Strength training – a sport that still primarily stands for strength and muscle building and is thus often labeled as a superficial sport for self-absorbed or less intellectually gifted people. But is this really the case or is not rather the opposite the case – a current study from the year 2020 provides information.
The only fool is the one who does not train regularly, because the benefits of strength training are immense!
This is my firm conviction from now almost 7 years that I am allowed to deal with strength training and all its effects on the whole life on a daily basis.
I myself, as a fitness model and also as a thoroughly above-average trained man, am often accused of a certain superficiality or that I am simply too stupid for really important things in life (whatever that is supposed to be).
But nothing – really nothing – could be further from the truth and I feel sorry for any person who never experiences firsthand the wisdom, tough love and all the many lessons the barbell has to offer for themselves and their lives.
Maestroni, Sports Medicine 2020
Strength training is the miracle medicine of the 21. Century and by far the best thing you can do for yourself and your health.
In addition to cancer prevention, performance improvement and muscle growth, training with weights sets you up for success in all areas of life.
The purpose of the study was to give physicians and medical professionals in general a deeper insight into the medical benefits of strength training, so that in the future they can make more recommendations for strength training and preventive and rehabilitative therapies can be implemented in the form of challenging strength training.
We will now look at this study and other evaluations in detail so that you know what you are really getting into and also what you might be missing out on at the moment. Enjoy reading. Even more success to you!
1. The benefits of strength training – muscles and strength (introduction) 2. Strength training improves body awareness 3. Strength training and the immune system and diseases 4. The benefits of strength training on mental health 5. Bone health, joints and tendons 6. Strength Training Benefits – The Big Bottom Line
Strength Training Benefits – Muscles and Strength (Introduction)
Although any type of resistance training results in strength gains in untrained individuals in the first few weeks, which is actually due to neural adaptations rather than the training stimulus, it is important to distinguish between "strengthening programs" and actual and classic "strength training" Distinguish. 1
Strengthening training is intended to improve overall fitness, while weight training is intended to develop all muscle groups individually and specifically.
(muscle building. Look hornier. Strong bend, more self-confidence and such jokes – yes, I love to wallow in our stereotypes.)
Official recommendations for strengthening are as follows For example, the WHO's 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week, in which the musculature is to be strengthened on at least two training days.
A regular workout will then positively affect the following parameters in the long run:
But what exactly happens to our body during training??
Is training with weights only suitable to look better . or is there much more .
Let's take a look at the definition of weight training:
There is a reaction of our cells to a mechanical stimulus (training), which leads to a change in tie mass, structure and quality (adaptation and thus hopefully hypertrophy).
This actual state (optimal catabolic or anabolic state) is maintained by the neuroendocrine system. In addition to optimal training performance, the neuroendocrine system also plays an important role in tie growth and remodeling.
It secretes hormones into the bloodstream that are generally considered catabolic (z.B. cortisol), which leads to the breakdown of muscle proteins, and those that are considered anabolic (z.B. testosterone), which leads to the synthesis of muscle proteins.
So, instead of running to the gym every day and getting stuck into a split workout, a planned full body workout 3-4 days a week better increases your own testosterone production with less time spent at the same time.
For this reason Fitness Fibel athletes and I also train according to this principle.
Contrary to many claims that strength training negatively affects our brain's stress levels and promotes cortisol release, studies have proven that increases in acute cortisol levels tend to be affected only by extremely high-volume programs and NOT by well-structured strength training protocols, where the testosterone/cortisol ratio changes. 4 5 6 7
To lift or not to lift – That is the question .
One thing is for sure: the benefits of strength training are immense, especially the injury prevention that the muscles of our body generated by strength training offer.
Especially in competitive sports, regular training with weights should therefore be given a very special role, so that the clubs do not suffer losses due to the Failure of a top athlete have to forfeit.
But also we in our quite normally lived life and everyday life will profit naturally directly at the advantages of strength training.
By strengthening the entire skeletal musculature, the risk of injury will be minimized, which directly increases one's life expectancy. The more natural muscle mass you have, the higher one's life expectancy. 9
In addition, there is the fact, that a low body fat percentage, as is often found in strength athletes, also drastically increases one's life expectancy. 10
Being well-trained and athletic is thus directly related to a higher life expectancy and a better quality of life … what is supposed to be superficial about it is and remains a mystery to me ..
Strength training improves body image
Targeted, heavy weight training increases one's proprioception immensely. Proprioception refers to the perception of joint position, muscle tension, direction of movement and position of the body in space.
If, for example, you are in danger of twisting your ankle on uneven ground, the previously trained reaction mechanisms will compensate for this incorrect movement and thus prevent injury.
The more you train your body, the better you can control it, train your proprioception along with it, and thus automatically experience injury prevention.
Your own posture will also change, which often improves your self-confidence.
Due to a permanent lack of movement and especially due to a daily office routine in which you perform more sedentary activities, your shoulders will rotate forward in the long run, your back will become round, unused muscles will atrophy (form back) and your own spine will become unstable.
Here, regular weight training also directly benefits one.
strength training and the immune system and diseases
Lack of exercise is a major problem for many people in the West.
