Should YOU be doing weights?

The world of resistance style training has developed far from the early days where it was once seen as purely the gym junkie’s zone. At one point it was assumed that unless you are aiming to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, then the weights section of the gym was not for you; but how times have now changed! The benefits of resistance training can be seen in not only hypertrophy (muscle size), but also in fat loss and rehabilitation to name a few. This edition we will give a brief overview of resistance training and its associated health benefits for you and why you should be incorporating it into your programming.

Resistance training is a major player in fat loss and weight control due to its effect on hormones and the long term benefits. Previously we looked into metabolism and how important this is for having any chance of losing body fat and guess what, weights training manages this! Once you have completed your weights training session your metabolism becomes increased and essentially you become a much more efficient fat burner. As you continue to regularly do resistance training this effect is not only maintained but also increased and becomes better and better, as we know the more muscle mass we accumulate the greater the chances of us burning fats. Now this is not to say we need to become overly big and look like we are on some sort of enhancing supplement, but we just need to develop some lean muscle to help us out in our goals.

Though resistance training is not simply for fat loss either, it can be a great tool in rehabilitation and assist in managing those niggling injuries we sometimes get with training or in our general life. In respect to gym related injuries most come from some sort of an imbalance in our musculature and connective tissues around joints, meaning some muscles become dominant and the others become weak and don’t do their job properly resulting in injuries. A common example which is experienced by a large population of gym goers is our chest muscles being stronger than some particular back muscles. This causes our shoulder joint to become shifted in a way that compresses structures and nerves and results in injury and pain, often around the shoulder itself or down the arm. By strengthening certain muscles we can fix this and stop the pain and discomfort you may be going through at the time.

These are only a couple of areas in which resistance training can be beneficial towards your health. It can also be useful in management of high blood pressure, cholesterol levels and even for pregnancies. So don’t view resistance training as something that is only for particular gym members, it is for everyone including you. So have a go and if you need assistance remember the team here at Health Mates is always more than happy to help you in understanding your training, plus how to perform the most suitable exercises for your needs.