What Important Benefits Do We Derive From Strength Training and Flexibility Exercises in Adults?

Many people are running, biking, swimming and doing other aerobic exercises to maintain their fitness and the health benefits derived. However many fail to realize that stretching and strength training exercises, although in most cases do not raise your heart rate are important exercises in your program. In fact they can add additional benefits to women and seniors.

Strength training is probably the most misunderstood and neglected of all fitness programs and is capable of being one of the most beneficial. In fact for many years it has been recommended by the professionals involved in sport medicine that adults should be weight training at least twice a week to improve muscle strength and endurance. Many athletes that you would not associate with this type of training use it regularly for this. To understand the benefits you need to understand that the body consists of bone, muscle and organs in one section and the fat storage area in the other. The area where there is no fat consists of a lot of lean body mass which is just another term for muscle. Your muscles are metabolically active so they burn calories to work. You may have heard of a term people use, such as a high metabolism which means a persons body is burning calories at a high rate.

As we get older we start to lose muscle and as result the calories needed to feed our bodies decreases and many of us put on additional weight as a result. We are eating at the same rate but are not burning enough calories to keep pace. Fat on the other hand requires few calories. If we use a strength program regularly we can help decrease the loss of lean muscle and add some that has been lost. If you use weight training to build muscle mass and decrease fat you increase your metabolic rate which helps in the burning of fat. Strength training on its own does not cause weight reduction but combined with good nutrition and aerobic exercise produces excellent results.

Some additional benefits of weight training are the ability to preserve or increase bone density and fight osteoporosis. Studies have shown middle aged women who partook in regular weight training and high impact aerobics have shown that their chance of bone density reduction was much less than those who did not exercise. It has also been known that there is a definite benefit to seniors who use this type of training. If used regularly as you get older little things you take for granted like climbing stairs, carrying groceries moving quickly from a chair and even posture can be improved as we stop the reduction of muscle mass.

Flexibility training is another area many of us ignore. In fact many people who take fitness seriously avoid this area of exercise and that is why they become prone to injury. Stretching and flexibility training is excellent in improving your range of motion. This is definitely a problem many older people experience and if they encompass this type of exercise a couple of times a week they can see definite improvement. A great example of lack of motion is when you look to your side when driving before turning or switching lanes. How many people find this hard to do? Yoga and the hot yoga are training that definitely enhances ones flexibility. I believe that in many cases your lack of flexibility is the direct cause of sudden back pain and the lingering effects in many.

If we add both weight and flexibility training into our fitness regimen, we achieve additional benefits that may help us maintain our current levels for years to come.

The author has been using fitness and diet techniques for over 20 years and has a Bsc from Boston University.

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