Improve your Strength
Have you ever been told that cardio is the best way to lose fat? While cardio may be important, so is strength training. Strength training is any physical movement in which you use your body weight or equipment to build muscle mass, strength, and endurance. The types of equipment you may use while strength training include free weights, resistance bands or loops, weight machines, and suspension equipment.
Strength training allows you to lose body fat, increase muscle mass, and burn more calories! This type of training also helps keep your lean muscles intact, which tend to diminish with age. There are many other benefits of strength training as well, including:
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Makes You Stronger. Although this one may seem obvious, strength training makes you all around stronger! It will help you perform your everyday tasks much easier, and can improve your athletic performance.
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Manage Your Weight. Strength training allows you to boost your metabolism. Your metabolic rate will start to increase, which means not only will you be burning calories while working out, you will continue to burn calories up to 72 hours after you finish! This allows you to lose weight.
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Strengthen Your Bones. Your muscles aren’t the only part of your body that gets stronger with weight training! By stressing your bones, you are improving your bone density and reducing your risk of osteoporosis.
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Better Heart Health. Studies have shown that strength training can reduce your blood pressure, lower your cholesterol, and improve your blood circulation by strengthening the heart and blood vessels. It also helps manage your blood sugar levels.
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Boosts Your Mood. As with any other exercise, strength training allows you to release endorphins that boost your mood. It can also improve your self esteem and overall mental health.
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Enhance Quality of Life. Strength training makes your everyday tasks a lot easier. It also protects your joints from injury. Building muscles also contributes to better flexibility and balance, which helps prevent the risk of falling. This becomes more important as you age.
Strength training is an essential part of physical activity. Strength training has many benefits, and you may begin to notice improvements with two or three 20-30 minute strength training sessions a week. Hamel Rec also offers many group strength training classes!
