By Mathew Forzaglia
Mathew Forzaglia is a top digital fitness professional and fitness trainer from New York City. He is the founder of Forzag Fitness, a high-intensity, functional workout that can be streamed worldwide. By bringing personalized attention to a wide audience – anywhere, anytime – he is changing the game in digital fitness. Mathew is certified by several nationally accredited organizations which have given him a breadth of knowledge and experience.
When it comes to exercise, there is one style of training that should be in everyone’s programming, no matter what. That style is strength training. There are a lot of myths about heavy lifting or weights in general, but I’m not going to touch on that today. Let’s focus on my tips and how you can benefit from them! Below are my top five benefits of adding strength training into your routine.
1. You’re Building Confidence
Over time, you’ll start to see changes in yourself mentally, which is probably more important than anything else. There is no greater feeling than lifting something that you were not able to lift just a couple of weeks prior. With a stronger mind, you’ll attack obstacles you may encounter and tackle them differently without hesitations.
2. Your Body Composition Changes
Simply put, you’re going to change the way your body looks. At an aesthetic level, muscle lines will start to form where there weren’t any prior. Strength training will literally change the composition of your body. This is that toning look most people desire, but what’s really happening is you are building muscle and burning fat.
3. You’ll Burn More Fat More Efficiently
More muscle means you’ve got more fat-burning engines in your body. This also means that you’re going to burn more calories and fat doing the same workout than you did before. A person with 100lbs of muscle will burn way more calories than a person with 100lbs of fat.
4. You’ll Reduce Your Risk of Injury
Lifting weights and improving strength will help with creating more stability in your joints and core. Did you know that a set of heavy squats is way more effective than hundreds of sit-ups to build a strong core? Strong joints and a strong core mean that you’re less likely to get injured in other sports such as running, cycling, or a specific sport you play. Start understanding the meaning of longevity.
5. You’ll Increase Your Functional Strength
Yes, you will increase your strength overall, but what does that mean? It means that your day to day tasks will become increasingly easier. Lifting a piece of furniture while moving, throwing your suitcase into the overhead bin, carrying groceries into your home – all are executed with much more ease when you’ve got the strength.
All in all, strength training goes way beyond just these five benefits, but these are relatable to everyone day-to-day no matter who you are. Your life will improve by implementing strength training into your exercise program long-term and that is what we are looking for – longevity!
