So how are your weight loss activities working for you? If you’ve tried your fair share of fad diets, weight loss pills and starving yourself without any long-term success, what will you try next?
One thing’s for sure, why would you try another diet or different pills if they haven’t worked so far? If you’re looking for a way to lose weight and can’t find it, sometimes it helps to look in places you never thought to look.
Benefits of Strength Training
In addition to long-term weight loss, the list of strength training benefits is a long one, including the following, among many others.
- Improves bone health, including osteoporosis prevention and management
- Helps regulate blood sugar levels
- Gives you better posture and flexibility
- Reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer
- Lowers your risk of muscle and joint injuries
- Improves your self-image and mood
Despite all the amazing benefits of strength training, many of us would still never consider it. Why? Because we really don’t know what strength training means due to the misconceptions that surround it.
What Strength Training Isn’t
The benefits of strength training are almost outnumbered by the many wrong ideas about it. To start understanding strength training and why it’s okay for you to start thinking about it as a way to help you lose weight and maintain good health, it helps to look at all the misunderstandings we have about it.
- It Isn’t Bodybuilding, Weight Lifting or Bulking Up – Strength training is about improving the strength of your bones, muscles and joints, not necessarily changing the appearance of your muscles.
- You Don’t Need Weights or Other Equipment – Strength training’s benefits come from contracting your muscles against a ‘resistance’. Yes, that resistance can come from weights, but they don’t need to be at the end of a barbell or expensive exercise equipment. Your body weight is enough to see results and there are many strength training routines that don’t use any weights or equipment.
- You Don’t Have to Go to a Gym – Or buy any too-tight clothing, or be surrounded by people who look like they eat a celery-only diet. You can get all the benefits of strength training in the comfort of your home – even if you live in a microscopic downtown condo.
- It Isn’t Difficult & You Can Go at Your Own Pace – First, before you start any strength training, you should talk to your doctor. Second, if you start strength training, stop immediately if you feel any pain or discomfort. It is best if you consult a professional trainer to help you.
All that said, you can start training right now at your own pace. There’s no need to jump into a 45-minute routine. Do your research and start with something you think you can do easily. Give it a try. See if you like it. If so, try it a second time. Boom! You just did a couple squats – you’re strength training!!
You can improve the benefits you get from strength training by giving your body the nutrition it needs to build and maintain your strength. Visit your nearest Herbal One location and talk to a nutritional consultant who can create a nutrition program customized to your needs and weight loss goals.
If you want to see how easy it is to strength train at home, check out our post “How to Turn Housework into a Weight-Busting Workout”.