Career, you get married. Have a baby. Move across the world, retirement….All of these are life-changing events. But did you know your life can change significantly just by spending some time strength training?
That’s right—if you’re willing to commit to strength training, your life will change significantly in more ways than one… Here they are.
Change #1: Your body will become Toned
This one’s obvious for anyone who has ever stepped inside a gym. When you add strength training to your routine, your body shapes up quickly. When you look better, you feel better and more confident. But lifting weights isn’t just about looking good.
Change #2: Health Risks Drop
Want to reduce your worry factor significantly? Then start lifting weights. When you do, you’ll find your body has better defense against the common cold and other everyday sicknesses. By lifting weights and staying healthy, you’ll be better able to sidestep countless diseases that plague so many—from diabetes and cancer to heart disease and stroke.
Change #3: You’ll have more energy
Ever just want to crash and burn after a hard day at work? Wish you had the stamina to play a game of kickball with your kids on the weekends? Lifting weights will help you improve your stamina so you can do just that. Once you’ve lifted weights for a while, your muscles grow stronger and you learn how to power through even when you’re feeling a bit worn out. More energy, however, isn’t reserved for the athletic field . . .
Change #4: Helps Improve Bone Density
( More specifically, Bone Mineral Density)
Bone strength is intimately tied to independence, as hip fractures are tied to #1 reason for Nursing home admissions.
Osteopenia- mildly reduced BD, Osteoporosis- more severe. Risk of breaking a bone increases the lower the BD.
Postmenopausal women- Estrogen is a potent bone builder. Men, lower testosterone but also acts indirectly through its conversion are also at elevated risk.
The denser you can make your bones, the more you can lose over time without suffering negative consequences.
Change #5: You Can Focus
Meetings aren’t the most exciting events in the world. They can drone on for hours. Once you’ve been lifting weights for awhile, your brain is getting the blood flow necessary for optimal function and your brain even grows new cells. With your new energy and better brain functioning, you’re ready to be alert and contribute more to get those meetings done earlier!
Change #6: You’ll Smile More
Life is not always easy. And when it comes at you full force, the stress can sometimes be too much. Lift weights regularly, and you’ll experience something the prescription-producing world doesn’t want you to know. Lifting weights can help you avoid depression. And you don’t need a doctor’s appointment for a weight-lifting session.
Change #7: Sex Improves
Lifting weights will do lots of good things for your body that translates to good things for your sex life. One way strength training does this is by improving blood flow throughout your body, which is important for sexual function. In addition, you will feel better about your body with your clothes off and you’ll feel more confident -both in and out of the bedroom.
Change #8: You Live in the Now
It is good to plan and know what you’re doing with your life. However, if you spend your time thinking about what you’re going to do with yourself when you retire in 23 years, you’re missing out on something very important: the here and now. When you lift weights, you’re forced to focus on the task at hand.
By incorporating strength training, your life is changed for the better, because you learn to live in the moment, a skill that translates to increased life satisfaction. Plus, you’re improving your health and fitness right now, for a better today AND a better tomorrow!