Monday, May 20, 2013

Strength Training can do wonders for the whole Body and Mind

Strength training is an important part of an overall fitness program, especially as we age. If your aerobic workouts aren't balanced by routine strength training, you will be missing out on a key component of overall health and fitness. Strength training provides addditional benefits that aerobic training does not provide. With a regular strength training program, you can increase bone strength, slow bone loss, increase lean muscle mass, increase growth hormone levels and burn calories more efficiently by raising your metabolic rate. Strength training can also help improve your insulin sensivity, a key hormone associated with muscle loss, diabtes and aging.

Use it or Lose it

Muscle mass naturally diminishes with age, due to a naturally reduction in testestorone, and due to a natural loss in insulin sensitivity as we age, according says Jeff Behar, Fitness expert and CEO of http://www.Musclemagfitness.com. "If you don't do anything to replace the lean muscle you lose, you'll not only lose strength and tone, but you will most probbaly increase the percentage of fat in your body due to a reduction in your metabolic rate. But strength training can help you preserve and enhance your muscle mass — at any age since it will improve insulin sensitivity, increase testosterone and growth hormone levels - all conditions the favor muscle growth, muscle tone, strength, fat loss and improvements in health.
Strength training also helps you:
  • Develop strong bones. There are numerous studies that show that routine strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
  • Boost your stamina. As you get stronger, your muscles will not fatigue as easily.
  • Control your weight. As you gain muscle, your body's metabolic rate increases and your body will burn more calories throughout the day - not just when you exercise. The more muscle you have, the easier it is to control your weight.
  • Reduce your risk of injury. Building muscle helps protect your joints from injury. Building muscle also contributes to better balance, which can help you maintain independence as you age, and reduce your risk for serious falls.
  • Manage chronic conditions. Strength training can reduce the signs and symptoms of many chronic conditions, including obesity, osteoarthritis, low back pain, diabetes, osteoporosis and depression.
  • Increase energy.  Strength training should increase your overall metabolic rate and thus increase your energy levels and cause you to eat more due to increased energy demands.
  • Improve focus. Some research suggests that regular strength training helps improve focus and also reduce the risk of cognitive impairmant associated with aging.

Strength Training Options

Strength training can be done at home or in the gym. Consider the following strength training options:
  • Free weights. Barbells and dumbbells are classic strength training tools and give extreme flexability with the number of exercises that can be done.They are also the best option for developing sterngth, but can be the most dangerous if proper form is not performed.
  • Weight machines. Weight machines offer a quick workout, because the weight/resistance can often be changed with a pin. Weight machine are often less dangerous because the machines assist with the controlling of the weight. Most gyms, health clubs and fitness centers offer various of weight machines. You can also invest in weight machines for home use, since there are many multi-exercise weight resistance machines available from as low as $200.
  • Body weight. You can do many exercises with little or no equipment.Some good exercises to start with include: pull-ups, pushups, Burpees, abdominal crunches, planks, lunges and leg squats.
  • Resistance tubing. Resistance tubing is inexpensive, lightweight tubing that provides resistance when stretched. You can choose from many types of resistance tubes in nearly any sporting goods store. esistance bands are another option. Different colors often indicate different resistances.

Getting Started

Here are some suggestions to get started, and to do it safely:
  • Get doctor approval. Some people may need medical clearance before they start strength training.
  • Have proper gear. Just like in any other sport, having the proper gear (gloves, shoes, belt, etc.) can help.
  • Start slowly. Starting to fast can lead to injuries, overtraining, and excess soreness. The best advice is to start light and slowly add weight/resistance until you reach a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 repetitions. "On the 12th repetition, you should be just barely able to finish the motion," according to fitness expert, Jeff Behar. "It is important to use proper form and work out the muscle until failure. When you're using the proper weight or amount of resistance, you can increased your muscle strength, size and tone efficiently. Form is paramount. Higher weight or resiatnce for lower repitions to failure will result in greater sterngth and muscle size, while higher repitions to failure is a better approach for less size but greater muscle endurance and tone." When you can easily do more than 12 repetitions of a certain exercise, gradually increase the weight or resistance. Remember to stop if you feel pain. Mild muscle soreness is normal, but sharp pain and sore or swollen joints are signs that you've have overdone it and will require rest, and possibly some ice and anti-inflammatories.
  • Warm up. Warm up with five to 10 minutes of stretching or gentle aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, or cycling.
  • Rest and Recovery. To give your muscles time to recover, rest three full days between exercising each specific muscle group. If you are woking out heavy, or older you may need four to five days before exercising a specific muscle group again.

When to expect results

You don't need to spend hours a day lifting weights to benefit from strength training. Two to three strength training sessions a week lasting just 20 to 30 minutes are sufficient for most people. You may enjoy noticeable improvements in your strength and stamina in just a few weeks. With regular strength training, you'll continue to increase your strength — even if you're not in shape when you begin.

Bottom Line on Strength Training

Strength training can do wonders for your physical and emotional well-being. Make it part of your quest for better health.

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