The Key to Longevity
Strength training, or resistance training, improves strength, endurance and promotes overall health. It makes everyday movement easier and less painful by preventing injury, strengthening muscles, and improving mobility. This is especially important as we age. The stronger we are, the more autonomous we can be when it comes to doing the simple things like getting up from a chair, taking the stairs alone, and moving items around the house.
But preventing injury and maintaining autonomy aren’t the only benefits strength training offers. It can also leave you with an awesome physique and actually slow the aging process. The more muscle you have, the more fat your body burns at rest. This means you can hack your body to burn more calories at rest, even as you age, just by maintaining muscle. Aside from burning more fat, strength training also boosts your body’s natural testosterone, which benefits both men and women, especially as we get older. Testosterone helps maintain bone density and strength, improves lean body mass and decreases fat. Strength training also improves sleep quality and increases your body’s natural growth hormone production. When combined, these benefits result in a powerful fountain-of-youth cocktail. Cheers to strength training!
Certified Personal Trainer with National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Pain-Free Performance Specialist with PPSC.
