Of course, you’ve very likely heard about the importance and benefits of strength training. But most people only see one piece of the story, which is fat loss or weight loss. And also the mental health benefits are starting to get more airtime which is awesome.
But still, most people think that “Yeah, I know I should do it but life is busy so I get to it sometime later.” Or, “I think it’s too hard” or in case of neuroplastic pain:
“I will wait until my pain is completely gone and I’ll start then.”
To show you HOW important strength training really is, here are some facts for you…
1. Women can lose as much as 20% of their bone mass in the first 5 years of menopause — if they don’t strength train.
Bone loss happens primarily due to the decline in estrogen levels.
What could such dramatic decrease in bone mass mean to someone? For example, that you’re more likely to fall because you can’t catch yourself when you trip over something. And when that happens then you’re more likely to break a bone. And when that happens… It’s going to take a very long time before that bone rebuilds.
Strengthening muscle helps bone density because when muscles contract and pull on bones, which is what happens when you do ANY strength move, it is a signal to the body to also strengthen those bones. As a result, bone density and mass goes up.
2. Strength training is SO important for diabetes prevention. 38 million Americans are diabetic and 98 million prediabetic. Most people think that the #1 thing to do to prevent diabetes is to lose weight. I would argue that building more muscle mass is important.
Muscle acts like a sponge for blood sugar, absorbing glucose from the bloodstream. If your muscle mass is low, you don’t have that sponge. You will also be less sensitive to insulin, the hormone that acts like a key to open up the cells for the glucose to enter. So without much muscle, and especially if your diet is not great, you can end up with constantly elevated blood sugar and insulin levels and may be on your way to diabetes.
3. Isometrics is one of the most accessible ways to start strength training. This should be great news to anyone new to training or anyone who has pain. Isometrics simply means holding a position (think pushing your hands against a wall without bending them, or doing a wall sit) and is very effective and safe for anyone who might have fear of exercise or who is completely new to it.
Isometrics is also much less likely to make you sore; it’s very gentle on the joints; and it’s super hard to overtrain yourself with it!
All these are reasons why you really shouldn’t wait to start strength training — YES even if you have neuropastic pain. YOU CAN START when you start very simple!
Check out my 2-month strength training offer here. Applications are open until 3/17/25! https://kerstenkimura.lpages.co/strength-training-2-months/
Check out my FREE 14-day course Strong + Sensitive, meant for Highly Sensitive People and people with TMS: https://kerstenkimura.lpages.co/ss-14-day-course/
This course combines mindset tools + FREE strength training workouts!
Emotionally Fit is my new emotional healing program for chronic pain or other chronic symptom recovery. You can find it here: https://kersten-kimura.teachable.com/p/emotionally-fit
If you are looking for a safe and effective, BEGINNER level strength training program, check out my brand new Train to Build STARTER: https://kersten-kimura.teachable.com/p/train-to-build-starter
For an INTERMEDIATE level strength training program, check out Train to Build: https://kersten-kimura.teachable.com/p/train-to-build
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Check out my website: https://kerstenkimura.com/
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