Visiting the “weights” side of the gym can be intimidating. Does thinking “I don’t want to hurt myself, and never really know what to do anyway…” sound familiar? Here’s the thing: you don’t need to be lifting heavy weights or performing intense exercises like that bodybuilder in the gym to reap the benefits of strength training. Using just your body’s own weight and/or light external loads are perfect examples of incorporating resistance exercises that can be used to comfortably challenge the body’s musculoskeletal system.
You might be wondering WHY you should bother with strength training when it comes to a fitness routine, but there are a surprising amount of benefits. Beyond the obvious results of growing stronger and losing weight, we’ve broken down the other major benefits that strength training can positively affect your health!
The Affect of Fitness on Joint Health
Bone Density
When muscles are challenged, they create a pulling force on the skeletal system. This “stress” stimulates cells within the bone which are responsible for growth and formation. Our bones adapt to the forces placed upon them, enabling them to become stronger through an increase in overall density. Bone mass peaks around the age of 30 but your bones are constantly ‘remodeling’ to break down old bone and build new, so it’s important to promote that bone growth no matter what age you are.
Joint Friction
Motion is lotion! Every joint in your body secretes a fluid to decrease the friction between bones. Inactivity can cause the joint to “dry up”, exacerbating the feeling of stiffness. Movement however, stimulates the release of this fluid which not only decreases friction (and pain!), but nourishes the joint.
Posture and Movement Quality
Developing muscle in proper areas can “balance the body” by placing joints back into healthy alignment. This alignment is known as Posture and is responsible for evenly distributing forces on our skeletal system. Any disruption in these balanced forces will cause an area of the body to become overactive, forcing joints out of alignment. Misalignment can then lead to limited range of motion, function, and wellness.
Weight Management with Exercise
Metabolism
Metabolism can easily be defined as the amount of calories your body burns when at rest. It’s the baseline for how many calories you as an individual need to survive. A faster metabolism means that more calories are burned while a slower metabolism indicates that less calories are being burned. One of the greatest factors of weight management is your body’s metabolism, so it’s important to understand how yours operates. Resistance training can actually enhance metabolism by growing the amount of muscle you have since muscle consumes more energy than fat when your body is at rest. By taking part in strength training and increasing your muscle mass, your body will increase its own metabolism and burn calories at a faster rate!
Energy Expenditure
Weight loss is affected by many variables but one thing will always hold true – Calories burned must exceed Calorie Intake. Effective weight loss strategies include exercise activity due to the effect on increasing the number of calories burned. Daily exercise can create a caloric deficit which contributes to weight loss throughout your week.
The Daily Effects of Exercise
Decreasing Risk of Disease or Symptoms
Exercise affects every system within our body, ranging from the cardiovascular to the endocrine. A lack of activity can negatively impact these systems, which can lead to increased risks, illness, and associated symptoms such as paid as your health is impacted. Being sedentary can cause our hearts to weaken and joints to degrade as the risk for heart disease and arthritis increase.
Functionality
Exercise makes life easier! An inactive lifestyle can make everyday activities such as walking up or down the stairs not only difficult, but painful. We lose what is known as ‘functionality’ or the ability to perform these day-to-day tasks. Through resistance training and gaining strength and muscle, our bodies improve in being able to manage these daily movements and overall, feel better. CoreLife has a dedicated team of medical professionals, dietitians, and fitness instructors that work together to create the healthiest plan for our patients. Whether you have been struggling with weight issues your whole life, or are looking for a safe, sustainable approach to build a healthier lifestyle, CoreLife creates customized plans to fit your life.
At CoreLife we believe each person is different, which is why we create a customized plan for each individual. Contact us for a free consultation today!
