You may have heard that strength training and or lifting weights is good for your health but may not know exactly why. You may also have seen people going to the gym and wondered what all the fuss was about? What you may not know is that lifting weights or strength training 2-4 times a week also has far reaching implications beyond your appearance on the beach. Sure looking better is always nice and everyone likes the pat on the back when someone you know notices the changes in your appearance due to lifting weights. However, just under the surface is where the big health impacts are waiting to be discovered.
Muscle is fundamentally one of the most potent sugar regulators in the human body. Some experts even estimate that for every 10% increase in overall muscle mass on the body there are decreases between 11-12% for insulin resistance and pre-diabetic conditions. Not only that but the more muscle your body has on it the more glucose(blood sugar) that you can intake and that your body can use or dispose of. In even better news the more muscle mass you have on your body the more your body shuttles the sugar into the muscles as opposed to letting it float around in your blood stream waiting for it to be stored as fat.
Strength training that targets the muscles of the legs and hips tends to improve these conditions the most because they are the areas with the most significant amount of muscle on the human body. So if you are skipping the proverbial "leg day" every week you are missing out on potentially significant gains that could be shaping your life in significant ways. Ultimately, if you want to maximize the benefits of gaining muscle mass you should train your whole body multiple times a week. If you are concerned about diabetes and or heart disease gaining muscle mass can be a secret weapon in your tool box that you use to combat those conditions.
Cardiovascular work is beneficial as well but cardiovascular work doesn't cause significant increases in muscle mass. So while you should get some cardiovascular training every week to improve the health of your heart and lungs, strength training is really what stimulates the body to develop more muscle. So if you are concerned about potentially developing type II diabetes or already have type II diabetes it would be a great idea to start developing more muscle mass by engaging in strength training.
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