6 reasons to start strength training today

If you’ve been exercising and eating right and you’re still not seeing or feeling the results you want, it might be time to spend some time lifting things up and putting them down.

“Strength training can completely enhance your quality of life,” says Adrian Hutber, PhD, vice president for the American College of Sports Medicine’s Exercise is Medicine initiative. Strength training (also called resistance training) keeps muscles flexible, helps regulate body chemistry, and strengthens the body to help it fight off disease and other signs of ageing.

Not quite sold? Here are six reasons to look to strength training to help you achieve your goals.

If you lift weights, your heart will thank you. Strength training can help lower your blood pressure, according to a research review in the Journal of the American Heart Association. This, in turn, can lower your risk for heart disease.

Isometric resistance training, where the angle of your joint doesn’t change - such as holding yourself in a plank position - may be most beneficial for lowering systolic blood pressure, according to this review.

According to the National Osteoporosis Society, more than 3 million people in the UK are estimated to have osteoporosis, a condition that causes around 500,000 broken bones every year. Millions more suffer from brittle bone disease (also known as osteogenesis imperfecta).

Research has suggested that strength training can help maintain and possibly improve bone density, and the good news is, you don’t have to be a powerlifter for stronger bones. Lifting light weights for a higher number of repetitions may be just as beneficial as lifting heavier loads for bone health, according to a small, preliminary study published in a 2017 issue in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness.

Type 2 diabetes is a serious diet and weight-related health problem that’s reaching epidemic proportions, says Hutber. Increases in muscle mass and stronger mitochondria (the energy centre of cells) as a result of intense, long-term, personalised resistance-training programmess may positively impact insulin responsiveness and glucose control in some individuals with type 2 diabetes, according to a scientific review published in the journal Nutrition & Metabolism in March 2017.

“If you’re trying to lose weight, strength training can be a helpful addition to a healthy diet and exercise routine,” says Baltimore-based exercise scientist Erica Suter, CSCS. “The more muscle you have, the harder your body is working to burn calories at rest.”

It's worth knowing that while the average weight training routine can help you look and feel leaner, it won’t necessarily change the number on the scale. This is because strength training increases muscle mass, and muscle is much denser than fat.

Strength training not only improves body composition; it can also improve other areas of your life, says Suter. “Maybe you're a runner and you want to not get sore at the end of a race, or maybe you want to get faster,” she says.

Or, perhaps you're a mum and want to build up the strength to carry your kids for longer. “Whatever it is, strength training will make you more resilient for the everyday demands of life,” Suter says.

Strength training is hard work, and it forces you to push your limits. But it’s worth it for how great you’ll feel about yourself as a result, says Suter. “There's nothing more empowering than achieving your first pull up or doing a perfect push-up. Weight training is a great way to chase performance goals,” she says.

If you want to get going but you're not sure where to start, Suter suggests trying bodyweight exercises like squats, dips and push-ups.

“Everyone has been a beginner and you're moving yourself in the right direction to a better body and mind,” she says. “The key is to start off slow and listen to how your body feels as you progress.”