Each week alongside your Just One Hour session, I’ll be sending a little note from me to you. Its purpose is to get you thinking, to get you motivated, and to give you a gentle nudge because we all need that from time to time! This week it’s a little about why strength training in midlife isn’t optional.
We all know as oestrogen declines, our bodies change! It’s amazing the amount of roles that Oestrogen actually plays within our bodies! Not just periods and pregnancy as I think we were led to believe! Some of those roles can be taken on by us picking up the weights!
1. Building muscle gets harder.
Oestrogen plays a key role in your body’s ability to build and repair muscle. As levels drop, our ability to build and maintain muscle decreases. Strength training is the most direct way to push back against that – and the heavier the better (in time!).
2. Bones become more vulnerable.
Oestrogen helps regulate bone remodelling which is the constant process of old bone being broken down and new bone being laid down. When oestrogen falls and bone loss can accelerate. Weight-bearing and resistance exercise is one of the most evidence-backed ways to protect your bone density, an help reduce the risk of breaks.
3. Fat redistributes
Lower oestrogen changes where the body stores fat, favouring the abdomen. Probably one of the hardest symptoms for a lot of women. Visceral fat – this is the deep fat that sits around our organs. It can increase even with the same diet and activity levels. Muscle mass helps counter this by keeping your metabolism working harder.
4. And it makes you feel like a bloody superwoman.
Strong is a feeling. Lifting weights is empowering, liberating and well makes you feel like Superwoman! Whats not to love about this!
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