Lift Me Up: 5 Surprising Benefits Of Strength Training

Most people know that strength training builds toned muscle, which in turn helps your metabolism, so you look firmer and leaner. But the benefits don’t stop there. Did you know…

1 ) Strength training is great for your bones

Once you reach physical maturity, you lose about 1% of your bone mass a year. If left unchecked, by the time you’re in your thirties, forties and fifties, that’s really started to add up! Troy Tuttle, MS, an exercise physiologist at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston says “One of the best ways to stop, prevent, and even reverse bone and muscle loss is to add strength training to your workouts.”

2) It improves balance, coordination and posture

It’s not all about looking lean or building bulk, strength training can help with balance coordination and posture. So, if you’re not the most flexible or you find you get a bit wobbly on one leg, it can reduce your risk of falling by as much as 40%. This only gets more important as you get older!

3) Strength training can combat disease and illness

You may think that as someone suffering from a chronic illness you should take it easy, but perhaps not. Studies have associated strength training with a huge array of disease and illness related benefits. From controlling arthritis pain to moderating blood glucose levels and boosting your immune system.

4) It helps your cholesterol levels

Many people only look at their diet when tackling cholesterol, but the type of exercise you choose can help too. Strength training increases HDL (good cholesterol) and decreases LDL (bad cholesterol).

5) It improves mental health and wellbeing

When we think about strength training, we usually think about what it’ll do for our bodies. However, it can be of huge benefit to your brain. By releasing feel-good endorphins normally associated with a cardio session and naturally elevating your mood.