Higher Endeavors

The concept of creating health and wellness, which is integral in leading an inspired life, has a few general fitness components. These involve the major three categories of resistance training, cardiovascular training, and recovery modalities. Each has its own benefits and in this article I want to specifically address the benefits of resistance training.

The concept of progressive resistance training, or weight lifting in layman’s terms, has been around at least since the 6th BC in Greece with the famous story of Milo. Throughout history resistance training has had different approaches, from the kind of weight used to different programing variables, but it has been around in one form or another for centuries.
    

With that being the case there must be some reason for the longevity of resistance training. In my opinion, done properly resistance training has more benefits than any other form of exercise. Every life can and will be enhanced by some form of resistance training.

Looking to history, in the past 50 to 100 years we have greatly diverged away from what the human body was designed to do. No matter what form of creation you believe in, it is hard to deny the human body is an impressive feat of design, capable of performing tremendous physical and psychological tasks. Unfortunately, in recent history we have begun to focus more on the psychological tasks than the physical ones. The impact of this can be seen every day.

Without proper activity the human body can no longer function in the way in which it was designed. In essence, our bodies are the same as our ancestors living in caves, hunting animals on foot, and gathering different flora to eat. Our bodies need daily activity that is both stimulating and challenging to function at its best. In a society where daily physical tasks of survival are rarely, if ever, necessary we need to find other ways to maintain that physical need.
    

That’s where resistance training comes in. Resistance training, as the name implies, involves training against some form of resistance. The resistance may be your bodyweight, a dumbbell, barbell, exercise band, kettlebell (PB link), exercise machine, or any other contraption that forces your muscles to overcome some sort of load. There are pros and cons to each and those will be addressed in the future, but for now we will stick to the basics.
    

The basics being that resistance training is good for you. Below is a list of some of the currently understood benefits of resistance training.

Positively Affects

• Musculoskeletal strength
• Maintenance of functional abilities
• Metabolic profile
  • Total cholesterol
  • LDL
  • Triglycerides
• Insulin resistance
• Resting metabolic rate
• Glucose metabolism
• Blood pressure
• Body fat
• Gastrointestinal transit time
• Fatigue/ Rate of perceived exertion (RPE)
• Emotional health
  • Depression
• Sleep

• Osteoporosis
• Sarcopenia
• Lower-back pain
• Chronic disease
• Heart disease
• Arthritis
• Diabetes