At Primal we love to throw a few weights around, but we also understand that this does come with a certain stigma, so to toss those fears aside here are a few reasons you should love ‘lifting’ as much as we do.
To Become Stronger
It’s good to feel able bodied, healthy and strong, so gradually increasing our overall strength should be a priority for us all.
This doesn’t mean we need to chalk our hands and lift super heavy weights, a full body workout using our own mass is a great start and from there you can add some light dumbbells gradually increasing the resistance. Before you know it, you’ll be throwing the kids around the garden, or springing up a long flight of stairs with a lot more ease that ever before.
Burn More Fat
Lifting weights will increase your metabolic rate, which means you’ll burn more calories while you’re getting on with your life post exercise. This works because as you build muscle, your body burns more fuel, hence increased calories used every day.
A well balanced workout routine targeting all the major muscle groups will help to get this rocking! As an added extra, the stronger we become the harder we can workout, which means extra positive effects.
Now, this isn’t an excuse to stop off at Nicos for fish and chips, it’s not that magical, but when combined with sensible eating you’ll soon notice the difference.
Toning the wobble
The word ‘toning’ gets used a lot in gyms and the art of this is to build some muscle and shed a bit of fat. In truth, we all want to look slightly better (especially naked), so adding strength training into our lives can help us do exactly that.
There is always the understandable fear of adding excess bulk when lifting, and while this is entirely possible, if you manage your diet well enough, the opposite will happen in that you'll become a leaner version or yourself. Obviously, if you live on sausage rolls and Dr. Peppers this won’t happen. It takes some routine change and learning, but a diet filled with lean proteins, fruits, vegetables and decent carbs with the odd treat, should always be followed.
Healthier Bones and Joints
As we grow older we begin to lose bone density making them more fragile, this is a condition called Osteoporosis; which leaves us at a higher risk of broken bones. Performing resistance training a couple of times a week has been proven to strengthen bones and decrease the risk of injury, and it is never too late to start!
Also, performing each exercise to our full range of motion will increase flexibility helping us to move more freely.
It Feels Great – a confidence boost
Lifting weights makes me feel happier about myself and for me this is by far the most important factor. It is a combination of feeling stronger, increased mobility, becoming leaner and significantly boosts my feelings of self-worth, achievement and confidence.
The above points are external factors that could help us all feel slightly better about ourselves, knowing that we’ve done something positive when it’s so easy not to, especially on these dark winter nights.
Being aware of this always gives me the extra incentive to do a workout.
If any of this sounds good to you, give us a shout and we can discuss where to go from here.
Simon