Lifting weights is a part of any good strength training program, and it’s not just for people who want to look like a bodybuilder. You might think that lifting weights will make you bulky and not all of us want that. But if you don’t lift weights, you’re missing out on some really great benefits. Lifting weights can have amazing benefits for your body and mind. In addition to increasing your strength, it can also help reduce the risk of osteoporosis, improve your metabolism, improve balance and coordination, and even increase your self-confidence. Here are 5 Reasons Why Everyone Should Be Lifting Weights:
Strength Training Helps Build Muscle
We’re always hearing that we should try to avoid building muscle because it will make us look bulky and unattractive. But the fact is, if you don’t have enough muscle, you’ll lose strength as you age, which will make it more difficult to do daily tasks like ascending stairs or lifting heavy grocery bags. When you lift weights, it causes micro-tears in your muscles, which then repair themselves and grow bigger and stronger to prevent that from happening again. If you don’t do any type of resistance training, you risk losing about 10% of your muscle each decade after age 30. This can make it easier for you to become “out of shape” and overweight, which can increase your risk of health conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

Weight Lifting Improves Bone Density
One of the most common health issues as we get older is osteoporosis, which is a loss of bone density that can lead to fractures. Studies have shown that by lifting weights, you can increase your bone density, which can reduce your risk of osteoporosis. When you lift weights, you’re putting a lot of stress on your muscles, which send your body a message that it needs to increase bone density to build up those muscles and avoid injury. If you don’t do any type of strength training, your bones may become more brittle as you age. Strength training can help you maintain a healthy weight, which is one of the best ways to avoid osteoporosis and keep your bones strong. If you lift weights in a way that stresses your muscles without going to failure, it won’t increase your risk of osteoporosis.

Weight Training Helps Your Metabolism
If you’re trying to lose weight, you should be doing some form of exercise on a regular basis. But when you do strength training, it can have an added benefit of helping boost your metabolism. When you stress your muscles, you’re putting your metabolism on overdrive to help repair and rebuild your muscles. This increase in metabolism will last for about 48 hours, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re doing some type of exercise each day to keep it going. Weightlifting can help you burn more calories than aerobic exercise like running, swimming or cycling. Since weightlifting exercises use many of the major muscle groups in your body, they can increase your resting metabolic rate for hours after you’ve finished exercising.

Weight Lifting Improves Balance & Coordination
As you age, you may find that it’s harder to stay balanced and have better coordination. Weightlifting can help with that by improving your overall strength and balance. When you lift weights, you’re increasing the strength of your muscles and bones, which can help improve your balance and coordination. But you can also improve your coordination even more by incorporating other exercises that require hand-eye coordination, like lifting with a kettlebell or swinging a dumbbell. Lifting weights with both hands as opposed to one hand can help increase your coordination and balance because both sides of the brain are activated when you do this. Researchers have found that when you lift with both hands, you use more of your brainpower and have better coordination.

It Increases Self-Confidence
There’s no doubt that weight lifting can be a confidence booster. When you lift weights, you’re not just building muscles, you’re also building your self-confidence and your self-esteem because you’re doing something constructive and good for your body. When you lift weights, you’re challenging yourself to get out of your comfort zone and grow as a person. It’s not just about lifting weights, it’s about pushing yourself to do more and be better than you were yesterday. When you lift weights and push yourself to be better, you’re also building self-confidence because you know that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.

Conclusion
If you don’t lift weights, you’re missing out on some great benefits. If you’re not sure where to start, you can always try a few beginner weight lifting exercises or take a beginner’s weight lifting class at a local gym or fitness center. And remember, it’s important to do exercises that stress your muscles without going to failure.
Look out for more fitness related blogs in the future! Remember, with COREFX, the gym is where you are.