Strength training involves movement of some parts of our body through resistance. Resistance can be in the form weights, gravity, rubber or elastic bands or machines.

There are 12 physiological reasons to perform regular strength exercise. On a more basic level, it is important to understand that proper strength training may help us to look better, feel better, and function better. Remember that our skeletal muscles serve as the engine, chassis, and shock absorbers of our bodies. Consequently strength training is an effective means of increasing our physical capacity, improving our athletic performance, reducing our injury risk, and improving our self-confidence.

Strength Training Benefits:

1. Avoid Muscle Loss
Adults who do not strength train lose between 5 and 7 pounds of muscle for every decade (Forbes 1976, Evans and Rosenberg 1992). Although endurance exercise improves our cardiovascular fitness, it does not prevent the loss of muscle tissue. Only strength exercise maintains our muscle mass and strength throughout our mid-life years.

2. Avoid Metabolic Rate Reduction
Because muscle is very active tissue, muscle loss is accompanied by a reduction in our resting metabolism. Information from Keyes et al. (1973) and Evans and Rosenberg (1992) indicates that the average adult experiences a 2 to 5 percent reduction in metabolic rate every decade of life. Because regular strength exercise prevents muscle loss, it also prevents the accompanying decrease in resting metabolic rate.

3. Increase Muscle Mass
Because most adults do not perform strength exercise, they do not first replace the muscle tissue that has been lost through inactivity. Fortunately, research (Westcott 1995) shows that a standard strength training program can increase muscle mass by about 3 pounds over an eight-week training period. This is the typical training response for men and women who do not do 25 minutes of strength exercise, three days per week.

4. Increase Metabolic Rate
Research reveals that adding 3 pounds of muscle increases our resting metabolic rate by 7 percent and our daily calorie requirements by only 15 percent (Campbell et al. 1994). At rest, a pound of muscle requires 35 calories per day for tissue maintenance, and during exercise muscle through sensible strength exercise use more calories all day long, thereby reducing the likelihood of fat accumulation.

5. Reduce Body Fat
Campbell and his co-workers (1994) found that strength exercise produced 4 pounds of fat loss after three months of training, even though the subjects were eating 15 percent more calories per day. That is, a basic strength program resulted in 3 pounds more muscle, 4 pounds less fat, and 370 more calories per day food intake.

6. Increase Bone Mineral Density
The effects of progressive resistance exercise are similar for muscle tissue and bone tissue. The same training stimulus that increases muscle myoproteins also increases bone osteoproteins and mineral content. Menkes (1993) had demonstrated significant increases in the bone mineral density of the upper femur after four months of strength exercise.

7. Improve Glucose Metabolism
Hurley (1994) has reported a 23 percent increase in glucose uptake after four months of strength training. Because poor glucose metabolism is associated with adult onset diabetes, improved glucose metabolism is an important benefit of regular strength exercise.

8. Increase Gastrointestinal Transit Time
A study by Koffler (1992) showed a 56 percent increase in gastrointestinal transit time (transit time is faster) after three months of strength training. This is significant due to the fact that delayed gastrointestinal transit time is related to a higher rise of colon cancer.

9. Reduce Resting Blood Pressure
Strength training alone has been shown to reduce resting blood pressure significantly (Harris and Holly 1987). Our study (Westcott 1995) has revealed that combining strength training and aerobic exercise is an even more effective means of improving blood pressure readings. After two months of combined exercise, our program participants dropped their systolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg and their dystolic blood pressure by 3 mm Hg.

10. Improve Blood Lipid Levels
Although the effect of strength training on blood lipid levels needs further research at least two studies (Stone et al. 1982, Hurley et al. 1988) have revealed improved blood lipid profiles after several weeks of strength exercise. It is important to note that improvements in blood lipid levels are similar for both endurance and strength exercise (Hurley 1994).

11. Reduce Low Back Pain
Years of research on strength training and back pain conducted at the University of Florida Medical School have shown that strong low-back muscles are less likely to be injured than weaker low-back muscles. A recent study by Risch (1993) found that low-back patients had significantly less back pain after 10 weeks of specific (full-range) strength exercise for the lumbar spine lumbar spine muscles. Because 80 percent of Americans experience low-back problems, it is advisable for all adults to strengthen their lower-back muscles properly.

12. Reduce Arthritic Pain
According to a recent edition of the Tufts University Diet and Nutrition Letter (1994). sensible strength training eases the pain of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. This is good news, because most men and women who suffer from arthritis pain need strength exercise to develop stronger muscles, bones, and connective tissue.


