The 12 benefits of weight training

Physical exercise has been scientifically proven to have numerous benefits for people's health.

Whether due to cardio or weight training, our body will greatly appreciate sports practice. However, this last form of training (with weights) is usually only associated with those people who seek to improve their body aesthetics, and in the eyes of some individuals, it is less effective at improving cardio.

Benefits of weight training

But is it really so? What are the benefits of weight training? In the following lines you can find the answers to these questions.

1. Reduce stress

Physical training in general helps reduce stress, and weight training does too. In addition to being an ideal way to release tension after a long day at work, weight training relaxes us after an intense session with dumbbells or free weights.

ItStudies suggest that this form of training increases norepinephrine production (noradrenaline), a neurotransmitter that can moderate the brain's response to stress. It also reduces the levels of 

cortisol, a hormone that regulates and mobilizes energy in stressful situations, but that in excess or in unnecessary situations causes side effects.

2. You will live more

Physical exercise is health and strength training helps you live longer. Since this last form of exercise helps increase muscle mass, a study from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), found that the greater the muscle mass, the less probability of dying early.

Therefore. weight training would help increase people's life expectancy.

3. Help you sleep better

Weight training helps you sleep better by stimulating the release of serotonin, which allows to increase the levels of melatonin in the body, a hormone that is involved in the synchronization of the natural cycle of sleep and wakefulness.

A study carried out in 2012 showed that subjects who did resistance training three days a week improved their sleep quality compared to those who did not train.

4. Loss of fat

ANDIt is common for many individuals to associate fat loss with aerobic training, thinking that by running long distances the body burns much more fat. However, studies suggest that high intensity weight training not only burns calories during training, but also afterwards, as the metabolism increases and, therefore, calories are still burned during the next 24 hours after the session of training.

5. You will burn more calories while you rest

Over time, the increase in muscle mass causes your basal metabolism to increase.

The basal metabolism is the calories that are burned when we do not perform physical activity, that is, it is the energy necessary to maintain the correct functioning of the organs, respiration, body temperature, etc. This causes that, even when we rest, our body is burning more calories.

6. More strength

If our desire is to increase strength, weight lifting is undoubtedly the training par excellence..

That does not mean that this is the only physical capacity that we can work with this method, because with weight lifting it is possible to work strength, resistance, speed... Now, the improvement in the different physical qualities will depend on different variables, such as volume or intensity, etc.

7. Healthier bones

Increased muscle mass is not the only positive result of lifting weights, but the bones are also strengthened. According to research, weight training increases bone density and levels of osteocalcin, an indicator of bone growth, by 19%.

8. Improves endurance and also cardiovascular capacity

Strength training has its benefits, as does aerobic training, and although the vast majority of people tend to associate weight training only with strength training, combined exercise seems to be the best option to improve both physical qualities.

One methodology that employs both forms of training is blended training. This approach strengthens muscles, provides cardiovascular benefits, and according to research by L.H. Willis, which took place in 2012, found, the benefits of this form of training are greater than separated.

9. Reduces the risk of injury

Since weight training reduces the strength of bones, connective tissues, and joints, it also reduces the chance of injury and preventing it. Strong joints, tendons, and ligaments are essential for preventing osteoporosis pain, and also for improving athletic performance.

10. Helps you run longer and perform better in many sports

Therefore, weight training helps athletes perform better when combined with other types of training. For example, a 200-meter athlete working on anaerobic endurance with sprints can also increase speed if he does strength exercises with weights for the lower trunk.

11. Adherence to diet

It is easier to follow a diet when we train. This is what a study from the University of Pittsburgh suggests, which included a sample of 169 overweight subjects. According to the results, those subjects who trained and followed a diet were able to control the daily intake of 1,500 calories compared to those who did not train with weights. Also, the latter ate more amounts of sugar and high-fat products.

12. Improves heart health

Although weight training is not known as a cardiovascular exercise, it also improves heart health. Studies suggest that resistance routines with weights lower blood pressure, in some cases as effectively as medications. The American Heart Association recommends that adults do weight training at least twice a week.