Why is Weight Training so Beneficial for Men?
Jul 5, 2022 mindpumpI think most guys are aware lifting weights is good for them and that they should be doing it more. They’re probably familiar with the obvious benefits, but I don’t think they have thought to look at the additional and probably more important longer term benefits of weight training.
Building Muscle
Let’s start with the obvious. Most, if not all men know that lifting weights is good if they want to build muscle. The idea is to push yourself a little more each time you go into the gym. That can be 5lbs heavier or 1 more rep. It doesn’t always have to be weight. This added muscle can carry over to daily life. Whether you’re helping move furniture, or want to minimize injury, there really isn’t a downside to putting on at least a little bit of extra muscle. It will also help reduce all cause mortality.
Check out my article on What are the Best Exercises for Men Who Want to Pack on Muscle.
Hormones
Nothing will help boost a man’s testosterone naturally than lifting weights. In order to grow muscle, you need optimal hormone levels to generate the amount of muscle you most likely want to achieve. Sure, you could take exogenous supplements, but those are short term solutions that come with massive side effects. Nothing natural will boost your testosterone as much as lifting weights. This is great for when we get older. Our T levels will start to decrease after age 25, so anything we can do to help keep it elevated, and not take up too much of our time should be first priority.
Boosts Metabolism
This is something not many men realize. Lifting weights INCREASES your metabolism. Think about that! What is the one thing we wish we could do? Eat more! Lifting weights helps put on muscle. The more muscle we have the more calories we burn at rest because it is calorically expensive to hold onto muscle. No other form of exercise provides that. When you go for a run or do cardio, you burn the calories you burn in the moment (and maybe a couple hours after), but then it’s done. Also, your body learns to burn less and less calories over time with cardio so it’s inevitably a losing game.
We are in an ever growing population of obese people. We simply aren’t doing enough to curb our appetites or warrant eating as much as we do. Incorporating lifting weights into your life will help put all that energy to use. It also doesn’t take as much time as you think. 2-3 days of a full body routine taking 45-60 minutes is all you need to achieve a fantastic physique.
Better Mobility
This is another uncommon but hugely important fact. As we get older, we become more susceptible to injury. We get injured because we are either too weak, or get put into an extended position we’ve never been in before under stress or load. By lifting weights through their full range of motion, you are strengthening those weak points and creating a resilient body that can handle those everyday stressors.
This isn’t the same as being flexible. Being flexible means having a full range without the stability and control. You need to practice getting into those positions with added weight, so you can build the main muscle and stabilizing muscles to handle the deceleration. You can also choose exercises to challenge all angles and ranges. Our bodies are meant to move back and forth, side to side, diagonal, you name it. There are endless exercises you can choose from to allow your body to perform functionally and effectively.
Increased Bone Density
Along the same lines as above, following a proper resistance training program will place a stress on your bones that causes microfractures. These get stronger over time making your bones denser and stronger. When we get older, we are more prone to slips and falls causing our frail bones to break. This is why it’s important to start lifting early to minimize these incidents.
Be sure to check out my article on 3 Basic Tips for Someone Who Hasn’t Lifted Weights Before.
