Benefits of Resistance Training

In my 20’s I used to be an endurance athlete. My favourite exercise were long runs (1.5 hours or so). I loved my Sunday training day, where I would cycle for an hour, run for a half hour and hit Lake Kelso (in Ontario) to practice my swim in open water. I felt so depleted after…a sign of a good training day. And my resistance training was an after thought: twice a week, for about a half hour, specific for my goals in my sport of choice.

Now with years of experience and training behind me I see flaws in that old way I trained. When you are an endurance athlete you need to practice endurance activities. Absolutely. But what I didn’t realize back then was how important resistance training was, and still is, for performance goals. Not only can resistance training increase power output and strength, but it can help prevent muscle imbalances that lead to injury.

Now you may be asking: “but how does this pertain to me?” Which is a very good question! Not only do endurance athletes, or any athlete for that matter, benefit from resistance training but so does everyone else.

Resistance training builds lean muscle mass. This is hugely important especially as we age. When inactive we loose about a half of pound of muscle every year after the age of 30. Why this is so significant is it’s this lean muscle mass that helps keep our metabolism revving. Our muscles need a lot of energy (food calories) every day, much more than our fat stores burn. The amount of lean muscle mass you have affects your basal metabolic rate (BMR). The higher your BMR the more food calories you burn during your daily activities, even while you sleep. Simply put: resistance training helps with fat loss.

Lean muscle mass is more dense than fat. This is where you start to look better after a month or two of solid resistance training. Once you have built a nice layer of lean muscle mass you look and feel more firm…hence “toned”. But don’t go by the scale…lean muscle mass weighs more than fat. So a person with 80% of lean muscle mass may weight the same as a person with 70% lean muscle mass but the 80% lean muscle mass body looks a lot slimmer and firmer.

In my opinion, one of the most important reasons to resistance train is to build a solid frame. A smart, intelligently designed resistance program keeps your frame balanced. Through out the day doing all our activities, like sitting at the computer, running to the bus, walking the dog, cooking, watching TV, and even running and cycling, creates muscle imbalances. These imbalances over time put stress on our joints and connective tissues. And one day, usually starting in our 40s and 50s, certain body parts give out. Resistance training creates strong, balanced muscles and ligaments and tendons, along with a smart stretching and foam rolling program.

And my last point of which I mentioned earlier, resistance training increases power output and overall strength. I absolutely love this, especially for women. We become stronger, more efficient, more capable. We lift our groceries and babies and move our furniture around with more ease. Our walks with the dog and biking with the kids are easier and faster. We become more powerful when participating in our favourite sport activities. Life becomes easier. And more fun.

Yours in fitness, Amy Vereggen-Goeldner AOC Personal Trainer