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September 8, 2019: The Importance of Strength Training

My weekly Get Your Stuff Together Sunday email series gives you one actionable focus for the week that will make your life a little easier.

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While losing weight and keeping it off is a starting point, building muscle mass should also be a top priority on your fitness journey. More muscle allows for more calories burned and a higher metabolism, the keys to reducing body fat. This week, we’re going to talk about why strength training is so important for your overall health.

Strength training is an integral part of a balanced exercise routine. Strength training develops muscle mass in your body by using resistance techniques like free weights, resistance bands, weight machines, and even your own body weight for push-ups, sit ups, or body weight squats. Your muscles work harder against the extra weight to strengthen and expand muscle mass which is crucial to effectively maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Expanding muscle mass increases bone density by strengthening the connective tissues. This decreases your risk of developing osteoporosis and reduces your chance for injury. As we age, this is an even more important reason to strength train.

Besides building muscles, strength training preserves the muscle mass you already have. As you age, lean muscles diminish and fat increases in its place. This is likely the last thing you want to hear. The good news, though, is that you can begin a strength training routine at any age!

Your metabolic rate changes with the amount of muscle you have. The concept of doing absolutely nothing and burning calories is hard to imagine, but in order to sustain itself muscles burn calories. One pound of muscle burns three times more calories than one pound of fat. This also means that your weight might not change, but that you’ll look leaner and lose inches. Bonus - after you activate your body through strength training, you burn even more.

Even the Centers for Disease Control is on board with muscle building exercises. They've found that building muscle helps improve blood sugar, sleep, mental health and balance. Doctors have recommended strength training to prevent disease and conditions like heart disease, diabetes, obesity. They've also found it controls arthritis, Parkinson's, fibromyalgia, and it even enhances life for those who've suffered from stroke, heart attack, cancer, spinal cord injuries and depression. But, wait! There’s more! Strength training is good for the brain, too. It relieves stress and anxiety and studies have shown strength training and a combination of aerobic exercise can help improve thought process and learning abilities.

Next Sunday, we’ll talk about busting some common fitness myths.

Want some expert help with reaching your health goals painlessly? Check out my programs! We’ll get everything taken care of in a way that fits into your current lifestyle so you never have to think about your health again.

Do you have a friend who could stand to G(her)ST? Feel free to forward this!

I hope you have a wonderful week,

Kelly

Kelly Morgan, Ph.D.

Tsirona - www.tsirona.com


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