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 The Benefits of Resistance Exercise
Resistance exercise is any type of exercise that forces the muscles to contract against significant resisting forces. Resistance exercise can include rock climbing, Pilates, and power yoga, but the most popular type is weightlifting. However, resistance exercise was not always popular. It was not very long ago when weightlifting has been receiving a great deal of negative publicity, and even now weightlifting is appreciated primarily for building muscles and not much else. This article is intended to discuss some of the benefits of resistance exercise other than improvements in strength and muscularity.
Increased Bone Mass Density
As people get older, osteoporosis tends to become more of an issue due to losses in bone mass density. Many people try to offset this problem by taking calcium supplements. However, extra calcium is only beneficial if the body absorbs it, and the body will only absorb it if there is a stimulus to do so (i.e. a stimulus to increase bone mass density). The most powerful stimuli for increasing bone mass density include activities which put significant stresses on the bones, and resistance exercises are among the most effective of these. It is therefore not surprising that strength athletes, as a group, have the highest bone mass densities. Conversely, astronauts begin to lose bone mass density when they remain in a zero gravity environment for long periods.
Efficient Function of the Nervous System
A first time weightlifter is likely to notice that his/her coordination with the weights is less than ideal. This is especially true if the person is using free weights, which forces the person to balance them. However, there is likely to be a noticeable improvement in coordination as the person gains experience. This is because the nervous system is being trained to better coordinate the contraction of the various muscle groups in order to execute the movements as desired. The best examples of this are compound exercises (squats, bench presses, etc.), which involve contracting multiple muscle groups and moving multiple joints simultaneously. In addition, much of the initial improvement in strength is due to the nervous system becoming better at making the muscles work together rather than against each other.
In addition to making the muscles work more efficiently together, weightlifting can actually help to relax muscles. This can often happen due to reciprocal inhibition which causes the antagonist muscles to relax whenever a primary mover is contracted. When combined with proper stretching, this is one of the most effective ways to relax an over-stimulated or hyperactive muscle group. Improved Fat Loss
Although the role of resistance exercise in muscular development is well known, not many people have made the connection between resistance exercise and fat loss. However, in addition to burning calories directly through exercise, resistance exercise is important to fat loss for the following reasons:
1. Protein synthesis for muscle repair or growth demands calories. The body can break down protein (in a starvation state) in order to get energy. Therefore, the law of conservation of energy demands that the reverse process (protein synthesis) takes energy (calories) from the body. This also explains why a very lean person needs extra calories if he/she intends to gain muscle. 2. Adding muscle increases calorie burning on a 24 hour per day basis. The lean mass is one of the most important factors in the resting metabolic rate. Anything that increases the lean mass will also raise the resting metabolic rate and the reverse is true for anything that decreases the lean mass. Increasing the lean mass will therefore provide a residual calorie burning effect that is helpful in any fat loss program. 3. Weightlifting makes the body more selective in burning fat. When the body is in a caloric deficit, it can burn either muscle or fat in order to satisfy the deficit. When there is a stimulus for the body to add lean mass, this limits the body's options and forces it to burn fat instead of muscle. Most people know that resistance exercise adds muscularity and strength. However, it has many other benefits that are not as well publicized such as fat loss, improved resistance to osteoporosis, and improved efficiency of the nervous system. Hopefully, there will come a time in the future when these are just as well known. Other articles |
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