Muscle is your Superpower!

Well, here we are deeper into 2024 now, feeling all of our New Year’s intentions settle in. What has remained true for you over the past month? What has been making a difference in your life and what pursuits can fall away without consequence?

For me, the daily reminder to nourish our “organ of longevity” feels more imperative than ever.

It’s your superpower!

 And, here are some of the reasons why:

1. Muscle benefits your immune system!
2. Muscle increases insulin sensitivity (a very good thing).
3. Developing Muscle Mass delays age related muscle and bone density loss.
4. Muscles are the “engine” of your body’s fat and calorie burning mechanism.Why wouldn’t you want to build muscle? Please don’t tell me that you think that building muscle will make you look “bulky.” In the words of one of my former Kettlebell coaches, “don’t flatter yourself”! If you think that 2-3x/week of moderate strength training will make you look bulky, think again.Here are the facts:

5. Building muscle takes a long time

6. Building muscle takes dedication and smart work

7. To achieve the physique of a bodybuilder or Olympic weightlifter would require an incredible amount of commitment and years of regimented exercise and nutrition

8. You won’t end up bulky by accident! Training for strength (which includes training mobility and flexibility) is different than training for bodybuilding!

9. Yes, you will change your overall body composition when you strength train - and this is a GREAT THING because...

10. Strength training will release the human growth hormone, which boosts your metabolism (ultimately reducing your fat to muscle ratio)

11. By simply increasing your lean body mass, you will burn more calories throughout the day, even when at rest

12. You would need to dramatically increase your calorie intake to increase your muscle hypertrophy (increase in muscular size)

So, hopefully some of these facts comfort you enough to understand that strength training is FEEDING your muscle tissue with what it actually NEEDS to THRIVE.

And, the fact of the matter is that you only SHOULD be strength training 2-3x/week to get the results you are looking for. More than that will actually have the opposite effect - and there will be diminishing returns each time you try to strength train beyond your 3rd training session each week.There is more nuance to this basic rule - what you are doing inside each training session is what I love to coach you on. If you are new to using kettlebells, you won’t be demanding an excess load as you are patterning movements, and can therefore handle training a little bit more often, but I would still limit lifting kettlebells to 2-3x/week and working on different types of movement, mobility, and flexibility on the other days each week. This is SMART training, balanced training, and functional training, because at the end of the day we want to move well, be independent, and as Mel Robbins says, “lift your own suitcase into the overhead bin, and dance until you die!” Is it time to create a body composition that balances your hormones and will give you MORE energy so that you can be MORE active without feeling fatigued all of the time?I would LOVE to work with you if you are ready to build (no pun intended) a sustainable strength building program, alongside attending to your postural health, mobility, and flexibility.And I have several ways you can do that with me!