Fitness and Exercise Mastery by Terry Rich - HTML preview

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Various Ways Strength Can Improve Your Life

You think bodybuilding is only used to make big muscles? That all those who lift the weights are fans of fluffy skull on the beach this summer? Think again! Bodybuilding has many benefits you cannot imagine if you want to take care of your health!

In addition to improving muscle strength, bodybuilding brings many benefits to the whole body. It has long been thought that cardio alone is good for heart health. However, studies have shown that bodybuilding can reduce blood pressure and bad blood fat (cholesterol, triglycerides). Also, by doing muscle exercises, the heart works and gains strength. Each of our efforts during the day becomes less difficult. Bodybuilding helps keep our heart healthy longer, besides lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease such as atherosclerosis or heart attack.

Osteoporosis is a pathology manifested by excessive fragility of the skeleton, due to a decrease and alteration of bone mass. When bodybuilding is combined with a balanced diet, this activity becomes a preponderant prevention element to fight against osteoporosis. When the muscles contract, they exert traction on the bones to which they are attached. This solicitation causes the bone to strengthen by calcium accumulation. Measurements of bone densitometry carried out in women having started bodybuilding over 50 years show a decrease and a stabilization of osteoporosis.

Healthy Bones

Osteoporosis involves loss of bone mass and greater fragility of the bones. It affects one in four women and one in eight men after age 50. Muscle exercises cause significant stress on the bones, which causes them to solidify over training. A good way to prevent osteoporosis is to combine a balanced diet with muscle and/or cardiovascular exercises like walking, jogging, tennis, etc.

Bodybuilding Improves Your Figure

Weight training endurance such as running have many benefits for the body (especially from a cardiac point of view), but they do not strengthen all the muscles of the body, such as the abdominals or arms. A loss of strength in the abdominal strap is because of a prolonged use of the back muscles on a daily basis. This abnormal training of the back muscles can lead to pain, igniting discomfort. Bodybuilding therefore makes it possible to develop and merge a large majority of the body's muscles in a targeted manner.

Prevents Back Pain

Do you know that most back pains are also muscle pain? The strengthening of the back muscles, thus allows the prevention and reduction of the famous "back pain", a real chronic disease in the recent years. The more back muscles are toned, the longer the spinal column is secured. In addition, the muscle development of the abdominals and lumbar muscles, which play a preponderant role in the balance of the pelvis, effectively prevents back pain.

A well-adapted and well-executed weight training program helps prevent or treat back pain. About 80% of people experience low back pain during their lifetime. Strength training strengthens the back muscles and improves posture control. The back is better supported. Our spine is more stable and our movements are better executed during our daily activities.

Abdominal bodybuilding: Are you a woman and you are afraid of becoming a bodybuilder with oversized muscles? The development of muscles is more complicated to get in women. It requires training and a special diet. The practice of bodybuilding will not give ladies big muscles. On the contrary, they will tone and refine their shape!

The great part for men is that regular practice of bodybuilding will allow you, among other things, to develop your chest, to have a stronger back, wider shoulders and, overall, a better posture quite appreciable at the aesthetic level.

Muscle Prevents Aging

Maintaining good muscle tone is an important factor for the mobility and independence of older people. Bodybuilding can be practiced even in old age! Exercises of a muscle (called analytical exercises) do not produce almost any cardiovascular stress. By increasing muscle mass (and thus strength and bone mass), seniors improve their balance and thus their ease of movement. Seniors can even get rid of their cane after starting a bodybuilding program.

Bodybuilding Improves Well-being

Like many physical activities, bodybuilding promotes endorphin secretion. This hormone is a natural tranquilizer that helps reduce stress. Having a more toned, stronger and healthier body allows you to have more confidence in yourself!

Favor explosive movements at a steady pace. Perform functional exercises involving the whole body to develop broad athletic skills and a very good strength/weight ratio. Ideally, the sessions should not last more than 30 minutes.

Do not have dumbbells? Be imaginative and do, for example, exercises in body weight or lift heavy things that you find easily at home: big cans filled with water, your cat's litter bags, your wife's handbag, etc.

Other Health Benefits

Strength training reduces the risk of colon cancer, improve diabetes control, improve sports and everyday activities, reduce stress and prevent age-related muscular decline. Muscle training is also essential in a weight loss process.

Warning: It can be easy to get hurt if you practice bodybuilding carelessly. If you are a beginner, bodybuilding exercises should always be performed in precise and stable positions, with controlled body movements and weights. The best advice we can give you, in order to practice safely, is to be supported by a weight training coach who will create a personalized training program.

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