Struggling with STRENGTH LOSS post lockdown?
For a lot of people during the months of lockdown, the extent of exercise has been walking, running, cycling, or home exercises. These exercises are considered aerobic exercises which are great for improving cardiovascular health, lowering blood pressure, regulating weight, and improving immune system function. (American Heart Association recommendations for physical activity in adults 2017). However, we have seen many injuries in our clinic post lockdown, predominantly related to a deterioration in strength.
The benefits of Strength Training
Strength training is great for increasing bone strength, improve mobility, and decrease the risk of falls (Thomas et al., 2016). It plays an important role in keeping the body physically fit and can help in reducing injuries that can be a result of inactivity or of overuse aerobic exercises (Choi et al., 2021).
How does strength training help with weight loss?
- Strength training increases muscle mass increases speeding up your metabolism.
- Muscles are more metabolically efficient than fat mass, allowing you to burn more calories at rest (McMurray et al. 2014).
- After a single strength training session research shows that even up to 72hrs after a workout the body’s metabolism is elevated meaning an additional increase in energy expenditure (MacKenzie-Shalders, et al., 2020).
How can we help you with Strength Training
For a lot of people, the barriers of strength training might be:
- Fear of getting injured
- Unsure of what to do in the gym
- Feeling intimidated to start in a big gym
- Lacking motivation to train independently
If any of these issues prevent you from strength training, we have a highly equipped gym run by an experienced exercise physiologist and physiotherapists. Exercises given to you will consider your injury history, goals, strengths and weaknesses, and will be progressed in a safe manner.