Why Every Man Should Strength Train

There are certain things that are just part of the human instinct. When a woman walks into a room and has the choice of approaching a man with broad shoulders and muscular arms or a man with a little extra chin and some middle-aged spread, she's going to approach the first guy and chances are, he isn't a long-distance runner. Instincts aside, there are even better reasons for men to strength train. Modern society has come to see the serious health benefits of strength training and taken over the neighborhood gym. These days, when you walk into your local gym, you're likely to see far more less-than perfect bodies than you will hardcore bodybuilders. Needless to say, not having a perfect body is the worst reason for avoiding the gym. So let's get to why should you trade your 12-ounce curls for real weights.

What if you could continue eating that Friday night pepperoni pizza knowing that less of it would go toward building your spare tires (and you didn't have to opt for that nasty fat-free cheese either)? Muscle needs more calories than fat to support itself, so the more muscle you have on your body, the higher your metabolism. When you metabolism is running in high gear, your body becomes a fat burning machine. Now who wouldn't want that?

Too many people complain about not having the time or energy to exercise. The fact is that the more you exercise, the more efficient your body becomes and that 10 hours of sleep you used to need every night becomes a thing of the past while your body feels refreshed after only 7 or 8 hours of sleep. Is a 45-minute investment 3 times a week worth gaining an additional 14 hours of energetic waking time during that week? Even after spending a total of 2 hours and 15 minutes a week on strength training, you're still left with 11 hours and 45 minutes that you would have slept through but now have the time and energy to enjoy!

If enjoying life and more of it isn't enough to persuade you to strength train, then let's consider the effects of exercise on your health.

The human heart is a muscle. The more you exercise, the more tone your muscles become and that includes your heart. With all the risks of heart disease that so many Americans face, few of us can afford to pass up any opportunities to strengthen our hearts. So when you're pushing, pulling or lifting that weight remember that each repetition strengthens the most important muscle you have - your heart.

Beauty may only be skin deep, but let's get superficial and consider how much better we feel about ourselves on the inside when we know we look good on the outside. Strength training allows you to reshape your body and look better than you ever could by spending that training time in front of the television. When you look good, you just can't help but feel great about yourself. This simple increase in self-esteem becomes a higher level of self-confidence and that self-confidence will carry over into every other aspect of your life. Self-confidence can lead to higher levels of competence in your career, greater success in your social life and better relationships with everyone you know, including yourself.

Lastly, strength training is the only way we know to truly fight aging. Infirmity and weakness have long been accepted but are not requirements of advanced age. Plenty of men continue to strength train in their retirement years and stay healthier far longer than their peers. Let's consider a few...

Jack Lalanne, the "Godfather of Fitness", is in his late 80's and is often mistaken for being in his 50's!

Joe Weider, publisher, contest promoter and manufacturer of one of the largest lines of sports supplements, is over 80 years old and hardly infirm!

Sylvester Stallone is approaching 60 and just made another Rocky movie!

Governor Arnold Schwarzennegger is right behind him and nobody can deny that the "Terminator" is still on top of his game.

These men are just a few examples of what strength training can do for a man. When faced with all these reasons to strength train, can you really afford to say "no"?