Why lifting weights is good for your health

Weight training is an integral part of any fitness programme, and that includes weight loss programmes. According to a study published in the Current Sports Medicine Reports in 2012, ten weeks of resistance training (also known as weight or strength training) may increase lean weight by 1.4 kg, increase resting metabolic rate by 7% and reduce fat weight by 1.8 kg. 

Being overweight brings with it the dangers of chronic illnesses such as obesity and diabetes, along with other changes in the body. Weight training can help manage your body weight more efficiently as it helps burn away body fat and helps build lean muscle mass, which is also beneficial as one ages.

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Not only cardiovascular or aerobic exercises, but weight training is also beneficial for the heart. A study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise in 2018, performed by researchers at the Iowa State University, found that lifting weights for less than an hour a week is good enough to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke by as much as 40% to 70%. 

In fact, the researchers also found that—contrary to popular belief that you need to perform aerobic exercises regularly to meet the guidelines recommended by experts—weight training alone is good enough to keep your heart healthy. The findings of the study also confirmed the benefits of weight training for maintaining bone and muscle health, besides improving quality of life as you grow older. In fact, the American Heart Association recommends at least two weight training sessions in a week to keep the heart healthy and fighting fit.

That exercise helps burn calories is a well-known fact, but according to various studies, weight training regularly can also keep burning calories even when you're not working out! Whether you perform bodyweight exercises, lift free weights or use machines, or even workout with resistance bands alone, all these are clubbed together underweight or resistance training exercises that can help torch the fat around the belly.

Belly fat is notoriously difficult to get rid of, but several studies have found that weight training boosts fat loss as compared to performing only aerobic exercises. A study by the University of Alabama found that women who did weight training lost more abdominal fat than those who only did cardio exercises. 

Read more: Intense bodyweight exercises you can do at home

As mentioned in the introductory passages, weight training goes a long way in keeping the bones healthy. Ageing is associated with a loss of bone density by an average of 1% every year after hitting the age of 40 (according to Harvard Health). Women make up a large section of the percentage of people—80%—who suffer from osteoporosis as they lose bone mass, making it all the more important for people to take up lifting weights in the gym or at home. 

Resistance training has been associated with increased bone mineral density and bone development in the early years of life. Weight training is also beneficial towards warding off other chronic illnesses such as arthritis and fibromyalgia and reducing problems such as lower back pain by improving the body's overall posture. Weight training regularly is also known to reverse the effects of ageing by strengthening the skeletal muscles of the body.

Read more: Exercises for arthritis

Our daily habits, posture, favouring one side of the body more than the other all combine to interfere with the innate balance of the body as we age. However, regular strength training has been seen to be beneficial towards improving the overall balance of the body even as we grow older.

Loss of bone density and muscle mass as we age are contributing factors towards losing balance, especially as we tend to gain weight with age. But lifting weights can ensure that the joints of your body are well-oiled and given their full range of motion, resulting in them remaining strong and flexible to be able to give the body the stability it always needs. A study published in the Journal of American Geriatric Society in 2012 found that training with weights as well as flexibility exercises reduced the risk of falls among 75- to 85-year-old women by more than 30%.

Regular exercise has also been linked with an overall improvement in the quality of sleep. A study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology in 2012 studied the effects of resistance training on the sleeping habits of the elderly, and found that even moderate amounts of weight training induced an improvement in the sleeping patterns, thereby reducing the frequency of them waking up in the middle of the night. 

A Sleep Survey in 2013 performed by the National Sleep Foundation of the United States reported that even 19 minutes of exercise could produce an improvement in the quality of sleep. Even symptoms such as restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, insomnia and other sleep disorders are known to reduce significantly through strength and weight training.

Read more: Benefits of exercising before going to bed

The increasing global burden of diabetes makes a strong case for regular exercise, especially weight training. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 1.6 million deaths were reported from diabetes complications in the year 2016 alone, while high blood sugar levels contributed to 2.2 million deaths four years earlier. 

A study by Harvard University and the University of Southern Denmark found that weight training can reduce the risk of diabetes significantly. The body is unable to efficiently produce or utilise insulin in the case of diabetes, but weight training can help maintain the body's blood sugar levels better, as a higher muscle mass uses up more glucose, thereby reducing the blood sugar levels and regulating the insulin levels better.

Read more: Exercises for diabetes

Weight training has also been linked with keeping the joints, bones and connective tissues in the body in good health. Resistance or strength training exercises help in strengthening the muscles in the body, and also help in increasing the function of different muscles. 

A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2009 found that a training group with lower back pain reported a 60% improvement in the functioning of the back muscles and decrease in pain after doing weight training for three days a week over 15 weeks. This is also because the body loses weight as a result of regular training, easing the pressure on the stabilizing muscles of the back, thereby easing the pain.

Lifting weights has also been associated with improved brain function, and is said to prevent or delay the onset of various forms of dementia including Alzheimer's disease. 

A 2014 study published in the Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine found that resistance training had a significant positive effect on cognitive function. MRI scans performed on the subjects of the study showed increased activity in different parts of the brain among those who performed weight training exercises, which was the reason behind an improvement in overall cognitive ability, and the effects lasted for 12 months after the study had been completed. The study also showed that those who performed other exercises such as stretching or calisthenics didn't experience the same outcomes. 

A 2014 study published in the journal Acta Physiologica showed that an intense weight training regime of even 20 minutes was able to enhance episodic or long-term memory in young adults.