15 health benefits of weight training

We all know about the physical benefits of weight training, but have you ever considered how it supports your general health? From mental gains to better sleep, here are 15 ways that weight training positively impacts your life beyond what you see in the mirror.

Improved posture

Many of us have sedentary jobs where most of our time is spent at a desk or sat down travelling.

Over time, though, this can lead to bad posture and backache unless we do something about it — and weight training is as good a remedy as any.

Training your back muscles encourages better posture away from the curved fork we often see, and using our core muscles encourages this posture to be held throughout the day.

Improved mobility

Do you ever struggle with your flexibility when reaching down for the floor? Weight training isn't just about being strong, it also improves your quality of movement and range of motion.

Here's an example: how frequently do you go through full hip flexion? We wouldn't be surprised if you said never, but all you need to do is incorporate some squats into your schedule to engage this part of your body. 

Better balance and reduced risk of injury

Do you take part in sports such as football or climbing? Weight training can improve your performance and help protect you from injury, enabling you to enjoy these activities for many years to come.

This is because strength training builds core stability as you're lifting and setting the weights down. If you learn to become stable and balanced under a heavy load, this balance will feed through to other pursuits like sport.

Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease

Strength training drives many health indicators into the green, including blood pressure and the risk of developing a cardiovascular disease.

What's more, it's commonly observed that people tend to change other negative tendencies in their life upon starting a workout regime, such as quitting smoking or taking on a cleaner diet. Exercise is a positive life choice and one that often attracts similar behaviours. 

Meeting new people

When we think about health, it's easy to only consider physical and mental health, but what about our social health?

There's a whole community of like-minded people who enjoy weight training that you can meet in your local gym. They're likely to have similar motivations to you in what they want to achieve through fitness.

Meeting fellow lifters can give you support, motivation and good memories along the way.

Improved body confidence

Weight training encourages a healthier muscle-to-fat ratio, but it's not just this that helps you feel more comfortable in your skin.

Weight training also releases endorphins or 'happy hormones' which reduce negative self-talk and enable you to see all the great things about yourself.

Ageing strong

Have you ever heard of Sarcopenia? It's the age-related loss of muscle mass.

As we get older, we usually become more sedentary. But it doesn't have to be that way. There's no age limit to weight training, whether you're continuing lifelong habits or starting a brand new workout routine.

Weight training throughout your life and into older age can keep muscle loss at bay, keeping you healthy and active well into retirement.

Improved mental health

Weight training improves mental health in so many ways it's almost hard to describe them all, but let's consider a few frontrunners:

• Meeting new friends
• Achieving your goals
• Increasing self-worth
• Instant gratification at personal-best lifts 

Parent power

Suppose you're thinking about starting a family and going through pregnancy and labour. In that case, safe weight training before, during and after pregnancy can aid in a healthier pregnancy and a quicker recovery.

Always make sure you consult an expert and follow your doctor's advice to ensure you're doing what's best for you and your baby at all times.

Stronger bones

Weight training doesn't just improve muscle strength, it also improves the strength of our bones, making you an all-around badass.

But on a more serious note, stronger bones means less likelihood of fractures and breaks and can lead to a faster recovery in the event of an injury.

Stronger muscles

Strength makes life a lot easier. There are so many examples of tasks we perform daily where being stronger would be a big help — carrying in the shopping from the car, picking the kids up or getting the Christmas decorations out of the loft.

From an aesthetic perspective, many people feel more confident with some muscle definition. Whether your ideal aesthetic is big bulging biceps or toned legs, these bodies are built by design with a perfect regimen for each goal and lifestyle.

Increased in energy expenditure

Naturally, lifting weights expends significant energy, especially if you're lifting high volume or high weight. Moving more is always a positive thing.

Reduced risk of disease and chronic pain

Regular weight training has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, obesity-related diseases and chronic pain like backache.

This is partially due to the positive lifestyle changes that go hand-in-hand with regular training, but also for all of the other reasons we've listed above!

The risk factors that contribute to some cancers and diseases are reduced when you participate in healthier lifestyle habits, and having a better musculoskeletal support system can reduce posture-related aches and pains.

15 reasons to start taking weight training seriously. We don't know about you, but we'd say there's no better time to get to work than now.

Happy training!