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Strength Training for Optimum Wellness
by Brazos Minshew, TriVita's Chief Science Officer

Essential number 5 of TriVitas 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness tells us to Enjoy Activity. Many of us enjoy long walks on the beach or through the forest. Others like square dancing or ballroom dancing. Some enjoy swimming, tennis or bowling. I personally like bicycling through the vineyards of Napa Valley.

When it comes to strength training, enjoy is not a word you hear often. How can you find joy in strength training? The answer may not be so much in what you do as why you do it!

Benefits of strength training
The benefits of strength training include increased bone density, improved heart functioning, better blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes, and even reduced depression, according to Miriam Nelson, Ph.D., associate chief of the Human Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. The greatest benefit, however, may be strength trainings ability to build muscle.

Starting in our 30s and 40s, people start to lose a quarter-pound of muscle every year, explains Dr. Nelson, author of the best-selling book Strong Women Stay Young. We believe that much of this loss can be stopped or reduced with simple strength training.

Other conditions that might benefit include back pain, recovery from surgery and even mild high blood pressure.

Take the Wellness Challenge.

Methods of strength training
Strength training may or may not include lifting weights. In fact, weight-bearing exercises include stair climbing and calisthenics such as push-ups and chin-ups. And rather than using metal weights, many prefer to use elastic tubing. Still, you should not be intimidated by metal weights, or by muscle-bound weight lifters!

If you have not lifted weights before, make an appointment with a certified athletic trainer to help you develop a safe strength-training program. You can find a trainer at a local gym or through a referral from your doctor or a friend.

Tips for getting started

Begin each exercise with very low weights and minimal repetitions.
Slowly increase weight, never adding more than 10 percent in a given workout.
Do strength-training exercises 2 to 3 times a week. Allow at least one day between each workout for your bones and muscles to rest and restore themselves.
Gradually increase the intensity of your workout. Try to work up to 2 or 3 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions with a rest period of 30 to 60 seconds between sets.

Although stiffness the day after exercise is normal, you will know if you did too much if you are in pain. Decrease the intensity or the duration of your exercise next time.

The joy of strength training
As mentioned earlier, you can enjoy the activity of strength training with a simple survey of your life. For example, would you like to

Prevent bone loss
Improve heart function
Improve blood pressure
Achieve better blood sugar control
Help reduce depression

If so, strength training is for you!

Take the Wellness Challenge.

How long do you plan to live? Pick a number and look at people that age. You will see a broad spectrum of vitality, from those that are home-bound or have confined mobility to those competing in marathons and skydiving! Which group do you want to be in? Strength training can help you maintain vitality and flexibility, it can help you recover from injury and can improve your energy at any stage of life.

Do you have purpose in your life? Meeting those purposes requires health. Strength training helps you achieve and maintain the wellness you need to be effective in your life purposes: to be there for those you love, to accomplish the great works inside you, to enjoy your leisure knowing you are healthy enough to do whatever your heart demands. Strength training helps you have more to give, and giving is the truest source of happiness.

So go ahead, enjoy the activity of strength training!

Note. Consult with your doctor before starting any type of exercise program.

Take Control of Your Health

First, decide why you want to do strength training
Get professional help when needed
Start slowly, progress wisely
Warm up, stretch and breathe deeply
Know good pain from bad pain
Allow 48 hours for recovery
Increase energy with Sublingual B-12
Boost flexibility with OmegaPrime
Reduce inflammation with Nopalea
Lose unwanted weight with Leanology
Take Bone Growth Factor to re-grow bone

Take the Wellness Challenge.