12 Reasons You Should Start Lifting Weights (Besides the Looks)

Lifting weights is something that has unjustifiably gotten a lot of bad rap over the years, especially among women, in that it will make them look bulky and too muscular. Some people simply don’t like it or believe aren’t cut out for it.

However, all the evidence points to the contrary. There is not a single person that cannot optimize their fitness level and start lifting weights in one way or another.

The current prevailing opinion among ‘non-fitness’ people is that cardio machines are the first thing they should hop on once they enter the gym, however, trends are starting to shift to growing popularity of strength training programs and weightlifting. They can help you lose weight, build muscle, prevent illnesses, improve your mood and improve your overall health.

In this article we present you twelve reasons why you should start lifting weights or incorporate them into your current fitness regimen if you haven’t already:

1. For a longer life

72-year-old-german-bodybuilder3

Almost any form of regular physical activity can make you live longer, however strength training has been shown to be particularly beneficial. Research has shown that, as years go by, if we make efforts to increase our muscle mass, we reduce the risk of dying prematurely. Simply put, the more muscle mass you have, the lower your risk of premature death.

This is the reason why, instead of trying to lose weight or worrying about your BMI, you should focus your effort on building as much muscle mass as possible and then maintain. And the best way to do that, you guessed it, lifting weights!

2. Improved sleep

sleep

Those who exercise regularly, especially people who train hard and intensely, are the ones who report sleeping the best, including weightlifters. A study done in 2012 on older men, concluded that training with resistance decreased the number the times the subjects woke up and interrupted their sleep, compared to the control group that wasn’t exercising at all.

3. The progress is quickly evident

beast

It’s only human nature to feel awesome after setting a goal and achieving it. Beginners at strength training will find this feeling amplified greatly after they find out that a weight that they once thought impossible to lift, becomes a piece of cake sooner than they had imagined. And that makes you feel like a beast.

4. It protects the bones

strong-skeleton

Lifting weights and especially strength training has been proven to increase the density of the bones, decreasing the risk of fractures and cracks, especially among senior adults.

5. Improves balance

Logically, the number one reason for broken bones is falling accidents. One of the benefits of weightlifting is the prevention of osteoporosis, which it does by improving overall strength levels and balance, which in turn resulted in fewer falling accidents. Some research has indicated that various workout programs can decrease the rate of falling in older people by twenty percent.

6. It will improve your mood

happy-hour

Every form of exercising will almost certainly elevate your mood and will do miracles for your overall mental health. Research has shown a correlation between strength training and decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety, and notably increased self-esteem. Research has also shown that it may even improve brainpower.

7. It will make you look better when wearing jeans

michelle_blue_jeans

This point on the list doesn’t necessarily mean that we suggest you start weightlifting or any kind of exercise with the goal of only improving your appearance. There are simply lots of other benefits you should neglect. For those that want to lose weight, spending hours on end on the treadmill will only prove to be a futile attempt at achieving the result they are after.

Strength training, on the other hand, will help you build more muscle, which in turn will help you lose fat in a more effective manner instead of simply doing a cardio workout. So, the solution is simple, if losing weight is your goal, start strength training. Nutrition is the another part of the equation. Pay attention to your diet and the muscles will soon start to show themselves.

8. It helps you burn more calories

burn-calories

The very fact of you having more muscle mass in your body, helps it expend the extra calories you consumed, even when you aren’t exercising. That’s because muscles are a tissue that needs a lot of calories even when it is not active, solely to be sustained at the current level.

9. It is not time-consuming

Many people think that lifting weights would take up too much of their free time. Strength training doesn’t have to consume too much time of your day. Sometimes all it takes is just half an hour per day. Lifting weights and exercising are one of the rare areas in life where more doesn’t necessarily mean better.

10. You don’t need a gym to do it

Even though we are talking about lifting weights, the strength training world has a lot more options to offer besides training in the gym. Almost anything can be used as weights. Old school bodybuilders used to make custom dumbbells and barbells out of scrap metal or anything they find in their backyard.

You can also use your body as the only weight you will lift. You can lift weights in the comfort of your own home, by buying a pair of dumbbells and looking at an exercise video on your DVD.

Beginners should actually start training with their bodyweight if they are just starting out with strength training until they perfect their form. What’s more, using machines at first may not be wise because they can limit the range of motion of people with various body measurements.

11. It makes you run faster

runner

And ride a bike and swim longer and get better at any physical activity you can think of. You might wonder why. That’s because you will have built stronger muscles that are capable of doing all the arduous tasks you set for them.

Strength training can also help in the prevention of injuries in various athletic disciplines, by the way of fixing imbalances in the muscles, which if left unchecked can seriously affect your standing or sitting body posture in the long run.

12. It improves your heart health

healthy-heart

Even though cardio exercises have the same name, it is not the only type of exercising with cardiovascular benefits. A strength training regimen has been proven to decrease blood pressure, to the same extent as if taking drugs. The American Heart Association suggests that adults should strive to train with weights at least twice weekly.


For the latest news and updates join our 1 Million fans on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.


One Response

  1. Christoher Logan

Leave a Reply