You may see various nutrition professionals talk about lifting weights and think - why?! Aren’t we nutrition coaches just supposed to be talking about food?

Here’s the thing:

Many individuals who work with a nutrition coach do so because they want to lean out, improve performance, optimize their health, or work towards other aesthetic or body composition goals. 

Individuals who strength train gain muscle, lose fat, look leaner, improve their health, and are more athletic than the general population. 

The reason we talk about strength training as nutrition coaches is because, alongside digging into our nutrition more, adding resistance training can aid in the pursuit of these goals. 

HOW STRENGTH TRAINING IS RELEVANT TO YOU

• Strength training builds muscle, and muscle is very beneficial. In general, people who have more muscle mass live longer, retain autonomy as they age, are more resistant to illness, and are stronger and less susceptible to injuries. 

• Strength training aids in fat loss. Extra muscle from strength training aids fat loss because the more muscle a person has the more calories they burn. Not to mention, the act of strength training itself burns calories. Over the course of time, all of these extra calories add up and result in fat loss.

• Strength training makes you look leaner. What strength training does not do is make you bulky. It’s hard to get bulky. There is a small percentage of the population (like really small) that grows muscle easily and will get bulky easily from lifting. Based on how math works, most people aren’t included in that small percentage. For the vast majority of people, strength training results in increased lean mass and fat loss that makes them look leaner and feel tighter. 

• Strength training makes you healthier. Health is defined as the absence of illness and injury. Strength training builds muscle, increases bone density, improves cardiovascular health (that’s right, lifting weights is good for your heart) and greatly reduces the risk of injury. 

• Strength training makes you more athletic by making you stronger and more capable of doing athletic things like running, jumping, hiking, swimming, surfing, climbing, playing sports, etc.

MOVE IN A WAY YOU ENJOY 

In general when we talk about strength training, we are referencing resistance training with weights. 

However, there are a lot of people that don’t like to go to the gym, and that’s totally fine! Your movement of choice should be, primarily, what you enjoy most. It's important to note that strength training does not have to be solely confined to lifting weights in a commercial gym. 

Strength training is defined as any activity that makes muscles stronger. According to that definition, strength training can look like:

• Rock climbing

• Hiking 

• Playing rec league sports

• Running

• Rowing

• Paddle boarding or surfing

• Biking

• Dancing

• Skateboarding, snowboarding, or skiing

The reason we talk about strength training as nutrition coaches is because strength training -- whether that strength training is lifting weights in a commercial gym or doing a strenuous activity outside of the gym --  helps you not only reach aesthetic goals but also improve your health, and that is always the ultimate goal when working towards sustainable changes.

Our nutrition is about so much more than just the foods we eat. As coaches, we take into account all aspects of health and lifestyle to ensure you are working toward the most sustainable changes possible. You can learn more about our 1:1 Nutrition Coaching here.

If you have questions about strength training, leave them below!