good diet

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Weight Training Benefits

5 Extraordinary Gains for Revamping Your Health!
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Weight lifting is one of those sports/activities that has a bit of a reputation. Lifting weights is allegedly something that body-obsessed people do in pursuit of bigger muscles. They want to look like they belong on the cover of a magazine without having to be Photoshopped first.
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But there’s more to weight training than meets the eye. It turns out that the modern activity is actually incredibly good for our health and backed by science.
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Not only does it improve overall body composition (more muscle and less fat), it also helps fight diseases and symptoms as we get older.
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Here are 5 weight training benefits, according to science:
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Weight Training Benefits #1:
More Muscle Means Less Fat
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When it comes to our health, the ratio of muscle to fat is important. The more muscle we have compared to fat, the less we’re at risk of diseases like diabetes.
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A study by Boston University published in Cell Metabolism back in 2008 added scientific weight to the claims the resistance training helps to fight fat.
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The researchers found the weight training actually turned on certain fat-burning genes in the mice that they tested. It helped them to appear slimmer and more athletic.
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The mice’s metabolism increased, even though they were kept on a terrible diet of mainly fat and sugar. Despite the poor diet, the weight training resulted in less body fat.
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The researchers thus concluded that weight training could be used in the fight against obesity.
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Weight Training Benefits #2:
Lifts Depression
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It’s been known for a while that aerobic activities like swimming, running and cycling help to fight the symptoms of depression.
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But what about weight training? It turns out that the way that weight training and aerobic training fight depression is very similar.
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A study was published in the Clinical Journal of Psychiatry in 2004. It reported that women who trained using weights over eight weeks got similar mental health benefits to women who trained on the treadmill.
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What was more, an equal number of women were able to come off their antidepressants on follow-up. This indicated that weight training is as potent as other forms of exercise.
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Weight Training Benefits #3:
Fights Spinal Problems And Osteoporosis
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As people get old, the quality of their bones begins to decline, especially in the spine.
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Every year, the spine gets slightly more compressed as the weight of the body squeezes on the cartilage between the vertebrae. This can lead to stooping and other problems, like a pinched nerve, which can be painful. Lifting weights, however, has been shown to ameliorate these problems.
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According to Vivian Ledesma, the owner of Alliance Healing Arts, weight lifting can be used to fight the effect of aging on the spine.
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She says that when the body is put under stress – that is, when it has to lift weights – it is forced to get stronger. Rather than simply giving up, the response of the body is to actually deposit more bone in the affected regions. This helps make them more durable and less prone to age-related decline.
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Weight Training Benefits #4:
It Makes You Better At Sport
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People who are at the top of their game, whether it be football, basketball or tennis, don’t just practice their techniques on the pitch to get good at what they do.
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They also spend a lot of time in the gym, hitting the weights. Why?
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Well, according to John Carrico, a fitness expert, weight training actually makes sports people better.
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He says that weight training enables sports people to play their sports at a higher intensity when on the pitch.
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This is because their muscles are that much stronger and explosive. If a soccer player is able to squat 200 pounds on his back, he says, then that player will be able to dart around the pitch more effectively than other players.
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Carrico also points out that people who do weights tend to have better hand-eye coordination. This is another bonus for those who love sport.
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Weight Training Benefits #5:
It Lowers Your Risk Of Diabetes
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According to the World Health Organisation, more than 350 million people across the globe will have diabetes by the year 2030. This is just 13 years from now.
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Most people know that diabetes is best prevented through a healthy lifestyle. This includes choices like eating a good diet and getting regular exercise.
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And remember that weight lifting may also play a major role in preventing the disease.
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A study was published in The National Institutes of Health in the Archives of Internal Medicine. This study reported that men who lifted weights for 150 minutes per week were 34 percent less likely to get diabetes. Those who combined weight training with cardio were 57 percent less likely to get the disease.
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