We have a tendency to judge how our exercise routine and diet are working by what the bathroom scale reads. But that should not be the only indicator. With each bout of exercise, we are improving various aspects of our physiology and health that may not be visible to the naked eye. Some of those benefits associated with regular exercise and eating healthy may not come to mind when weighing oneself. Here are just a few of the benefits that you receive from strength training consistently and watching when, what and how much you eat.
Here are ten reasons why you should be doing strength training and aerobic exercise.
Why Strength Training?
- Building muscle mass can increase metabolism by 15 percent. This is important because if you’re looking to rev up that slow metabolism and become more functional as you age, strength training is a must, at least two to three times each week.
- Strength training prevents sarcopenia which is the loss of muscle mass as you age – you can lose up to 10 percent or more of your muscle per decade after the age of 50.
- Resistance training plays a major role in disease prevention, such as type 2 diabetes for example.
- Improves the way your body moves resulting in better balance and less falls as you age (you can reduce your risk for falling by 40 percent).
- Training will offset bone loss as you age – women can expect to lose 1 percent of their bone mass after age 35 (and this increases following menopause) – read Strong Women, Strong Bones by Miriam Nelson, PhD.
- Strength training spares the loss of muscle mass during weight loss and dieting (Donnelly et al., 2003).
Why Cardiovascular Exercise?
- Aerobic exercise will improve your mood by decreasing stress and anxiety levels – read Exercise for Mood and Anxiety by Michael Otto, Phd and Jasper Smits, PhD.
- Cardio exercise like jogging, hiking, jump roping etc. will “load” your bones in the lower extremity and make them stronger.
- It will make your heart stronger, lower your resting heart rate and enable your body to deliver oxygen more efficiently to your working muscles.
- The American College of Sports Medicine states that higher levels of cardiovascular fitness are associated with approximately a 50 percent reduction in disease risk.
Final Thoughts
It can be an overwhelming task for many individuals to take on exercise and eating healthy. Know that small changes each week, and the cumulative effect of those weekly changes, will lead to big payback down the road.
References
Donnelly, J.E., Jakicic, J.M., Pronk, N., Smith, B.K., Kirk, E.P., Jacobsen, D.J., Washburn, R. (2003). Is Resistance Training Effective for Weight Management? Evidence-Based Preventive Medicine. 1(1): 21-29.
Otto, M. Smits, J. Exercise for Mood and Anxiety. Oxford University Press, 2011.
Stay Strong Together
Jefit, named best strength training app by Sports Illustrated, Esquire, GQ, Men’s Health, Greatest, Forbes Health, and many others. We offer a community responsible for 92,000,000 workouts to date! The app, which recently passed 10 million downloads, comes equipped with a customizable workout planner and training log. The app also has ability to track data, offer audio coaching cues, and can share workouts with friends. Visit our members-only Facebook group. Connect with like-minded people, share tips, and advice to help get closer to reaching your fitness goals.
Read the scientific paper published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research using the Jefit app. Also, a great Jefit app review was recently published by MUO that can be found here.
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