Health Benefits of Weight Training - It Offers More Than Just Weight Loss

Most people know that a weight training program can provide many health benefits; but do you know that weight training is also very effective for weight loss? If you have a strong discipline and commitment to follow through a weight training program, you could have developed some great muscles and lose those body fats you hate.

The mechanics of weight training is that it works on toning the muscles. Toned muscles not only add to the overall good appearance of your body but also burn more calories. If your muscles are well toned, your body is able to burn fat very efficiently, even when you are sleeping.

Another great advantage of weight training is that it helps speed up metabolic rate by building muscle mass. As you know that our metabolic rate naturally slows as we get older. So, weight training can actually help turn around a declining metabolic rate. Also, you will become energized after your weight training session and have more energy for the entire day.

Besides toning the muscles and losing weight, another great health benefit of weight training I can think of is that it also helps strengthen our bones; hence decrease the risk of developing osteoporosis. Our body contains more than 650 different muscles and if you follow a weight training program consistently, all these muscles get toned to help you burn more calories and energize you.

There is a false belief, especially among women, that weight training will give them big muscles. This is a myth; the truth is that weight training can improve your muscular endurance; that's why you see many athletes do weight training regularly. When your muscles get more strength, you will develop well-toned muscles and increased metabolism instead. This combination helps you to lose weight faster.

You see, when your body gets into good shape, losing weight becomes a natural result. Weight training makes your body strong and fit, it gives you the confidence to complete many of your daily physical activities. You will be less prone to injuries such as those occurring in your lower back because of the strength increase in your back muscles.

Other health benefits you could expect from weight training include lower blood pressure, increased HDL blood cholesterol (good cholesterol), reduce risk for heart attack, diabetes and colon cancer. Even those who suffer from depression can benefit from weight training as many people had experienced an increase in good mood and positive vibes when they weight train.

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Sweating is Good For Your Health, Especially During Exercise

Many people don't like to perspire as sweat makes them feel sticky and uncomfortable; sweat may not smell good and could leave some undesirable stains on our clothes. But sweating or perspiration is essential to good health and fitness, especially during exercise; it serves as a biological cleaning system for our body.

You see we drink water for many important physiological functions; water helps cells and tissues to transport important elements or compounds such as sodium and sugar throughout our body. Water also helps blood flow and provides structural cohesion and lubrication between all important body parts. It also helps control the temperature in our body.

The human body temperature helps regulate its internal environment so as to maintain a stable and constant condition. When body temperature gets too high, we'll experience fever and ultimately heat stroke. If it's too low, we'll feel cold. The body's ability to regulate its internal physiology to maintain stability in response to fluctuations in the outside environment is known as 'Homeostasis'.

For example, perspiration has a huge effect on body temperature, especially during exercise. As we exercise, chemical reactions speed up and mechanical motion is taking place in our body. These activities produce heat energy that moves from inside the body to the outside, along the surface of the skin, carried along with our sweat, which in turn raises our body temperature. Sweating also plays a small role in keeping the amount of body fluid in homeostasis or equilibrium.

Our body is constantly seeking homeostasis; an inability to maintain homeostasis may lead to disease, a condition known as homeostatic imbalance. Diseases which result from a homeostatic imbalance include diabetes, dehydration, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, gout and any disease caused by the presence of a toxin in the bloodstream.

As you can see, our body must always maintain its equilibrium in order to function properly. Exercise and sweating definitely help our body to achieve that; that's the reason why we're often advised to exercise regularly.

If you can't remember or understand what has been discussed so far, just remember one thing: "Exercise and sweating not only can help keep us fit and healthy but more importantly, they also help regulate and maintain an equilibrium in our body".

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Tips For Avoiding Fitness and Exercise Injuries

Some mild pain or muscle discomfort when you first starting out a new fitness routine is normal; nothing to worry about. But if you suffer persistent pain on your back, neck or knee joints, you should consult an expert and check if you're performing the routines correctly. Your technique may be wrong, you may be trying to do too much, too soon, or you may have a medical problem that should be addressed.

So, do pay attention to all these symptoms to make sure that you avoid serious workout injuries. A good workout routine is designed to keep your body fit; not damage it. As muscles are used and stretched somewhat beyond their usual range, lactic acid, micro-tears and other physiological changes occur; this process test and build stronger muscles.

You should work on any vigorous fitness routine slowly. Different individual has different pace; it will depend on your age and experience in prior exercise or fitness routines. Make sure that you always get your muscles warm-up and limber before starting your fitness routines. Insufficient warm-up could result in muscle strains and injuries. Over-strectching or extending the muscles too much could also cause serious injuries.

Warm-ups should take about 15 minutes; start with a slow and gradual stretching to get the joints lubricated and muscles relaxed and limber. You can also do gentle jogging in place or jumping jacks to get the cardio and lung systems ready. Don't ignore warm-ups; the lack of warm-ups could lead to stretched or torn cartilage that takes a long time to heal.

Over-exercising can also lead to injuries. If you have been sedentary for a while, don't go crazy and run five miles to make up for loss time. Doing do can cause pulled muscles and stress fractures. Also, if you've been injured in a vigorous sports before, make sure that the injuries heal fully before restarting any exercise programme.

If you haven't been exercising for some time, before starting an exercise programme, you should visit your GP for a physical check up. Start building up your exercise gradually, and be aware that everyone is different, what might be easy exercise for one person, may be too vigorous for another. Every person committed to fitness will want to push him or herself to achieve excellence. But an attitude that leads to overdoing it can be counter-productive to your health.

If you're starting a completely new exercise programme, seek advice or guidance from an expert. Incorrect use of exercise techniques can also lead to injuries. For example, if you don't know how to use a weight machine, don't be embarrassed to ask the instructor. It's better to be safe than sorry.

One of the main reasons people give up on workout or exercise is due to injuries. So, please take care and stop exercising if you feel pain and learn to recognise the signs of over-exercise and exhaustion.

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