Weightlifting Health Benefits

Most people picture big, burly men when they envision people weightlifting, but that doesn’t include everyone who should have it in their workout program. It provides many health benefits for men and women of all ages. The primary difference between the weightlifters you see in competition and the average person’s weightlifting experience is the amount of weight lifted. Some beginners start only lifting the bar without weights added when using barbells. A traditional one weighs about 45 pounds. If that’s too difficult, there are much lighter dumbbells for beginners that weigh as little as one pound each.

Weightlifting burns tons of calories while building muscle tissue.

You’ll burn a lot of calories doing strength training, while also building muscle tissue. While cardio also burns a lot of calories, those calories come from burning fat and lean muscle tissue. By contrast, weight training builds muscle tissue and burns fat. That’s important since muscle tissue uses more calories to maintain than fat tissue does. The more you have, the more calories you’ll burn and the higher your metabolism will be, making weight loss and weight maintenance easier.

Weightlifting can be especially important for older women.

The more muscle you have, the less potential there is for osteoporosis. That’s because muscles tug on the bone. It causes the bone to uptake calcium. If the lack of muscle tissue means there’s no more tug, the bone will leach calcium and become thinner and more prone to injury. Weight-bearing exercises and weightlifting can help build the muscles that increase the strength of the bone. Studies show it’s more effective than some osteoporosis medications.

You’ll protect yourself from falls and injury.

When you build muscle tissue, it helps prevent falls and muscle pulls or damage. It can lower the risk of back injuries from doing something as simple as lifting a bag of groceries or a child. You’ll improve your strength and be more resilient to injury by improving your balance. Building muscle tissue helps protect joints. The older you are, the more you need strength training to resist the changes of time that can rob you of independent living.

• Strength training can give a boost to your energy level. It builds muscle tissue that makes every task easier and far less wearing. One study of inactive people with chronic fatigue showed strength training diminished fatigue by 65%.
• Studies of people who recently suffered from a stroke showed that those who did strength training had an improved disposition and a far more optimistic attitude toward recovery.
• Lack of sleep can cause heart problems and mental clarity issues. Strength building can help. It can improve not only how long you sleep, but also the quality of that sleep.
• Is high blood pressure a problem? You can do many things to help lower it. Strength training is one of those. It can lower blood pressure by as much as three points. It increases the nitric oxide in the blood which causes vessels to relax and blood vessels to widen.

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