For many, weight training calls to mind bodybuilders pumping iron in pursuit of beefy biceps and bulging pecs. But experts say it’s well past time to discard those antiquated notions of what resistance training can do for your physique and health. Modern exercise science shows that working with weights—whether that weight is a light dumbbell or your own body—may be the best exercise for lifelong physical function and fitness.
Many people think of weight training as exercise that augments muscle size and strength, which is certainly true. But the “load” that this form of training puts on bones and their supporting muscles, tendons and ligaments is probably a crucial when it comes to health and physical function.
Experts talk about bone resorption, which is a decrease in bone tissue over time. When you’re young, bone resorption is balanced and in some cases exceeded by new bone tissue generation. But later in life, bone tissue losses accelerate and outpace the creation of new bone. That acceleration is especially pronounced among people who are sedentary and women who have reached or passed menopause. This loss of bone tissue leads to the weakness and postural problems that plague many older adults.
Resistance training counteracts all those bone losses and postural deficits. Through a process known as bone remodelling, strength training stimulates the development of bone osteoblasts: cells that build bones back up. While you can achieve some of these bone benefits through aerobic exercise, especially in your lower body, resistance training is really the best way to maintain and enhance total-body bone strength.
During a bout of resistance training, your muscles are rapidly using glucose, and this energy consumption continues even after you’ve finished exercising. So, for anyone at risk for metabolic conditions—type-2 diabetes, but also high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol levels and other symptoms of metabolic syndrome—strength training is among the most-effective remedies.
Strength training also seems to be a potent antidote to inflammation, a major risk factor for heart disease and other conditions. A 2010 study from the University of Connecticut linked regular resistance training with inflammation-quelling shifts in the body’s levels of cytokines, a type of immune system protein. Another study from Mayo Clinic found that when overweight women did twice-weekly resistance training sessions, they had significant drops in several markers of inflammation. More research has linked strength training to improved focus and cognitive function, better balance, less anxiety and greater well-being.