If you want to build bigger biceps or get an elusive six-pack, strength training is an essential component for making it happen. But even if maxing out your muscle size isn't your objective, strength training might still be the best way to hit your health goals.
"A lot of people believe that if they don't want to look like a bodybuilder, they shouldn't perform resistance training," says Michael Rebold, director of integrative exercise sciences at Hiram College in Ohio. "So the only form of exercise they do is aerobic – and then they wonder why they are having trouble making significant improvements in their health," he explains.
Before your next workout, consider these 3 science-backed benefits of strength training.
1.) Lower abdominal fat. In a 2014 study published in the research journal Obesity, Harvard researchers followed 10,500 men over the course of 12 years and found that strength training is more effective at preventing increases in abdominal fat than cardiovascular exercise.
"When people incorporate strength training into their exercise routine, they not only burn calories, but increase lean muscle mass, which stimulates the metabolism," Rebold says. Muscle mass is a major determiner of basal metabolic rate, or the number of calories the body burns per day to sustain physiologic functions.
2.) Lowered injury risks.
"Having a good muscle base is important for all movement, balance, coordination and injury prevention," explains Dr. Adam Rivadeneyra, a sports medicine physician with Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine, California. "If a muscle is too weak, it puts more stress on its connecting tendon and can result in tendinitis."
Plus, strength training also increases the number and diameter of collagen fibrils in tendons to increase their strength and help prevent injury, according to a 2015 review published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, a publication of the International Federation of Sports Physical Therapy.
3.) Elevated body image.
Sure, exercise impacts body composition and physique, but research, including a 2015 Journal of Extension study of middle-aged and older women, shows that consistent strength training improves body image and perceived physical appearance – no matter the actual aesthetic results.
Improvements in mental health and energy levels, as well as feelings of accomplishment, are the likely catalysts for improved overall body image, according to researchers.
Try incorporating strength training into your daily workouts. Not sure how? Try taking an Edge Strong Class or try a Group X strength training class, with the help of the instructors you'll be lifting weights like a pro in no time!