It’s no secret that exercise is good for you, but there are benefits that some exercise regimens have over others.
Strength training, to be precise.
Cardio-focused workouts can do wonders for stamina and endurance, burning calories, and improving heart health. If you're looking to increase lean muscle mass and increase strength, however, focused strength training is your best option.
Strength training is a form of exercise centered around increasing muscle mass and overall standard of strength by working your major muscle groups. This can be achieved through the use of resistance, free weights, weight machines, calisthenics, and more. You'll eventually be able to increase your reps or weight load as you build muscle. Bodyweight exercises like planks, bodyweight squats, lunges, or pushups can be especially beneficial for beginners or those without access to a gym, and these exercises can still promote weight loss and burning body fat without fitness equipment.
Below is a closer look at five reasons why you should consider strength training. Getting active has its benefits, but a strength training program can provide some specifics.
Reason 1: It Increases Muscle Mass
One of the most obvious benefits of strength training over other forms of physical activity is that strength training is able to increase lean muscle mass. Strength training is particularly good at building muscle because it impacts your muscles at a cellular level and gets them to start "building" new muscle fiber.
At a microscopic level, muscles are made of long fibers of cells that contract and relax to facilitate their action. Muscle tissue consists of hundreds of these muscle fibers, often connected across joints to allow for movement.
Muscle growth at a cellular level begins when micro-tears within the muscle fibers are induced by exercise. When these microscopic tears occur, the body responds by repairing the tear and simultaneously making the fibers stronger. Over time and with consistency, muscle fibers begin to grow and an individual becomes stronger. Weight lifting and strength training are particularly good at facilitating growth since the weight and resistance placed on the body pushes the muscles to the point of micro-tears.
In many other exercises, the body adapts to the level of activity and will result in a slower progression of muscle growth. With strength training, even if you just do bodyweight exercises, you're able to combat adaptation by simply increasing weight or changing the dynamics of the activity. As you accumulate strength, muscle size will increase.
Reason 2: It Increases Bone Density
While a strength training program can do a lot for muscular health and muscle tissue, it can also do wonders for your bone health, with lasting benefits. Many people view bones as firm, solid forms, but in reality, bones are quite porous and derive their strength from the complex structures of calcium within.
Bones are constantly adapting, and when they're placed under extra strain or force, they respond by increasing in density. The dynamic nature of bones is why astronauts can lose upwards of 10% bone density in as little as six months. Without the forces and stresses of gravity, the bones of people in space simply don’t need the extra density.
Strength training works by increasing strain on the bones, which leads to subsequent bone density improvement. Lifting heavier weights places consistently more strain on both muscles and bones, which helps to stimulate an increase in muscle mass and bone density.
Step 3: It Can Improve Long-Term Health
Strength training is an excellent form of exercise no matter your age because the benefits carry throughout your lifespan.
As we age, our bodies generally become less efficient, and we're left at increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, bone breakage, and much more — all having to do with our body’s diminished ability to keep itself in check. This decreased efficiency is also apparent in a harder time building muscle, keeping fat off, and dealing with longer recovery times. If you've taken a wipeout and been bruised up in your 40s compared to your 20s, you know what I mean.
Building strength earlier in life is much easier than doing it later in life, and it can help with the prevention of age-related complications. Strength training can increase your baseline level of strength, cardiovascular health, and bone mass — this higher standard of health can help you to maintain mobility for longer. Getting started with a strength training regimen can help to maintain your quality of life and stifle premature aging.
Reason 4: It Can Increase Testosterone
Strength training has a significant impact on the body at a cellular level. Putting your muscles to work and inducing micro-tears initiates muscle repair and is also believed to increase testosterone levels. One study, for instance, concluded that resistance training leads to acute increases in testosterone (i.e. short-term increases).
Testosterone levels are an important component of men’s health, and strength training has the potential to help maintain them.
Testosterone levels tend to be fairly consistent throughout life, though production may begin to decline beginning in our middle years. Some men also experience testosterone deficiencies, sometimes due to hypogonadism, which can leave them with lower sex drive and possibly even erectile dysfunction. Men with low testosterone sometimes look to testosterone replacement therapy to artificially boost testosterone to normal levels.
With the potential to increase or maintain testosterone, strength training can act as a natural support for testosterone production.
Reason 5: It’s Good for Your Mental Health
Mental health is frequently overlooked when it comes to men’s health. Mental health consists of an individual’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Strength training may seem unrelated, but it can help to support good mental wellbeing in two distinct ways.
The first way strength training can help with mental wellbeing is by supporting a better sense of confidence. With a proper strength training regimen, an individual is more likely to lose fat and gain muscle, which can aid in self-confidence and body image. One study in 2018 even found that a consistent strength training routine was associated with a decrease in depressive symptoms.
The other way that strength training can support mental health is by providing a healthy outlet for stress. Stress causes a physiological response due to the secretion of adrenaline and cortisol, and weight and strength training can be a healthy outlet to help burn off stress.
The Takeaway
In summary, strength training is an excellent form of exercise to consider because of its ability to promote muscle growth, bone strength, healthy hormones, improve quality of life in advanced age, and its beneficial effects on mental wellbeing.
