No fitness or exercise regime would be complete, or viable, without some element of weight-lifting. Weight training, or resistance training, can not only increase muscle size and strength, but also improve body composition and give you a toned appearance. It also burns fat, reduces the risk of diabetes and can help ease back pain and even fight depression. With all those benefits, I’d be daft to exclude it. So I don’t.
When you lift weights, it’s the so-called ‘type II’ muscle fibres that grow, but that’s not really the part that interests us. The best part of lifting weight is that those fibres also help to burn fat. The more lean muscle you have, the more fat you burn. This is especially true if you are exercising at the right intensity.
Continued use of resistance training doesn’t start and stop with stronger and larger muscles. Over time, lifting weights will give you more energy, improve your posture and more strength. That might sound like an obvious statement, but I mean more strength, as opposed to more muscle wastage.
Better posture leads to pain-free joint movement, fewer colds or flu (including man flu), less tiredness and less stress, especially now you have a real outlet to channel all those things that are winding you up.
Research around the world all points to the health benefits of lifting weights. This can include everything from a drop in blood pressure, to an increase in blood flow, thanks to the widening of blood vessels.
When it comes to this plan, food and exercise are working hand-in-hand, but also we are taking the very best of cardio and resistance training to make a plan that works with you and for you.
