5 Reasons Strength Training is Amazing!
But, why should I bother to strength train if I'm not looking to get “muscly??”
Why should I bother to strength train? I’m old.
Why should I bother to strength train? It doesn’t burn as many calories as spin class!
Strength training is for everybody and is especially important for folks hitting the best time of their life - midlife! 😉
Diet culture will have us believing that fitness is just for weight loss and as we settle into midlife, we can easily fall into the “why should I ‘bother’" or “what’s the point now?”
First, we are ALWAYS worth our time and energy to help ourselves feel empowered and confident and strong and it can be hard for us to recognize that there is so much more to training and movement than weight loss - and we deserve that, especially as we age.
So, what can strength training do for us as we hit perimenopause and the menopause tranistion period of our lives and beyond?
Strength training helps to create and maintain stronger bones. During the menopause transition, estrogen decreases significantly which can cause bone loss since estrogen helps to protects our bones. While approximately 50% of women over 50 break a bone due to osteoporosis, this is not a disease we simply need to bow down to. Strength training can help to prevent bone loss and can actually help build strong bones! While certain factors like genetics can play a role in the risk for osteoporosis, strength training can help to mitigate the risk.
Strength training helps to create and maintain muscle mass. We start to lose 3-5% of our muscle mass per decade, starting at the age of 30! Research shows that strength training consistently is the most direct way to maintain and build muscle mass.
Strength training helps to improve stability and balance. As we get older, falls become an increased risk for us. The ability to catch ourselves before falling or get up after with more ease are both reasons for stability and balance practice. Luckily, these can be practiced through strength training sessions! Strong feet, ankles, hips, knees and core can all help us improve our balance and our reaction time!
Strength training helps to prevent injuries in our other daily activities! Strength training allows you to practice movements like squatting, hinging, pushing and pulling under load which makes you stronger when picking up your kids, putting your luggage in the overhead bin, taking items out of cabinets, moving boxes etc. The practice also makes you more aware of how to move efficiently and safely for your body. Strength training also helps to balance out muscle imbalances that can develop from your job or from activities like running. You are also improving the strength of your joints and ligaments which make you stronger against injury.
Strength training helps to boost mood, confidence, and body image. Truly, not too much can create a feeling of empowerment then lifting or pressing something heavy. You feel like a badass. Because you are a badass. Even while practicing the main movement patterns, you are continuously challenging yourself with increased weight, reps or variations which leaves you motivated to keep training. Emerging research indicates a strong link between strength training and increased positive body image.
And overall, strength training can help to improve our quality of life for the long run. With stronger bones, more muscle mass, increased balance and stability and increased self esteem, we are more likely to continue to participate in activities that we love with our family and friends and less likely to feel like we need to stand on the sidelines. While some things, such as diagnoses of many disorders and diseases as well as traumatic events, are out of our control, strength training has been linked to many positive benefits for many of them (in conjunction with their treatments such as medications and therapies), such as cancer recovery, anxiety and depression management, and improved motor symptoms with neurological conditions such as MS and Parkinson's and more. (Please always discuss any physical activity with your medical team 😉
While many folks have images or ideas of strength training being loud grunting and hollering humans curling massive dumbbells or squatting under 500 pounds, this is not what strength training looks like for many (even though it could be!). When working with a coach who listens to your goals, your needs, your access to equipment and safe spaces, you are more likely to discover the numerous positive impacts strength training can have for you and your body, because you are more likely to train consistently AND progressively challenge yourself with increased weight, reps, new variations etc, because you have someone knowledgeable and caring to support you each step of the way.
In our Master Your Body mentorship we work closely with our mentees to build programs based on your goals, your current strength levels, your access to equipment, your time (and more) to develop strength programs that are simple, challenging and adjustable.
We are with you every step of the way, for three months, as you practice the “big 6” movement patterns, reconnect with your body’s cues and we guide you to make autonomous choices for you and your body; guiding you with strategies and a movement plan that meets you where you are at and guides you towards your goals. A collaborative nutrition plan that supports you with integrating nutritional habits that work for you and your life and help you sustain your busy life and workouts - nourished, satisfied, fed. This a collaborative plan that is customized and bolstered with the ongoing support of your coach so that you feel strong, confident, and knowledgeable about what feels great for you, while progressing to your goals
{{ subscriber.first_name }}, if you are ready to start, restart or take your current strength training to the next level, we would love to work with you. Just click the button below to apply! We have 6 spots open between the 2 of us to insure high quality attention over the 3 months!