By Jillian Boston, Personal Trainer & Fitness Nutrition Specialist
Now that the weather is warmer it is so awesome that we can take our cardio workouts outside and get some fresh air! With that we want to remind you that it is SO important to supplement your cardio workouts with strength training at the club! Strength training not only helps keep your muscles strong for things like running and walking but it also helps prevent injury. There are many forms of strength training including weight lifting, strength classes, barre, vinyasa yoga and so much more. So whatever style of strength training piques your interest, go for it and reap the benefits! Below are just a few of the reasons why we love strength training so much:
- Makes you stronger – This may be the most obvious benefit but it is worth noting! What is better than realizing that you can do so much more than you thought you could? With strength comes power and belief in yourself. This can transfer to so many areas of your life and has an all around positive affect on your confidence. Start lifting those weights and within a few weeks you’ll know what I mean.
- Boosts Metabolism – The more muscle we have on our body the more muscle we need to fuel. That means that the food we are eating is feeding our muscles versus getting stored as fat. Making a point to keep up with your strength training will have your metabolism thriving day in and day out.
- Improves Bone Density – Strength training increases your bone density and reduces your risk of osteoporosis. Strong bones play a vital role because they are what protect organs in the body. The stronger your bone density the better you protect your body. Bone and muscle go hand and hand, so if your muscles get weak so does your bone defense mechanism. If you keep your muscles strong it in turn keeps your bones strong. I don’t know about you but I definitely see the benefit in keeping up with my muscle mass.
- Supports Your Heart – Building lean muscle improves your heart health by burning extra calories, keeping your blood sugar level and reducing your cholesterol levels. Leveling out all of the above means your heart does not have to work as hard to perform daily takes and thus eases the strain on it. Our heart is a muscle and like all the other muscles in our body it needs time to recover. If we aid it with healthy food and strength workouts it has time to do so which helps prevent against a plethora of heart related conditions. Make your heart happy and get that strength training workout in today :).
- Boosts Mood & Enhances Mental Health – One of the best benefits of exercise aside from the physical benefits is what exercise does for your mental health. Have you ever had a rough day at the office and gone for a walk to clear your head? Then when you return you realize whatever was bothering you wasn’t as big of a problem as you thought? Well, we can thank the movement for that! Participating in a strength workout has been proven to release happy hormones like endorphins and help fight against depression and anxiety. How awesome that you achieve a physical and mental benefit from a workout?!
As you can see strength training has some amazing benefits and many more aside from what we chatted about above. We hope learning more about strength training has inspired you and that you now feel confident in why supplementing your outdoor activities with strength training is so beneficial. Have an awesome rest of your Spring and make sure to check out our Group Fitness Schedule here for tons of chances to build strength every week!
