This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Strength Training - Who Needs It?

Strength Training – Who Needs It? 

Well, let’s see.  Do your goals include reducing body fat, increasing lean muscle mass and burning more calories – even while sleeping or relaxing?

Would it please you to be the owner of firm toned muscles?  Are you interested in changing the shape of your body?  Does supercharging your metabolism sound like something you are interested in?

Are you looking for the secret ingredient to keep chronic illnesses like arthritis, type 2 diabetes, back pain and depression at bay?

Find out what's happening in Hartlandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Would you like to slow the aging process?  Do you want to enjoy your golden years in good health, full of energy, flexibility, and good balance?

If you answered yes to any or all of the above, you are in luck.  Strength training can do all that and more.

Find out what's happening in Hartlandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Despite its reputation as a “guy” or “jock” thing, strength training is a key component of overall health and fitness for everyone.  A regular routine of strength training 2 to 3 times a week is essential to building the life and body of your dreams.

Read on for some the ways adding this to your routine can make a real difference in your life!

Muscle mass naturally diminishes with age.  “If you don’t do anything to replace the lean muscle you lose, you’ll increase the percentage of fat in your body,” says Edward R. Laskowski, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center. “But strength training can help you preserve and enhance your muscle mass — at any age.”

Strength training also helps you:

Develop strong bones. By stressing your bones, strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.  One of the best ways you can control bone loss as you age is to add strength training into your workout plan.  An increase in bone density reduces the risk for fractures.

Control your weight. As you gain muscle, your body begins to burn calories more efficiently.  Muscle is active tissue that consumes calories.  Stored fat uses very little energy.  Strength training can provide up to a 15% increase in metabolic rate.

Boost your stamina. As you get stronger, you won’t fatigue as easily. Building muscle also contributes to better balance, which can help you maintain independence as you age.  You will improve and strengthen dynamic, whole body movements that make you stronger for real life activities like gardening, house work, shoveling snow, etc.

Increase the strength of connective tissue, muscles, and tendons. This leads to improved motor performance and decreased injury risk.

Manage chronic conditions. Strength training can reduce the signs and symptoms of many chronic conditions, including back pain, arthritis, obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Improve your quality of life.  Strength training provides similar improvements in depression as anti-depressant medications. Currently, it is not known if this is because people feel better when they are stronger or if strength training produces a helpful biochemical change in the brain. It is most likely a combination of the two

Obviously, strength training benefits are far-reaching. We encourage you to add strength training to your program, today! 

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Lori Murphy

My Stronger Self Fitness

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?