Most people know that they are gaining fat, but few realize that they are losing muscle. What's more, they don't understand that muscle loss is a major factor in fat gain. If they did, they wouldn't place such a strong emphasis on dieting. With one out of every two adults presently following a low-calorie diet plan, there needs to be a major teaching effort from health and fitness professionals to remedy this situation. Although dieting can reduce fat, it can not replace muscle to solve the primary body composition problem. In fact, low-calorie diets actually result in muscle loss, which accounts for approximately 25 percent of the total weight lost.

Fortunately, more overweight adults are complementing their diet plan with aerobic activity (usually walking), which burns additional calories and enhances cardiovascular fitness. While this combined program of diet and endurance exercise attenuates muscle loss, it does not add muscle or increase resting metabolic rate.

The missing component, of course, is strength training, which replaces muscle tissue and recharges resting metabolism. Studies show that 25 minutes of standard strength training, two or three days a week, can increase previously inactive adults’ muscle mass by about 3 pounds in two to three months of training. What’s more, research reveals that 3 pounds of new muscle tissue increases resting metabolism by 6 to 8 percent, which represents an additional 100 to 120 calories per day.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 90 percent of American adults are so sedentary that they could almost be reclassified as statues. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that obesity has increased by almost 70 percent in the past 10 years (from 12 percent to 20 percent). Nearly 60 percent of all adults in the US are overweight, and the percentage of obese children has doubled since the 1980s. In addition to higher risk for heart disease and various types of cancer, obesity raises the risk of diabetes 10 times for men and 20 times for women.

Unfortunately, being overweight is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to body composition concerns. Sedentary adults typically add 10 pounds of bodyweight every decade during their midlife years. Plus, this unfavorable weight change results from a 5-pound loss of muscle and a 15- pound gain in fat. In other words, what appears to be a 10-poound weight problem is actually a 20-pound body composition problem. In addition to adversely affecting personal appearance and physical performance, the reduction in muscle tissue is largely responsible for metabolic slow-down. The 5-pounds-per-decade muscle loss is closely associated with a 5-percent-per-decade decrease in resting metabolic rate. Even people who don’t increase their food intake experience creeping obesity, because calories previously used to maintain more muscle tissue are now placed in fat-storage areas of the body.

Health Benefits of Strength Training

Strength training is the best means for attaining and maintaining a desirable body composition, as well as for developing a high level of musculoskeletal fitness. However, there are many other health-related reasons for performing regular resistance exercise. Consider the following medical benefits associated with sensible strength training.

Reduced risk of osteoporosis. The effects of progressive resistance exercise are similar for muscle tissue and bone tissue. The same training stimulus that increases myoprotein is muscle increases collagen proteins in bone. Researchers have reported significant bone mineral density development in older men and women who participated in standard strength-training programs.

Reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. One of the fastest growing health problems in the United States is diabetes, which presently affects 15 million American adults. Type 2 diabetes begins with a deficient glucose metabolism, which hinders the transfer of glucose from the blood to the muscles. Researchers at the University of Maryland found that four months of regular strength training increased glucose uptake by almost 25 percent in the pre-diabetic study subjects. Their improved glucose metabolism improved the participants potential for avoiding type 2 diabetes.

Reduced risk of colon cancer. Another University of Maryland study examined the effects of strength exercise on the transit time for food to pass through the gastrointestinal system. After just three months, the resistance-trained subjects showed a 56 percent faster transit speed. This is a significant finding, because faster gastrointestinal transit time is associated with lower risk for colon cancer.

More Health Benefits of Strength Training

Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and two primary predisposing factors are high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol. Contrary to popular misconception, properly performed strength exercise leads to lower resting blood pressure. In a study with almost 800 subjects, resting blood pressure was reduced about 4mm Hg systolic and 3 mm Hg diastolic after just two months of combined strength and endurance exercise.

Likewise, researchers have found favorable effects on blood lipid profiles after several weeks of strength training. In fact, comparative studies have shown as much improvement in blood lipid profiles resulting from strength training as from endurance exercise.

Reduced risk of low-back pain. About 80 percent of all Americans will experience low-back pain during their lifetime. Fifteen years of research conducted at the University of Florida Medical School has indicated that the largest percentage of low-back problems are related to weak low-back muscles. Their studies have feature full-range strength exercises for the lumbar spine muscles, and the majority of their subjects have been pain-free or significantly improved after an average of 10 weeks of training.

Reduced risk of depression. A recent study conducted at Harvard University placed clinically depressed seniors into one of two treatment groups. One group received educational counseling, while the other group performed three strength-training sessions a week with no other intervention. The older adults who performed strength exercise experienced significantly better results, with more than 80 percent no longer meeting the criteria for depression after only 10 weeks of training.