Why Strength Training Matters More Than You Realize

EPISODE 399.

In this episode of Fit Friends Happy Hour, host Katie, a dietitian and personal trainer, highlights the benefits of strength training for women, and uncovers reasons you may have overlooked. 

What we cover:

• The physical and mental health benefits of strength training, particularly for women at various life stages
• How to get started or reignite your energy again
• Debunking myths about getting bulky and the importance of progressive overload in training

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Transcript

0:04

Have you ever wished that you could take the groceries in one load? Or how about be able to climb to the top of the jungle gym to get your kid in case, God forbid they happen to get stuck in those ridiculous, impossible contraptions? Or maybe just you simply wanna be able to easily load your carry-on in the overhead bin and grab your overpacked suitcase off the carousel without the help of a man. If you've answered yes, I'm here to tell you that there may be a way you can do all of that and more through the simple yet over complicated activity of strength training. If you're listening to this podcast, you probably already know that strength training is important, but I don't know about you, but for me, there are many seasons of life where. Things just get busy and I just kind of start wandering with my workouts and I need to be reminded, I need to be pulled back to the basics. And I'm a fitness professional, so my guess is that you maybe experience the same. So my hope today is that you learn something new and ultimately feel recharge, re-energize, and most importantly, empowered to really prioritize your own resistance training in your routine. Before we dive into today's episode, a quick shout out to Cozy Earth. They recently gifted me a set of their bamboo sheets and wow. Talk about lux. I am the girl who like is still wearing the same jean jacket from college, yet I will easily splurge on things as it relates to self-care or just like improving how I feel. Cozy Earth products are designed to transform your five to nine the time that matters most into the Coziest sanctuary. They believe that luxury shouldn't be out of reach, and I couldn't agree more. They were kind enough to give our listeners a code for 40% off. Just go to cozy earth.com and use the Code Fit Friends. That's F-I-T-F-R-I-E-N-D-S. We'll also put a link in the show notes. Welcome to Fit Friends Happy Hour, the podcast where we help you redefine the word fit so you can stop quantifying and start living. I'm Renan Diet dietician, personal trainer, and host Katie. Join me each week for solo episodes and expert interviews where self-care meets science, whether you're a group fitness. Front row diva, or just starting out on your wellness journey, whether you choose oat milk or full fat in your latte, all foods, all backgrounds, and all bodies are welcome here as you embark on your non-diet journey. The other day I met with a client and we were talking about the benefits of exercise, and she really was expressing to me how she just needed to be held accountable. She really struggled with showing up, staying motivated, and so I thought, well, let's just sit down. Let's actually look at this list of both short term and long term benefits when it comes to exercise. And I showed her the list and I asked her, have you ever thought about any of these? And I. I was shocked. She was shocked that she said, no. I've literally never thought of any of these or, or thought much deeper than just, I need to lose weight or I should be exercising. It's no wonder we lose motivation because when we only focus on weight loss or body composition, we are missing out on so much more. What are some of those physical benefits that I showed this client? The biggest ones that I wanna focus on today, there are so many, but. Today I'm speaking to specifically the maybe the postpartum mom, the, the woman, the, and who is going through perimenopause like that I know is a, a large chunk of my listeners right now. And maybe you're younger, maybe you're older, but I think you're gonna be able to relate to these benefits and apply it to what it means to you. And the number one is bone health. So resistance training, strength training, I'll use those words interchangeably. Bone health. Specifically strength training supports our bone density reduce reducing the risk of osteoporosis, especially in post-menopausal women. I don't know if you knew, but one of the top causes of death among older adults in the US is falls and strength training helps to reduce that risk by improving our bone density, which helps protect the joints. Therefore, you're gonna be less likely to fall because you are more stable. Now we all know about cardiovascular health and I think a lot of people think of that as running cycling. It has to be cardio, but research shows that actually strength training reduces cardiovascular mortality by up to 30% in women. Another study. In the Journal of the American College of Cardiology evaluated the differences in the effects of exercise between men and women. I think this was so interesting. While the study finds that even small doses are of exercise are beneficial for everyone. Hello. We know that everyone should exercise, but this data in particular showed that women need less exercise than men to get the same gains in longevity. So interesting, right? Women who did moderate intensity activity such as risk squawking, lifting weights five times per week, reduced their risk of premature death by 24% compared to only 18% for men. So interesting. I think that just emphasizes why females, and particularly we really need to prioritize this as a modality of movement. And then the other big physical benefit in my opinion, is metabolic boost. Now that is such a trendy word. What does it actually mean? Metabolic boost or lean muscle tissue. When we're talking about strength training is more metabolically active, meaning it's more efficient, and it's basically works. Parter works better, more efficient when you're not working by doing things like clearing glucose out of the bloodstream to help control your blood sugar. So those are some of the top ones in my opinion, when it comes to physical health. Our bone health, cardiovascular health, our longevity are metabolism. But while physical is cool and all, it's amazing, I honestly think the benefits we can't see. In my opinion are even more amazing. There are copious studies that show when we move our bodies, we have less stress, we are happier, we are more positive, we are more steady, we're more resilient, and we're more focused. If you struggle with anxiety or depression, and I would say probably at least 50, maybe 60% or more of my clients struggle with anxiety or depression or maybe taking medications for these diagnoses. But if that's you, there is so much research to support that strength training can help you. It gets the blood flowing, it gets oxygen to your brain, and it just feels good. Now, if you are currently exercising or maybe in your history you've exercised and it doesn't feel good, well that's another conversation. And I firmly believe as a, you know, weight inclusive. A practitioner, weight inclusive trainer, that there are ways, there are things