Benefits of Weight training

Some may think that weight training is just about building strength and “bulking up”. However, did you know that weight training can make you body produce more cells, which helps you live longer (Professor Fiatarone Singh, 2016). In fact weight training benefits your entire body, from your head to your toes. Below is brief outline of how weight lifting can benefit you.

Brain

Often we think the brain is not effected by weight training but the brain obtains many benefits from weight training. Intensive weight training increases the brains ability to create new connects, which is known as the neurogenerative process. This boosts your ability to learn, increase your ablility to think critically and increases your memory. Along with these benefits weight training improves your mental state and confidence (Livestrong, 2015).

Body regulation

Weight training improves your metabolism, strength and bone density. New muscle mass that is gained through weight training requires more energy in order to keep your new muscle cells alive, thus burns fat. Lifting weights brakes down you muscle fibres, which are then re-built bigger. This increases your strength, as the body adapts to lift heavier weights. An increase in bone density is also a result of adapting to weight training, as the stronger your muscles are the stronger your bones need to be in order to help the body support itself (livestrong, 2014).

Fight disease

Weight training also benefits your immune system and helps you fight disease. Several studies have shown that intensive exercise made athletes less likely to develop sickness. Weight training has been proven to increase the amount of macrophages in the body, which help fight any viral infection / disease (coreperformance, 2013).  Some diseases that can be prevented by weight training are cardiac disease, diabetes and the common flu can also be prevented by weight training.

Weight training can begin with light weights or just body weight exercises. You do not need to be a professional athlete in the beginning of your training but the important step is to start.