Three Incredible Side Effects of Regular Strength Training
#1 Strength Training Is More Powerful Than Quitting Cigarettes
A 2018 study in the journal Cardiology compared a group of people who smoked cigarettes and exercised to a second group of people who did not smoke or exercise. The exercising smokers were healthier than the non-exercising non-smokers.
Incredible, right?
This shows the power of strength training.
For the record, I do not recommend smoking.
#2 Strength Training Reduces Your Risk of At Least
26 Diseases
As I mentioned in the introduction of this newsletter, we all “know” that going to the gym is “good” for us. But it’s nice to know just how good. Here are a few of the diseases that you have a lower risk of developing just by lifting weights regularly:
Stroke
Diabetes
Dementia
Heart Disease
Hypertension
Cancer (many kinds)
Osteoporosis
ALS
Depression
Osteoarthritis
Obesity
Metabolic Syndrome
Anxiety
Fatty Liver
Chronic Respiratory Disease
Afib
Dyslipidemia
Chronic Kidney Disease
I would also add, totally in my opinion and not scientific at all, that lifting weights makes you cooler and more likeable and less of a nerd.
#3 Strength Training Gives You More Energy
This one can seem like a paradox . . .
How do you get more energy outside of the gym, in your daily life, by using up more energy inside the gym?
Our bodies respond in specific ways to specific demands and stresses. The body is very “adaptive” in that way. And strength training sends a very specific demand - a signal - to your body, and that signal is:
“Get stronger . . . Get faster . . . Get ready!”
Inside our muscles, regular strength training signals our bodies to make more mitochondria (the powerhouses of your cells) and store more fuel.
So strength training is like building more rocket ships and adding more fuel tanks inside our bodies. You’ll run at a higher octane all day long.
If you don’t want to feel low energy, don’t act like it in the gym!
Conclusion
Strength training is one of the best investments you can make for yourself. The returns are incredible. You feel better, look better, move better. You lower your risk of dozens of diseases and health problems.
And you can get all of that in 2-3 hours a week!
I suggest (3) strength training classes a week at Strength School, for 45-60 minutes each, plus walking at least 2-3 days a week.
There are similar recommendations from many prominent health-related organizations:
World Health Organization: at least 150 minutes weekly of moderate physical activity
American Diabetes Association: at least 150 minutes weekly of moderate physical activity
Center for Disease Control: at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity
American Heart Association: strength training at least 2 days a week and 75 minutes or more of aerobic activity
American College of Sports Medicine: strength training at least 2 days a week and 150-300 minutes of moderate physical activity