Strength training has been linked to a longer life, lowers risk of obesity, healthier brains, bones and cardiovascular system. Those who only spend hours and hours on aerobic machines in the gym are missing a trick.
Research shows that strength training – often seen as an add-on to your aerobic session is actually just as important.
Activities that stress the muscle are shown to have a bigger positive impact to our wellbeing than previously thought including showing its importance in weight control in middle age.
An American study of 12,000 mostly middle aged people showed that two or more weight training sessions per week reduced the risk of obesity by 20-30% over 20 years, this also included those who did zero aerobic exercise.
One to two hours of strength a week was even more effective reducing obesity by 30-40%, other benefits included reduced cholesterol, inflammation, blood pressure and a heart disease. Resistance training doesn’t necessarily mean lifting weights at the gym, here are a few examples:
-Heavy gardening.
-Carrying shopping.
-Swimming.
-Hill/step walking.
-Cycling.
-Playing Tennis.
-Climbing.
A good way to target all the major muscles are body weight exercises such as push ups, squats, lunges, plank, tricep dips, anything that puts your muscles under some sort of stress. In young people it’s important not only for self confidence but to build strong bones and muscles for later in life, it’s much easier to maintain muscle in middle age than trying to build them. It does not matter how aerobically fit you are, there is a level of strength we all need to operate at to live our day to day life as we get older.