
Strength Changes Everything
The Exercise Coach presents: The Strength Changes Everything Podcast. Learn from Exercise Coach Co-Founder Brian Cygan, Franchisee Amy Hudson, and Dr. James Fisher, Chief Science Officer of The Exercise Coach about how to enjoy a strong, healthy lifestyle. The Exercise Coach’s unique two 20-minute workouts a week is how thousands across the United States get and stay in great shape. This podcast gives you the facts, from the experts, in easy-to-understand lessons so you can take control of your life.
Latest episodes

Nov 17, 2021 • 17min
What Makes Exerbotics So Effective?
We are replaying one of our most popular episodes for you this week! Amy and Brian go into the science behind eccentric overload and why this little-understood movement is responsible for the incredible gains in strength Exercise Coach clients experience in their first six sessions. Find out what eccentric overload is and how to optimize your exercise so you can use more effort in less time, and see greater results. Eccentric training is well understood by research labs and high-level coaches but it’s not the most common idea for your average exerciser. It’s built into the unique way that makes Exerbotics so effective. Eccentric is simply a muscle contraction. All your muscles ever do is generate force by either contracting or detracting, and an eccentric motion is when you are attempting to shorten your muscles but the load is so great that your muscles actually lengthen. A good example is the bicep curl. When you bend your elbow to lift the dumbbell, that is the concentric portion of the muscle action. When you lower the weight is the eccentric portion. The trouble is that bicep curls are not a great eccentric training exercise. Research shows that we get better fitness results when we overload and meaningfully tax our eccentric strength. This is difficult to do with traditional exercises but is built into how the Exerbotics machine functions. There is a mechanical mismatch with gravity-based exercises. You can only lower what you first lifted, which means you can never fully optimize the exercise for the eccentric portion of the movement. You need 40% more resistance in order to effectively work your muscles eccentrically, and it’s even greater as your muscles fatigue. We need a way to apply an appropriate resistance eccentrically if we are going to tap into the benefits of eccentric training. Exerbotics is a connected strength training technology that adapts to each user’s ability and strength in concentric and eccentric movements. This allows Exercise Coach clients to give more effort in less time by capitalizing on every second of every rep. With an increase in the quality of the exercise stimulus, comes a decrease in the time spent to get results. Research shows that you are going to get strength gains that are twice as good when you can perform effective eccentric overload. You can also gain benefits to hypertrophy in shorter periods of time compared to traditional methods. Eccentric training also increases flexibility because of the increased extensibility of the muscles involved. The benefits also extend to the metabolic systems of the body. Recent research has shown improvements in cholesterol profile and a general reduction in systemic inflammation in the body. When we perform effective eccentric training we get the fitness results we want in less time, and while feeling less demanding. Eccentric training uses fewer muscle fibers but they are generating more force, which makes it a super stimulus for those muscles. The most basic exercises and protocols are automatically built into the programs of the Exercise Coach. In only six sessions at The Exercise Coach, over 7000 women saw a 33% increase in overall strength. Compare that to traditional exercises, where it can take over a year to achieve the same results. Link: exercisecoach.com This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.

Nov 10, 2021 • 12min
The Science of Why Strength Changes Everything
We are replaying one of our most popular episodes for you this week! Brian and Amy explore the scientific research that shows that strength training is the ultimate exercise for combatting the aging process, getting into the best shape of your life, and how those principles are applied to every workout session at the Exercise Coach. Over the past few months, Brian has been working on the Strength Changes Everything Scientific Support Paper. It has hundreds of scientific resources and is designed to help people dive deeper into the science of strength training. Sarcopenia, the age related loss of strength and muscle, can be prevented and reversed. An effective intervention must target fast-twitch muscle fibers, as sarcopenia selectively affects those cells. Decades of research have led to methods that are motivating and effective for people at all fitness levels. Brian co-wrote the support paper with Dr. James Fisher, Matt Essex, and Jeremy Bourgeois. The paper is structured by introducing readers to sarcopenia and its impact on muscle loss in aging, and on society at large. When we perform science-based strength training, it changes every system of the body for the better. It also fundamentally changes what is required to get fit and healthy in less time. This paper is for anyone that wants to feel inspired and motivated by what is possible with strength training. If you’ve experienced the effects of aging, this paper will show you that you are not disqualified from being in the best shape of your life. The research continues to show that strength training is the best way to combat the aging process. This foundation will help coaches take their conviction and confidence for what they do to the next level. The paper is scientific but still approachable for the average person. It is the encapsulation of years of scientific research that will help you understand the philosophy of strength training and how the Exercise Coach puts it into practice. Link: exercisecoach.com exercisecoach.com/scientificsupport This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.

