MY TOP FIVE REASONS TO BUILD STRENGTH
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Strength training offers numerous benefits beyond what you see in performance athletes like Olympic lifters or world’s strongest man competitors. I’m referring to relative strength, the kind that impacts our daily lives, whether it’s maintaining good posture, staying active in your favourite sport or simply moving well. Strength is essential for a healthy active lifestyle.
Here are my top five reasons why you should train to be strong:
1. Turning back the clock on ageing:
• Our dense muscle fibres built over time through relative activity, are crucial for our functionality - like getting off the couch unaided.
• As we age these muscle fibres naturally decline, but strength training helps preserve them, prolonging longevity and vitality.
• Regular strength training encourages these muscle fibres to stick around, maintaining your independence and functional abilities.
2. Enhancing quality of life:
• Strength gives you the energy to handle life’s challenges and enjoy your favourite activities. It’s integral to maintaining an active independent lifestyle. Who wants to grow old stooped and fragile. Not me and probably not you either! By investing in your strength now, you can enjoy surfing( in my case), running, jumping, moving freely and more. Well into your later years.
• Strength training ensures that your body remains capable and resilient.
3. Improving flexibility and mobility :
• Strength training increases joint range of motion (ROM), promoting greater flexibility and mobility. Weaker muscles often lead to limited ROM. Take the squat, for example - a fundamental movement demonstrating ROM. Try standing with your feet a shoulder - width apart and squatting down as far as you can while maintaining good form. If you can’t stand back up without using your arms, it’s time to work on your strength!
• Regular strength training will improve your flexibility and ROM over time.
4. Boosting Health:
• Strength is inseparable from health.
• Numerous medical studies highlight the benefits of strength training for healthy living.
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A few key benefits include:
• Stronger Bones - training with medium to heavy resistance increases bone density, reducing injury risk and fragility as you age.
• Heart Health - regular strength training lowers blood pressure, reduces bad cholesterol and improves circulation reducing the risk of coronary heart disease and building a stronger heart.
• Reducing Stress - strength training promotes the release of neuro chemicals like endorphins and dopamine that help reduce stress and combat depression, giving you a feel good factor and improving overall wellbeing.
5. Body Image:
• Let’s be real, everyone cares about their body image to some extent. Looking good can do wonders for how you feel.
• When you’re at your peak strength, you feel incredible and the best part? You can enjoy your food more!
• Training strength burns more calories and with the added muscle mass you can continue to burn for as long as 72 hours post training. This means you will feel leaner as increased strength reduces abdominal fat, particularly visceral fat linked to health issues like type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancers.
In conclusion:
Training strong Isn’t just about the physical, it’s a mental game changer. It empowers you, helping you take back control of your body and lifting you mentally.
As we change, physical changes can make us feel invisible, but being fit and strong makes you standout and walk into any room with confidence.