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Starting a strength training program can be difficult. And it can be intimidating. But these beginner workout tips will help you though those first few days.
The reality is that most people that get started find it hard to stay motivated and incorporate it into their regular routine.
First off, the key to getting started is to know your reasons for doing it. This is called knowing your “why”.
Once you know your “why” the more likely you are to keep at it and make it a routine. These five reasons for starting a resistance training routine will help you begin!
What Is A Strength Training Program?
The word program here is synonymous with routine. This means that it is something that you do regularly.
In other words, you have to commit.
Ultimately, if you want to make health a higher priority in your life, you need to treat it that way. It can’t be something that you do for a few days here and there when you feel like it.
Secondly, strength or resistance training is a form of using weight to increase your muscle mass in your body. While hitting the gym to do weight training is ideal, you can also use your body weight as resistance.
This makes it easier to start a routine in the comfort of your own home.
In conclusion, the goal of a strength training program is to use some sort of resistance to regularly put your muscles to work in order to gain multiple health benefits. A good starting point is to aim to train your muscles three times per week to start realizing the benefits listed below.
9 Benefits Of A Resistance Training Routine
1. Heart Health
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide for both men and women.
Being that your heart is a muscle, one key to keeping it healthy is to use it!
Any time that you are doing resistance training your muscles have to work harder. By working harder, they need more oxygen. Consequently, to deliver more oxygen to your muscles, your heart has to beat harder and faster to move more blood.
According to the American Heart Association, people should strength train at least twice per week for heart health. And they even mention that it is important to do after a heart attack or a stroke as a way to prevent another heart attack. (3)
This means that whenever you are moving weights, you have an elevated heart rate. Because of this, performing a regular strength training program lowers your chance of heart disease and increases heart health.
2. Increase bone density
One of the most overlooked benefits of weight training is increasing bone density.
By moving heavy weight around, not only do we tax the muscles, but we stress the bones too. This causes them to respond by becoming denser. Dense bones are less likely to break. This can even help reverse osteoporosis. Likewise, starting a hip strengthening routine can help prevent hip fractures.
3. Add Muscle Mass And Burn Fat
By starting a strength training routine, you are using your muscles to move the weight. To compensate for the stress put on our body, it responds by producing more muscle mass.
Once your body produces more muscle, the weights become effortless to move. Then you can lift heavier ones! Gradually increasing the load or the number of repetitions you perform over time is called progressive resistance training.
Aside from more muscle mass being functional and having more body strength, muscle also burns fat. Bodybuilding.com states that strength training burns more fat that cardio because you continue to burn fat for up to 38 hours after a workout.(4)
You know what also burns fat? Reducing inflammation. Working out also helps to reduce chronic inflammation which is causing you to store excess body fat. Read more about it here.
So by increasing your muscle mass and decreasing body fat, you will change your body composition. This can lead to a better self-image and more confidence!
4. Better posture
If you are doing your exercises correctly, you will improve your posture. You will walk around standing taller with your head held high, literally.
Over time, with lack of use, we create imbalances in our body.
Maybe we always step on that first stair with our left leg. Or grab a tool with our right arm. Unconscious actions like these create a dominant side of the body. These movements performed continually over time will result in improper body alignment. Maybe it will be a slight lean or a slouch.
By doing a correct weight training exercise, you engage both sides of your body equally. This helps to correct those imbalances and restore posture.
There are 2 critical points to note here.
- Make sure that you are doing your exercises correctly. This means asking for help at first to make sure you have the correct movement. Personal trainers are an excellent tool for this. If you can’t afford a personal trainer, don’t hesitate to ask other people at the gym for pointers. They are usually helpful and can point you in the right direction.
- If you have serious posture issues, you should consult a physical therapist or a chiropractor before you start training. They can work to get you in alignment before you do further damage.
5. Feel better (mental health)
By now, you should be feeling pretty excited about starting an exercise regimen. But just think about how you will feel after you have abundant energy and are feeling confident in your new body!
But that’s not even the end of it.
The simple act of performing a strength training program increases endorphins in the brain. Chemicals like dopamine and serotonin are triggered to start being produced during weight training.(2)
This has an effect on reducing stress and increasing overall happiness!
6. Get Smarter
There is evidence that following an exercise program will actually make you smarter. By pushing more blood to the brain and increasing spatial awareness by performing complex movements you will actually stimulate new brain growth. Read more ways to get smarter at naturemadecures.com/how-to-get-smarter-promote-neurogenesis.
7. Sleep Better
Studies have shown that doing 30 minutes of exercise a day can help you sleep better.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, evidence shows that aerobic exercise helps you fall asleep faster and improves sleep quality. It also reduces insomnia.(1)
Factors such as elevated heart rate, decompressing the mind, stabilizing mood could be the reason behind this. If you are looking for more tips on sleeping, check out our article on how to sleep better.
8. Increased Energy
All of the above add up to a more efficient and new you!
When you have a healthier heart, less fat, more muscles mass, denser bones, and a better posture your body is running the way it should be. Like a well-oiled machine, efficiency is the name of the game.
This will give you more energy to use throughout the day. And that energy can be used to things that you enjoy and that make you feel alive again!
9. You Will Look Better
Well, we saved the most obvious for last. Clearly, most people start working out because they want to look better. With more muscle and less fat you will appear more healthy. And healthy is attractive.
But did you know that working out also helps preserve your youthful appearance? That is correct, exercise helps produce collagen which helps skin to maintain its firmness and reduce wrinkles. Check out http://naturemadecures.com/reduce-wrinkles-naturally/ to get the full scoop on how exercise impacts your skin.
Conclusion
The point of this article was to give you some motivation to start a strength training program. For a lot of people, it is easy to ignore this aspect of our lives with our busy schedules.
But the reality is taking control our health is essential.
By understanding the reasons to start a resistance training routine, you can sculpt you “why”. And the reality is that there are so many benefits to having a regular weight training schedule.
By setting aside a small amount of time per week the benefits and vast. By having more energy and a better mood, you will be more productive in all areas of your life and will end up having more free time than before you started.
References:
(1) https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/…
(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/…
(3) https://www.heart.org/en/…
(4) https://www.bodybuilding.com/…