The Coming of Age of Resistance Exercise as a Primary Form of Exercise for Health

Abstract

Apply it! By reading this article, the health and fitness professional will learn: • Physical activity guidelines emphasize the performance of aerobic exercise for health and often indicate that resistance exercise can be beneficial; however, emerging evidence shows that resistance exercise is often as effective as aerobic for many aspects of health. • Resistance exercise participation can benefit several health aspects: cardiorespiratory health, vascular health, muscle oxidative capacity, mental health, muscle hypertrophy, strength, and power. • To support clients in sticking to their program, use strategies like monitoring (you and your client keeping track of how much resistance exercise they are doing), action planning (scheduling when, where, and how they will do their resistance exercise), and highlighting the health and emotional benefits of resistance exercise that are relevant to your client.