Why You Should Be Strength Training in 2022
There are several common misconceptions surrounding strength training that have pushed people away from strength training. Do any of these sound familiar?
“I burn more calories doing cardio.”
“I am going to get big and bulky.”
“I should just stick to high repetitions and low weight.”
Yet in 2021, 95% of the time, when a client came into the clinic with pain or lack of mobility to their desired degree, strength training resolved the issue. Strength training has been around for quite some time, but is finally starting to make its way to the forefront of many workout programs in 2022. Which, with unmatched benefits, it is hard to imagine why it was not at the forefront to begin with.
Strength training encompasses placing your body through a range of motion under resistance (resistance bands, weights, or body weight) to gain lean muscle mass and endurance. Strength training not only defies the misconceptions above, but adds benefits that will help you achieve your fitness goals in 2022.
Strength Training Boosts your Metabolism
If you want to lose weight, you should be doing strength training. Strength training increases your metabolism. Your metabolism is your baseline caloric burn - how many calories you burn a day at rest. This also increases your daily calorie burn. When you strength train, your body exerts energy. The amount of energy needed depends on the demands the workout places on the body. For instance, lifting a heavier weight is going to demand more energy exertion. The more exertion put into the workout, the more excess post-exercise oxygen consumption your body will need to recover. Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption refers to the work your body continues to do after training. Strength training demands more of this, which in the process, burns more calories while recovering. Even if you don’t feel like you are putting out this big calorie burn during the strength training session, it will drastically help you with calorie burn outside of that.
Strength Training Improves your Bone and Tendon Health
Strength training places tension on your bones. This tension sends a message to your body to build stronger bone cells. This is crucial because as you age, one of the easiest things to decondition and deteriorate is your bone health and tendon health. Arthritis, fractures, falls that break hips or arms, or balance problems - many of these things stem from a lack of bone health and tendon health. Our tendons are attach to our muscles and bones. When we move, we contract our muscles, which pulls on our tendons and yanks on the bone. This is what produces a movement. The stiffness of a tendon serves as a matter of its strength. A stiff tendon can endure more stress and transfer more energy from our bodies. We can create stiffer tendons by strength training. If we want to increase our longevity - move well when we are older, be active after retirement, play with our grandkids, or golf when we are 89 - bone health and tendon health will help you achieve that. Strength training is fantastic for that.
Strength Training Helps Prevent Injury
So many of the injuries that Motus Rx Physical Therapy sees - tendonitis, muscle strains, soft tissue injuries, separations, and sprains - are commonly strength issues. Injury occurs because your body did not have the strength to handle what you were asking it to do. Strength training can be an excellent way to help correct muscular imbalances leading to compensations and injuries. With targeting strength training movements, you can build strength, improve range of motion, and help you become more mobile. This helps build stability in areas where it is lacking which decreases your risk for injury. Strength training builds your body’s capacity to handle what you ask it to do.
Strength Training Increases Cardiovascular Performance
There was a study that was just done and found that individuals who strength trained 20 minutes for 3 times a week increased their cardiovascular performance by 60%. No dreaded 2 hours on the treadmill. No necessary hours on the bike or stair climber (granted those things are still great). It works through the lean muscle mass that you are building. This lean muscle mass serves as a place to pump blood to. This relieves pressure on your arteries and ultimately decreases the risk of heart-related issues.
Strength Training Boosts Your Confidence
Strength training makes you feel good about yourself. I cannot tell you how many times I have had a 60+ year old do a deadlift (something they never thought they should or could be doing). The look on their face says, “holy crap that was awesome!” Lifting a weight you never thought you could do is empowering and makes tasks like picking up your child or carrying the groceries much easier. As you continue on your strength training journey, your body adapts to the amount of weight you can lift. As your body adapts, what you previously thought was “heavy” becomes lighter - this means you are getting stronger and can begin to gradually increase the amount of weight you are lifting. Keep in mind, the term “heavy” is relative to you. When strength training, you should choose a weight that is challenging for you.
Resources To Help You On Your Fitness Journey:
9 Ways To Bulletproof Your Body For Any Workout
Free Discovery Visit - Maybe you want to begin strength training on a regular basis, but are experiencing pain that is limiting you and keeping you from the gym. Motus Rx Physical Therapy offers a 45 minute taster session designed for you to describe your scenario, evaluate the situation, and determine if you are a good fit for our services.
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