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WHY YOU *NEED* TO STRENGTH TRAIN FOR YOUR GOALS

Let me just cut to the chase here: we *all* need to be training strength. Beyond good health and quality of life, it is very often the key to everything we want: fat loss? Yep. Looking toned? You got it. Carrying our babies around pain-free? Absolutely? Growing into a kick-ass old lady? It’s the only way.

Let’s dive into how!

What is strength training?

Strength training, or resistance training – two names you can pretty much use interchangeably – is any form of exercise that involves using weights or resistance to build strength in your muscles.

Here’s how it works: 

When you apply a stressor (any outside weight or strain), your muscles respond to and work against the stress. This movement against the resistance causes microtears in your muscle fibers which stimulate the body to begin rebuilding the muscle. When you repeatedly stress and rebuild, then stress a bit more and rebuild again, your body gains lean muscle mass.

Strength training to work its magic, we need to progressively overload the muscles – continuing the challenge them as they get stronger by either increasing the weight, adding more reps, adding pauses or slowing fown tempo or performing the exercise in a more challenging way.

This is an absolute cornerstone of the magic. Despite what women are led to believe on social media, performing endless repetitions of exercises using very light weight will not yield “long and lean muscles” or strength gains.

But will I get too bulky?

Another common thing we hear is that if we get stronger by lifting weights, we’ll get bulky, too. And while I can appreciate that getting bulky isn’t everyone’s goal – it also won’t happen from weightlifting alone. In fact, it is so much more likely that building lean muscle mass will leave you with that ‘toned’ look everyone talks about. 

Toned is great, but the physical benefits don’t stop there. Other benefits include: better strength, power and endurance, increased bone density, increased metabolism (hello, fat loss!), less urinary incontinence, reduced lower back pain, better sleep and the slowing of age-related declines in general.

And mentally? Strength training can be a superpower to help us shine a light on all the things our amazing bodies are capable of, rather than what our bodies look like, and help us make peace with them once and for all. Strength training allows you to discover and appreciate all that your body is capable of doing—and then do more.

What do you want out of your training and body?

Let’s play a little game. I’d love you to think about what you want out of your life and body. Go ahead and name that goal…

Is it weight loss? Fat loss? To look more toned? You have to train strength, baby.

“Bulky” messaging aside, more lean muscle mass results in a leaner appearance – that ‘toned’ look we’re always hearing about. Additionally, the more muscle mass, the higher the calorie burn during exercise and during recovery from exercise. That means when combined with nutrient-dense foods, a caloric deficit, and enough quality sleep, progressive resistance training can help reduce body fat, too.

Protein is our building block macronutrient; they help our bodies build and rebuild so they’re foundational to getting things done. As a very general guideline (all bodies are different, so these guidelines are never prescriptions!) we need about 1.54g per kilo of body weight.
 

Maybe you want to lift heavier, run faster or hike a mountain with your family?

These performance goals mean you should definitely train your strength. Most of life’s really kick-ass adventures need us to be strong to really enjoy them. 

But what about the little adventures? What if we also considered bending over to lift your growing baby out of their crib or being able to carry all your groceries up the stairs and in the house in one go? 

By lifting weights and striving to get stronger, gradually, and you’ll be surprised at how much easier your daily tasks become. Pay attention to your energy levels, the quality of your sleep, and how effortlessly you can play with your kids and carry your bags and the kiddos effortlessly on your next family vacation.

No matter what we want our bodies to do for us, whether it’s in the gym or out in the world, strength training makes it easier.

What about life-long wellness?

Want to stay fit and independent through menopause and into old age? Maybe you want to be one of those badass old ladies you see chasing their grandkids around and doing pullups into their 90s? I mean…even if you just want to pee by yourself and get up off the toilet alone during your last years…yep, you have to train strength.

Women lose naturally lose between 3-8% of their muscle mass per decade after 30…that is,  if they don’t work to build it. And that’s a big yikes, because muscle is what keeps us strong and independent for life. It also helps us manage more peacefully through menopause and live with less pain as we age. Never mind the cool party tricks you’ll be able to do at every birthday party.

Strength training. There is literally nothing it can't do.

And since my mission is to push back on all the BS we hear from the fitness industry and media about being less and staying small, I’m also here to remind you that strength training helps us show up better and be more, resisting the messaging that our weight is the most important thing about us. 

When we embrace strength training as a tool to becoming the best version of ourselves, and use it to explore all the incredible things our bodies can do, we become unstoppable.

READY TO GET STARTED? CHECK OUT BARBELL FUNDAMENTALS:
A FOUR WEEK WOMEN’S-ONLY INTRODUCTION TO STRENGTH TRAINING THAT WILL LEAVE YOU FEELING CONFIDENT TO WALK INTO ANY GYM, GET TO WORK & HAVE FUN WITH IT, TOO. REGISTRATION IS CURRENTLY OPEN!

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