I’ve practiced strength training for over 17 years and experienced the numerous health benefits strength training has to offer. I’ve helped people transform their health from the inside out through healthy habits and following an intelligently designed exercise program.
…While studying strength science and examining the numerous health benefits of lifting weights I’ve often wondered why more people don’t partake in this amazingly beneficial activity…
The benefits of resistance training are astounding! And it doesn’t even take that heroic of an effort to reap the rewards of physical activity that people may think it requires.
More people would likely enjoy resistance training if they had a proper introduction and understanding… And then trained long enough to feel the difference and see the results of following an intelligently designed exercise program. Consistency is key!
It is an underutilized medicine. A therapy for the body and mind. For the being.
Strength training is a critical activity that our society would do well to embrace if we desire a healthier happier future.
But should YOU strength train?
You may think that resistance training is only for those that want to build a lot of muscle or get freaky lean, but the truth is that it’s likely something you would benefit from tremendously, even if you aren’t going to be competing in a bodybuilding show anytime soon…
…Here are some benefits to consider getting you started on your strength training journey or to get you inspired to continue if you’ve been on a hiatus for too long.
1. Strength Training strengthens the nervous system.
“Resistance training promotes a wide array of health-related benefits spanning virtually every organ system. It’s a must-do in everyone’s weekly routine.” ~Dr. Brad Schoenfeld
One of the first systems in the body to decline as we grow older is the nervous system.
As we age, we tend to move less, lose strength, get more immobile and our metabolism declines only because we lose muscle mass.
One of the easiest ways to combat the negative effects of living a sedentary lifestyle is to practice intentional movement. Walking may be a great place to start and build on… But without a nutritional intervention and strength training, walking won’t be enough to offset the accumulation of unwanted fat mass, metabolic health issues, or the body and joint pain that plague our society.
This is where strength training plays a critical role (along with Good Nutrition) in improving one’s overall personal health and well-being.
Your Body is Made to Move – Enroll in Motor Learning 101
Strength training is best thought of as Motor Learning 101. Just as you learned how to write letters and create sentences, so movement patterns are the same way.
You can write your “ABCs” because you repeatedly practiced these in grade school. But when you first started learning them it took a lot of practice to dial in those fine motor skills. (Or at least it took me a long time!) So, it is with strength training: it takes deliberate practice to build a solid foundation of movement quality.
Mastering the primary movement patterns: The Squat, Hinge, Lunge, Push, Pull, and Carry will be well worth your investment of time and energy!
Just as reading and writing are essential skills to thrive in this world, I assert that taking the time to learn how to move your body well is a gift to yourself that will benefit you for years to come.
Your capabilities can be trained, and your nervous system will learn these essential movement patterns, just as you learned the alphabet. They will become engrained.
And just as it’s important to keep using your mind to fight against aging it’s likely equally important to use your body as it is intended to move.
Movement is a gift you give to yourself.
Learning to move and strengthening your body is a gift that will yield you a high return in the many years to come.
As the adage goes: “Use it or lose it.”
How we age is a choice based on the activities we choose. Choose strength and movement. Daily.
2. Strength Training strengthens all the tissues in the human body.
Beyond the nervous system and the motor patterns your body holds in the brain (engrams), strength training also strengthens and builds your muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, and bones (increasing bone mineral density).
All tissue in the human body responds to force and through repeated exposure you can build bone mineral density to fight against osteoporosis. You can also build joint integrity to fight against osteoarthritis as each joint in the human body is made to go through its full range of motion often.
When we neglect movement, our joints will suffer. Many people over the age of 60 have at least one problematic joint… not to mention the knee and hip replacement epidemic… (The surgery may take care of the what, but it doesn’t necessarily answer the why.)
Movement is essential for a healthy happy body: physically as well as mentally.
By investing in your movement today you imprint an understanding in your brain of your movement options (afference). You’re protecting your joints and building structural integrity while building your metabolism, muscle mass and strength for years to come.
