Episode Transcript
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Have you ever wished that youcould take the groceries in one
load?
Or how about be able to climb tothe top of the jungle gym to get
your kid in case, God forbidthey happen to get stuck in
those ridiculous, impossiblecontraptions?
Or maybe just you simply wannabe able to easily load your
carry-on in the overhead bin andgrab your overpacked suitcase
(00:26):
off the carousel without thehelp of a man.
If you've answered yes, I'm hereto tell you that there may be a
way you can do all of that andmore through the simple yet over
complicated activity of strengthtraining.
If you're listening to thispodcast, you probably already
know that strength training isimportant, but I don't know
about you, but for me, there aremany seasons of life where.
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Things just get busy and I justkind of start wandering with my
workouts and I need to bereminded, 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 youlearn something new and
ultimately feel recharge,re-energize, and most
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importantly, empowered to reallyprioritize your own resistance
training in your routine.
Before we dive into today'sepisode, a quick shout out to
Cozy Earth.
They recently gifted me a set oftheir bamboo sheets and wow.
Talk about lux.
I am the girl who like is stillwearing the same jean jacket
from college, yet I will easilysplurge on things as it relates
(01:34):
to self-care or just likeimproving how I feel.
Cozy Earth products are designedto transform your five to nine
the time that matters most intothe Coziest sanctuary.
They believe that luxuryshouldn't be out of reach, and I
couldn't agree more.
They were kind enough to giveour listeners a code for 40%
off.
Just go to cozy earth.com anduse the Code Fit Friends.
(01:55):
That's F-I-T-F-R-I-E-N-D-S.
We'll also put a link in theshow notes.
Welcome to Fit Friends HappyHour, the podcast where we help
you redefine the word fit so youcan stop quantifying and start
living.
I'm Renan Diet dietician,personal trainer, and host
(02:18):
Katie.
Join me each week for soloepisodes and expert interviews
where self-care meets science,whether you're a group fitness.
Front row diva, or just startingout on your wellness journey,
whether you choose oat milk orfull fat in your latte, all
foods, all backgrounds, and allbodies are welcome here as you
embark on your non-diet journey.
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The other day I met with aclient and we were talking about
the benefits of exercise, andshe really was expressing to me
how she just needed to be heldaccountable.
She really struggled withshowing up, staying motivated,
and so I thought, well, let'sjust sit down.
Let's actually look at this listof both short term and long term
benefits when it comes toexercise.
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And I showed her the list and Iasked 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 ofany of these or, or thought much
deeper than just, I need to loseweight or I should be
exercising.
It's no wonder we losemotivation because when we only
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focus on weight loss or bodycomposition, we are missing out
on so much more.
What are some of those physicalbenefits that I showed this
client?
The biggest ones that I wannafocus on today, there are so
many, but.
Today I'm speaking tospecifically the maybe the
postpartum mom, the, the woman,the, and who is going through
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perimenopause like that I knowis a, a large chunk of my
listeners right now.
And maybe you're younger, maybeyou're older, but I think you're
gonna be able to relate to thesebenefits and apply it to what it
means to you.
And the number one is bonehealth.
So resistance training, strengthtraining, I'll use those words
interchangeably.
Bone health.
Specifically strength trainingsupports our bone density reduce
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reducing the risk ofosteoporosis, especially in
post-menopausal women.
I don't know if you knew, butone of the top causes of death
among older adults in the US isfalls and strength training
helps to reduce that risk byimproving our bone density,
which helps protect the joints.
Therefore, you're gonna be lesslikely to fall because you are
more stable.
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Now we all know aboutcardiovascular health and I
think a lot of people think ofthat as running cycling.
It has to be cardio, butresearch shows that actually
strength training reducescardiovascular mortality by up
to 30% in women.
Another study.
In the Journal of the AmericanCollege of Cardiology evaluated
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the differences in the effectsof exercise between men and
women.
I think this was so interesting.
While the study finds that evensmall doses are of exercise are
beneficial for everyone.
Hello.
