Welcome to our first edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we bring an exercise topic to you and talk about it for two minutes every Tuesday. Today we are talking about why resistance training is a MUST. Why you MUST include it in your workout plan. Why you can’t just do cardio. Why you MUST be doing some kind of weight training.
The first thing we want to do is dismiss the idea that weight training is simply for bulk. We are going to talk about the three biggest benefits of weight training that are not related to building muscles.
- Keep Full Function Of Your Joints (1)
So the first one is going to be it allows you to keep full function of your joints. Have you noticed that, over time, if you are not using your joints, they kind of feel stiff and achy? Resistance training is a huge way to fight that feeling.
From the research: Fatouros et. al (2006) found that regular resistance training helped to improve joint motion. Additionally, the most improved flexibility was kept after not exercising for six months in participants who performed heavier resistance training.
- Help Improve Daily Activities (2)
Second, incorporating regular resistance training into your exercise program will help improve your daily activities. The things that you do on an everyday basis–whether it’s things around the house, playing with your kids or grandkids, or any kind of sports or recreational activity–all of that will be improved by regular resistance training.
From the research: Alexander et. al (2001) found that regular resistance training improved the ability of participants to perform basic daily activities.
- Helps Prevent “I’m Getting Old” Syndrome (1, 3, 4)
The last one, have you ever heard your mom or your dad, or maybe yourself, say, “I’m just getting old. That’s why I can’t do it.”? Resistance training helps prevent the “I’m getting old” syndrome. Performing resistance exercises will help you keep and maintain your strength, your flexibility, and your balance. Resistance training will help you not say, “I’m getting old,” all the time, and will help you participate in all of the things that you are wanting to do with your life.
From the research: Melov et. al (2007) found that resistance training can actually reverse some of the damage done to our mitochondria as we age. Additionally, Orr et. al (2006) found that resistance training significantly improved balance.
References
- Fatouros I, Kambas A, Katrabasas I, Leontsini D, Chatzinikolaou A, Jamurtas A, Douroudos I, Aggelousis N, Taxildaris K. Resistance training and detraining effects on flexibility performance in the elderly are intensity-dependent. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 20(3): 634-642, 2006.
- Alexander N, Galecki A, Grenier M, Nyquist L, Hofmeyer M, Grunawalt J, Medell J, Fry-Welch D. Task-specific resistance training to improve the ability of activities of daily living–impair older adults to rise from a bed and from a chair. JAGS. 49: 1418-1427, 2001.
- Melov S, Tarnopolsky M, Beckman K, Felkey K, Hubbard A. Resistance exercise reverses aging in human skeletal muscle. PLoS ONE. e465. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000465.
- Orr R, de Vos N, Singh N, Ross D, Stavrinos T, Fiatarone-Singh M. Power training improves balance in healthy older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences. 61A(1): 78-85, 2006.
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