Strength training, also called resistance training, involves working your muscles against external resistance, such as weights or even your own body weight. This helps your body become stronger and better at performing everyday tasks. Strength training is especially important for the health of our bones, muscles, and joints—together known as the musculoskeletal system. Read on to learn how strength training helps keep your musculoskeletal system healthy and why it should be part of everyone’s routine.
What is the musculoskeletal system?
Before we talk about how strength training helps, let’s first understand what the musculoskeletal system is. It’s made up of your bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints. The musculoskeletal system supports your body, helps you move, and protects important organs. For example, your bones protect your brain, heart, and lungs, while your muscles help you walk, run, lift things, and even smile.
As we age, our musculoskeletal system can get weaker, leading to problems like weaker muscles and bones. Strength training is a great way to keep everything in good condition.
Strength training builds stronger muscles
One of the main benefits of strength training is that it helps you build and strengthen muscles. Muscles are the tissues that help us move our bodies and do everyday activities, like lifting groceries, climbing stairs, and even sitting up in bed. When you do strength training exercises, like lifting weights, your muscles work harder than usual. This helps them grow stronger over time.
Strength training also helps prevent muscle loss that happens as we get older, a condition called sarcopenia. Losing muscle can make everyday tasks harder and lower your quality of life. By keeping your muscles strong, you’ll find that daily tasks are easier. For example, with stronger leg muscles, carrying heavy bags or picking up a child will feel much easier. This can help you stay independent and active as you age.
Strength training strengthens bones
Another amazing benefit of strength training is that it makes your bones stronger. Bones are living tissues that break down and rebuild themselves all the time. When you do strength training, you put stress on your bones, which helps them become denser and stronger. This is especially important as we get older because our bones naturally lose strength over time.
Strength training helps prevent bone diseases like osteoporosis, which causes bones to become weak and break easily. Weight-bearing exercises, such as squats, lunges, or lifting weights, are particularly good for strengthening bones and reducing the risk of breaks or fractures.
Reduce the risk of injuries with strength training
Strength training can also lower the risk of injuries to muscles and tendons. When your muscles and tendons are weak, they can’t handle the demands of daily activities, like walking for long periods, lifting children, or carrying groceries. Stronger muscles and tendons can better withstand these stresses, which lowers the chances of injuries like muscle strains or tendonitis.
Strength training also improves balance and coordination, which helps prevent falls. This is especially important for older adults, who are more likely to fall and get hurt.
Strength training and overall health
In addition to benefiting your musculoskeletal system, strength training has many other health benefits. It helps with maintaining a healthy weight, improving muscle mass, controlling blood sugar, lowering blood pressure, and improving heart health. These health metrics fall under the category of metabolic health. Problems with metabolic health have been shown to negatively affect your musculoskeletal system, so improving your overall health can also keep your bones, muscles, and joints in better shape.
How to get started with strength training
If you're new to strength training, don’t worry—it’s easier to start than you think. You don’t have to lift heavy weights right away. You can begin with simple exercises using just your body weight, like squats, lunges, push-ups, and planks. These exercises help build muscle without needing special equipment.
As you get more comfortable, you can try using dumbbells, resistance bands, or machines at the gym. Start slowly and gradually increase the weight or resistance as your muscles get stronger.
If you’re generally healthy and have some exercise experience, you may find it easy to begin strength training. But if you’ve had injuries, or have medical conditions, getting started may seem more challenging and you may be unsure where to begin. Working with a physical therapist can be a great option in that situation. A physical therapist can work with you to initiate a strength training program, selecting an appropriate set of exercises while making the appropriate modifications based on your unique injury and medical history.
It's never too late to start strength training to help your musculoskeletal system and overall health. Talk with your primary care provider about any concerns to keep in mind or for a referral to a physical therapist to get started.
For more tips on moving well, visit the Move section of the Be Well blog.
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