Why Is Strength Training Important? 5 Reasons to Start Lifting Weights After Plastic Surgery

One of the common mistakes people make at the gym is only focusing on cardio to lose weight and skipping any form of strength training. If you spend all of your time on the treadmill, you probably won’t notice as dramatic changes to your body as you would if you combined it with other types of workouts. Not to mention, starting from around the age of 30, we begin losing a percentage of muscle mass each year, and the best way to counter this change—known as sarcopenia—is to exercise regularly. Along with keeping weight off, building and maintaining lean, strong muscles will help you to stay healthy while retaining the physique you’ve always wanted after having aesthetic surgery. Located near Philadelphia, Chapin Aesthetics sees numerous patients who want to learn how to make the results from procedures such as tummy tucks and liposuction last longer. 

Sadly, even after you shed fat through cosmetic surgery, it’s still possible to gain it back if patients allow it to grow again. You can still look better than you would if you didn’t have the surgery, but gaining weight can make the results look less impressive by adding padding over lean contours or causing new areas to develop bulges.

Once you’re feeling better physically and mentally after surgery and have approval from your surgeon to resume your fitness routine, combining a healthy lifestyle and eating right with exercising is the best way to maintain or maximize the results from certain procedures such as body contouring. Continue scrolling for five reasons why plastic surgeons recommend weight training. 

1. Enhances Your Body Shape 

Even though altering your natural body shape can be challenging, sculpting your muscles will help you to create the appearance of whatever body type you want—or simply to look bigger and more buff. Working certain muscles will give you more of an hourglass figure, for example. Abdominal exercises to make the stomach flatter combined with moves that focus on the shoulders and chest make your waistline look smaller, while lower body exercises for the glutes and thighs can give them a curvier appearance.

2. Improves Your Strength 

One simple reason why you should consider strength training is that while you’ll start off feeling weak, over time it will become much easier for you to complete basic everyday tasks like lifting or carrying things or other movements and activities. You’ll have more energy, power, and stamina as your muscle mass increases. You’ll be able to complete strenuous or challenging activities without getting tired. 

3. Clothes Will Look Amazing on You 

Another added perk of changing your body composition by building the larger muscle groups in your body is that you’ll fill out clothes a lot more proportionally. Strong arms, a V-shaped torso, and a tight butt will look better than having your clothes hang off of you. 

4. Makes You More Confident 

Boosting your physical strength may also make you more mentally tough. Another added benefit of gaining more chiselled, defined muscles and being able to achieve physical accomplishments such as mastering pushups or lifting your own bodyweight is that you’ll feel more self-confident. Having noticeable muscle mass can also make other people have a more favourable perception of you. 

5. Helps You to Maintain Weight Loss 

Even though you’re burning fewer calories than you would if you were running or cycling, strength training is just as critical as cardio for weight management, as building more muscle increases your metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn when you’re not doing anything). This is because muscle burns as much as three times more calories than fat. If you’re focusing entirely on cardio, it’s common to lose some muscle mass as well, and this can have the effect of slowing your metabolism. And you’ll still burn a lot of calories as your heart rate increases while strength training.

Need further advice on different types of non-invasive aesthetic treatments and plastic surgery? Serving Philadelphia and surrounding areas, Chapin Aesthetics provides expert, customized care for patients. Call them at 267.880.0810 or fill out a contact form to request a consultation if you’re thinking of having a procedure done.