#49: Why you need to lift HEAVY to build muscle & get toned
[00:00:00] Welcome to 40 plus fitness for women. I'm Lynn, your host, and I am a menopause fitness coach. And what that means is that I am helping women who are in perimenopause and menopause to really improve their fitness so that their bodies feel and perform well through the rest of their lives. And today we are going to be talking about a topic that's very much related to what we discussed last week.
So this week it is about why you actually need to be lifting heavy, especially in midlife.
So I'm like so many women who are out there listening to this podcast today who have been really interested in physical fitness throughout their whole lives, always been doing workouts, love to sweat, love to fit. Feel like they've really accomplished something. Love to see the calories [00:01:00] that you burned, the high heart rates, all those things.
And then, you know, what happens to so many of us is that at some point when we're in our forties or fifties, we start to notice that we actually are not looking like we work out. It was the darndest thing. And it seemed to happen to me at least almost overnight. I remember I saw a picture of myself in a bikini and it was a time where I felt like, yeah, I'm in really good shape.
I've been working out and I was, I was in really good cardiovascular shape, but I didn't look. like I was in good shape. And the reason that I wasn't looking like I was in good shape is that I was actually losing muscle mass. So I was looking less toned. It was, you know, the compilation of years of muscle decline that happens with age because I wasn't properly weight training.
And then [00:02:00] menopause came along, which accelerates that process. Plus it wasn't needing enough protein, all these things. And suddenly this woman, me who had always been fit and looked fit and active, wasn't looking that way anymore.. Does that sound familiar to you? And I tell you, I was devastated when I saw that picture.
And I was wondering what the heck is going on here? I was closing in on 50, a divorced single woman, , so something had really changed. My body clearly was not responding to the exercise the way that I was used to it doing. And I wasn't looking firm. And then I started really looking into what was going on. And I learned something about how our muscles work muscle biology. And that's what I want to share with you.
Today, because it explains why we need to be lifting heavy and not just anything we'll do [00:03:00] because I see a ton of you following these Instagram accounts where they're using small dumbbells and they're doing compound movements. And I tell you, those really are just not going to be enough at the point where you hit menopause.
Alright, so basics of muscle biology is that your muscles are made up of different kinds of muscle fibers. Now there are four different kinds of muscle fibers, but for the sake of this explanation, it's enough to really classify them as two different types, which is type 1 and type 2.
Now the type 1 muscle fibers are your endurance muscle fibers, and the type 2 are your strength and power muscle fibers. So whenever your body starts moving, your type one muscle fibers will be activated. And it's really only when your type one muscle fibers can't do the job that your type two muscle fibers kick [00:04:00] in.
Now your type one muscle fibers are really quite good muscle fibers. I mean, they can Act. So apply force for a long period of time and they recover quickly. And on the other hand, you've got the type two muscle fibers, which can act for a shorter period of time, but with a lot more power. Okay. So they're different in that way, endurance, you know, long time endurance, quick recovery versus short activity time, a lot of power and longer recovery period.
And each of your muscles has both of these. types of fibers in there. So when your muscle is first activated, what happens is your type one muscle fibers, definitely they kick in.
And it's only when these type one muscle fibers can't do the job. In other [00:05:00] words, their strength is not enough that the type two muscle fibers kick in and the type two muscle fibers kick in and help you get that thing done. And so they'll kick in in situations like if you've got a twist open a jar lid, right?
It's a, it's a small moment that you have to apply max power. Or if you're boosting yourself onto a chair, um, so that you can reach something on a high shelf, you know, you're, you're going to step onto a chair or getting off up off a sofa, those kinds of situations, the type one fibers won't be enough.
So the type two will kick in.
Now the issue is that the type two muscle fibers are the ones that we predominantly lose as we age. And that's why you really will notice this phenomenon that you get weaker. Like it happens slowly, right? But over time, you're getting weaker. And then all [00:06:00] of a sudden you kind of wake up one day and you're like, Whoa, I used to be able to do this.
Like maybe it's that day that you decide, Oh, I'm going to, you know, move this sofa over here or spring comes around and you're going to do some gardening. So you've gotten big sacks of dirt. And then you realize that. Oh, wow. This feels a lot heavier than last time. And you're having a hard time lifting them.
Or like for me, I do my tire changes here at home. Uh, so every spring and fall when we're going to switch from summer to winter tires, I'm like hauling these big tires, heavy tires, because I've got an SUV from my storage up the hill to where my car is and putting them in the and then bringing the other, you know, the other set of tires down.
And so It's like six months between times that I do that, and you start to notice that this is harder, or, well, after weight training I started noticing that this is actually not so hard.
But the point is that [00:07:00] doing lightweight kind of exercises that you can do for a sustained amount of time, even if you have a dumbbell in your hand, you are most likely not activating those type two muscle fibers because the type ones are able to handle that and then they recover and are able to keep going for a longer period of time.
It's endurance. Right
And what happens when we hit perimenopause and menopause is that estrogen begins to decline. So if you listen to last week's podcast episode, I talked about what is going on with our estrogen and why weight training is so important, but I'll mention a few things here as well. So as estrogen levels begin to decline.
