Month: June 2016

The benefits of weight training are numerous, and they’re pretty nice benefits too. And while weight training – also known as resistance training – is becoming more popular these days, there are still lots of people who haven’t given it a good go, women especially! And I’m not talking about just bench press or squats – resistance training also includes free weights (barbells and dumbells) as well as resistance machines and plate-loaded machines, most of which you will find upstairs at Exodus. Perhaps you’ve never tried weight training, or perhaps it has been a while since the last time you did. Either way, here is a quick-fire list of the main benefits of weight training to get you interested and/or back into it!

1. Tone is an increase in muscle size coupled with a decrease in body fat – it’s as simple as that. The fastest and most effective way of building muscle is by doing weight training. And for the ladies, lifting weights won’t make you bulky or manly-looking – but it will increase your tone and definition. Body weight exercises can only get you so far before you need to take it up a notch with weight training. Doing cardio by itself will get you lean, but it’s the weights that build definition.
2. Weight training is essential for anyone wanting to increase their strength – whether that’s overall strength or for a particular muscle or muscle group. You will see your strength in the gym go up as well as your strength in normal, everyday tasks. The chest fly machine will make your hugs stronger, for example. And not only do your muscles get stronger – so do your joints, tendons and ligaments – which means less chance of injury. Resistance training decreases your chance of injury, rather than increasing it.
3. Weight training burns calories and boosts your metabolism! Not only will you burn calories while you actually lift weights, but your metabolism increases for up to 24 hours after your session. This means that you will burn more calories than normal even when you are relaxing later that same day. Not to mention the more muscle/tone that you have, the more calories you burn on an everyday basis – it is absolutely true that muscle burns more calories than fat.
4. Weight training increases your bone density, your posture and your flexibility. The greater your bone density, the stronger your bones are – this is critical for older people and those who do high-impact sports. Good posture is essential for anyone who sits at a desk all day long, and anyone with a bad back. And flexibility is just good for everyone.
5. Weight training increases your mental toughness. Lifting weights is all about pushing your boundaries and going as hard as you can. You learn to always push yourself, to always strive for one more rep or one more set. Through hard work you overcome challenges and reach your goals. You learn to never give up and to believe in your ability. You personally see that hard work equals results. Every single one of these things can be directly applied to other areas of your life with great success.
6. Weight training makes you feel better about yourself. Not only does it increase your physical appearance and arguably how attractive you are – more importantly, it increases your confidence. When you know you’ve put in the work at the gym, and you know you look good, you feel good. It doesn’t hurt that resistance training releases endorphins! Not only that – lifting weights reduces stress, anxiety and depression. It’s hard to feel down after a good weights session!

In summary, weight training is a healthy addiction that most people can benefit from. The benefits of resistance training are endless, and I can list them here all day long – but you need to actually give weight training a try to see for yourself. Get out of your comfort zone and experience something new. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Contact Kieran now for a FREE consultation, or if you have any questions about where to begin.

Kieran@gobeyondtraining.co.nz