that we can do to move our body that feels good regardless of whatever challenge that you are facing. Maybe that is pain. Maybe that is some sort of mobility issue, like I believe that yes, it might take some practice. Yes, it might take some trial and error, it might take some investigation. It might take the support from a trained. Especially trained expert, but I believe there is a way for you to move your body in a way that feels good. There's also so much empowerment in what you can accomplish in the gym. I say gym, but gym could be your basement, it could be outside, it could, doesn't have to be the traditional gym setting, but there's so much empowerment, I guess is the word I wanna say. There's so much empowerment. And what you can accomplish in the gym and how that translates outside the weight room. You start to carry this new level of confidence, a boost in your self-esteem. I have a client who I'm working with right now for personal training, one-on-one, and it's been really neat to see her over, I guess really the past year or so. We started training together After her, she had her second daughter, and you know. Just from the little things like rebuilding her core strength to now she's just having these bigger conversations of, you know, maybe getting a new job and stepping outside her comfort zone and just seeing those wins and how she pushes herself physically, like underneath the barbell, doing all these, you know, ridiculous movements and things that I have her try to improve her brain and to empower her, like I really am starting to see that translate into her everyday life. And. Having difficult conversations, like she just carries herself in a different way than when I first met her, you know, over a year ago. So what technically is considered strength training? I like to think of it in two ways. Number one, I think of strength training as movement of any kind that pushes your muscles outside of their comfort zone. This can include body weight, but it's. Forcing your muscles to rebuild stronger to prepare for the next challenge. That's how I think about strength training. The other way I think about strength training is progressive overload. So exerting even just slightly more effort than the last time, either through a heavier weight or an additional rep, and doing this consistently Over time, your muscles will con, constantly have to adapt and be rebuilding themselves to get stronger. What about getting bulky? I hear this all the time and I can't believe we're still dispelling the myth, but I'm gonna say it because it keeps coming up. As women, we simply do not have the same amount of testosterone as people with the male anatomy to get there easily. It's possible to get bulky. It's possible to get that bodybuilder physique, but you have to be extremely intentional about it, and it often takes many, many years for people who are training for that specific physique. The other myth I want to bust real quick is, well, if I'm not sore, am I even doing anything? It is okay to not be sore after workout. That can often be a sign that you're actually recovering well, you're eating enough now. A little bit of soreness is okay and it's to be expected, especially if you have not consistently strength trained in some time or ever. But it's when we're getting that 48 hours, you know, maybe two days later that you're still sore or it's. Holding you back from being able to do basic functions like sitting on the toilet and getting up the stairs. That's a sign that you probably overdid it or went too much in terms of volume. In terms of load. In terms of duration. Like you may have done a little too much and you're ready for, so where should you start? Maybe you're starting to be recharged by this. You're energized. There's so many places that you can start, and I know that in itself can be overwhelming. So I wanna make it really simple for you. I'd recommend if you're starting from zero or you're just getting back into it. Let's say you recently had a child or you had a break because of a difficult season of life. Start with body weight. You'll be surprised. I've had this conversation with Lauren. You remember her? She's a host, was a former host of the Fit Friends Happy Hour, and this was a few months ago, but we just talked how, oh my gosh. Like literally just doing body weight and when you haven't been doing anything, regardless of how conditioned you are. Wow. Like that can be a great and effective workout. But let's say you're ready to advance from body weight. If you have access, using those fixed machines are going to be able to keep you in a safer range of motion. So think fixed machines as you know, a leg press something where you, you move that little pulley, that little, what is the word? It's like a little Do. Do a little. You know, a pin. There we go. A pin, you pull it out and you put it to the next, um, weight selection. Those are a great option because it keeps your muscles in a alignment in a way that is going to be safe. Or maybe you feel comfortable going to a group exercise class, working with a trainer, somebody who's going to kind of help you as you're, as you retrain your brain to move through these. Movement patterns in a way that feels safe. Now, the next progression would be to dumbbells. They're a little bit, require a little bit more stability in in the muscle group, but of course if that's all you have, jump right to dumbbells. Go for it. That's awesome. From there, I'd recommend progressing to something like a barbell, a kettlebell, getting into a little bit more advanced training. Now, do you have to progress to those two? See benefits? Absolutely not, but it can be a fun way to switch it up, learn something new to continue to challenge yourself. How often should you be strength training? I would recommend two to three times per week. On non-consecutive days to allow those muscles time to recover. When we strength train, you think about you're essentially creating all these micro tears in the muscle, and if we keep tearing and tearing and tearing and we're never giving our bodies the time to repair and rebuild well, we're never gonna see those gains or the benefits from strength training. If you want to feel super inspired, look up Joan McDonald. You maybe saw Lululemon actually did a recent campaign with her. She started trying training at 70 years old, 70 years old, and now she's deadlifting and doing pull-ups and all these amazing things. So my point to that is it's never too late to start. Life is just easier. When you're stronger and if you're looking for more support, I actually offer virtual programming, virtual fitness programming so that you can be more intentional with your workouts. You can show up with purpose. I'll put the link in the show notes there as well. We have our own app that we use. I check in with clients on a weekly basis. We program for, six to eight weeks, even up to six months at a time, depending on the goal. And so far it's, it's a little bit new that I've introduced this app, but my clients freaking love it. Thanks for listening to this episode of Fit Friends Happy Hour. If you liked this episode, don't forget to share it with a friend. You can subscribe or follow wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook at Fit Friends happy hour. Talk to you next time.