What Is To Be Gained By Regular Muscle Exercises?

You already know that exercise is good for your health, but the type of exercise you do matters. Incorporating muscle strength training into your fitness routine provides you a range of health benefits in areas ranging from weight management to disease prevention. Start with two to three 20- to 30-minute strength-training sessions each week to start seeing results within weeks.

Weight Management

As you age, your body naturally loses muscle mass, but regular strength training can help combat muscle loss and build new muscle tissue in your body. Your body burns more calories to maintain muscle tissue than fat tissue, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn throughout the day, even while you sleep. If your goal is to shed excess pounds, including resistance training in your exercise program will help ensure the weight you lose comes from fat and not lean muscle tissue. Strength training provides short-term metabolism boosts as well, up to 20 percent for several hours after an intense resistance-training session.

Bone Density

Most strength-training exercises put pressure on your bones through muscle contraction or force. When your bones are subjected to this type of stress, your body begins building and depositing protein in between the cells in the outer portion of your bones. The new bone structure eventually mineralizes, adding to the strength and density of your bones. Osteoporosis usually affects the spine and hips, so strength exercises that gradually increase the load on these areas, such as squats and lunges, are most effective.

Injury Prevention

Many of your muscles are responsible for supporting your joints, and strengthening these muscles through regular resistance training reduces your risk of injury. For example, your hamstrings and quadriceps lend support to your knee joint. Athletes suffering from knee injuries can help strengthen the joint and prevent future injury by building up the muscles of the upper leg.

Cardiovascular Health

Most exercisers turn to cardio exercise for heart health, but resistance training can help as well. Regular resistance training may help reduce your resting heart rate, decrease blood pressure by up to 20 percent and have a positive affect on your blood lipid profile.

More Benefits

Strength training can help alleviate conditions such as diabetes, depression, insomnia, arthritis, lower back pain and osteoporosis. In addition to disease prevention, building stronger muscles will make many of your daily activities, such as playing with children or lifting boxes, easier to perform. You'll also feel better and get sick less frequently.