Why you should be resistance training like your life depends on it.

Not long after turning 30, I noticed something peculiar happening to my body.   I noticed a subtle change.  I would feel my legs and could get a sense of what was happening beneath the surface. It was as if my inner thigh muscle was secretly & slowly being replaced by fat.  Worse yet, my legs remained relatively the same size.  So if I hadn't paid any attention, my muscle loss would have continued on.

At that point, I decided to get a gym membership. But instead of allotting all of my time to the treadmill and elliptical, I'd head upstairs and leverage the resistance machines.  Months later, the fat stores were diminished as muscle mass returned.  Clothes fit better, energy levels where up and, overall, I felt better about myself.

Then, I stumbled upon this image which clearly details what I thought was happening to me. It's a cross section of the thigh of two men in their 70s.  One lives a very active lifestyle. The other, sedentary.  From the outside, their legs appear to be around the same size. It's what's happening on the inside that's most alarming.  Notice how little muscle mass there is compared to the guy who works out consistently. The bone of the inactive person also appears smaller.  They say that resistance exercises can actually build bone mass.  This image seems to correlate with that.

Lean muscle is good for us in so many ways.  Our metabolism increases, along with our glucose metabolism which, in turn diminishes the risk of diabetes.  As we build muscle, our ability to burn fat rises.  Our energy levels skyrocket.  And let's face it, having good muscle tone is should be a life goal for each one of us.  But we don't do it simply to look amazing in our crop tops.  We do it because a 2010 study found that resistance training helped improved the cognitive performance (brain functioning) of seniors over the course of a year.  There are too many benefits to ignore. Your body looks better, your heart gets stronger and your brain functions better.  Just know that, with each day that passes in which we choose not to incorporate strength training our muscles atrophy.  Slowly fat will creep in to take its place.  No one wants that.

No one.