If your New Year's resolution included anything about getting in shape, it's worth considering the benefits of lifting weights and adding it to your workout routine. A report published in the journal Obesity, which linked belly fat to higher risks of heart disease, stroke, and cancer, found that aerobic exercise isn't enough to reduce abdominal fat and that men who did just 20 minutes of weight training daily gained less visceral fat than those who did not, even if they were doing other kinds of exercise. The University of Pennsylvania conducted similar research on women in 2006 which concluded that women who lift weights twice a week could prevent abdominal weight gain.
Lifting weights can be intimidating for a lot of people who didn't do it as a part of sports training, but most gym memberships include programs where a trainer or instructor will work with you to make sure you're using equipment right, at the very least, or work with you to develop a lifting regimen for more premium memberships. If you don't have a gym membership, there are a lot of easy ways to lift at home with actual weights or even household objects.
So whether you do it as a preventative measure to not gain unhealthy weight when you're older, to make yourself stronger, or just to try it out as a part of your exercise routine, lifting can be incredibly beneficial to your health. Just make sure you're doing it correctly so you don't hurt yourself!
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