Build a Strong(er) you today for a brighter future tomorrow.
3. Strength Training sets us up for a life of resisting gravity and staying strong and upright for the later years of life.
There is a resistance that weighs on us daily. It pulls us down. It’s called gravity.
Why is it called resistance training? What are we resisting? Generally: gravity.
The longer we can stay upright and center our skeleton competently the better we can age and keep our independence.
Do you want to have independence in your later years of life? Walk. Squat. Get Strong(er). Build your aerobic base. Eat well to fuel performance and longevity.
Think about these activities as deposits in your body’s health bank account.
Ask yourself: “What do I want to be able to do when I’m 100 years old?”
And do more of that. Today.
Strength train for life: quality and quantity of life. True longevity and durability will take time and effort. But sickness is harder than health. Weakness is harder than strength.
If “the story you tell yourself” is that you are supposed to grow weaker and more out of shape, then that’s what you will do … because it’s your belief. Challenge your beliefs and build yourself up for a story of success.
Many older adults have done extraordinary things at all kinds of ages.
Don’t limit your body because your thinking and believing are holding you back. Strengthen and will yourself.
4. Strength Training improves blood glucose management and improves insulin sensitivity.
In a world where over 1 in 3 have metabolic syndrome/prediabetes (and 84% don’t know they have it!), 1 in 10 have type II diabetes and obesity, heart disease and stroke continue to climb, it’s clear that our lifestyles need transformation.
If you are struggling with any blood glucose or insulin resistance issues, then here’s an interesting fact for you: strength training pulls glucose into muscle cells in the absence of insulin via GLUT4 transport.
Wait, in English please. What does that mean? Lifting heavy weights and causing many muscles to contract hard is a great thing to improve glucose tolerance and improve insulin sensitivity.
Learn to move well. Lift some heavy weights. And follow the 20-minute movement rule from this Food Rule Article: Try the 5-10-15-20 Food Rule to Transform Your Body and Health One Meal at a Time and you can begin to improve your blood glucose levels and A1c. Even a 10-minute walk after meals would be a great start.
Resistance training makes your body better at handling carbohydrates and can dramatically improve your metabolic health. Pair it with healthy nutrition habits and you’ll be well on your way to renewed health and metabolic flexibility.
You know lifestyle related disease is completely reversible through healthy lifestyle changes, right?
There’s hope. Choose to strengthen yourself.
5. Strength Training provides a positive aggressive outlet in a world where play is limited.
My son loves to run, jump, change directions and throw things. (The Athletic Patterns! Different than the Resistance Training Patterns.)
Children play tag, chase each other, and run all day long.
Every kid seems to be obsessed with who’s bigger, stronger, and faster. One time when I was at the park with my Son, the children were all talking about who’s dad was stronger. Of course, every child thought their dad was… One girl even told me her dad was stronger than me… Sorry sweetie, but I really am stronger than your dad. No disrespect.
We all used to be like these children. You couldn’t get us to stop moving. Running. Jumping. Laughing. Playing.
We were full of energy because we moved and had the capacity to do so.
And think of this… There was a time in many of our lives where we went outside and played… for the last time.
We all said goodbye to our friends, and went inside, and never played again…
Today’s youth population is becoming more and more sedentary with a rise in childhood obesity and many metabolic health issues that were simply unheard of at such young ages in previous generations!
Only 1 in 3 children are physically active each day!
We need a change.
We need a movement!
For me the gym is a place I can play. Yes, I have health goals, but I sprint, jump, and push the limits of my strength so I can see what I’m capable of.
I use the lessons I learn in the physical and apply them to my mental, emotional, and spiritual worlds.
Physical strength may be the easiest kind of strength…
Find your play again, build your strength up so you can transfer that strength to all the other areas of your life.
Have fun! Movement is fun! Our bodies reward us with dopamine when we do. Don’t hate your body. Don’t accept your body. Find out where you are now, what you’re capable of, and never stop growing, playing, and having fun.
