Strength Training: You NEED It!

Strength training is very important for your body. Here's why:

1. It helps prevent bone and muscle loss.
2. It makes you stronger and fitter.
3. It helps you develop better body mechanics.
4. Plays a role in disease prevention.
5. Boosts energy levels and improves your mood.
6. It means more calories burned.

How does it do all that?:
1. Strength training adds muscle and helps to prevent bone loss because of the strength you are adding to your joints and to your whole skeleton.

2. Doing isometric and istonic strength training you are providing your muscles with two different types of strength. For example: When I had my second child she loved to be held always. I noticed that my left arm began getting so much stronger than my right arm. I was holding her in the same position for long lengths of time (isometric exercise). When I did strength training at the gym I noticed that my right arm could do so many more reps than my left arm (isometric exercise). My arms were being trained (or worked out) in 2 different ways. Both are important and both will improve your strength and fitness. You will have toned arms and you will have more strength therefore, you will be and feel fitter.

3. Having toned muscles leads to better balance and coordination. Squats and lunges are great strength moves to develop and maintain balance and coordination even as you age.

4. Diseases such as arthritis and osteoperosis can be somewhat relieved and made better, or with osteoperosis start to be reversed, through strength training.

5. As with all exercise, endorphines are released when you exercise that make you feel good. Strength training has been shown to also improve your sleep, can be an anti-depressant, and improve your all around mood or quality of life. If it makes you feel good and it is good for you, why not do it?!

6. Lean muscle burns calories even when you are at rest. Here's to burning more calories and not having to do anything, right? Well, you still have to keep up your strength training to keep burning those calories. It is a great way to jumpstart your metabolism.

GOAL: Start a strength training program and begin to see the transformation in your shape, your muscle tone, and your overall quality of life.