Benefits of Strength Training

I haven’t had one client in the last 4 years get upset about being stronger. When you work hard and perform exercises that challenge you, the reward is strength in many ways other than just muscle strength. Working to become stronger in the gym directly relates to strength in life. When you step into the gym for a workout you are taking a step into a parallel world, where you can view your life and look at the things you want to change directly. You are stepping into a chamber that projects your life to see what it can be, and in that chamber you work towards making that vision a reality. Sounds pretty incredible right?

Benefit 1. Health

The most obvious benefit to strength training and exercise is improved health. Going upstairs to sleep will no longer be so strenuous that you are getting a workout just before trying to relax for bed! Parking far away from the grocery store entrance will not seem like such an upsetting event because walking isn’t a struggle. Laziness will slowly wither away and your productivity will soar high! Fatigue after your day at work will diminish and time with your family will be spent in enjoyment, not wishing you could just sit down and “take a load off”.

Benefit 2. Adventure

With improved strength and health you will grow restless sitting around and “experiencing” life through the excitement of sitcoms and movies. You will want to get out there and see the jungles of Africa or the canyons of Arizona! Life can be drastically impacted for the better when you see things outside your current world to realize how big it is out there and how incredible the people you meet are!

Benefit 3. Confidence

Sometimes when we don’t feel confident about something, we just write it off as something we can’t do. Resistance training shows you that you can! Starting with 20 pound dumbbells and seeing the big ones that weight 100 pounds, you think “impossible”, then before you know it you are moving the 60 pound dumbbells, and then the 80 pound dumbbells, and then you realize how different you have become. The person that once thought of something as impossible is right on the threshold of achieving that impossibility. The act of setting your mind towards something and challenging yourself has completely redefined your definition and understanding of the word impossible! You have a new found confidence that lets you try new things because if you can do something that you thought was impossible, then the same is true for anything! Along with that type of confidence is the confidence in how you feel. If you start treating your body and mind right you start feeling proud of your hard work and your insecurity will melt away, leaving confidence to push you in whatever direction you want your life to go without the doubts and negative self defeat!

Benefit 4. Longer life

I can’t guarantee that you will live until 110 years old because you exercise, but it is undeniable in studies that exercise and taking care of your health increases the chances of living longer. With the body and mind in tip top shape you will be on the same team as your body instead of working against it by letting it weaken or eating harmful foods. Exercise improves muscle strength, cardiorespiratory function, and bone health! Dedicating time to show those systems the attention they deserve certainly sounds a lot better than punishing it for supplying you the vessel to experience this life we are given!

If you are bit by the fitness bug you can understand all of this. If you haven’t decided that taking care of yourself is important, I hope you can see the pros far outweigh the cons and taking that step will change your life!

Ryan Sensenig