You’ve probably heard that you shouldn’t restrict yourself to just cardio when you work out. If you’re wondering why, science has the answer.
If you want to keep inflammation in your body to a minimum, lifting weights—no matter how heavy—can provide benefits, according to a study from the European Journal of Applied Physiology.
While high resistance training will give you the best results if you want to build mass, even low resistance training can increase the amount of some cytokines, or anti-inflammatory compounds, in the blood. These compounds attack the free radicals that can trigger disease.
So even if you’re not interested in massive gains, it’s still strongly suggested that you do some degree of lifting to help prevent inflammation. Your muscles will thank you.