We know that everyone shouldexercise, but this data in
particular showed that womenneed less exercise than men to
get the same gains in longevity.
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So interesting, right?
Women who did moderate intensityactivity such as risk squawking,
lifting weights five times perweek, reduced their risk of
premature death by 24% comparedto only 18% for men.
So interesting.
I think that just emphasizes whyfemales, and particularly we
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really need to prioritize thisas a modality of movement.
And then the other big physicalbenefit in my opinion, is
metabolic boost.
Now that is such a trendy word.
What does it actually mean?
Metabolic boost or lean muscletissue.
When we're talking aboutstrength training is more
metabolically active, meaningit's more efficient, and it's
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basically works.
Parter works better, moreefficient when you're not
working by doing things likeclearing glucose out of the
bloodstream to help control yourblood sugar.
So those are some of the topones in my opinion, when it
comes to physical health.
Our bone health, cardiovascularhealth, our longevity are
metabolism.
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But while physical is cool andall, it's amazing, I honestly
think the benefits we can't see.
In my opinion are even moreamazing.
There are copious studies thatshow when we move our bodies, we
have less stress, we arehappier, we are more positive,
we are more steady, we're moreresilient, and we're more
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focused.
If you struggle with anxiety ordepression, and I would say
probably at least 50, maybe 60%or more of my clients struggle
with anxiety or depression ormaybe taking medications for
these diagnoses.
But if that's you, there is somuch research to support that
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strength training can help you.
It gets the blood flowing, itgets oxygen to your brain, and
it just feels good.
Now, if you are currentlyexercising or maybe in your
history you've exercised and itdoesn't feel good, well that's
another conversation.
And I firmly believe as a, youknow, weight inclusive.
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A practitioner, weight inclusivetrainer, that there are ways,
there are things that we can doto move our body that feels good
regardless of whatever challengethat you are facing.
Maybe that is pain.
Maybe that is some sort ofmobility issue, like I believe
that yes, it might take somepractice.
Yes, it might take some trialand error, it might take some
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investigation.
It might take the support from atrained.
Especially trained expert, but Ibelieve there is a way for you
to move your body in a way thatfeels good.
There's also so much empowermentin what you can accomplish in
the gym.
I say gym, but gym could be yourbasement, it could be outside,
it could, doesn't have to be thetraditional gym setting, but
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there's so much empowerment, Iguess is the word I wanna say.
There's so much empowerment.
And what you can accomplish inthe gym and how that translates
outside the weight room.
You start to carry this newlevel of confidence, a boost in
your self-esteem.
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I have a client who I'm workingwith right now for personal
training, one-on-one, and it'sbeen really neat to see her
over, I guess really the pastyear or so.
We started training togetherAfter her, she had her second
daughter, and you know.
Just from the little things likerebuilding her core strength to
now she's just having thesebigger conversations of, you
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know, maybe getting a new joband stepping outside her comfort
zone and just seeing those winsand how she pushes herself
physically, like underneath thebarbell, doing all these, you
know, ridiculous movements andthings that I have her try to
improve her brain and to empowerher, like I really am starting
to see that translate into hereveryday life.
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And.
Having difficult conversations,like she just carries herself in
a different way than when Ifirst met her, you know, over a
year ago.
So what technically isconsidered strength training?
I like to think of it in twoways.
Number one, I think of strengthtraining as movement of any kind
that pushes your muscles outsideof their comfort zone.
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This can include body weight,but it's.
Forcing your muscles to rebuildstronger to prepare for the next
challenge.
That's how I think aboutstrength training.
The other way I think aboutstrength training is progressive
overload.
So exerting even just slightlymore effort than the last time,
either through a heavier weightor an additional rep, and doing
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this consistently Over time,your muscles will con,
constantly have to adapt and berebuilding themselves to get
stronger.
What about getting bulky?
I hear this all the time and Ican't believe we're still
dispelling the myth, but I'mgonna say it because it keeps
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coming up.
As women, we simply do not havethe same amount of testosterone
as people with the male anatomyto get there easily.
