Why I Strength Train

It’s really interesting being a woman in fitness. For the most part, if you are a dude looking to get in shape, you probably think about joining a gym, asking a friend who lifts for advice, and doing some cardio. Pretty simple.

Now, if you’re a girl, somehow the equation is infinitely more complicated. Should I do spin? Pilates? Yoga? Run? Have you heard of Kayla Itsines? What about Barry’s Bootcamp? I should do light weight, high rep weight training to burn fat, right? Is the elliptical better than the treadmill? Stairmaster? Crossfit? These are actual questions I get on a daily basis. Why is it so much more complicated?

I’m not saying any of these options are bad, and if you have all the time in the world, I’d say try some things out, see what you actually enjoy, and go from there. But why do we make it so much more stressful? Personally, I like to keep it as simple as possible. I usually weight train 4 days per week, and I try to get some cardio in throughout the week. This is simply because I love weight training, but I didn’t always do this.

Benefits of Weight Training

Before I explain why I weight train, I’m just going to list off some of the benefits of weight training since my reasons may not be applicable to everyone. 1. More muscle = higher metabolic rate = ability to eat more. I love food. 2. Heavy weights = stronger bones. Women have high rates of osteoporosis, just throwing that out there. 3. Increased HDL (good cholesterol), decreased LDL (bad cholesterol). 4. Increased glucose uptake = lower risk for insulin resistance and diabetes. 5. Increased balance and stability.

Okay so now, my story! Because I’m a narcissist but also… it may resonate with others. I started weight training at the recommendation of a doctor. See, I was recovering from severely disordered eating, and the doctor told me I was at increased risk for osteoporosis and one way to fight that was to strength train. That freaked me out HUGELY, so I spoke with a trainer at my high school gym and got a nice little (mostly machine-based) routine to do a few times a week.

I did this same routine for probably 2+ years, not seeing much progress after the first few weeks since I never changed ANYTHING about it, until quite a while later I when was diagnosed with PCOS. The main symptom I had was very borderline insulin resistance, and my doctor wanted me to immediately go on Metformin (which is a drug used for Type 2 diabetics). At this point I was already in school for nutrition, and I asked if I could first try to reverse my insulin resistance through diet and exercise. She wasn’t thrilled but let me try anyway.

This is when I really got into heavier lifting. I scoured the internet for information about PCOS, and I began squatting, deadlifting, benching, etc. I read the best way to increase insulin sensitivity was to build muscle, and so I made that my primary mission. Within a few months, I was in love with how I felt. I used to feel weak, scrawny, like I had no body, and suddenly I was strong, I could move some pretty good weight, and I already saw a difference in the shape of my body. It was really empowering, and suddenly exercise was no longer about burning calories or self-punishment. All I cared about was getting stronger, seeing my lifts get better, and I even started to really fuel my body properly in order to see better results. It was honestly liberating, and it was why I decided to become a personal trainer.

Now, fast forward about a year, and I met a trainer who was looking for nutrition advice. She asked to trade nutrition counseling for olympic lifting training, and I agreed because I’m always up for a new challenge. I was immediately hooked. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love traditional lifting, but squat, deadlift, bench, bis, tris, etc… it gets a little repetitive after a while. One thing I feel like people have always told me is, “I love _______ (insert running, yoga, spin) because it allows me to clear my head and just be in the moment”. My head must be super cluttered because… nothing really did that for me in the past. But olympic lifting, that worked. The lifts are so intricate and require such focus and attention to detail that you HAVE TO be present. It’s really freaking awesome.

Anyway, the point of all this is not that you have to olympic lift, or even lift heavy at all. The point is, if you hate exercise or use it to compensate for eating poorly, I urge you to find a form of exercise that allows you to feel present, that you enjoy, that makes you feel powerful, and that you can sustain long-term.