A 20th century phenomenon that is proving to be one of the greatest public health threats of the modern age is our sedentary and inactive lifestyles. Right back from the origins of our species, our ancestors have had to exert themselves physically in order to survive. Even after the Industrial Revolution, most people still had to perform hard physical work on an almost daily basis.
Within a few generations people can now prosper financially and feed themselves without having to perform hard manual labor. And this is how it is now, and what most of us do every day - almost nothing that requires vigorous physical exertion. The result of this is the world faces an epidemic of overweight and obese people, sky rocketing levels of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other life threatening illnesses and conditions which have been labeled "lifestyle diseases" as they are considered to be premature and preventable.
For our bodies to become and remain healthy they require the stimulation of challenging physical activity. This is the primary way our bodies renew themselves each day.
We still have the same bodies as our nomadic ancestors and our cells still think we are living out on the savannah, struggling to stay alive each day. Though we have moved indoors and left that life behind, we are still hard wired for hard manual labor.
We now must replace this necessary movement with intentional exercise if we wish to stay healthy. Vigorous physical movement signals our body that it's time to grow. So, when you exercise, your muscles release specific substances that travel throughout your bloodstream, telling your cells to grow and stay strong. Sedentary muscles, on the other hand, let out a steady trickle of chemicals that whisper to every cell to wind down and decay, day after day after day.
One of the most important aspects of maintaining health and preventing lifestyle diseases is to take measures to lower the risk factor by starting or continuing with a proper exercise program. If you are new to exercise and are eager to reap maximum benefits from minimal time and effort, strength training is the place to start.
With a beginning strength training program you will feel and see improvements in strength and endurance within a few short weeks. This immediate positive feed back often gives newcomers the incentive and encouragement they need to continue with their pursuit of health in other areas as well such as eating better.
You may think of your health as a given, but that's most likely because you are, in this moment, enjoying good health. Once you have had a serious illness or injury, you never take your health for granted again and realize how important it really is. Although some aspects of our health are not under our control, there are many things we can do to protect and guard the body we have been given.
When we partake in regular exercise, that process of growth spreads throughout every cell in our bodies, making us functionally younger. Not just a little bit younger - a whole lot younger. You can live out your life in a powerful, healthy body resistant to illness and disease if you are willing to put in some effort and work.
The basis premise is you provide a challenge to your muscles, and your muscles react by getting stronger. When you challenge the muscles on a regular basis; you create a firmer, more attractive body, significant functional benefits, more resistance to disease and improvements in overall health and wellbeing.
In fact, many people are beginning to realize that a complete program of health and fitness is . . . well, incomplete without at least 50 - 60% of strength training built into it. Strength training not only increases strength but also your body's power and endurance, and reduces the risk of injury to muscles, ligaments and tendons during everyday activities and especially while doing sports. The best part is you see results very quickly, you get stronger by the second week, and in just a couple of months you can double or triple your strength.
Strength training is also a key ingredient in any fat loss plan. How? By toning and firming muscle tissue the body's metabolism is raised. This is the rate that your body burns fuel. This means that you have an increased rate of calorie burning every minute of every day even while sleeping.
This is much more important than you might think. When people lose weight by reducing food intake alone, a futile cycle can develop. They lose weight so quickly that their body shifts into diet shock or starvation mode that is; it tries to conserve as much energy as it can. The rate at which you burn calories (your metabolic rate) then slows down to a crawl, so you have to cut calories even more to continue losing weight. And once you start eating normally again, your body stores each one of those precious calories in the form of fat. But with strength training, you can increase your metabolic rate and have a much easier time losing excess body fat.
By strength training you are not only burning off the excess saggy, mushy bits you are strengthening, toning, lifting and firming muscle tissue. This means your body shape will improve and you will look so much better and more youthful. In fact, don't be surprised if you can fit into clothes that you haven't been able to wear for awhile because they were too tight. This can happen without any change in the bathroom scales.
Strength training is particularly helpful for older people who want to stay slim and trim. Metabolism and muscle mass definitely decline after the age of 30 years, which makes it tougher to keep off excess weight.
Question - When can I quit my strength training routine?
The answer to that question is easy: never, not if you want to maintain the benefits you have achieved. Unfortunately, as soon as you stop strength training, your body will return to its former fitness levels within a couple of weeks.
But why would you stop completely? Once you start, you're going to look and feel so fantastic, why would you even think of it?
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