I have always liked to do sports. As a child, I did gymnastics for many years, and as an adult, I have been doing different sports regularly.
Years ago, I used to be very much into Pilates, I loved it. I also did yoga, Body Balance, Zumba and some jogging. Despite all the time and effort, I had shoulder and upper back pain on a regular basis. While both physiotherapy and osteopathic therapy helped to a certain extent, neither could solve the problem entirely. And my passion, Pilates couldn’t help either. On the contrary, I increasingly felt that it made the pain worse.
Then I went to a fitness studio for the first time in my life, about five years ago. I was very lucky because I happened to meet one of the best trainers who really knew what I needed. So I started to train. WOW! I never could have imagined this feeling before. After the first few sessions, all the pain was gone! Miracle? No, just the right movement. Later, when I started to feel the discomfort coming back, I headed to the gym and I felt great again. Since that time, I have loved weight-training more and more and my pain has never come back.
Getting rid of my back pain was one of the benefits, but I could profit from weight-training in other ways too. One big gain was that my body composition has changed remarkably. I have lost fat mass and gained muscle mass. I check my body composition regularly with BIA, which shows that my fat mass went down from 24% to 17%, and my muscle mass went up from 39% to 44% during the last years. That’s really not bad especially considering the fact that I am turning 48 soon.
What I have learned is that it is possible to gain muscle no matter our age, and I am now convinced about it.
In addition, weight training is fun too! People often say that being at the gym is boring but I never understood why. For me it’s the opposite, I enjoy the feeling of becoming stronger and stronger. The necessary workout can be done in 20 minutes, so I save a lot of time compared to other sports. After training, I always feel strong physically, mentally and emotionally.
Let's see the benefits of muscle training in a few points.
Training leads to increased muscle mass and muscular strength, which:
improve metabolism, help to maintain healthy weight, support fat loss
give you a better posture
decrease the risk of falls
give you better balance
make your ligaments and tendons stronger
increase bone strength
build confidence and improve mental health
I keep on living this way because I love to feel strong, energetic and healthy.
In summary, it is a fact that having a great amount of muscle mass is extremely important for overall health. The truth is, though, that we cannot exercise our way out of a bad diet, so don't forget to follow a good, whole-foods based diet for long-term health.
If the fitness world is new to you, I encourage you to try it. I am sure you will enjoy the same benefits as I do and you will love the experience.
If you want to become healthier and stronger, I am more than happy to help you with it.