It's possible to get bulky.
It's possible to get thatbodybuilder physique, but you
have to be extremely intentionalabout it, and it often takes
many, many years for people whoare training for that specific
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physique.
The other myth I want to bustreal quick is, well, if I'm not
sore, am I even doing anything?
It is okay to not be sore afterworkout.
That can often be a sign thatyou're actually recovering well,
you're eating enough now.
A little bit of soreness is okayand it's to be expected,
especially if you have notconsistently strength trained in
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some time or ever.
But it's when we're getting that48 hours, you know, maybe two
days later that you're stillsore or it's.
Holding you back from being ableto do basic functions like
sitting on the toilet andgetting up the stairs.
That's a sign that you probablyoverdid it or went too much in
terms of volume.
In terms of load.
In terms of duration.
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Like you may have done a littletoo much and you're ready for,
so where should you start?
Maybe you're starting to berecharged by this.
You're energized.
There's so many places that youcan start, and I know that in
itself can be overwhelming.
So I wanna make it really simplefor you.
I'd recommend if you're startingfrom zero or you're just getting
back into it.
Let's say you recently had achild or you had a break because
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of a difficult season of life.
Start with body weight.
You'll be surprised.
I've had this conversation withLauren.
You remember her?
She's a host, was a former hostof the Fit Friends Happy Hour,
and this was a few months ago,but we just talked how, oh my
gosh.
Like literally just doing bodyweight and when you haven't been
doing anything, regardless ofhow conditioned you are.
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Wow.
Like that can be a great andeffective workout.
But let's say you're ready toadvance from body weight.
If you have access, using thosefixed machines are going to be
able to keep you in a saferrange of motion.
So think fixed machines as youknow, a leg press something
where you, you move that littlepulley, that little, what is the
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word?
It's like a little Do.
Do a little.
You know, a pin.
There we go.
A pin, you pull it out and youput it to the next, um, weight
selection.
Those are a great option becauseit keeps your muscles in a
alignment in a way that is goingto be safe.
Or maybe you feel comfortablegoing to a group exercise class,
working with a trainer, somebodywho's going to kind of help you
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as you're, as you retrain yourbrain to move through these.
Movement patterns in a way thatfeels safe.
Now, the next progression wouldbe to dumbbells.
They're a little bit, require alittle bit more stability in in
the muscle group, but of courseif that's all you have, jump
right to dumbbells.
Go for it.
That's awesome.
From there, I'd recommendprogressing to something like a
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barbell, a kettlebell, gettinginto a little bit more advanced
training.
Now, do you have to progress tothose two?
See benefits?
Absolutely not, but it can be afun way to switch it up, learn
something new to continue tochallenge yourself.
How often should you be strengthtraining?
I would recommend two to threetimes per week.
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On non-consecutive days to allowthose muscles time to recover.
When we strength train, youthink about you're essentially
creating all these micro tearsin the muscle, and if we keep
tearing and tearing and tearingand we're never giving our
bodies the time to repair andrebuild well, we're never gonna
see those gains or the benefitsfrom strength training.
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If you want to feel superinspired, look up Joan McDonald.
You maybe saw Lululemon actuallydid a recent campaign with her.
She started trying training at70 years old, 70 years old, and
now she's deadlifting and doingpull-ups and all these amazing
things.
So my point to that is it'snever too late to start.
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Life is just easier.
When you're stronger and ifyou're looking for more support,
I actually offer virtualprogramming, virtual fitness
programming so that you can bemore intentional with your
workouts.
You can show up with purpose.
I'll put the link in the shownotes there as well.
We have our own app that we use.
I check in with clients on aweekly basis.
We program for, six to eightweeks, even up to six months at
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a time, depending on the goal.
And so far it's, it's a littlebit new that I've introduced
this app, but my clientsfreaking love it.
Thanks for listening to thisepisode of Fit Friends Happy
Hour.
If you liked this episode, don'tforget to share it with a
friend.
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Friends happy hour.
Talk to you next time.