Strength Training and Metabolic Health

A client came to us last year with blood work that worried her. She's in her early 30's, otherwise fit and happy, but her doctor mentioned insulin resistance and elevated liver enzyme markers, both things that make you sit up and pay attention!

She wasn't looking to lose weight for how she looked. She was looking to change her health trajectory.

Six months into her strength training program, her follow-up bloodwork told a different story. Her markers had shifted favorably, but what she talked about most wasn't those numbers - it was that she wasn't crashing every afternoon anymore. She was so impressed with the fact that she now had the energy to get through her workday without needing three coffees just to function, and enough left over to actually enjoy her evenings with her fiancé and friends.

Metabolic health is a buzz word right now, and being used so loosely that most don't really know what it is. So here's a simple breakdown: it's essentially how efficiently your body manages energy through a collection of various systems involving blood sugar, insulin sensitivity, cholesterol, blood pressure, how you store and burn fat. When these systems are working well, you feel steady. But...when they're not, you feel it in fatigue, cravings, stubborn weight, and eventually in the numbers your doctor flags at your next check-up.

Here's where strength training comes in, and it's more direct than most people realize:

• Muscle is metabolically active tissue - the more you have, the more efficiently your body regulates blood sugar and insulin.

• Resistance training also improves how your cells respond to insulin, independent of weight loss.

• Building muscle mass supports bone density, which becomes increasingly important as you age.

That's what we see over and over working with clients here in Stoney Creek, Hamilton who come to us for improvements in their metabolic health. Some arrive with a doctor's recommendation, others have done their own research on topics like visceral fat, how muscle mass affects insulin sensitivity and about the connection between strength and long-term health. Either way, they're not chasing aesthetic goals, they're chasing a body that works better from the inside out.

If you've had a conversation with your doctor about your metabolic health, or you've just started noticing changes in how your body feels, start here - strength training is one of the most direct things you can do today!

Clink this link to book a consultation today so we can talk about what your journey could look like too.