Women and Strength
The quality of our life is directly related to our muscle health.
Dr. Grabreille Lyon
It’s likely no surprise that there exists a large amount of misinformation on the internet and especially on social media, that lead women to believe that changing the shape of their bodies is quick and easy. This could not be further from the truth.
Hormones play an incredibly important role to women’s overall health, and they are in a constant state of change, even more so as we age. Hormone regulation is far more important to our overall health and well being than most females realize. But there is little information readily available to help women understand this. Data Shows that approximately 80% of research conducted in health and fitness as well as the medical field, is conducted on young male athletes. Therefore most information is not relevant to women and our unique hormonal chemistries.
There are a series of significant hormonal changes that take place during a women’s life span such as before and after child birth, breastfeeding, perimenopause and menopause. Unfortunately these changes negatively impact lean tissue (ie: muscle and bone tissue). It is important to understand that muscle is a huge factor in metabolic efficiency. Muscle loss decreases your metabolic rate, which in turn negatively effects your hormone regulation. It's safe to say that metabolism is about SO much more than just burning calories.
Now what does all this mean??? I often hear statements like “I put on weight during menopause”, I can’t lose the baby weight” or “I’m eating less but still not losing weight”. This is often not due to lack of trying. Instead it’s likely a result of natural hormonal changes. In fact many women work too hard trying to lose weight. For example, many women have been lead to believe that cutting calories, doing excessive amounts of exercise for an extensive period of time, or restricting foods is what is necessary in order to change their bodies. These are not the best approaches to improving body composition and many women will find they will fall short of their goals to decrease body fat and may, in turn, find it will have the opposite effect. Over exercising and crash diets will trigger an increased output of a hormone called Cortisol, which is a stress hormone that will in turn tell the body to store fat rather than burn it.
So, if excessive exercising and fad diets aren’t the solution to losing body fat, what is a woman to do? According to the literature, strength training and muscle maintenance is the corner stone for regulating hormones. As women age, especially after the onset of menopause, women lose muscle at an alarming rate. However, maintaining muscle helps women progress more fluidly through the various phases of their lives. For example, maintaining muscle strength will help you to transition into menopause and will reduce many of the symptoms related to hormonal changes in the body.
All this to say, building muscle and increasing strength are the key components to building a heathy body, particularly and maybe even more so, for women. Muscle is the key to freedom and well being as women age.
Regular Strength training (also known as resistance training) is the best known solution for these challenges. Here at OneUp Fitness we promote the concept that exercise is medicine and it is our passion as personal trainers to help you find the right dosage of ‘medicine’ for your goals and lifestyle. In as little as 20-40 minutes per week you can begin to have a positive impact on your hormonal regulation and live a healthier lifestyle. Building and maintaining healthy muscles and strength is a long term commitment that has far reaching benefits. It gives years to your life and life to your years!!
Call today to book your complimentary consultation with one of our expert personal trainers and mention this blog to receive your first workout free!
Thank you for reading!
Tanya Thiel, BSc.ED
Certified HITuni personal trainer,
Certified GGS women’s specialist trainer
902 405 3661