Life is EASIER when you’re strong

• Carrying your food shop? One trip.
• Children to carry? No problem.
• Car stuck in the snow? Push it out with ease.
• Feel like a badass? YUP!

Plus, whether you’re 10kg overweight or just need to lose the last 3kg, strength training is one of the most effective ways to burn fat and build muscle.

Long term benefits of building strength

1) Halt and even reverse sarcopenia. As we age our skeletal muscle deteriorates (sarcopenia) – so strength training helps us stay independent (and out of a nursing home) and live longer.

2) Prevent disease and degenerative conditions. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.

Strength training helps correct issues relating to cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and inactivity – all factors for heart disease.

Cardiologists are even starting to recommend strength training for people who have suffered a heart attack as little as three weeks after the attack.

3) Improve the quality of life for people with: arthritis, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s Disease, Down Syndrome, lymphedema, fibromyalgia, who have recently had a stroke, have had a spinal cord injury, cancer survivors and clinical depression.

Strength training has a lot of short term benefits

1. Lose weight, look good naked: You can find study after study after study that shows you the benefits of strength training for weight management when combined with “calorie restriction.”(eating fewer calories than you burn every day).
2. Strength training can help increase your metabolism by speeding up your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). It takes your body more calories to maintain muscle than it does to maintain fat!
3. Strength training has a much greater level of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption than aerobic exercise. What does this mean? When you finish a workout, your body needs to do a lot of work to replenish itself in order to bring itself back to a normal state (the way it was before you worked out). This takes a lot of energy, and some studies have shown that it can boost your metabolism for up to 38 hours after you finish your workout.

In addition to physical improvements, strength training will make you healthier: 

Strength training increases bone density, builds a stronger heart, reduces your resting blood pressure, improves blood flow, halts muscle loss, helps control blood sugar, improves cholesterol levels, and improves your balance and coordination.

Strength training will make you FEEL better: Not only will you find yourself with more energy and confidence, less stress and anxiety, and a better overall mood, but you’ll actually begin to think better (resistance training has been proven to help increase cognitive function).

And while training too close to bedtime can be a bad idea, exercising earlier in the day has been proven to help prevent sleep apnea and insomnia. 

And last but not least, strength training is fun! Whether you are looking for the most effective 20-30 minute workout (to stay fit and look great naked), or are looking for a competitive sport that you can really get into, strength training can help you meet your goals.

It’s easy and fun to see progress as you strength train, almost like leveling up

If you’re looking to improve in other areas (a sport, traditional cardio, or an activity like rock climbing), strength training is an easy choice! Strength training will help keep you injury free too.