With the COVID restrictions lifting, cases looking like they are on the decline and our January holidays done, lots of people will be getting into the routine of a normal year. Back to work, kids back at school, and your health and fitness working into those busy weeks ahead.
Plenty of people believe that getting into a bit of cardio will help them achieve their new year goals and burn off that Christmas cheer, but make sure that resistance training is part of your plans. For us at Excite this is our F.I.R.E. program (Focused Intense Resistance Exercise).
The Victorian Government health website has an extensive list of physical and mental health benefits that can be achieved through resistance training. These benefits include:
- Improved muscle strength and tone – to protect your joints from injury
- Maintaining flexibility and balance, which can help you remain independent as you age
- Weight management and increased muscle-to-fat ratio – as you gain muscle, your body burns more kilojoules when at rest
- May help reduce or prevent cognitive decline in older people
- Greater stamina – as you grow stronger, you won’t get tired as easily
- Prevention or control of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, back pain, depression and obesity
- Pain management
- Improved mobility and balance
- Improved posture
- Decreased risk of injury
- Increased bone density and strength and reduced risk of osteoporosis
- Improved sense of wellbeing – resistance training may boost your self-confidence, improve your body image and your mood
- Improved sleep and avoidance of insomnia
- Increased self-esteem
- Enhanced performance of everyday tasks
That is a huge list...and any one of those by itself is of great benefit. Put together it is a no-brainer!
Get resistance training into your plans, whatever your goals.
Yours in health and fitness,
Chris
