8 benefits of strength training to help lose weight that you must know

When it comes to strength training, most female friends worry that they will become "Barbie" due to excessive exercise and avoid it as much as possible. But is strength training really that scary? In fact, according to foreign research, moderate muscle strength training has many benefits. It not only helps maintain a standard body shape, but also reduces fat content to help lose weight, prevent osteoporosis, and avoid pain.

According to a research paper published in Brazil in March 2014, scientists tracked 139 obese adolescents (15-19 years old) for one year (especially central obesity, that is, abdominal obesity) and found that combining aerobic exercise and muscle strength training is more helpful in weight loss than doing aerobic exercise alone.

In fact, compared to aerobic exercise that simply increases cardiopulmonary capacity and helps burn fat through oxygen consumption, muscle strength training that helps increase muscle strength and endurance is even more effective in reducing body fat and sculpting body curves. In fact, muscles are the main place where the human body metabolizes heat. Once the muscle mass is small and the basal metabolism is low, it will lead to the so-called obesity-prone physique. Especially for middle-aged and young people with a slow metabolic rate, if they do not do muscle strength training on a regular basis, they will generally have high body fat even if they are not overweight.

Benefits of muscle training:

Benefit 1: Reduce fat content and help lose weight

Moderately increasing the proportion of muscle will help improve metabolism, reduce fat production and avoid the occurrence of obesity. Why does increasing muscle have such an effect? Because even if the human body is not exercising, 1 kilogram of muscle can consume approximately 75 to 110 calories. And every 1 kilogram of fat can only consume 4 to 10 calories. Therefore, increasing the muscle content in the body and controlling the diet appropriately will certainly produce better results for those who want to lose weight.

Benefit 2: Avoid pain and degeneration

Modern people tend to lead a more sedentary lifestyle. Whether working or studying, they need to use their neck and waist muscles for a long time and in large quantities. If the neck and back muscles are not trained, insufficient muscle strength and excessive use will cause muscle strain, leading to cervical and lumbar diseases, symptoms such as soreness and degeneration, and in severe cases, it may even affect the body shape and cause a drastic change in appearance.

Correct muscle strength training will help increase the strength of important parts, improve body shape and increase flexibility. For example, through muscle strength training that can stretch the back, chest, shoulders and neck, you can help increase the strength of the strong back muscles, making it easier for you to maintain a good posture at all times and appear healthier and more confident. At the same time, muscle strength training can also help achieve left-right balance, reduce spinal pressure and improve posture.

Benefit 3: Burn more calories

Strength training promotes the growth of muscle and bone in the body. Even if you stop exercising, energy consumption will continue so that your body can build new muscle tissue. Through muscle strength training, the body can be turned into a high-efficiency machine that consumes calories and fat, making the effects of weight loss and body sculpting more significant.

Benefit 4: Prevents diabetes from getting worse

More and more people are suffering from diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, which is one of the important triggers for cardiovascular disease. Moderate muscle strength training helps increase the proportion of muscle tissue, more effectively absorb the required sugar from the blood for utilization, reduce the body's dependence on insulin, and prevent diabetes symptoms from worsening.

Benefit 5: More energy

Regarding strength training, Miriam E. Nelson, a famous American doctor and best-selling author, said that a research survey found that after participating in strength training for a year, the respondents were more energetic than before, felt many years younger, and were more actively involved in exercise. The amount of exercise also increased by 27% compared to before. These results were achieved after only one year of muscle training.

Benefit 6: Delaying aging

Generally speaking, human muscle strength reaches its peak between the ages of 20 and 25. After the age of 25, it will gradually decline at a rate of 10% loss of muscle weight and strength every decade. After the age of 60, strength loss will decrease at a doubled rate, not only will athletic ability deteriorate significantly, making even ordinary daily tasks such as moving luggage and going to the toilet difficult. It is also likely to affect mobility and significantly reduce walking speed.

In order to avoid the above symptoms, slow down the aging of muscles, and increase muscle weight and strength, it is an indispensable key. Therefore, it is very important to keep your muscles in the best condition by combining moderate strength training.

Benefit 7／Reduce osteoporosis

Joseph Lane, a medical expert at the New York Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center, said that moderate muscle strength training can help continuously stimulate the human skeleton, allowing the body to respond and increase bone density to adapt to long-term exercise. Therefore, if you want to avoid problems such as arthritis and osteoporosis that affect your life in old age, muscle strength training is an essential preventive measure starting from your youth.

Benefit 8: Lower blood lipids and cholesterol

In addition to the 7 benefits mentioned above, a recent study also pointed out that regular participation in strength training can reduce total cholesterol in the blood by 10% and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) by 14%. Don't let problems such as high cholesterol and blood fat come to you.