Resistance training can give you many benefits, including:
- improved balance and fewer falls.
- a healthy state of mind. Resistance training can reduce depression and improve mood.
- improved body appearance. Resistance training can increase muscle and decrease fat.
- better sleep.
- better overall function. Your daily activities will feel easier.
As you get older, you lose about 30% of your muscle mass. This means that your muscles lose strength and you become weaker. This loss of strength puts you at risk of:
- lowering your fitness level
- falling, breaking bones, or other injuries
- losing independence and being unable to live on your own
- having a disability
Resistance training can help to reduce these risks. In fact, if you do resistance training 2-3 times per week, you can increase the strength of your muscles and increase your fitness level.
Should I Do Resistance Training?
Resistance training can help people with many different types of medical conditions.
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Arthritis: Prevents and reduces joint pain and swelling.
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Cancer: Helps to keep your strength up during cancer treatments and can help with recovery.
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Cardiovascular risk factors: Helps to reduce cardiovascular risk factors like large waist size, high blood pressure, high blood glucose and high triglycerides. Learn more about cardiovascular risk factors and what to do if you have them »
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Diabetes and pre-diabetes: Makes the body more efficient at using glucose. This helps with blood glucose control and reduces the risk of complications from diabetes.
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Fibromyalgia: Decreases muscular pain and fatigue.
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Osteoporosis: Improves bone density, reducing risks from osteoporosis.
