Can strength training improve physical fitness

The answer is yes, but the premise is that the training method is scientific and the load is adapted to one's own condition. If you practice blindly, it may put a burden on the body.

I used to have a friend who was a designer. He worked at 996 all the time. He had a lumbar protrusion when he was less than 35 years old. He had to take two breaks to climb up to the fourth floor. Whenever someone in the office caught a cold during the season, he would catch it. Last year, he trained with a coach from a studio near my home. At the beginning, he was shaking like a tumbler when doing empty bar squats. After practicing, his legs were shaking when walking down the stairs. That's it. He persisted three times a week for more than half a year. The last company physical test showed that his bone density was 0.03g/cm³ higher than last year, and his body fat dropped by almost 5 points. Last month, half of the people in the department had a fever, but he was completely fine. He was still able to go hiking on weekends carrying 20 kilograms of equipment. This is the most intuitive example of strength training improving physical fitness.

Don’t think that strength training is just about building “bulk”. When we do movements, muscle contraction not only stimulates the thickening of muscle fibers, but also speeds up the heart and lungs to pump blood and supply energy. Over time, cardiopulmonary endurance can also be improved; and the muscles are like soft cushions attached to the bones and joints. If you usually carry heavy objects or accidentally fall, you will have enough muscles to act as buffers. The probability of joint and bone injuries can be reduced a lot. After the muscle mass increases, the basal metabolism will also increase. Even if you don't diet specially, you will not gain weight easily. The physical burden will be reduced, and the overall condition of the person will naturally be much better.

However, some people do think that strength training is useless and may even hurt the body. This view is not groundless. I once met a young man in the gym who practiced deadlifting for the first time. When he saw others pulling 100 kilograms, he also added weight. As soon as he pulled up, his waist jerked, and it still hurt from time to time after more than two months. There were also people who practiced the same part every day without rest, and finally suffered from rhabdomyolysis and were hospitalized. In this case, let alone improving their physical fitness, they were just looking for trouble for themselves. No wonder some people are biased against strength training.

Having said that, it does not mean that everyone has to train with heavy weights to be useful. If you rarely exercise, you can start with light-load movements such as wall squats and 1kg dumbbell curls. Practice two or three times a week for 40 to 50 minutes each time. After practicing, leave enough rest time for the muscles and slowly increase the amount. Of course, don’t treat strength training as a panacea. If you stay up late, eat fried food and drink iced drinks every day after practicing every day, no matter how good the training method is, it can’t save a poor physique. After all, improving physical fitness is the result of diet, work and rest, and exercise. Strength training is only one of the most cost-effective methods.