5 Reasons to Include Weight Lifting as Part of Your Fitness Program

It may not have as much appeal as more rigorous exercise, but weight lifting plays an important role in overall fitness. Studies show that weight lifting can benefit your heart, improve your balance, strengthen your bones and help you lose weight. Weight lifting not only adds definition to your muscles and gives men and women alike more fit and toned bodies, but working out with weights does much more to benefit people of all ages.

Here are five reasons to include weight lifting as part of your wellness program:

1. Bone density: Weight lifting is often prescribed to increase bone density because the body needs strong bones to carry the extra weight loads that you’re lifting. Osteoporosis is a degenerative, painless process that weakens the bones, making them vulnerable to breaks and fractures. It’s a common condition of aging, especially in women, and one that responds well to weight-bearing and lifting exercises at any age. Preventing osteoporosis early through exercise is far easier and more successful than trying to cure it once the damage is done.  
   
   
2. Increases everyday capabilities: Anyone who needs motivation for weight lifting has only to consider instrumental activities of daily living. Unless they’re used and challenged, muscles weaken and may reduce your ability to keep up. The process is slow at first, but accelerates as you age. Not being able to manage daily activities contributes to increasing dependence on others for a range of activities including: housecleaning, cooking, laundry, shopping, and more. It may seem like aging will never affect you, but doing weight building exercises could enrich your life and ability to remain fully functional and independent as the years go by.
   
   
3. Changes body mass: As you weight lift, your body will convert fat to muscle, and while it’s not a way to lose weight immediately, it does lay the groundwork for future weight loss. Muscles burn more calories, even when they’re at rest. It raises your metabolism, and even as you sleep, you’ll convert calories to energy. Strength and stamina go hand-in-hand with weight lifting, and as your muscles work, you’ll have greater capacity for more. It will also improve your heart function, increase circulation and improve lung function. Lifting weights also increases endorphins, the "feel-good" chemicals in the brain.
   
   
4. Strengthens connective tissues: The best way to avoid overuse injuries is to engage in weight lifting. The muscles connect to the bones through tendons and ligaments and they’re subject to injury. Unfortunately, connective tissues heal slower than muscles because they’re not as well supplied with blood as the muscles.
   
   
5. Enhances quality of life. By expanding your ability to face and master challenges through weigh lifting, you’ll learn habits that carry over to everyday life, fostering a positive and confident attitude toward the rest of your daily activities.

As you can see, weight lifting has a number of benefits and is very important to consider adding to your regular health and fitness routine. If you're considering weight lifting, we invite you to find the nearest Prime Fitness location near you. With this program, you get access to 9,500+ fitness locations at one low monthly price and with no annual commitment.