Strength Training for a Fit workforce

Strength training isn't just for atheletes

Strength is one of the basic components of fitness along with cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, and knowledge about healthy lifestyles. While “abs of steel” look impressive, more important is balanced strength to maintain mobility and good posture.

Daily activities such as sitting, walking, lifting and carrying objects, doing housework, and enjoying recreational activities require a reasonable amount of strength to perform.

From a safety perspective, developing strength helps maintain muscle tissue and reduces the risk for injury.

One of the most significant benefits of strength training is the increase in metabolism as lean muscle replaces fat.¹

Increased muscle mass “speeds up” your metabolism and “burns” more calories than fat. (You can enjoy more of your favorite foods without adding to your waistline!) In fact, muscle tissue uses energy even when you’re resting.

Strength is important to preserve your posture

Balanced strength is essential to preserving an anatomically correct posture throughout life. Muscle imbalance, such as in the abdominals or low back, are a leading cause of pain that can become chronic if not resolved.

Strength is important to preserving mobility

Maintaining muscular strength becomes an even more important health component in the older-adult population.

Many senior adults are confined to nursing homes because they lack sufficient strength to move about. They cannot walk very far and many need to be helped in and out of beds, chairs, and tubs.  While loss of strength can be due to disease and extreme age, many older adults have improved their strength and mobility with mild daily strength training.

Developing and maintaining a strength routine can preserve your ability to move and perform daily activities without assistance

You don’t have to be a body builder or spend hours in the gym to increase your muscle strength.

Team Safety's SAFE program can have a tremendous impact on the quality of your life. Just a few minutes a day performing strengthening stretches or using stretch cords can keep muscles toned and balanced to improve posture, personal appearance and your self-image. As your strength improves, so will your ability to move about, now and later in life.

___________________

¹Lifetime Physical Fitness and Wellness, A Personalized Program, Werner W.K. Hoeger, Sharon A. Hoeger, Morton Publishing company, Englewood, Colorado, 2011.