Improving Strength and functionality is crucial as it enhances our quality of life and reduces risk of injury. It supports our long term health and aids individuals in keeping their independence as they get older.

Functionality refers to our ability to perform our intended tasks effectively. Strength training using functional training movements like Squatting, Pushing and Pulling reinforces and strengthens the muscles that we use in everyday tasks like climbing stairs, carrying shopping, lifting our children. Being able to do these things effortlessly really is priceless as we age.

Physical Strength often leads to greater self confidence, resilience and improves our mental wellbeing. When we get stronger in our bodies our mental strength often improves too.

Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does. Having more muscle means that we will burn extra calories, even at rest and after a strength workout calorie burn is boosted because of its metabolic effect.

Building muscle, along with eating sensibly can help reduce body fat while increasing lean muscle mass, reshaping the body, improving tone and definition and achieving a leaner composition overall.

A healthier body composition of lower body fat, lowers the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndromes including high blood pressure.

Following a Body Recomposition plan, which is building muscle whilst losing body fat, can produce sustainable results, unlike many short term diets which can be restrictive and unsustainable. Recomposition focuses on sustainable habits that promote strength and long term health.

Women do not need to worry about getting bulky from Strength Training, we have not got the hormonal profile to build up bulky muscles like men, women that do manage to get to this point have trained at a very high intensity and have eaten in a large surplus over many years to get to that result.

Muscle promotes better hormone production. Strength stimulates the production of testosterone in men and women which can decline naturally with age. Testosterone is essential for muscle growth, fat metabolism and libido. In women it supports hormone balance without excessive masculinising effects.

Strength Training positively effects not only testosterone but our growth hormone and insulin which will all help with building muscle, body recomposition and increased energy levels.

In women, it also supports estrogen and progesterone balance which is important for overall hormonal health especially in the menopausal years and if suffering from PCOS.

Muscle tissue improves glucose uptake, helping to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and improving blood sugar regulation.

Better insulin sensitivity means that our cells can effectively use glucose for energy, this in turn means that we have more energy consistently and suffer from less fatigue throughout the day.

Having better insulin sensitivity lowers inflammation throughout the body, inflammation contributes to numerous health issues including obesity, arthritis and thyroid disorders.

Studies have linked increased muscle mass with a longer lifespan and a lower risk of chronic diseases. It can also improve recovery time from illness or injury.

I have often heard people say “I am training for my old age” and increasingly its becoming more and more evident that people that continue to weight train enjoy very active twilight years.

Ageing naturally leads to Muscle Loss (Sarcopenia)Strength Training helps maintain and rebuild muscle improving your overall functioning and reducing frailty. Strength Training also improves balance and stability, reducing the risk of falls, a major cause of injury in older individuals.

Muscles stabilise joints and help to maintain proper posture. This in turn helps to reduce strains and the risk of developing arthritis.

Bones are also stressed during exercise which will promote increased bone density and reducing the risk of developing osteoporosis.

Women are at a higher risk of osteoporosis as they age, strength training strengthens the bones and will help protect against this.

Strength Training produces an endorphin release which is a natural mood enhancer, endorphins also help to relieve stress, anxiety and depression.

Strength training improves self confidence, when we set and achieve new goals we gain confidence in ourselves. We feel good about improving out health and dedicating time to ourselves. With Strength Training and building muscle we see physical progress and we feel stronger which can be extremely empowering and powerful in how we see ourselves.

One of the lesser realised benefits of strength training is how it improves our cardiovascular health, more noticeably when doing full body compound movements such as squats and deadlifts. Our heart really has to work hard with the heart rate increasing to match the intensity of the exercise, by improving our cardiovascular health we improve our circulation, can lower our blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.