Why We Need Resistance Training!

Is Resistance Training Important?

If you want to be truly fit you need to do some resistance training.  Without it muscles will atrophy.  If you’re not using your muscle you will lose it and if you’re over the age of 30 you’re definitely losing it if you’re not doing your resistance training.  After the age of 30 we begin naturally losing muscle every decade.

What’s So Great About Muscle?

 

Here are some of the benefits of having strong muscles:

·         Makes daily activities such as carrying your groceries or kids easier.

·         Increases bone density helping to protect you from osteoporosis.

·         Improves balance and coordination greatly reducing your risk of injury especially as you age.

·         Strengthens tendons reducing the risk of tears.

·         Increases your metabolism meaning that you’ll burn more calories even when you’re resting.

·         Prevents decay of the padding between your bones so you don’t hurt when you move.

·         Decreases blood sugar which will help prevent insulin resistance which is a precursor to diabetes.

·        Creates a larger afterburn than aerobic exercise does.  Afterburn is the amount of fat and calories that your body burns in the hours after your workout.

·         Makes you look more sculpted.

·         It can reduce visceral fat, which is the dangerous type of fat that accumulates around your organs.

      Don’t think that someone who appears slim doesn’t have unhealthy amounts of visceral fat.  MRIs done on slim people showed that many of them had excessive amounts of internal fat that was undetectable from the outside!  Slim doesn’t necessarily mean healthy.

      Will I Get Bulky? 

 

A lot of women avoid resistance training because they’re afraid they’ll get bulky or look masculine.  You won’t!!  The average woman does not have enough testosterone to put on so much muscle that they’ll look masculine.  Some women specifically train to put on a lot of muscle but these women train SUPER hard and live a lifestyle that supports that kind of muscle building.  For the average women the only way they’d end up looking bulky is if they did heavy weight training and ate a diet that was causing them to put on fat.  Muscle sits below fat so if you’re body fat percentage is high and you don’t change your diet you could end up with a bit of a bulky look if you start building muscle.  If you’re eating a healthy diet you will not get bulky by doing resistance training.

What’s The Right Program?

 

The right program will have a mix of cardio and resistance training at varying intensities in order to deliver the best results.  A trainer can help guide you if you’re not sure what to do.  Make sure the workout you commit to is something you enjoy doing to ensure you keep doing it and be sure to keep your list of goals close by to help you when you’re not feeling motivated.  What you do today will directly impact your future so put in the effort now so you don’t suffer later.