How Muscle-Building Exercises Can Benefit Your Body

As they age, people's muscle tissue diminishes by about 3-4 pounds every ten years. If the person is desk-bound, over the same ten years he will gain as many pounds of fat. The top way to prevent such unwanted processes is regular workout sessions with the "irons." Why? The truth is, a single pound of muscle burns 50 more calories per day than does a pound of fat.

At first glance, fifty calories does not sound like much. Although, thinking about it, having increased five pounds of muscular weight, you would consume 500 calories each day more than usual. Try to envisage 2 men with similar body weight - eighty pounds. One of them - a bodybuilder, and the other - an ordinary man, far removed from sport and other physical endeavor. As regards the weight trainer, twenty kilograms of his body weight is muscle. He can thus burn a couple of thousand calories a day more than his inactive companion. In addition, an extra 500 calories burn out during training.

Some people think that aerobic exercise develops all the muscle groups. However, if you look closely, most cardiovascular methods pay little or no attention to the upper body. In fact, 65-70% of your muscle is concentrated there. And considering that an ordinary man between the ages of 25 and 65 will steadily lose about 40% of his strength, muscle building, again, is the superlative choice.

Another positive point for bodybuilding - energy saving. Scientists have determined that muscle builders burn nine times more fat than people who do cardiovascular exercise. Although aerobic workouts take more energy, strength exercises impart a more durable and long-lasting result. The burning of calories carries on long after the workout is over (even while you sleep), which does not happen after cardio exercise.

The same thing applies for the delivery of oxygen to the body. It turns out that oxygen saturation is directly associated with the intensity and duration of exercise. High-intensity training affords the athlete a long period of oxygen saturation. Furthermore, after such workouts, lipolytic activity dramatically increases fat-burning enzymes. Yet, after aerobic classes, strangely enough, this activity slows down!

Scientists have yet more proof that strength training increases the ability of muscles to take up blood glucose. Therefore, muscle building can help avoid age-related changes that could lead to diabetes.

Do you have a pair of adjustable dumbbells for your home gym workout?

Nothing beats a good adjustable dumbbell set for a full-body home gym workout. You'll find a full dumbbell exercise list at my website.

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