The Number #1 Form Of Exercise!
If you asked your GP what is the best form of exercise they will most likely recommend that you do some type of cardio workout 3 times per week for 30 minutes. That is the general guideline. But is that really any good for overall health & longevity?........No!
In our modern society today we drive to work sit at our desks ( if we don't have a physically demanding job) and eat our 'Uber' ordered in lunches, we go home sit some more and binge our favourite Netflix show. If we want to go shopping we can even do it online and get next day delivery!
All this lack of movement eventually leads us to have poor posture which leads to poor mobility at an earlier age, increased risk of diabetes and even can effect how well our brain works!!
"Cardio is good" I hear you say! Yes it is but only to an extent. If we were to just focus on running or cycling (cardio) for health our metabolism would eventually slow down as it tries to make our bodies more efficient at using fuel, we would also lose muscle mass and end up being weaker in the long term.
So what to do? Working out with weights (Resistance Training) helps us combat EVERYTHING I mentioned above and more!
Regularly using weights to get stronger and increase muscle mass will increase bone strength, tendon and ligament strength, it will speed up your metabolism which will aid in being able to eat more without getting fat!
Having more muscle will also reduce your risk for diabetes, also the ranges of motion you perform when exercising will help increase and maintain mobility well into advanced age.
Regularly exercising can also lead to cognitive improvements due to chemical processes which could influence our neurotransmitters.
All this being said in an ideal world you would perform resistance training but also have a balance with cardio workouts, flexibility workouts etc, but we live busy lives and if I just had to pick one....resistance training would win hands down!