Strength training as important for health as aerobics
By Everkinetic (http://everkinetic.com/) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
A new study has confirmed what many fitness fanatics may have already expected. Building muscle mass is as healthy as aerobic activity. An individual can develop their muscles starting with the most simple of exercises such as pushups and situps. The key to strength training is progression and to see progress either in terms of the total amount of repetitions you can do (volume) or the amount of weight you can do in the same amount of repetitions (strength).
Volume training in a lot of ways is safer than strength training because to go the maximum weight can cause a dangerous spike in blood pressure which can cause issues in people who have undiagnosed heart conditions. Going the maximum weight can also damage joints, tendons, etc, which in older people can have a life long effect on mobility. So for safety it can make sense to at least start slow by doing light to moderate weight with higher reps. The first couple of weeks maybe you can only do 5 pushups and 5 situps, then a week later maybe it's 10 each, then in a couple weeks maybe it's 20, then 30, then I think you get the picture.
As long as you are making steady progress you are building muscle.
References
- University of Sydney. (2017, November 1). Strength exercise as vital as aerobic new research finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 6, 2017 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171101102846.htm