In addition to being overweight and obese, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, dementia, and depression has also been shown to increase due to a lack of exercise. 11 12
Also here the strength training comes fortunately to one's advantage.
In this regard, current data suggests that strong skeletal muscle counteracts the harmful effects of lack of exercise through the release of specific myokines. 13
Similar to hormones, myokines are active as transmitters and signal substances and thus have an influence on various metabolic processes in the entire human body.
For example, the myokine interleukin-6 favors fat burning and the distribution of visceral fat in the abdomen. It provides an increased release of glucose in the liver, which optimizes the energy supply of the body.
In addition, interleukin-6 inhibits the production of the messenger TNF-alpha, which increases the risk of diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
The myokine Interleukin-15 provides for a better protein absorption of our muscles and promotes thus the muscle growth.
Generally speaking, these myokines released by strength training provide the following benefits:
The build-up of muscles and the regular strength training also brings an increase of the metabolism with it.
This also clearly disproved the myth that our metabolism slows down as we age.
Christian + Sjard – We will be faithful to strength training forever
According to this, it is not age that is the decisive factor, but much more the loss of muscle mass, because up to 40-50% of metabolic activity is due to muscle mass.
Age-related muscle wasting, also called sarcopenia, is a natural part of aging. After 30. By the time we reach the age of 18, we begin to lose between 3% and 5% muscle mass per decade, and many men will lose up to 30% of their muscle mass over the course of their lifetime. 15
Through continuous strength training, however, the basal metabolic rate will increase permanently due to the muscle growth, so that one can eat more food while also burning this energy completely and even lowering the body fat percentage as a rule.
Of course, protein is also an integral part of hypertrophy and thus of the dog's own health – and especially here I can only recommend our ISO WHEY:
Whey Protein Powder Isolate
Whey protein is probably the best known and most popular supplement in the whole fitness world and even beyond it. For a good reason.
Also worth mentioning is that a combination of endurance and strength training increases the number of certain stem cells in the body and, in the case of coronary heart disease, improves heart health as well as respiration and strength levels. 16
People struggling with high blood prere should also reach for the barbell – because resistance training with weights causes a reduction in systolic and diastolic blood prere.
The benefits of strength training on mental health
Besides the physical improvements, strength training also brings psychological benefits.
Thus, studies have clearly shown that various anxiety parameters and depressive symptoms are minimized in weight athletes in everyday life. 17 18
Keeping in mind that sleep disturbances are a sign of depression, strength training has an equally antidepressant effect by improving subjective sleep quality and thus increased productivity during the day.
Social contact and positive workout expectations can already greatly improve subjective mental health (self-esteem).
As within, so without – As without, so within.
Overall, a muscle-building workout will make you feel more focused and productive at work, more confident, more energetic when meeting friends and family, and improve your quality of life in all areas.
Neuroscience also shows that strength training can strengthen pain-inhibiting cells in the brain and also boosts the immune system's response to potential pain stimuli, making one comparatively less reactive to pain than untrained individuals. 19 20
Physically, as well as mentally.
Bone health, joints and tendons
Attention – Because the next point is incredibly important ..
(Don't worry, we're almost there for this post.)
Through various studies, research has found that progressive training in the gym improves the supply of nutrients to the bone and provides better bone density, which in turn also provides an overall lower risk of injury throughout life. 21
The osteocytes in the bone absorb compressive and tensile loads that act on the bone. These osteocytes pass on the absorbed stimulus to the osteoblasts.
The osteoblasts then build up a protective layer around the bone, in the direction of movement transmitted by the stimulus, to protect the bone from these stresses in the future.
Thus, the bone can continue to grow with the help of strength training or. getting stronger. However, if the osteoblasts remain inactive, the so-called osteoclasts degrade the bone.
You want to be able to walk painless in old age – Then bend!
Therefore, it can be said that an insufficient training stimulus, and thus an insufficient supply of nutrients to the bone, is one of the triggers for osteoporosis (lack of bone density.
Here is the corresponding recommendation from the study by Maestroni et al.:
(Fitness Primer Atheltes should be familiar with such a training style.)
Although we have been told for a long time that strength training is bad for the bones, the opposite has been clearly proven. 22 23
The higher the muscular strength of a person, the higher his bone density the bone mineral content, the bone area and his cartilage volume.
Our joints are not connected to the bloodstream and are therefore not automatically supplied with all the important substances.
But if you apply a sufficient training stimulus in the form of pushing, pulling and lifting movements in the sense of Basic Human Movements over the full amplitude of movement on the musculoskeletal system, the joints are then supplied by it after all.
In the joint disease osteoarthritis, for example, the effects of strength training are very beneficial. Well trained muscles can stabilize and hold the joint in place. 26
Tendons are connective tie structures that transmit the force of the muscle to our skeleton. The main function of tendons is to store and release energy.
A common disease of the tendon is tendinopathy, a change in tendon stiffness.
