If you want to built biceps or get a six-pack, lifting weights is an essential component for making it happen. But even if maxing out your muscle size isn’t your objective, strength training might still be the best way to hit your health goals –
Weight lifting
1. Strength Training Supports Fat Loss
Ever hear of the after-burn effect? It’s technically called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC, and it means that you need more oxygen after training as your body works to cool itself down. In the process, you’re burning more calories than usual, even once you’ve plopped yourself down on the couch.
This mini metabolism boost is stronger with more intense exercise, like high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and heavy strength-training sessions with little rest, because you’ll need loads of oxygen to fuel harder workouts, according to the American Council on Exercise.
But when you’re hitting that high-intensity level, the metabolism lift isn’t so mini after all: The after-burn can linger for up to 21 hours post-strength training, according to a small June 2015 study in Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. Over time, this increased energy expenditure adds up, supporting your ability to shed body fat.
2. It Can Help Your Mental Health
Though aerobic (aka cardio) exercise like walking and cycling has been extensively researched — and applauded — for its mental health benefits, strength training has begun to claim its share of the spotlight.
3. Strength Training Helps Your Posture
Being stuck in one position all day — like sitting at your computer — fatigues the stabilizer muscles in your torso, which play a major role in your posture, Li says.
Regular strength training will help you move more throughout the week, but it also helps increase the endurance of the muscles in your trunk that are responsible for proud posture, he explains.
4. Strength Training Supports Healthy Bones
Though you may think of your bones as static, they break down and renew themselves, much like your muscles.
Over the years, though, bone breakdown increases — especially in women, who have smaller bones to begin with, says Vivian Ledesma, DC, owner of Alliance Healing Arts in Seattle. (Many women develop osteoporosis, the condition of porous, weak bones in middle-age and beyond, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation)
Though nutrition, age and hormones all influence bone health, people who regularly strength train tend to have higher bone density, Li says. Just as strength training stimulates the repair and growth of your muscles, so it does for your bones.
5. Strength Training Improves Balance
Maybe you want to finally nail that one-legged yoga pose or get up and down the stairs without feeling wobbly. No matter your goal, strength training can support your stability.
Many strength-training movements require balance and mobility from your body. As you move in different planes of motion and at different angles while strength training, your major muscle groups and the smaller muscles throughout your body become stronger and more stable.
6. It Can Help Keep Your Blood Sugar Healthy
Strength training can help reduce your risk of diabetes, a metabolic disease characterized by high blood sugar that affects 422 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
7. Strength Training Supports Your Heart
Though cardio has long gotten credit for its heart health benefits, January 2017 research in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise suggests resistance training deserves some, too.
The study authors found that women who reported engaging in any strength training had a 17 percent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease than those who did no strength training.
People who have depression may also experience some relief by taking up this form of training. One factor to note is the instant change you can feel in your body after lifting compared to activities like running. For some people, this can be a powerful boost in terms of motivation and self-confidence.