Lee-Anne Wann: The most important type of exercise

Strength training can be added easily into any workout. Photo / Getty

Research really does confirm the most important thing you can do for your long-term health is lead an active life.

But what type of activity should we pursue?

Not all exercise is equal when planning out your exercise routine and resistance or weight training is something that is often overlooked by women and older people.

We often avoid it as women as we fear we might get too bulky or muscle bound and older people tend to stay away as it can be a little daunting and intimidating if it's not something they participated in when they were younger.

My nana was always keen to get on her little foot powered treadmill and it took me a little while to convince her to add in some squats on a little stool and a few assisted press ups.

Once she felt and saw the difference I couldn't stop her and ended up creating her an exercise manual written in black vivid with massive letters so she could read it without her glasses.

My stick men were terrible but she knew what they meant and what exercise to do.

The truth is, nearly everyone, regardless of age or gender, will benefit in some way from resistance and strength training.

Working your muscles will help you shed any excess body fat, maintain healthy bone mass and prevent age-related muscle loss which can actually start as early as your 30s if we don't do something to help counteract it.

Resistance and strength training also help with a host of other conditions such as:

•Improves your insulin sensitivity, thereby lowering your risk of most chronic diseases.

•Reduces your risk of metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions (large waist circumference, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood sugar) that raise your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease

•Can reduce perimenopause symptoms in women, such as anxiety and depression, mood swings, irregular periods, weight gain and brain fog, in part by increasing production of testosterone.

•Lowers inflammation, a hallmark of most chronic disease, especially heart disease and cancer

•Improves cognitive function and reduces anxiety and depression, promoting greater well-being

So what are some fundamentals to keep in mind if you are going to include some resistance training?

Two basic terms to understand before planning your strength training routine are reps and sets.

A rep (repetition) indicates one complete motion of an exercise.

A set is a group of reps so if you performed two sets of 10 reps of squats, this means you did 10 squats, rested, then did 10 more.

For tone and general conditioning, aim for 10-12 reps using a moderate weight of around 3-4 sets.

I always say to clients if you are unable to perform 10 repetitions then the weight may be a little too heavy and if you can perform more than 12 then the weight is a little too light so play around until you find something that works in the middle.

Rest for about one minute in between your sets or try active recovery which is walking on the spot or step ups or some other movement.

As mentioned earlier, strength training is for everyone, regardless of your age. All you have to do is find a suitable starting point and this could be as little as one set of 10 repetitions of a squat or assisted press up.

It really doesn't have to be a lot to get you started and it's a great idea to check with your health professional before embarking on an exercise program just to get the all clear.