Recent research performed at three prestigious academic facilities sheds light on the virtues of resistance training to optimize cardiac health. Research completed at Harvard University, the Michigan Technological Institute (MTI) and the University of Western Australia may give weight lifting a whole new image.
In the Harvard study, over 44 000 US men were checked at two year intervals between 1986 and 1998 to assess potential heart disease factors, health status and activity levels. The Harvard scientists found that men who jogged regularly each week showed a 42% reduction in risk for heart disease. However, the men who trained with weights only once a week showed a 23% risk reduction. These results suggest that training with weighs maybe more efficient a providing protection against heart disease.
The research performed by MTI scientists revealed the effectiveness of resistance training to normalize high blood pressure. After eight weeks of weight training, a group of healthy volunteers showed a significant decrease in resting blood pressure (130/69 to 121/61). These results add weight to the growing amount of evidence that suggests weight training “normalizes” a person’s blood pressure.
Australian researchers have recently showed that resistance training is an effective form of rehabilitation for heart failure patients. In patients with congestive heart failure, the Aussie scientists found that weight training exercise was just as beneficial as aerobic exercise for enhancing blood flow and improving heart function.
There is no denying that weight training exercise has many physiological benefits equal to other forms of exercise. However, weight training exercise provides many benefits that other exercise does not, such as improved body composition, higher resting metabolic rate and improved muscle-insulin function.
Dr Paul Cribb is a published author, award-winning researcher and the creator of mp-body.com – the first ever research-proven, nationally accredited body transformation program. Learn more here