Unfortunately, many ignore weight training when devising their exercise plan, thinking they don't want to "bulk up."

But gaining more muscle through resistance exercises is an integral part of any well rounded fitness program, especially if you want to lose weight. However, weight training is not about vanity.

The intensity of your resistance training can achieve a number of beneficial changes on the molecular, enzymatic, hormonal, and chemical level in your body, which will help slow down (and many cases stop) many of the diseases caused by a sedentary lifestyle.

Therefore it's also an essential element if you want to prevent common diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, or weakening of your bones (osteoporosis), limited range of motion, aches and pains, and yes, prevent excessive muscle wasting as you age. 

I recently published an article on exercise for weight loss, so let's take a look at some of the other benefits of exercise as it relates to maintaining optimal health well into your senior years.

Your body has two types of fat: visceral and subcutaneous. 

Subcutaneous fat is the fat located just below your skin, and is the type that causes dimpling and cellulite.

Visceral fat, on the other hand, shows up in your abdomen and surrounds your vital organs including your liver, heart and muscles. It is this visceral fat that has been linked to serious health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke, among many other chronic diseases.

A key strategy to reduce your risk of heart disease (and a host of other chronic diseases), is to keep your inflammation levels low, and avoiding gaining visceral fat is part of this equation.

Exercise is a critical component for reducing heart disease risk because it both lowers inflammation in your body, and is one of the best weapons against visceral fat. For example, in one study volunteers who did not exercise had an 8.6 percent increase in visceral fat after eight months, while those who exercised the most LOST over 8 percent of their visceral fat during the same amount of time.

This occurs because muscle burns more calories, and it consumes calories around the clock, even when you're resting and sleeping. So, as you gain more muscle, your body naturally increases the amount of calories burned each day, which reduces fat stores. 

As for lowering inflammation, physical exercise accomplishes this naturally by lowering levels of a C-reactive protein (CRP) that is linked to inflammation. 

High levels of CRP in your body is associated with a higher than average risk of cardiovascular disease, and has even been suggested as a better indicator of possible heart attack than high cholesterol.