia (age related loss of bone). This can pose a big problem in the form of increasing risk of fracture. Luckily, resistance training can be of big use in preventing this.

When one begins resistance training, it’s not just our muscles that have to adapt to compensate the new loads. Our Bones, tendons, and ligaments all have to get thicker to so that they can hold a new stimulus. When this occurs, we inevitably lower our risk for multiple types of injuries including fractures, tendon tears, ligament tears, etc.

Now, unfortunately, our connective tissues do not grow as fast as muscle will. For most people, it will take about a year of consistent resistance training for their bodies to start developing these adaptations; and although you do not need a rigorous training regimen, it will have to be around that period of time. However, it is undeniably a hugely beneficial reason to participate in resistance training in some capacity.

Fighting sarcopenia

Just like our bones, our muscles tend to atrophy (become smaller) as we grow older. For most people, this will begin to occur somewhere between the ages of 25-30. This process is called sarcopenia (age related loss of muscle mass) and if you’ve ever seen an older person not be able to stand up out of a chair by themselves, this is likely why.

Luckily, resistance training is one of the best things we can do to combat this process. Really, activity of any kind will go a long way for fighting sarcopenia, however resistance training seems to have the most potent effect. In the long run of life, keeping hold of our physical independence can mean a world of difference in having a good quality of life in our later years.

Reducing risk of diabetes

Having more muscle goes a long way for making you healthier apart from making you a sturdier human. Essentially, insulin tends to work better (i.e. lower insulin resistance) and glucose is handled better with an increase in physical activity and muscle mass. In fact, researchers estimate that the majority of type II diabetes can be attributed to physical inactivity, and that people live longer periods of life without becoming pre-diabetic when they are more physically active. Some studies also report that one of the reasons resistance training helps to fight off diabetes is that it aids in reducing body fat. Having excess body fat, particularly when the fat is stored around your waist, is associated with an increased risk of insulin resistance and other diabetic symptoms.

Lowered risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)

A sad truth is that heart disease the #1 cause of death in the United States. While we cannot deny that there is a large genetic component and some people are predisposed to a higher risk of CVD, we also cannot deny that a large number of cases of CVD could have been prevented with different lifestyle choices. I personally have lost two family members to heart related problems, and it greatly pains me to understand that they could have still been here with us.

Resistance training has been shown to benefit various aspects of CVD risk including reducing blood pressure, reducing LDL, increasing HDL, lowering HR, and decreasing body fat. Some research suggests that a combination of cardiovascular exercise and resistance exercise in a program is even better for reducing CVD risk, because having a greater cardiorespiratory fitness is also associated with lower prevalence of CVD.

Increasing resting metabolic rate

A big benefit of having more muscle is that it costs a lot more calories at rest for your body to maintain that muscle. As many of you know weight management is a matter of how many calories you eat compared to how many calories you burn in a day. If the amount that you burn in a day is greater than you are able to maintain your weight while eating more food and you are able to lose body fat eating more food than you’d be able to if you were not resistance training. Being able to eat more food without putting on fat is something that I think all of us would agree is a huge benefit.

Improving mental health and function

 The benefit that I think gets the least amount of attention (undeservedly) is how much resistance training can help you out mentally. When I say this, I mean this in both a mental function aspect and a mental health perspective. As far as cognitive function, resistance training has been shown to help greatly with short term memory and multi-tasking activities. In addition to this, and arguably more importantly, is its aid in fighting depression. Not only has resistance training been shown to promote behavior changes and mindset changes, but it also has the power to actually rewire some of the brain chemistry associated with depression.

Conclusion

There are plenty of other benefits I could write about here, but these I believe are the most important. The main theme that I hope you take from this is how much power you have to increase your quality of life. To reap the rewards of all I have talked about here, you likely only need 30 minutes to 1 hour worth of exercise most days of the week. As one of the most potent influences in your physical health, mental health, and length of life, I would argue this is not too burdensome of an investment. So please, if you aren’t already, I urge you to start; it might just save your life.

References

1.     Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health

• PubMed ID: 22777332

2.     Impact of endurance and resistance training on skeletal muscle glucose metabolism in older adults

• PubMed ID: 31684154

3.     Resistance training and sarcopenia

• PubMed ID: 27374049

4.     High-Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Postmenopausal Women with Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: The LIFTMOR Randomized Controlled Trial

• PubMed ID: 28975661

5.     Strength training and the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease

• PubMed ID: 27580152

6.     Comparative effectiveness of aerobic, resistance, and combined training on cardiovascular disease risk factors: A randomized controlled trial

• PubMed ID: 30615666

7.     The effect of 12 weeks of aerobic, resistance or combination exercise training on cardiovascular risk factors in the overweight and obese in a randomized trial

• PubMed ID: 23006411

8.     Effects of Combined Resistance and Power Training on Cognitive Function in Older Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

• PubMed ID: 32423126

9.     Exercise, brain plasticity, and depression

• PubMed ID: 32491278