Why do you need Strength Training?

Before we dive right in and explain why you need to incorporate strength training into your weekly routine, first you need to know the difference between exercise, strength training and physical fitness. Exercise can be described as physical activity that is structured and repetitive with the intent of enhancing physical fitness. Physical fitness is the ability to perform aspects of health or skill related tasks (Caspersen et al., 1985). Strength training is a form of exercise whereby external weights are added to progressively overload the skeletal muscles of the body in order to make them stronger (Phillips, & Winett, 2010). In summary, we use strength training as a form of exercise to improve our body’s ability to perform specific occupational or health related activities.

Wow, thats a lot of context thrown at you, so let’s move on and talk about the health benefits of strength training.

The positive impacts of strength training are pretty incredible considering that you can fight off long term diseases, improves your self confidence, prevent falls, boost physical capabilities and promote a better quality of life. It’s no wonder that teens, adolescents and the elderly populations are using strength training as a means to help them achieve specific goals. We see this approach among athletes of all ages who want to excel in their sport and reduce the risk of injuries. Even the elderly are seeing benefits from strength workouts to help them correct their balance and posture. No matter how old you are, exercise is an integral part of living a healthy and robust life!

At some point in the 70’s and 80’s, it was believed that weight training would be detrimental to the growth and development of teens and would lead to serious injury. Since then, it has been proven that strength and plyometric (jump or speed) training play a vital role in the development of a healthy and strong body. There is vast research that validates the youth using strength training as a way to enhance their muscular strength, endurance and power. It also boosts motor performance skills, body composition, bone mineral accrual, self esteem and reduces lipid profiles. One of the most compelling pieces of evidence highlights the absence of exercise in the youth and how it increases the chances of developing unhealthy lifestyle habits and a negative self image (Peitz, Behringer & Granacher, 2018). Not only can strength training help teenagers build strong bodies’ and healthy lifestyle habits, but it can also give them confidence and skills needed to chase their dreams and strive for greater things.

As we enter adulthood, it’s important to begin to think about long term health. Life happens and occupations and parenthood can decrease opportunities for staying active. Discovering ways to implement exercise into your daily routine is one of the most essential lifestyle habits that will aid in preventing chronic illnesses like diabetes mellitus, cancer, depression, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and obesity. There are large amounts of scientific evidence that promotes exercise as a contemporary non-pharmacological approach in the avoidance and management of chronic diseases. Despite the overwhelming data, 1.4 billion people on this planet do not meet the public health requirements for suggested levels of exercise and as a result, obesity has become a global pandemic (Atakan et al., 2021).

The World Health Organization (2020) calls for achieving at least 150 – 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, or 75 – 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, per week to experience positive health benefits. The biggest challenge people face when it comes to exercise, is not having enough time. It’s been proposed that engaging in more frequent shorter bouts of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) will help accomplish the recommended guidelines from the WHO. “HIIT” simply means, workouts with periods of intense physical exertion with little to no rest in between each prescribed move. This is a great alternative for people who lack the time to exercise, but can still reap the health rewards from weight training.

According to Sherrington et al., (2019) seniors are also taking advantage of exercise especially since 1 out of 3 community dwelling individuals over the age of 65 will fall down every year. 10% percent of those falls will lead to fractures and are a significant source of mortality and morbidity. After experiencing a tumble, there are new mental barriers that arise, which may reduce the quality of life of that individual. Serious stumbles can shatter a person’s confidence to perform day to day functions and may decrease overall physical activity and social interaction, possibly leading to depression. Ironically, the fear of falling will significantly restrict participation in activities, leading to a deterioration of physical abilities and inevitably contributing to more falls.

Fortunately, exercise can help prevent future falls and serious fractures or injuries in the elderly cohort. Exercise programs that involve balance, strength training and functional exercises have been shown to minimize the risk of falling by 23%. These workout programs diminish the number of people experiencing one or more falls by 15%. Furthermore, becoming strong enough to maintain repeated daily activities will increase confidence, social interactions and promote a better quality of life (Sherrington et al., 2019).

As you can read, consistent and repetitive exercise that places a demand on your muscles will help foster strength, improve balance, curtail depression and build more confidence. It will also diminish the possibility of advancing illnesses like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The positive impact that exercise has one’s self esteem speaks volumes and whether you are 10 or 70 years old, anyone can build strength and confidence!

Stay Fit!

Works Cited

Atakan, M. M., Li, Y., Koşar, Ş. N., Turnagöl, H. H., & Yan, X. (2021). Evidence-Based Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training on Exercise Capacity and Health: A Review with Historical Perspective. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(13), 7201. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137201 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8294064/

Caspersen, C. J., Powell, K. E., & Christenson, G. M. (1985). Physical activity, exercise, and physical fitness: definitions and distinctions for health-related research. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974), 100(2), 126–131. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3920711/#:~:text=Physical%20activity%20in%20daily%20life,or%20maintenance%20of%20physical%20fitness.

Peitz, M., Behringer, M., & Granacher, U. (2018). A systematic review on the effects of resistance and plyometric training on physical fitness in youth- What do comparative studies tell us?. PloS one, 13(10), e0205525. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205525 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6179270/

Phillips, S. M., & Winett, R. A. (2010). Uncomplicated resistance training and health-related outcomes: evidence for a public health mandate. Current sports medicine reports, 9(4), 208–213. https://doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0b013e3181e7da73 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4086449/

Sherrington, C., Fairhall, N. J., Wallbank, G. K., Tiedemann, A., Michaleff, Z. A., Howard, K., Clemson, L., Hopewell, S., & Lamb, S. E. (2019). Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 1(1), CD012424. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012424.pub2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6360922/