Nobody Bulks Up by Accident

Fitness was marketed in two languages for a very long time. Men got strength, muscle, and heavy weights. Women got weight loss, toning, aerobics classes, and the little pink dumbbells. None of those activities are bad. The message underneath them was the problem: this is how women are supposed to exercise. That message is still showing up in gym consultations. Women walk in with a goal and a fear in the same sentence. They want to be stronger and they do not want to get big. So this episode starts with how hard it actually is to add a significant amount of muscle, for anyone, and why "toned" describes a result rather than a type of training. It also gets into what a treadmill readout can't tell you. A 45-minute run flashes a calorie number. A 45-minute lifting session doesn't. If calories burned is the whole definition of a workout, cardio wins the scoreboard and loses the long game. Then the part that doesn't get marketed to anyone: menopause. Estrogen does a lot of jobs in the body, and bone is one of them. In the years after menopause, bone loss speeds up. One client arrived at ELEV8 before that transition specifically because she understood what was coming. Most people arrive after. There's also a short, unsparing ruling on pickleball. Links & Notes QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years Who Met the Federal Guidelines for Muscle-Strengthening Physical Activity, by Age Group and Sex(MMWR, May 2022, from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey). 35.2% of men and 26.9% of women met the guideline. Sex Differences in Adaptations in Muscle Strength and Size Following Resistance Training in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis(Jones, Wewege, Hackett, Keogh & Hagstrom, Sports Medicine, 2020). Thirty studies, 1,400+ adults aged 50 to 90: no sex difference in relative muscle size gains, and women showed the largest increases in relative lower-body strength. Summary from UNSW Sydney. Strength and Hypertrophy Adaptations Between Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis(Schoenfeld, Grgic, Ogborn & Krieger, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2017). With sets taken to failure, low loads (≤60% 1RM) and high loads produced similar muscle growth. High loads built more strength. Comparative Efficacy of Different Resistance Training Protocols on Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis(Wang et al., Frontiers in Physiology, 2023). Bone loss accelerates with the loss of estrogen after menopause, at 1.5% to 2.5% per year in the first decade. Moderate-intensity resistance training three days a week improved lumbar spine and femoral neck density. Episode 43: Did Social Media Make Fitness Harder?. Last week's episode, and where "get fit for summer" comes from. Episode 32: GLP-1, Cortisol, and Cycle Syncing: A Women's Strength Training Reality Check with Brooke Passey and Kaila Gallion. The earlier conversation this one follows up on. Episode 31: Your Bones Are Alive. More on why loading bone matters. Episode 25: Aging Is Inevitable. Weakness Isn't.. Muscle loss with age, and what to do about it. Episode 17: Flexibility vs. Mobility. For the yoga-and-Pilates crowd, and the guys who should join them. Work with Srdjan and the team at ELEV8 Fitness in Portland, Oregon. Submit your questions to the show!