WEIGHT TO CIRCULATE

      Lifting weights offers many benefits, such as bigger and stronger arms, chest, delts and legs. And let’s not forget that it can make you more attractive to the opposite sex. Of course, in addition to these mostly superficial benefits, weight training is good for fitness, injury prevention, anti-aging and your overall health as well. To the surprise of many, research now shows that lifting weights can improve your cardiovascular system function, which makes sense when you consider that weight training increases blood flow to working muscles. The most recent study to support this was presented at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American College of Sport Medicine (ACSM); it demonstrated that lifting weights provides similar cardiovascular benefits as cardio exercise.

      Researchers from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Trondheim) had 62 obese adults take part in 12 weeks of high-intensity interval training(less than 90% of their maximum heart rate, or MHR), moderate-intensity cardio (70% of MHR) or high-intensity weightlifting (five sets of leg presses with their four rep max). Scientists reported that while the high-intensity interval training (HIIT) group had the most significant increases in VO₂ max (a measure of aerobic fitness) and endothelial function (the ability of their blood vessels to dilate during exercise), both the weight-training and moderate-intensity cardio groups had similar increases in both measures. 

 

(TIM SCHEET PhD)