Saturday, July 6, 2013

Get Healthy - What Are The Benefits Of Resistance Training?


Resistance training is one of the ways you can get stronger muscles and a toner physique. The best way to get started is to get on your feet and give it a go.

Resistance Training - The Basics

When looking into resistance training there are a few basics to consider. The first is what qualifies as resistance. Any activity or exercise that makes use of weights, machines or even just the weight of your own body qualifies. Some people refer to this type of training as weight or strength training and it can be extremely useful in creating a healthy body.

Typically, this training is most often associated with athletes. This is because athletes often have to build their physique to meet certain criteria for their chosen sport. This is also the reason why most people believe that resistance training involves making the body larger. However, this is not necessarily the case. You can increase the strength of the body without having to increase its size.

This type of training can be done by anyone. It helps to build and tone muscle groups giving the body more appealing lines. Resistance training programs are also suitable for the disabled and elderly. In these types of modified training programs, standing free weights are often employed as resistance. If machines are used, they are generally considered moderate to low intensity.

How Does It Work?

These types of training programs make use of a wide variety of equipment options. Machines like bench presses, barbells and dumbbells are often employed. When using these machines the muscles of the body are forced to work harder in order to lift the additional weight. The result is hypertrophy. Hypertrophy involves the increase and enlargement of the nerve cells responsible for muscle contraction.

Prior to beginning, any resistance training program consult with your primary care provider to ensure the training program is safe for your physical condition. This is especially important for anyone who has a medical condition or who is overweight. Resistance training is not something that should be self-explored. In order to be effective you need to have the right type of equipment and you have to be conditioned to handle the training.

You can also do resistance training without equipment. Push-ups and sit ups are good examples of equipment free resistance exercises. They can be done almost anywhere and you make use of your own body weight as the resistance for your muscles.

The Benefits

1. Bone Mineral Density Increase: Bones are in constant flux. They are being built up at the same time that tissues are breaking down. This is a process called remodeling. Remodeling peaks during puberty. When a person ages however, the bone mineral density can become a problem because the remodeling process is not as active. This problem is predominately found in older people but especially women who have experienced menopause.

Hormones are generally responsible for the density of bone minerals. Physical activity can help address the problems that can be caused by a lack of these hormones. Resistance training is just one of the exercise options available.

2. An Increase in Overall Strength: A resistance training program is one of the ways to build not only strong muscles but strong bones as well. This leads to an overall increase in body strength.

3. Increase in Available Activities: As you increase the strength of your body, the number and intensity of activities you can do increases. Generally, this leads to an overall desire to be more active and to continue to push to see what you can do.

4. Reduction of Body Fat: Resistance training is often used to help tone muscles and various parts of the body by building muscles strength and reducing body fat.

5. Improved Health and Wellbeing for the Elderly: The elderly have special needs when it comes to exercise. Their bodies are not as resilient as they used to be. Exercise helps to reduce the risks of age on the body and helps to improve health.

6. The Heart: Heart health is important and regular activities like resistance training can help to lower blood pressure and heart rate. It can also help lower the risks of some heart diseases.

Resistance training must be properly done. Commitment and consistency are required in order to ensure success. Talk with your doctor about a schedule and program that is right for you and make sure to follow all instructions. Resistance training is a great way to improve your health, reduce weight and body fat and improve muscles tone but if done incorrectly it can lead to injury.

It is important to start with easy to handle exercises and programs and work your way up to more intense and challenging activities. Your body condition will improve easily and quickly if you follow these steps.

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