What is Resistance and Weight Training?
No , not resistance to training :)) Resistance training is a general term for exercising with something that creates an external resistance like your own bodyweight, elastic stretch bands, kettlebells, hand-held weights…..etc.
Weight training is commonly associated with lifting heavy weights for a few reps. So weight training is a form of resistance training.
Resistance training will make your muscles contract against the thing that you are using to create the resistance, for example your bodyweight or a hand-held weight. This contraction of the muscles will build strength and and tone.
The Benefits of Resistance Training
Since we are no longer getting a natural daily workout by having to hunt our dinner or build shelter, we very rarely push our muscles to work out and get stronger. Resistance Training will help to fill the exercise gap left by our increasingly inactive lifestyles.
Here are just some of the reasons to build Resistance Training in to your weekly routine:
Increases muscle strength and tone (especially important after our 30s when we start to lose muscle)
Can help to control weight (by increasing your metabolic rate)
Builds bone strength (helping to prevent against conditions like osteoporosis)
Can help to lower blood pressure
And it’s never too late to start. Of course, you will get more benefits the earlier you start, but the great thing is that people will still see benefits even if they only start in their 70s and 80s!
Resistance Training can slow down or EVEN REVERSE the muscle ageing process by building muscle and strength.
What kind of weights should I use for Resistance Training?
You can use both free weights or weight machines in the gym. I recommend free weights since they will also work on your coordination and concentration. It’s also likely that you will use more muscles to stabilise your movements rather than having a machine control the move for you. To keep your body stable, you will naturally be activating your ‘core’.
Exercising with free weights will work the whole body in addition to improving your coordination and concentration, making it closer to a Natural Movement workout.
How does it work?
Whilst it might sound counter-intuitive, Resistance Training works by damaging and repairing muscles. When you do any resistance training exercise, you cause tiny amounts of damage to the muscle cells. This in turn causes the muscles to repair after the session by boosting nutrients to the muscle. Which then makes them stronger.
It’s because of this cycle of (microscopic) damage and repair, that it is important to leave time between your resistance training workouts for the recovery to happen and get stronger while you ‘rest’.