Strength training is not just a guy or jock thing. Regular strength training should be part of your overall health and fitness program. It will help you lose body fat, increase lean muscle tissue and help you burn calories more efficiently.
Methods
Strength training can be done in a variety of ways. You can use resistance equipment in a gym, free weights, or a combination of free weights and resistance equipment. You do not have to use heavy weights unless you want to build considerable muscle bulk. Pick a weight that allows you to perform 12 to 15 repetitions with the last three reps requiring some effort. If you prefer not to go to a gym, do body-weight exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, free squats and lunges. NaturalNews.com says another option is Pilates, which can help you increase the strength of your core, hips, adductors, abductors and other major muscles while enhancing your flexibility.
Metabolism
Strength training enables you to maintain and increase your levels of lean muscle tissue. Muscle tissue requires more energy to maintain itself and will help increase your basal or resting metabolic rate. This makes your body more efficient at using energy, and will burn more calories at rest, thus increasing your ability to lose weight.
Seniors Weight Loss
Aging brings a progressive loss of muscle tissue, according to a study by University of Texas' Department of Internal Medicine, published in the "Journal of Nutrition" in 2006. Strength training can help slow down this loss and increase testosterone levels. This effect on muscle and testosterone can help arrest the weight and fat gain on the belly and chest that older men often experience.
Womens Weight Loss
A woman's body composition and the amount of lean muscle tissue she carries is more important than her weight, according to fitness trainer Jill Coleman of JillFit.com. A woman that has less body fat and a relatively high percentage of muscle tissue through strength training is healthier and more fit, compared to a woman that may be lighter, but carrying more body fat. She is also less at risk of developing diabetes, stroke or heart problems. Strength training enables you to change your body composition and lose weight, opposed to merely becoming a smaller version of your old self.
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