Our rate of muscle loss increases. And remember, we're losing predominantly those type 2 muscle fibers. And at the same time, it is harder for our bodies to build muscle because [00:08:00] estrogen has been there promoting the building of muscle and the maintenance of muscle. And the other thing that estrogen also promotes is the ability to really contract your muscles effectively
so that's why those exercise programs that have worked for you for a long time, don't work anymore because you've lost your estrogen. So you need to do something else to really, uh, make up for that. And that thing that you need to do is lift heavy. Now the heavy lifting that is going to tell your body that, Hey, I need more of these type two muscle fibers.
Or that I need to hold on to the type two muscle fibers that I have already, plus the lifting heavy requires that kind of stronger contraction of your muscle. So the weight training is making up for the loss of estrogen and the other [00:09:00] thing that you notice what's making your body look different aside from the fact that your muscles are disappearing and as you get less muscle or as your body sheds muscle, you're gonna look less fit and less toned because what is toned that look that we all want that toned look is muscle
so the reason that you're working out and you don't look like you're working out is that you actually are losing muscle. The fact that you are doing these exercises that raise your heart rate, make you sweat hard and make you feel exhausted is no guarantee that you're actually stimulating these type two muscle fibers.
You may be stimulating the type ones. A lot. Plus you may be really doing a lot, um, of stimulating of your cardiovascular system, but that doesn't mean that you're stimulating those type two muscle fibers. So remember that that's the thing that you need to be able to do to look like you've been working out, right?
[00:10:00] Cause what is toned? You know, that toned look comes from a having muscle and B having a low enough body fat percentage that the muscle shows. through. So if you're very much overweight, no matter how much muscle you build, you're not necessarily going to look toned just because it's got this, you know, this layer of fat hiding it, you know, from from being seen.
And then the other thing, which was super yucky, is the increase in the belly fat, right? You're getting that around your waist, because As your estrogen levels decline, you go through perimenopause, menopause, your fat are actually relocating. They are relocating, well, hopefully not from the places you want to keep them, but they are relocating to your mid body and particularly as visceral fat.
And now that's something that you [00:11:00] also can affect by lifting weights and lifting heavyweights that stimulates your body to actually start using the fat from those visceral fat stores in your body. So, I mean, it sounds crazy, but, uh, I, I mean, I, I always feel like I'd love to market this, like get your body back.
But I mean, that sounds so Hype y and unrealistic and whatever, but it actually is true. I have experienced that of getting my body back and even better than it was before now that I have muscles. I look even more fit than I did before, uh, perimenopause because I have more muscle. And now I've got a waist again because I've gotten rid of that visceral fat.
Okay. So then good question is, what about all those fitness influencers that you see all over social media who have great muscle tone and they're doing [00:12:00] these lightweight exercises? Well, let's start with a. That's probably not the only thing that they're doing, right? They're most likely doing other exercises too.
In fact, I come across this all too often, you know, somebody who's like, Oh, 15 minutes and you do this little thing with these little dumbbells and, you know, this kind of sweaty workout. And Um, actually, you know, they are lifting heavy in the weight room. That's how they actually built that body that they're showing you.
It's not the exercises that they're doing, right? There's one fitness influencer here, um, in Finland who talks a lot about 15 minutes is enough. And I, and I get that. Like if you're talking to couch potatoes, like if you can get them up for 15 minutes, that is wonderful. She goes to the gym, she works out with a personal trainer and yet her whole spiel is 15 minutes is enough.
[00:13:00] But 15 minutes certainly is not enough, especially not with the, like, lightweight workouts that she shows when she's talking about the 15 minutes. It is not enough to get you the body that she's actually displaying there.
And the other thing is, how old are those people? And are they in perimenopause or menopause? Because it is a whole different ball game, right? If you are looking at a 20-year-old and you are 50, I mean, you guys are playing two different ball games there, honestly, your body is. She's behaving totally differently than hers is.
She cannot even imagine what it's like to be in a 50 year old post menopause or perimenopausal body. It's just a whole different thing.
So Always ask that. When you see somebody who's looking great, ask yourself, like, are they only doing what they're showing you right now? [00:14:00] And how old are they? And are they in perimenopause or menopause?
Like, so are you guys in the same kind of stage? And then also, genetics plays a huge role. Some people get muscles from nothing. Some people have naturally low body fat on different areas. I happen to accumulate it on my stomach. Um, so for me, like, If you can see some definition on my stomach, you know that I'm in like too thin a shape actually, you know, to get to that point.
But some people who might gain most of their fat on their thighs and their butt, they might have really low body fat on their stomach and have a great six pack abs. You know, this is genetics. So, and surprise, surprise, those who are genetically gifted and spending a ton of time in the gym doing their very effective workouts, which are not necessarily the ones they're showing you are the ones that are going to get a lot of followers and likes, right?
So, but it's not telling you the whole [00:15:00] truth, it's the Instagram truth.
And then the other thing to mention is that this Decline can happen sooner or later. So for me, um, I went through menopause already in my mid 40s and I didn't notice this right away. I guess, yeah, I was working out enough or I built up enough muscle, um, but that it's actually showed up with some kind of a delay.
