While strength training is an up-and-coming fitness trend (that we hope will stick!), it hasn’t gained as much popularity as cardiovascular workouts yet. Strength training, also known as resistance training, improves both strength and endurance while boosting overall health. It makes muscles stronger through anaerobic exercises, which break down glucose in the body without oxygen. In a nutshell, they are more intense, shorter than aerobic exercises, and are muscle, endurance, and power-building.
Perhaps the notion that becoming bulky through lifting, especially for women, is reason enough to skip strength training altogether, weightlifting has benefits that are oftentimes overlooked. Here are 5 reasons why weightlifting should be part of your workout routine:
Sure, muscle weighs more than fat, but lifting helps you lose fat too. As you gain muscle and lose fat, you’re able to improve overall health. Hit two birds with one stone as strength training helps you get lean and improve body shape and muscle definition.
Weightlifting and self-confidence can go hand-in-hand. Endorphins released through a workout make you feel good about yourself, so as your physical strength increases, your mental strength does, too. After continuous strength training with proper form, you and others will surely notice a spring in your step.
Stand tall and proud with Coach Tinoy's chest-strengthening workout here.
Because you’re getting stronger, everyday tasks that used to be so physically and mentally taxing will come easy. Whether it’s transferring your plants into the sun as a plantita or plantito, moving furniture around as a newly developed quarantine hobby, or even something as simple as carrying your children, pets, and groceries, nothing becomes more rewarding than seeing results from consistent functional fitness workouts manifest through daily routines.
We already know that our bodies are capable of doing so many great things—add lifting weights to that long list, and it gives us many reasons to celebrate ourselves. For the longest time, we’ve held Western features and bodies to define what beautiful means, but through the strength you gain and things you can do, you can take more pride and show more love not just for the way your body looks, but also for what and how much it can do.
Studies show that Filipinos in their 50s to 60s have the same risk of getting osteoporosis as those aged 70 and above. Resistance training helps with boosting bone density, which means an improvement in the ability of the bones to take extra force, weight, and load. In the long run, starting weightlifting when you’re younger helps lower the risk of osteoporosis and other bone-related injuries later on.
Want to take muscle building to the next level? Check out Coach Arnold's Dumbbell Session here.
“Times are changing and so can we. I believe there is a great opportunity to apply a more active approach [in our lifestyle]. Not only is this body capable of [doing] more, but you reap some quality health benefits [when you push yourself],” says Coach Sheena Mabilangan, a certified personal trainer and CrossFit competitor. Check out her Full-Body Functional Dumbbell Workout here.
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