We are not living in the cardio boom of past decades. Most fitness-savvy people understand the basic benefits of strength training. Naked muscles look better than naked fat. Strength training makes you stronger in the gym and in daily life. Strength training decreases the risk of injury. And, for the win, strength training helps you build and keep muscle — and all that muscle maximizes fat loss.
But there are other benefits in case looking better naked hasn’t convinced you.
Increase your Energy and Brighten your Mood
Strength training can increase your level of endorphins which explains why in studies we see improvements in mood as well as energy levels [1,2]
Act Smarter
Cognitive capabilities seem to have significant improvements from strength training. Between two studies we see improvement in memory, learning and attention in those who train regularly [3,4]. If you want your mind to be sharp it seems that strength training helps.
Better Sleep
Research shows that a good lift has more impact on a good night sleep than cardio (aerobic training). It is true that nearly any exercise can help improve sleep overall, but isn’t it interesting that strength training trumps cardio? Ideally, for sleep improvement, your program involves both as well as a lot of moderate activity throughout your day.
So, as it turns out, there are many benefits to strength training that have nothing to do with looking good naked. The benefits extend to sleep, mood, energy and brain function. At Accelerate, we prioritize focused strength training 3 days per week in our SPT (strength performance training) format. Additionally, our Classic format mixes conditioning with interval weight training, to give you the benefits of both.
As always, the research:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC474733/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22777332
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC474733/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28919335