Metabolic Benefits of Training

Resistance training is about more than just muscles. One of the most powerful, and often overlooked, benefit is in metabolic health.

When you eat carbs, they get broken down into sugar (added sugars skip this step), and then stored in the muscles for later use. Once your muscles are full, the rest gets stored as fat. When you train, your muscles use this fuel up and make more room for your next meal. Bigger muscles as a result of training means you can store more in those big muscles and leads to lower blood sugar spikes.

Lifting weights can decrease your HbA1c, the gold standard measure of blood sugar control, by improving insulin sensitivity of the long term. This is especially important for long term cardiovascular health, especially for those with diabetes, pre-diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

Many diets nowadays consist of highly processed and sugary foods. While not directly addressing the cause, lifting weights can help combat the negative effects.

Another benefit of increase muscle mass is an improved resting metabolic rate. This means that, while by a small amount, your body burns more calories at rest just by having bigger muscles. This is because muscles are contractile tissue, meaning the move and require energy(calories) for that movement. Fat, on the other hand, is non-contractile and just sits there doing nothing.

Resistance training can also burn fat. There are different types of fat and some are better than others. Subcutaneous fat is your typical belly fat stored under the skin. Visceral fat is the bad fat stored deeper around your organs. This type of fat is associated with cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and chronic inflammation. Resistance training is effective at burning this bad fat and making you healthier.

The list of metabolic benefits can go on and on, but I need to go to bed so I can train tomorrow!

References:

1.     Jansson AK, Chan LX, Lubans DR, Duncan MJ, Plotnikoff RC. Effect of resistance training on HbA1c in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus and the moderating effect of changes in muscular strength: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2022 Mar;10(2):e002595. doi: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2021-002595. PMID: 35273011; PMCID: PMC8915309.

2.     Wewege MA, Desai I, Honey C, Coorie B, Jones MD, Clifford BK, Leake HB, Hagstrom AD. The Effect of Resistance Training in Healthy Adults on Body Fat Percentage, Fat Mass and Visceral Fat: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2022 Feb;52(2):287-300. doi: 10.1007/s40279-021-01562-2. Epub 2021 Sep 18. PMID: 34536199.