Let’s face it, if you could get your hands on one magical thing that would help you lose weight, make you look and feel better, make your heart stronger, and greatly reduce the number of health risks – you’d pay good money for it, right? Ironically, the answer is right in front of you. Find out how getting stronger will benefit not just your body, but your quality of life.

Strength or weight training can benefit people of all ages, all fitness levels, and all body types. Besides making you look and feel great, strength training will also help to:

From cancer to heart disease – greatly reduce a lot of health risks
Studies have proved that strength training has a positive effect on insulin resistance, resting metabolism, blood pressure, body fat and gastrointestinal transit time – all of which are factors that are linked to illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Increase your metabolism
Cardio is a great way of burning fat, but the advantage of strength training is that your body continues to burn extra kilojoules even after you’re done. In fact, regular resistance training can increase your resting metabolic rate by up to 15%, turning your body into a fat-burning machine.

Don’t just lose the weight – keep it off
It’s simple, really. The extra muscle makes your metabolic rate higher and a faster metabolism means you burn more kilojoules and fat even when you’re resting. So in the long run, your body is more effective at burning what you take in – helping you to keep the weight off.

Get rid of that nagging back pain
We’ve all had stiff backs or lower back pain from sitting at work all day. And a workout is the last thing you feel like doing because your back is already hurt, right? Wrong. Strong muscles, tendons, and ligaments are much more capable of withstanding stress, and the improved flexibility gained by strength training also reduces the likelihood of pulled muscles and back pain.

It makes you feel great!
Strength training is a great way to release endorphins, the body’s ‘happy hormones’. And you won’t only feel great during the day, as lifting heavy weights also helps you sleep better, which makes you wake up feeling better rested and happier all day long.

Get stronger bones
Good, strong bones are important as you get older, and it’s hard to drink enough milk to get the calcium you need. The resistance from lifting weights makes your bones stronger, so you’re less likely to get a fracture or break something if you fall.

See results… fast
It can take as little as 2 to 3 weekly sessions for one month to see muscles shape up. And no, you don’t have to bench press a ton; lifting lighter weights can also be effective at building muscle – as long as you’re still causing muscle fatigue.

You can get strong anywhere
If you find the weights section at your gym too intimidating, don’t worry. There are plenty of ways to strength train at home with no equipment and still see great results.

It makes you smarter (seriously)
Instead of hitting the books, hit the free weights for a great brain boost. While pretty much all exercise types help to keep your brain healthy, it’s been proven that resistance training results in improved cognitive function in older adults.