Current research is showing that strength training is not just for the bodybuilder, athlete or exercise enthusiast but is important for all populations to maintain quality and vitality during a lifetime. All populations including pre-adolescent children, men and women, the elderly, the injured and the healthy and sick will benefit immensely from strength training. Research has shown that strength training will…
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1. increase or maintain lean body mass
Strength training places tension on the muscle that stimulates the laying down of more myofibrils, thus increasing the size of muscle fibres. This is termed muscle hypertrophy (the growth of muscles). With age, muscle size atrophies (the wasting away of muscle) by approximately 0.5kg of muscle per year after the age of twenty. Even if we do regular cardiovascular exercise such as running, walking, cycling etc, muscle will still waste away over time. Muscle wastage, the atrophy of muscle, can be stopped and even reversed by doing strength training.
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2. increase bone mineral density
Strength training places tension and stress on the bones of the body via the overload being directly placed on the bones and the stress being indirectly
placed on the bones via muscular tension from the muscle origin and insertion. This stimulates the bone to lay down more minerals increasing the bone mineral density and bone integrity. Bone mineral density has been shown to be increased by up to 10% in as little as six months. Research has shown that high intensity weight training using heavy weights, is by far the best form of training to increase bone mineral density.
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3. improve posture
It is the muscles of the body that hold and stabilise the bones and joints of the skeleton. Increase your functional strength and you will improve your body’s posture at rest and during movement. This means a body that is more efficient at everyday tasks will perform better and will reduce the amount of stress put on the body’s structure. Strong muscles will hold your posture in place!
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4. faster fat burning & a leaner physique
Once your metabolic rate increases with an increase in, or a replacement of, lean muscle tissue, your daily energy expenditure will also increase due to your higher metabolic rate. Remember for every 0.5kg of muscle you put on, you will burn off approximately an extra 50 to 100 calories every day! It can be compared to the engine in a car – the larger the engine the more petrol is burned off at rest and during activity. It has also been shown that following a high intensity weight training session, the body begins to use fat as a preferred energy source or your respiratory quotient (RQ) is closer to fat metabolism (.7). More muscle means more fat burnt. Muscle is small, lean and hard, fat is soft, lumpy and twice as big as muscle at the same weight! If you want to burn fat faster and have a lean, tight body…you MUST lift weights!
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5. increased functional strength
It is the coordinated recruitment of muscles that is responsible for the performance of functional everyday activities such as walking up and down stairs, lifting, sitting, playing with your kids and all other everyday activities. If the muscles of the body are progressively overloaded, in a functional manner, they will be stronger and therefore more capable of performing daily activities with less effort. You will have more energy to do more and play for longer.
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6. increased power & sporting performance
As the strength of a muscle increases, its capacity to exert power is enhanced. There is a relationship between muscle strength and power. Considering sporting performance is largely dependent on power development and the rate of force production, strength training will enhance sporting performance. Strength training that overloads a muscle will recruit fast twitch muscle fibres at a high frequency of firing. Fast twitch fibres are responsible for power and speed development. A stronger more powerful muscle will use less effort to do the same task or it will be capable of doing the same task faster and harder.
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7. increase joint strength & stability
It is the skeletal muscles that hold the skeleton together at its joints. Therefore joint strength and stability is dependent upon the muscles’ ability to control the two adjoining bones in their correct position during normal posture and movement. If the muscles are strengthened in a functional manner, then the stability of joints will be greatly enhanced – less chance of injury and arthritis. 
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8. increase vitality & quality of life
Muscle plays a major role in all of our daily activities such as running, walking, playing, skiing, sport and recreational activities – all the things that give quality to our lives. Muscles are like the engine in your car. If you keep it in good condition you can drive it regularly and vigorously without it breaking down. If your muscles are kept in good condition – strong, tight and toned, you will be able to run, jump and play with ease for a lot longer and without worrying about running out of energy or injuring yourself.
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9. increased metabolic rate
Your metabolic rate will slow down with age because you are losing muscle tissue – but only if you don’t strength train! People who don’t strength train will lose muscle tissue, move less and have a metabolism that slows down by as much as 2% per decade, some people who are very inactive, as much as ½ a percent a year! Every pound of muscle you can maintain or, for men-put on, burns up to an extra 50 to 100 calories per day, thus increasing your metabolic rate. Heavy strength training programs have been shown to increase resting metabolic rate up to 2% in as little as ten weeks of training. No strength training – slows down your metabolism. Strength train and you will speed up your metabolism!
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10. decrease your chance of osteoporosis
One in three women and one in eight men will suffer from osteoporosis – a disease causing bone degeneration and breakage. Heavy strength training has been shown to slow down bone degeneration and replace bone mineral density. This will therefore reduce the onset of osteoporosis. Overloading muscles will make them stronger. Stronger muscles pull harder on the bones they are moving forcing the bone to get stronger. The main areas of concern are the bones in the lower back, the hip, the knees and the wrists. Therefore by adopting a strength training program and overloading your muscles in a functional manner you can decrease and even reverse osteoporosis.
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11. decrease risk of injury
If joints of the body are supported by the functional control of your muscles, the risk of potential injury from internal and external forces will be significantly reduced. Strength training will make your muscles stronger and increase their ability to support and protect the body. Strong muscles will also enhance the recovery of the body following injury and strength training plays a vital role in the functional rehabilitation process used by leading rehabilitation therapists.

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12. quicker rehabilitation from injury
The more functional strength around a joint, the less stress the joint experiences during recovery from an injury, therefore decreasing rehabilitation time. Initial rehabilitation with a physiotherapist is to regain full range of movement, decrease inflammation and regain normal muscular control. The role of functional strength training is to promote full functional capabilities of the muscle and joint.
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13. decrease risk of arthritis
Now that we know that strength training enhances the functional control of the body’s joints and therefore decreases the daily stresses through those joints, there is a less likelihood of degeneration of the joints. Functional strength training will therefore decrease the chance of osteo-arthritis and the degeneration of joints. Research is also showing, training plays a major role in the reduction of pain symptoms of arthritis.
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14. decrease blood pressure
Current research from the University of Florida has shown that strength training will significantly reduce blood pressure reducing the chances of hypertension and risk of coronary heart disease. Acute changes in blood pressure from strength training are no higher than the increases in blood pressure from cardiovascular training except that cardiovascular training elevates blood pressure for a longer period of time. If the muscles are functionally stronger, there is less stress placed on the cardiovascular system whilst performing these activities.
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15. decrease risk of type II diabetes & help with its symptoms
Because strength training promotes the increase of lean muscle mass, the uptake of blood sugars into the muscle cell will also be increased, therefore reducing the incidence of Diabetes. Your metabolic rate is also increased by strength training which aids in the reduction of fat mass. Type II Diabetes is directly related to fatness – lose weight and there is very little chance of late onset.