But then when it came, it felt like it just happened overnight, and then I really needed to shift up the way I was training. So if you're not seeing it yet, I mean, you may be sitting there thinking, Oh, I've been through menopause and I'm not noticing this. Well, it may be coming unfortunately for you and it would be in your best interest to start the weight training sooner than later.
It'll be easier and also you'll lose less because at the point where you notice it, you've probably already made [00:16:00] significant loss of muscle.
What kind of exercises do you need to be doing?
Okay. So how to stimulate these type two muscle fibers is really about weight training with consistency, following a good program and applying progressive overload.
So how do you know if you're lifting heavy enough to stimulate those type two muscle fibers? Now, it's not based on how many reps you're doing. It's something that PTs used to be taught that, Hey, if you go one to five reps, you're, you're, um, training strength.
And if you do five to, I think it was like 20 reps, then it's a building muscle. And then above that it's. something else. I don't even know what they were training them. So what they know today is that anywhere from five reps to about 30 reps is fine for building muscle as long as you are getting close to failure. [00:17:00] Okay. So it's really only those last reps before you hit failure that are going to stimulate your type two muscle fibers to grow.
All right. So if you think about that for a moment, it means that if you're doing a 30 rep set, you're going to do about 25 reps, which are all just, I don't know, wiggling weights. And then maybe the last five will be stimulating reps. That's a lot of time to do all those reps, and it's a lot of getting your body tired doing those reps.
Oh, don't get me into the tired discussion. So it's not based on how many reps you're doing. It's based on how intensely you're doing those reps. You need to be getting close to failure in the final, one to five reps [00:18:00] or even going to failure. But of course, if you're going to failure, be sure that you're doing it in a safe way.
There are some exercises that you can safely take to failure. There are others that I would just. Never, never take to failure because you can really run the risk of hurting yourself.
So one indicator that you're getting close to failure is that there's an involuntary slowing down of reps. And I actually did a good, uh, reel on this and I will link it in the show notes. It's, it's showing how my reps are looking in the beginning of the set and how they look at the end of the set.
And there is a distinct difference. You'll see how the speed goes. So check that out. If you're a little bit questioning, like, what does that mean? You know, involuntary slowing. And really the best way for you to know that you are working in a, in an intense way is that you apply progressive [00:19:00] overload. And to do that best, you want to have a tracker so that over time you can keep adding reps and then increasing your weights as you get stronger.
And there is a link to my free weight training tracker in the show notes. But what I will say is that as you get into perimenopause and menopause, and if you're in post menopause like I am, it is, you know, it is harder to build muscle. And so you want to be doing things correctly, and even if you're doing things correctly, it can take a really long time. Now this, of course, is going to depend a little bit on your genetics and how quickly you put on muscle. So I do recommend that you take, get a program from somebody who understands what's going on and maybe even hire a coach.
All right, to summarize. In order for you to really [00:20:00] make up for that loss of estrogen that's happening in midlife, which is causing you to suddenly look like you are not working out at all because you're losing your muscle. You need to be lifting heavy and heavy means that by the end of your reps, you are getting close to failure.
You're seeing this kind of involuntary slowdown in the rep rate and. Even going to failure, depending on the exercise, of course.
And let me point out that this is really different from feeling the burn or just feeling tired. It is a whole different sensation when you get to the end of being able to do the reps. I train very often to failure or to one rep in reserve. So one rep away from failure, because I've. learned that line.
And of course, I'm careful because I don't want to injure myself. And it's a whole [00:21:00] different kind of tired than I used to get when I was doing the classes with the smaller weights where there would be this kind of burn, that's a different thing. That's not. Really stimulating the same kind of muscle growth as lifting heavy. So it's not yoga, it's not Pilates, it's not your pump classes. In fact, uh, Liz Mills themselves says that this is a muscle endurance class. We women, we have plenty of muscle endurance. We need to get the strength and the power in there, right?
Uh, it's not your circuit classes where you're doing some kind of weight at a fast, rep speed, and then doing some cardio in between sets. Nope, that's not the same thing. It really is not the same thing. So when I'm talking about getting heavy weights
it's really about weight training and you can do it [00:22:00] at home or at the gym. Both of them are fine. Apply progressive overload and start seeing your body change.
And remember, if you need help getting started, I do really recommend that you do Invest in yourself, get a personal trainer who knows something, especially about working with women in menopause and perimenopause. I see a lot of trainers. They try to excite their clients into working out by doing fun things, mixing it up every time, but that's really not going to be the same thing as weight training, consistently applying progressive overload, building muscle.
Right. So you want to get somebody who can give you a program and explain how to do the exercises and work with you on that. And if you want to work with me, I have my group program starting at the end of January. I also have my self study courses, which [00:23:00] are available anytime for you to get started.
And then, of course, I have my one to one sessions so we can really tailor it for you and also look at nutrition and other lifestyle changes to really get you fit for the rest of your life.
All right. That's it for today.
So get out there, stimulate your type two muscle fibers by lifting heavy. And I will talk to you next week in the meanwhile, happy training.