Why Weight Train?

Why Weight Train?

Weight training’s many benefits are achieved by men and women of all ages who participate in it. I refer to weight training as the fountain of youth. It reverses the effects of aging. Weight training used to be associated with big, hulky, bodybuilders. Now, it is part of a good health/fitness program.

As we grow older, we have a tendency to lose muscle mass. After age 30, people tend to lose about a half pound of muscle per year. As we see our parents and our grandparents aging, it appears as if they are shrinking. In a sense, they actually are. They are losing their lean body mass. In losing body mass, they lose some ability to burn fat. So fat starts to accumulate around their middle. The absolute, only way to retain body mass as you age, is to weight train. If you don’t use it, you lose it.

It becomes increasingly important past age 50 in preventing such common causes of disability as brittle bones, back pain and instability. It maintains or restores strength and vitality as well. Building muscle makes bones strong and increases bone density and bone mass. Weight training also affects the amount of anti-aging hormones your body secretes—estrogen, testosterone and growth hormone. Middle-aged men and women can increase low sex hormone levels by participating in a regular strength training program.

The skeletal muscle of your body makes up about 60 percent of the tissue through which blood is pumped. If the skeletal muscle is conditioned, then the heart has an easier time pumping blood through it. A person can be fat or skinny and still have unconditioned muscle. Muscle does not condition itself naturally. Since the heart of someone with unconditioned muscles must pump harder and do more work to get the job done, the blood pressure is raised. When your muscles are conditioned, your body finds its natural blood pressure. Want to lower your blood pressure? Weight train.

Weight training does far more than retain or gain body mass. Not only does it figure heavily in body weight control, but it also lessens the risk of a host of ills, such as cardiovascular problems, diabetes, several kinds of cancer and more. It also improves nerve cell coordination for balance, relieves arthritic symptoms and increases bone density.

The amount of muscle you have affects your metabolism. Would you like to burn more calories when you are just sitting? The more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate is. This means even when you are resting, your body burns calories at a higher rate when you have more muscle.

So take advantage of the many benefits of weight training and start your regimen today!