Building muscle and muscle strength is important for a variety of reasons. Stronger muscles help you through daily life. The weights lifted in strength training help to build up your bone density. These means that you will have less chance of breaking a bone or of developing osteoporosis. Also by building up your muscle you get nice tone and shape to whatever part of the body you are working on. Men are more likely than women to increase their muscle size in terms of bulk, but there are lots of women bodybuilders and both genders can use strength training equipment as part of their regimen to build up big muscles.
Strength training equipment comes in many forms as well. The traditional form is in iron or metal free weights that you can put on and take off of a bar to increase and decrease the amount of weight you lift. You can also find strength training equipment in the form of weight training machines that are usually considered safer than using free weights and easier to work with. Also there is strength training equipment in the form of tubing or elastic that works your muscles by increasing tension making it harder to pull. Be sure to look up strength training equipment reviews online.