Is Weight Training a Fountain of Youth?

Most people turn to aerobic exercise when looking to improve their health, lose weight, and get fit.

The approach can deliver some benefits, and most people start feeling better and see some positive results. Unfortunately, progress comes to a screeching halt soon after, leaving folks to wonder what they did wrong.

Today’s article will outline why resistance training might be the better choice and if it truly is the fountain of youth. Let’s discuss.

1. It Builds Muscle Mass

The most obvious benefit of lifting weights is that you get to build muscle mass. Doing so benefits you in several ways. 

First, more muscle means a higher metabolic rate and the ability to enjoy more food without gaining weight. Muscle is metabolically-costly tissue, and your body expends calories daily to keep it around.

Second, weight training prevents a problem that plagues countless people worldwide: sarcopenia, also known as age-related muscle loss.  Lifting weights provides a strong stimulus, signaling your body that muscle is essential and should not be broken down for energy. As a result, you remain physically capable of moving, tackling various tasks, playing sports, and engaging in other youthful activities.

2. It Makes You Functional, Athletic, and Independent

The second notable benefit of weight training is that it makes you functional, athletic, and independent in your daily life.

A big reason people end up relying on others as they get older has to do with sarcopenia. It takes decades for the effects to settle in, but age-related muscle loss can lead to significant limitations and the inability to perform even simple tasks like walking up a flight of stairs. Weight training prevents sarcopenia and allows people to maintain youthful functionality, tackle everyday tasks easily, and remain independent. As discussed in the previous point, weight training is also beneficial for your athleticism and allows you to participate in fun activities that keep you young.

3. It Protects Your Bones

Bone loss is another issue most people don’t think about, but the consequences can be devastating. Just as we start losing muscle as we get older, we are at risk of losing bone mass, especially after 50. 

Weight training is particularly beneficial because it provides a strong stimulus, leading to stronger bones and a lower risk of osteoporosis. As a result, you’re less likely to suffer from fractures as you enter your fifties, sixties, and beyond.

4. It Creates a Positive Body Image

Though many people see ‘body image’ as nothing more than a vanity metric, how you perceive yourself is vital for your mental health, confidence, and happiness. 

There is nothing wrong in seeking to have a beautiful body because that makes you feel better about yourself and brings a sense of fulfillment.

Weight training is a great way to develop a positive body image, feel good about yourself, and abolish self-consciousness. 

5. It Boosts Your Energy Levels and Well-Being

Another huge way in which weight training can boost your health and make you feel younger is by increasing your energy levels and sense of well-being. 

Lifting weights is a great way to build muscle and lose fat, and improving your body composition can improve your energy levels on a few fronts:

1. Having more muscle means you’re more functional and better able to handle various physical tasks.
2. Larger muscles have a greater capacity for carrying glycogen––a complex carbohydrate form your body uses to fuel physical activity.
3. Trimming excess fat makes you more efficient at burning calories, leaving more energy for your body to use throughout the day.

6. It Can Support a Healthy Sex Drive

When you put all weight training benefits together, you become healthier, happier, and more energized. As an added advantage, you’re more likely to experience an improvement in your libido.

Weight training is also beneficial for boosting testosterone in men and women. The hormone is necessary on numerous fronts, and one of its functions is to increase sexual drive. High testosterone is also beneficial for fertility and erectile function in men.

It’s Never too Late to Start

Regardless of your age, fitness history, or health status, it’s never too late to start doing some weight training. You should start small and focus on being consistent, even if your workouts only last for 20 minutes initially.

The longer you stick with it, the more benefits you will reap.