Muscle Training

By Hiroto Ishii

Do you do exercise regularly? What do you think about doing muscle training? In Japan, some people do muscle training in their free time. Some people go to the gym to do muscle training, while others do it at home.

Muscle training is an exercise in which one’s own muscles are loaded and contracted. Muscle training can lead to improved sleep quality, stress reduction, and other health benefits. However, some people do it not only for health, but also to improve their appearance and for work, like bodybuilders.

Muscle training is documented to have been practiced in Egypt in about 2500 B.C. to increase muscle strength. Also, Europe and Asia have practiced muscle training for around 2,000 years. For example, Milo, who won consecutive Ancient Olympic wrestling championships, famously said that he carried a calf everyday.

At that time there were no special training tools, so it is believed that muscle strength developed naturally in daily life. As a muscle strength measurement, they lift heavy stones and throw them to determine the superiority of their strength, or it was done to determine if they were fit to be soldiers.

It is believed that dumbbells and barbells were introduced around 1900, and this made individual muscle training easier. Since the 1950s, the method of muscle training was further developed, and in the 70s, training machines like those used in fitness gyms were developed, and in the 80s, muscle training was being done that is still applicable today. As science and technology advanced and the world became a little more convenient, the need for conscious exercise arose.

Muscle training offers you many benefits. First, your basal metabolism will increase and you will be less likely to gain weight. Basal metabolism refers to the expenditure of energy while sitting, sleeping, or doing nothing.

Second, you will be able to maintain correct posture. People who are inactive or have desk jobs are especially prone to poor posture due to reduced muscle mass. Strengthening the abdominal and back muscles and other parts of the body can help prevent or improve postural deterioration.

Third, there is an increase in aerobic efficiency. Unlike muscle training (anaerobic exercise), aerobic exercise such as walking and jogging is designed to burn fat. By doing muscle training before this aerobic exercise, you will be able to engage in aerobic exercise with good blood circulation, which will make it easier to burn fat and increase the effectiveness of aerobic exercise.