7 Health and Fitness Benefits of Resistance Training

Many of my clients ask whether they should include more conventional cardio exercise in their exercise routine instead of resistance training for better health and fat loss. The answer is not a one-size-fits-all. However, there are certain studies that show including more resistance training, especially as we age, will have greater benefits than just doing cardio, like running or cycling.

Today’s post will look at the benefits of resistance training and why it’s best not to abandon your strength routine completely. However, there is a place for structured cardiovascular exercise in everybody’s workout plan. The amount depends on your goals, injuries, and how much time you can dedicate to training.

1. Losing body fat

Research shows that women that engage in strength training 2-3 times a week consistently, for at least two months, will have gained 1-2 pounds of muscle mass and lose over 3 pounds of fat, provided their eating habits support their goals.

When your lean muscle mass increases it will have a knock-on effect on your metabolism, by increasing your metabolic rate, and with bigger muscles you will burn more calories throughout the day. 

2. Becoming stronger and more capable

Do everyday tasks like carrying heavy shopping bags or lifting boxes out of the boot cause you problems or even pain or injury? If so, your body will benefit from strength training. You will learn the correct techniques on how to lift heavy objects without getting injured and it will, in general, make you stronger and more capable to perform every day tasks. 

For ladies, this all happens without becoming big and bulky because, as a rule, they have much less of the hormones (mainly testosterone) that cause muscle growth. You will however notice an increase in muscle tone.

3. Reducing the risk of osteoporosis

Doctors recommend increasing the amount of weight bearing exercise as we age, especially for women who are more prone, to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Research has found that weight training can increase bone density significantly and coupled with sufficient amount of calcium intake it’s the best way to slow down the ageing process and stay flexible and fit longer.

4. Reducing risk of injury, back pain and arthritis

Resistance training not only builds stronger muscles, but builds stronger connective tissues and increases joint stability. Even if you are a lover of running or cycling for long distances, without resistance training your joints will start to complain after a while, so make sure you focus on your muscle and joint strength in your resistance training routine.

If you encountered any sports or other activity related injury recently, DSPT offers R.E.H.A.B. services to identify the core problem and rehabilitate it via manual therapy and specific rehabilitation exercises to get your body ready for strength training.

5. Reducing the risk of heart disease

Research shows that resistance training can improve cardiovascular health by lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, increasing HDL (good) cholesterol levels, and lowering blood pressure in general. Adding a little cardio training to a well-structured resistance training routine can maximise these benefits.

6. You can start it at any age

Not only at any age but depending on your current level of strength and fitness it can be started from the ground and built up consistently. There are people, men and women in their 70s and 80s, who decided they would like to be able to move better, decrease the risk of tripping or falling, and be able to enjoy the time with their grandchildren, so they started resistance based training and improved their quality of life significantly after a few months.

It’s important to note that personal training is highly recommended at that stage to ensure a safe exercise environment, expert workout programme design and support.

7. Improving attitude and mental strength

One of the biggest rewards in working as a personal trainer is following the progress of my clients. Seeing them succeed, not only in the gym, but transferring that commitment, dedication, and strength in to other aspects of their life enabling them to become more confident, approach challenges differently and become stronger in mind than they were ever before.

In summary, everybody is different and our bodies work better at different rates of physical activity and how many days of resistance training and cardio you should do also depends on your goals. Generally, if you exercise mainly for its health benefits and you would like to become fitter and stronger I would recommend resistance training 2-3 times per week plus 1-2 shorter cardio sessions as a start, then monitor how you feel and adjust accordingly.

Have more questions on training methods or any of our programs? Feel free to get in tough to find out more!