Strength training has many benefits including:
- Improved muscle strength and tone - to protect your joints from injury. It also helps you maintain flexibility and balance and helps you remain independent as you age.
- Weight management and increased muscle-to-fat ratio - as you gain muscle, your body burns more kilojoules when at rest.
- Greater stamina - as you grow stronger, you won't get tired as easily.
- Prevention or control of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, back pain, depression and obesity.
- Pain management.
- Improved mobility and balance.
- Improved posture.
- Decreased risk of injury.
- Increased bone density and strength and reduced risk of osteoporosis.
- Reduced body fat.
- Improved sense of wellbeing - resistance training can boost your self-confidence, improve your body image and reduce the risk of depression.
- A better night's sleep and avoidance of insomnia.
- Increased self-esteem.
- Enhanced performance of everyday tasks. (source: Better Health)
The relationship between muscle development and reduced body fat is particularly interesting. Basically, the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism and therefore the more fat you burn. Strength training improves fat burning because:
- you metabolise more quickly in the day or two following a workout, when your muscles are repairing themselves (this is the time you may experience DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. After a really good workout you may hurt for days, but personally I enjoy this type of soreness because I can almost actively feel the improved metabolism and fat burning occurring), and
- just simply having muscle improves your metabolism.
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