There seems to be a little misconception about my emotional state when I write these emails.
I’m not angry at all.
I’m fine.
I’m actually burnt up about these other misconceptions that refuse to die, like,
Everything at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s is healthy.
Jumping around for an hour doing endless cardio automatically makes you fit.
And that women shouldn’t lift heavy weights because they’ll get “bulky.”
How the fuck is this still a thing?
There are doctors, researchers, coaches, trainers, and approximately 47 billion female fitness influencers telling women how important strength training is, and there are STILL women walking past the dumbbells like touching one is going to cause them to wake up tomorrow morning looking like a professional bodybuilder.
If putting on muscle were that fucking easy, every guy in every gym in America would look like Mr. Olympia, they don’t.
Strength training—and yes, eventually lifting some reasonably heavy shit—is important for maintaining muscle, strength, bone health, physical function, and independence as we age. (Annie got her bone density tested. She has the bone density of a 35 year old athlete and she’s 60!)
Not just for men.
For HUMANS.
Are females not human?
As we get older, losing strength, muscle, balance, and bone density can have real consequences. Being physically weak at 70 or 80 isn’t just about not being able to lift something heavy. It can mean having trouble getting off the floor, carrying groceries, climbing stairs, maintaining your balance, or catching yourself when you stumble.
A fall when you’re 25 can be embarrassing.
A fall when you’re 80 can change your fucking life.
So I would genuinely love to know where this ridiculous idea that women shouldn’t lift weights came from.
I blame the pharmaceutical companies because it makes for a much better profit margin when people age and need to be on their chaotic medications.
Waiting until you’re old and weak to start worrying about being old and weak is a terrible fucking strategy.
You don’t build strength because you want to become a bodybuilder.
You build strength because someday you’re going to be older than you are today.
You’re going to want to carry your own groceries.
Wiping your own ass and being able to get yourself off the toilet.
Pick up your grandchildren.
Walk up a flight of stairs without tripping over the step, falling and cracking your head open.
Get off the fucking floor without calling the fire department.
Getting up after a nasty spill in Pickleball.
Strength gives you options.
Weakness takes them away.
Start lifting heavy shit and you might accidentally become a strong, capable 75-year-old who can still do whatever the fuck she wants.
400 Run
3 Rounds:
15 Overhead Squats 95/65
20 GHD Sit Ups
20 Hip Extensions
Rest 1 Min
Run 800
3 Rounds:
12 Overhead Squats 95/65
15 GHD Sit Ups
15 Hip Extensions
Rest 1 MIn
Run 400
30 Overhead Squats 95/65
30 GHD Sit Ups
30 Hip Extensions