6. Strength Training and intentional movement also improve our mental health.
From depression and mood to anxiety and overall energy: weight lifting and getting strong has a tremendous benefit of improving our perception of ourselves and shifting our mindset to one of a state of suffering (primitive mindset) to a beautiful mindset.
We can get out of our heads by getting into our bodies.
Our body literally rewards us with happy drugs (dopamine and neurotransmitters) when we move and use it as intended because in the past, movement was a precursor to calorie acquisition… We used to hunt and gather for our food, and we couldn’t find it sitting still. It was the hunt that brought us food and allowed us to survive as a species.
Movement was an integral part of our survival and we needed to do it almost daily to stay alive.
Imagine how savagely fierce a wild human would have been. And that same linage of strength and perseverance is in you!
Sadly though, today movement is optional, and the effects of the sedentary lifestyle paired with the S.A.D (Standard American Diet) are causing lifestyle-related diseases to climb at record high rates.
We used to kill cheetahs.
Now we die by the Cheeto.
This is alarming and we need a shift. Perhaps, the current Covid pandemic was so fatal because we’re so out of shape, with lifestyle-related diseases and sedentary living increasing the severity and death rate surrounding Covid.
We’ve grown numb to the words “lifestyle-related disease”, and we need a nutrition, movement, and mindset cure.
It’s clear we need a revolution of health.
Strength is the solution.
Unhealthy eating and physical inactivity are leading causes of death in the U.S. regardless of Covid.
And we’ve been accepting this epidemic for far too long.
It’s time we started taking our health seriously.
Here’s what you can do to start building up your health and wellness:
A. Follow an intelligently designed exercise program written and overseen by a professional for 2-3 days a week. Preferably 3-4 days a week for life but 2 is enough to get started and build up from there. Remember, consistency is key!
B. Focus on foundational movement patterns that use multiple joints a.k.a. compound movements. Leave the bicep curls and endless chest exercises to the gym bros. Build a solid foundation of the Resistance Training Patterns: squats, hinges, pushing, and pulling that we can load up to the greatest degree through utilizing The Principles of Progressive Overload.
C. Commit to using and moving your body almost daily.
You wouldn’t buy a Ferrari and keep it in your garage forever collecting dust… Your body is made to move and it’s much more precious than any man-made car.
YOU ONLY GET ONE BODY.
Treat it well and nourish it through intentional movement, quality nutrition and deliberate self-care.
D. Hire a professional and get the help you need.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure.”
While strength training often gets a bad rap for being dangerous it’s quite clear that the opposite is true: the risks of sedentary living far outweigh the risks of learning how to properly strength train and move your body.
The risks of not strength training and being inactive include: weakness, sarcopenia, falling (that can lead to early death), joint health issues, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, metabolic syndrome, obesity, high blood pressure and many more unwanted health issues.
If you’re tired of neglecting your health and not knowing what to do: strength training can be the perfect place to start and never stop! At least if quality and quantity of life and longevity are at the top of your priorities.
Here’s to the strength you have inside your body! May you unleash it and discover the beautiful gift of movement.
You’re stronger than you know.
Strength and a brighter version of yourself await! Your body is just waiting for the right inputs.
Strengthen yourself today to meet a stronger you tomorrow! The brighter future of tomorrow is built on the actions of today.
IF YOU WANT TO TAKE YOUR BODY BACK AND GET CONTROL OF YOUR HEALTH LET’S CONNECT!
Nutritional Mastery Coaching can help you:
- Learn to eat better, without dieting or feeling deprived.
- Get active and moving no matter what shape you’re in.
- Produce lifelong change inside and out for a brighter healthier future.
You can choose health and I can help navigate and coach you on your unique journey.
Schedule your complementary SUCCESS SESSION consultation to learn more about Nutritional Mastery Coaching.
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Helpful tips, really appreciate it! Veronica Dantas
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