Approach to Resistance Exercise

Your muscularity is important in many ways. Your muscles are associated with your metabolism in several ways, including: storing glycogen as energy, keeps your immune system up to par, speeds up metabolism, protects against a variety of illness, protects the bones, helps against tiredness, helps mental preparedness, aids physical activity into advanced age, and accentuates longevity. Adequate lean musculature reflects a healthy body.

I'm not going to go into all the parameters and physiology jargon relative to body-building, power lifting, etc. The mechanics of these methods, along with using very heavy weights, put unnatural stress and strain on the body in a number of ways that I won't go into. Suffice it to say that, if done over a long period of time, they will exact a toll on various parts and functions of the body. Bodyweight exercises have been shown to be an ideal way to use resistance for the muscles and bones, and they strengthen tendons and ligaments, as well as producing many other benefits. There is a plethora of these type exercises to draw upon. Having said all of that, I might mention that using weights, exercise bands, kettle balls, and other contraptions can be of considerable value when used wisely. I can attest to this because I use and enjoy a variety of resistance methods that I find effectual.

The military uses practical physical exploits to train personnel for the rigors of warfare. Soldiers need a functional strength and endurance. A pumped up bodybuilder's strength and endurance would quickly give out under warfare training conditions. The elite fighting forces are lean, mean and indefatigable. They get this way by bodyweight practicals and heart and lung conditioners. The Yoga Crosstraining Regimen incorporates the same guiding principles.

Resistance exercise helps maintain and build muscle mass, even as you lose fat. Fat loss is the focus, as opposed to weight loss; however, getting rid of extra pounds can certainly be accomplished. Depending on your physique goals, it's possible to lose fat, still maintain your current weight, and even put on weight because muscle weighs more than fat. The determinant of the actual size of your muscles is relative to how, and how much they are worked.