6 Reasons Why You Feel So Good After Lifting Weights

Whether you use free weights, machines, or resistance bands, weight training has many health benefits. Using weights to exercise has been practiced since ancient times when people did this activity for better health and fitness. While the Egyptians lifted sandbags and heavy stones, the Greeks lifted U-shaped stone weights called “barbells”, the forerunner of today’s dumbbells.

Ancient societies understood the benefits of exercising with weights, and so does our society today. There are reasons why we feel so good about this exercise, and understanding these reasons can benefit your overall health in the long run.

1. Improved Bone Strength

Weight-bearing exercise benefits bone health in several ways. IT delays bone lossIt is a condition that occurs as we get older. After age 50, men and women begin to lose about 1 percent of bone mass each year. Working out with weights is a natural way to maintain bone strength.

Research also shows that it can rebuild bone by stimulating growth and increasing calcium in bones. The stress and pressure from weight training can strengthen bone density. It is also an important tool for preventing or at least delaying osteoporosis. especially, post-menopausal women benefit Because bone loss is common during menopause due to weight training.

2. Blood Sugar Control

Weight training can increase insulin sensitivityThis is how your body responds to insulin. The higher your insulin sensitivity, the more efficiently your cells absorb glucose from your blood, helping control blood sugar. During weight training, your muscles use glucose as energy, which reduces circulating glucose.

Additionally, people who participate in weight training lower A1C scoresa measurement of a person’s average blood sugar level over the past three months. Finally, the increased muscle mass created by weight training can lower blood sugar levels.

Read more: Can You Reverse Type 2 Diabetes with Diet and Weight Loss?

3. Improved Mobility and Flexibility

Mobility reflects our ability to move freely. One-way weight/resistance training promotes mobility is to create stronger muscles. These muscles provide support to joints, including the hips and knees. As joints are better supported, stability increases and mobility and range of motion increase.

Weight training can be as effective as stretching for improving range of motion. Older people who are more likely to experience falls can reduce their risk with resistance training because this type of exercise also improves coordination and mental skills. balance.

4. Supports Weight Loss

People often associate aerobic/cardio exercise with weight loss, but Weight training also positively affects weight loss. This is achieved by building lean muscle, which burns more calories than fat.

Not only are the calories burned during weight training (though not as much as during cardio), but the calories will continue to be burned even when the body is at rest. This occurs as lean muscle continues to be built through strength training, which increases muscle strength. resting metabolic rate (RMR). Lean muscle requires more calories to maintain basic body functions when inactive, which helps maintain a healthy weight.

Read more: Forget dieting. Here’s What Really Works for Weight Loss

5. Brain Booster

Strength training protects brain regions typically associated with degeneration, including reducing shrinkage in lower regions of the brain. hippocampus. Research shows that older adults, in particular, may benefit from resistance training with respect to general and executive cognitive functions.

There may also be a reduction in amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Research shows that brain health continues to have neurocognitive protective effects. up to one year after training. Other brain-related effects include improved mood and emotional well-being. This is because strength training reduces depression and anxiety levels, improves sleep quality and reduces fatigue; all of which contribute to mental health.

6. Hormone Balance

Weight or resistance training can help hormone balance. This type of exercise Promotes anabolic hormonesIt is associated with muscle building and tissue repair. These include testosterone, estrogen, insulin and human growth hormone (HGH).

Exercising with weights also reduces catabolic hormones, which are often activated when we are under stress (for example, during the fight-or-flight response). These include adrenaline, cortisol and cytokines.

Read more: For Vegans, Lifting Weights May Help Keep Bones Strong

Article Resources

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Allison Futterman is a Charlotte, NC-based writer whose science, history, and medical/health writing appears on a variety of platforms and in regional and national publications. These include Charlotte, People, Our State and Philanthropy magazines. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in criminal justice.