For the treatment of this tendon disease resp. for tendon adaptation, strength training is recommended with a high-intensity load (85-90% of maximum isometric contraction), which can also be done in five sets of between four and six repetitions. 29
Achilles tendinopathy is one of the most common tendinopathies, and is particularly prevalent in recreational runners. Strength training has been shown to positively affect structural adaptations in patients with tendinopathy. 30 31
Another point thus goes to the beloved strength training.
Nevertheless, despite regular strength training, one's joints may hurt and inflammation may develop. As we have just learned, these have nothing to do with strength training per se and can therefore be specifically addressed. You can find all this on the information page of our ROCK SOLID:
Result of the latest joint research
The ROCK SOLID is an innovative nutrient complex with high doses of ingredients specially developed with the help of the latest studies from joint research.
Benefits of strength training in childhood and adolescence
Anyone who thinks about the development of children has certainly noticed that they grow very quickly, especially in the transition from childhood to adolescence.
This age phase is crucial for building bone minerals. 32
Research has consistently shown that adolescents who participated in sports that emphasized weight-bearing or high-intensity exercise during this period (z.B. football and racquet games), showed higher overall bone mass, and especially compared to non-athletes, had superior bone mass at weight-bearing, injury-prone bone sites. 33
It has also been shown that adults who participated in weight-bearing sports during childhood and adolescence had fewer sports-related injuries in their lifetime.
This underlines the importance of sports development programs such as sports camps and training camps for adolescents and young adults. 34 35
This also clearly disproves another major myth, that strength training alone is so basically not for children or would have a bad effect on their physical development – the exact opposite is true.
Benefits of strength training in adulthood
This form of exercise has significant benefits not only for young people.
It also appears to extend to greater bone strength later in life, resulting in reduced fracture risk and potential delay of possible osteoporosis development. 36 37
Both mechanical and metabolic loads will trigger muscle adaptation and growth, we already know that. 38
A protein kinase, the so-called mechanistic target of mTOR, is of crucial importance for protein synthesis and the build-up of muscle mass in this context. 39
Protein kinases are enzymes that transfer a phosphate group to a target protein, moving it from one state to another. The target protein mTor is thus activated by protein kinase and is significant for cell growth, for nutrient transport and thus for our survival.
However, in the course of our lives we will also observe a reduction in muscle mass. Together with the decreased discharge rate of the motor unit, this loss of muscle is due to aging.
This is referred to as either sarcopenia (age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function) or dynapenia (age-associated loss of muscle strength not caused by neurological or muscular disease). 40 41
The consequences are an enormous impairment in daily tasks (z.B. Restoring balance in the event of a fall). 42
And how often has it been observed that at an advanced age a bone fracture is the beginning of the end??
In older adults decreased muscle strength also associated with increased risk of dementia , loss of independence and increased mortality rate. However, the rate of strength decline depends on age and level of physical activity. 43 44 45
The solution? (*wink with the fence post*)
Strength training. 46
In fact, people who continue strength training into old age can significantly mitigate the loss of muscle mass and strength and its undesirable consequences.
Strength training benefits – The big conclusion
The benefits of strength training are so immense that it is actually hard to believe.
However, Maestroni et al. here an excellent evaluation published, which finally brings all the many incredible advantages neatly bundled to the point.
Here are all the advantages at a glance:
1. Musculoskeletal advantages:
2. Effects on common common diseases:
3. General health benefits:
Stupid is those who do not exercise … and here we come full circle.
Strength training is the most awesome gift in the world and we should all make use of this powerful tool – no matter what our goals, desires and hopes are in life ..
The journey should always start at the barbell. (!)
Have fun and good luck to you with this in the next 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years.
Go all out and have the time of your life – In and especially out of the gym.
What do you think about strength training and what is your opinion? Let me know in the comments!
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Does strength training improve my posture?
Due to the constant lack of movement in our everyday life, strength training offers an excellent compensation. Exercise improves and strengthens the body's overall posture. Prevents forward rotation of the shoulders and a rounded back, as well as the recovery of muscles that are unused in everyday life.
What are the psychological benefits of strength training?
Psychological benefits can be observed mainly in the form of increased productivity and improved concentration. Strength training has an antidepressant effect, for example, it improves the subjective quality of sleep and greatly improves self-confidence. These benefits provide a better quality of life.
Strength training strengthens my health?
Strength training improves the supply of nutrients to the bone and increases bone density. Joints and tendons also benefit from strength training, which can be concluded to a much lower risk of injury and a higher life expectancy. It also strengthens the immune system and reduces the risk of common diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
Is weight training harmful in childhood and adolescence?
That weight training is unhealthy for children is a widespread myth that has already been clearly disproved. Strength training increases bone mass and reduces the risk of injury as we age. Strengthening bones through growth is an important ie, especially at this stage, and weight training has a positive effect on this ie.
Am I more susceptible to injury through strength training?
Quite the opposite. Regular strength training strengthens skeletal muscles and reduces the risk of injury. Bone density is improved and trained reaction mechanisms prevent incorrect movements. Therefore strength training is the perfect injury prophylaxis.
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Hey, what's up? Here writes Sjard, your fitness and personality coach. With now more than 6 years of experience in the areas of fitness, personal development, nutrition and health, I present to you on quantumleapfitness.present the most effective methods to get your best I to become.