Smart Fitt Fitness
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Amanda Abbott
    • Smart Fitt
    • Testimonials
  • Fitness Classes
    • Move It Or Lose It
    • Fighting Fit
    • Bootcamp
    • Total Body Blast
  • Personal Training
    • One-to-one Sessions
    • Fitness Coaching
  • News
  • Links
  • Contact Us

The Importance of strength training

25/2/2022

0 Comments

 
The Importance of Strength Training
Strength training goes a long way in terms of supporting bone health, making aerobic exercise more productive, preventing injury and facilitating healthy ageing. No matter your age or athletic ability, strength training helps with flexibility and improved performance by using opposing force to build strength across your body and increase your muscle mass. 
 
What is strength training?
This is also known as weight or resistance training. It is a form of physical activity designed to improve muscular strength and fitness by exercising a specific muscle group against external resistance. It is based on functional movements: lifting, pushing and pulling, in order to build muscle and coordination needed for everyday activities. 
 
It is recognised that the ageing process begins when we hit 40 and when we reach 50 ageing starts to affect three important systems directly and progressively:

The musculoskeletal system: 
This is one aspect of physical health and consists of 3 components: muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility. Musculoskeletal conditions can cause pain, stiffness and often inflammation in one or more joints or muscles. Regular exercise can reduce some of these symptoms and improve your joint mobility and strength.
 
The cardiovascular system: 
Regular strength training can lower blood pressure and improves overall cardiovascular health by strengthening the heart and blood vessels. Combining aerobic and strength exercises improves our muscles’ ability to extract oxygen from the blood which means our heart doesn’t have to work so hard to pump blood to the muscles.
 
The neuromuscular system: 
The control of the muscles via specialised nerves. Addresses the quality of movement and emphasises joint control in all three movement planes.
 
By keeping active or by increasing activity the impact of this progressive degradation is limited or in some cases “put on hold”.  

Recent studies have looked at how strength training such as press ups and ab curls can help to curb the progress of degradation.
 
People who do not engage in any sort of strength training will lose 40–50% of their muscular strength by the age of 65. Some people will become so weak that performing everyday activities becomes hard work or even impossible.
 
Recent studies suggest that one of the easiest ways to keep mobile is to work on existing strength. In most people, the strongest muscles are found in the legs – quads, hamstrings, calves and glutes.
 
By improving our current strength in the most used groups of muscles it is possible to make everyday tasks like opening jars or getting up from the floor, easier or at least “doable”.
 
Muscles can be a furnace for burning calories, and we get the best results when strength training is combined with any type of aerobic exercise, for example brisk walking, energetic dancing, bike riding or swimming. The bigger muscle mass that we have, the more capacity we have to burn calories and the less likely we are to gain weight as we get older.
 
Benefits of strength training
Strength training provides an endless number of benefits, such as increased bone, muscle, tendon and ligament strength, improved joint function, reduced potential for injury, increased bone density, a temporary increase in metabolism and improved cardiac function.

Reduce arthritis and back pain
‘Toned’ muscles help to support the bones that make up the joints and make a strong structure which reduces the load on the joint. Joints are kept lubricated by “Synovial Fluid”. This is a sticky gooey substance that is produced by the linings over the ends of the bones in the joints. It keeps the joint well lubricated and mobile.  The synovial fluid and membrane also prevent bone from rubbing against bone which causes pain in the joint. 
 
Increases your bone density
As we age our bones become less dense and more brittle.  Exercise helps to keep the density of bones and can delay or prevent osteoporosis. It improves glucose intolerance and insulin sensitivity – strength training has been shown to improve the way the body uses sugar and therefore can help lessen the onset of diabetes as you age.
 
Improve mobility and functional ability
Maintaining or even improving our muscle strength allows us to carry on doing what we like doing when we want to do it!
 
Improves balance and coordination and helps to prevent falls
Strength training helps reduce the risk of falls because you are better able to support your body and strong muscles help to keep your body in the upright position. By having strong muscles, even if you do fall, you also have the strength to get up and to repair quickly.
 
Improves posture
Using the same group of muscles repeatedly but in the incorrect way could lead to incorrect posture. Strength training of certain muscle groups can help to improve your posture.
 
As you incorporate strength training exercises into your fitness routine, you may notice improvement in your strength over time. As your muscle mass increases, you'll likely be able to lift weight more easily and for longer periods of time. If you keep it up, you can continue to increase your strength, even if you're not in shape when you begin.
 
The good news is that it is never too late to take back control and to start to improve from where you currently are. All it takes is a sensible and regular dose of strength training.
 
Taking part in a strength training session as little as only once or twice a week will provide significant improvements, training 3 times a week will give maximum results.
Exercise has also been shown to combat depression, to improve self-esteem and if you join a class it is also a great way to make new friends!
0 Comments

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018

    Categories

    All
    Active Ageing
    Bootcamp
    Bring A Buddy
    Cancer Research
    Classes
    Covid 19
    Covid-19
    Cycling Down Dementia
    Exercise
    Family Bootcamp
    Fitness
    Fitness Challenge
    Fun
    Health & Wellbeing
    Macmillan Cancer Support
    Making Fitness Fun
    Marie Curie
    Mental Wellbeing
    Move It Or Lose It
    Older Adults
    Personal Trainer
    Prime Time Active
    Prime Time Club
    Prime Time Gold
    Regular Exercise
    Resolution
    Sport Relief
    Sports Massage Therapy
    Swimathon
    Swimming
    Total Body Blast
    Virtual Classes
    Walking
    YouTube

    RSS Feed

Picture
FABS - Flexibility, Aerobic, Balance and Strength
Picture
Move It Or Lose It
Picture
Annabel Murcotts Schools of Tae Kwon Do

Fitness Classes

  • Move It or Lose It
  • Fighting Fit​
  • Bootcamp
  • Total Body Blast​​

Personal Training

  • One-to-one Sessions
  • Fitness Coaching
  • Tae Kwon Do
  • Swimming

Contact us

Tel: 07535 788 756
​Email: info@smart-fitt.fitness

Connect

Fitness clubs and groups including Move It or Lose It, Fighting Fit, Summer Bootcamp, Total Body Blast. Amanda Abbott is a fully qualified Fitness Instructor providing One-to-one Personal Training and Fitness Coaching.in Bourne, Baston, Tallington, Deeping St James, Morton and Essendine in Rutland and Lincolnshire.
​
© Copyright 2023 Smart Fitt Fitness   |   Website Design & Development by Creative Remedy
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Amanda Abbott
    • Smart Fitt
    • Testimonials
  • Fitness Classes
    • Move It Or Lose It
    • Fighting Fit
    • Bootcamp
    • Total Body Blast
  • Personal Training
    • One-to-one Sessions
    • Fitness Coaching
  • News
  • Links
  • Contact Us