The Top Reasons You Should Be Strength Training

If you knew that a specific type of training would help you look, be and feel better rapidly, would you do it? There are so many incredible benefits to lifting weights. Here are the top reasons that strength training is good for your health.

Strength training is an excellent fat loss workout.

When you think fat loss, you probably think cardio. And minute for working minute, you’d be on the right track (pun intended). You can burn 600+ calories running for 60 minutes. But for overall fat loss and long-term results, strength training is the superior workout.

Strength training builds muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body requires to maintain. There is a significant difference (think 5-8 calories per pound, per day), in the number of calories a pound of muscle burns over the number of calories a pound of fat burns. The more calories you burn, the higher your metabolism – even after your workout is over.

On top of that, it takes your body more time and more energy to recover from a strength training workout than it does from a cardio workout. For 48-72 hours after you stop working out, your body is hard at work repairing, rebuilding and strengthening your muscles. All of that work eats up more calories.

Related: Here’s What Happened When I Stopped Working Out to be Skinny

You’ll tone your body.

“I want to look toned” is a frequent phrase heard at the gym. And why not? 99% of the people that start working out are, in at least some small way, hoping to look better naked. Strength training is the ultimate body shaper.

Muscle is what gives your body shape. Want your jeans to fit better? Squat. Want to see some definition in your arms? Do dips. “Tone up” is fitness-industry speak for build muscle. Combine that with the fat burning after effects of a strength training workout and you’ll see results fast.

Your risk of injury decreases.

One of the best ways to reduce your risk of injury is to build strength. Lifting weights corrects muscle imbalances that are the result of repetitive action, or lack of action, in daily life. If a muscle is under-utilized (for example, if you have a desk job and your glutes are rarely active during the day), that muscle won’t have the functional capacity to support a sudden movement and your risk of injury increases.

Strength training also builds bone density. You might not think about it now, but osteoporosis is a serious condition that can pop up later in life. Building strong bones, which strength training contributes to, can protect you as you get older.

Your quality of life increases.

Stronger muscles translate to easier functional movement. Think about the activities that you do throughout the day: you climb stairs, you bend over to pick something up, you stand up and sit down. Functional strength training makes those actions and activities easier without thinking about it. Being able to move through everyday life without aches and pains and extra effort dramatically increases your quality of life.

Strength training makes you physically stronger. Imagine running up a flight of stairs without getting winded. Imagine enjoying a hike with your dog instead of thinking of it as a chore. The stronger you are, the less like work these tasks feel and the more enjoyable life becomes.

With strength comes confidence.

Strength: the state of being physically strong; the influence of power possessed by a person; the emotional or mental qualities necessary in dealing with situations or events that are distressing or difficult.

Confidence: the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; a feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities.

There is a reason that strength and confidence provoke some of the same emotions. I’m a firm believer in the power of self in every sense of the phrase. The stronger that you become physically, the stronger that you feel and the more confident you feel in your own power and ability and worth. You start to believe that, in fact, you CAN do and be all of the things you want in life.