Nov 3, 2021 • 15min
What about Cardio? - Part 3: Training For Sports Performance vs Training For Cardiovascular Health
We are replaying one of our most popular episodes for you this week! Is strength training enough for longevity and quality of life? That’s the question Brian and Dr. James Fisher explore in the final episode of the What About Cardio? series. Learn about the difference between how athletes and the average person train and why achieving high levels of sports performance and everyday fitness are not accomplished the same way. Can strength training and whole food nutrition be enough to transform someone’s fitness results? Where does cardio fit into fitness and sports performance? Fitness is about our body’s ability to perform a physical task, whether that’s moving a weight or speed or flexibility. Cardiovascular fitness is our body’s ability to move oxygen around the body efficiently, and one of the major benefits of cardio is an increased rate of recovery from exercise. Intensity is key. If you want to perform at a higher level in a sport, long duration and low intensity will not achieve the results you desire. Even with a long duration, low intensity sport, a greater intensity is required to increase performance. There was a study that was published in the late 90’s that showed that the best way to become better at a sport is to practice the sport. A lot of the exercise and training that athletes do to become better at their sport is actually superficial. Specificity of movement is vital. Fisher trains athletes for the positions they are going to play, and the best way to get better at a certain sport is to do exactly that. Resistance training can be a great supplement as a way to prevent injury, but it won’t do much to directly improve someone’s sport performance. The average person shouldn’t be looking to sports training to help prevent the aging process. There are a couple of things to remember: when you are looking at a high level athlete on television, they are genetically gifted. They probably achieved what they have relatively early on in life and with less training than the average person. The second thing to remember is that they are paid to do that and have a short career. The best athletes have a short shelf life. The average career in the NFL is less than 7 years. Are you willing to do all the training and exercise that they put themselves through to perform at that level? Brief, intense strength training can improve cardiovascular fitness. A study by a group of Spanish authors showed a 10% increase in cardiorespiratory fitness over 12 weeks with a program of strength training. If you’re already a Tour de France cyclist, adding resistance training isn’t going to do much to improve your performance. It all depends on who you are. Resistance training can definitely improve our health, improve our cardiovascular fitness, and improve our longevity and quality of life. Link: exercisecoach.com This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.

Oct 27, 2021 • 16min
What about Cardio? - Part 2: Fat Loss vs. Weight Loss, and How to Stay Strong and Lean into Old Age
We are replaying one of our most popular episodes for you this week! In part 2 of this series with Dr. James Fisher, Brian and James discuss the downsides of cardio and why so many people can’t seem to resist binging after cardio exercise. Learn why cardio is important and useful when done right, and how it can lead to even worse health outcomes if not done properly. While improving heart health is great, it’s not everyone’s goal when exercising or doing cardio. Weight loss is another major focus and cardio can certainly help accomplish that. When doing cardio and exercising at a low enough intensity we are using our aerobic energy system, and that’s reliant on our fat stores as energy. So it’s easy to think that if you do cardio you will burn fat, but the reality is that anything that raises our energy expenditure and increases our metabolism is beneficial for fat loss. Building muscle is great for maintaining a higher metabolism and burning more fat. With a low-intensity exercise, we see an increase in our stress hormones, as well as a fluctuation in our leptin and ghrelin levels. These are the hormones responsible for hunger and they regulate how our body replenishes and restores calories. When we do higher resistance training we don’t get the same hunger response. The big problem is that going for a long run or bike ride may feel great, but the following hunger response may undo all the work you just did. More movement and more steps in a day is a good place to start, but if you go out and start running, cycling, or swimming you are going to swim against the tide and your body will start to resist your efforts. Increasing muscle mass is about increasing the quality of our body composition, and that itself is increasing our metabolism. If you look at the bigger picture, cardio alone doesn’t lay the foundation for long-term weight loss. Studies generally show that the weight loss that occurs from cardio and a caloric reduction is 50% muscle, which is probably the worst possible outcome, especially as we age. Whereas if we perform resistance training and pay attention to protein intake the weight loss is almost exclusively fat. When people say they want to lose weight, they mean they want to lose fat. We need to do something that allows us to hang on to the muscle we’ve got. Starting with resistance training, and then nutrition, with cardio as a tertiary thought is the best method to achieve fat loss and optimal long term health. If we do what it takes to protect our muscle with proper nutrition and strength training, the weight that we lose leads to a better body composition since fat takes up so much space on the body. Start with resistance training and nutrition, then add cardio if you feel like it. When we think of older adults we think of frailty, despite the fact that they are often lean. The reason they are frail is because they are not carrying a high proportion of muscle mass. If we do resistance training and focus on maintaining as much muscle mass as we can when we age, we are setting ourselves up to be lean and functional as we age instead of merely frail. An epoc is Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption, it’s also known as the afterburn effect. When performing high effort exercise our heart rate is elevated for a time after the exercise is complete but with low-intensity exercise, there is almost no after-effect. The energy expenditure from prolonged low effort exercise is about the same as interval training or resistance training a third of the duration. A 20-minute high-intensity workout has the same energy expenditure as a 1-hour run. Link: exercisecoach.com This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.

Oct 20, 2021 • 23min
What about Cardio? - Part 1: Is It Possible To Improve Your Heart Health Without Doing Traditional Cardio Exercise?
We are replaying one of our most popular episodes for you this week! Dr. James Fisher answers the question once and for all, do we really need to do exercises like running, cycling, and swimming to improve our cardio? Find out the truth about cardio exercises and cardiovascular health and why you should get off the treadmill and start doing resistance training right now. The fundamental question is “What is cardio?” Even people who have seen the results of the 20-minute routines delivered by the Exercise Coach still wonder what place cardio has in physical fitness. Historically people have perceived exercise to be going for a run or what we think of as traditional cardio. Usually this takes the form of long duration and low intensity and focuses on aerobic energy production. The accepted wisdom is that cardio is just activities like running and cycling, but the truth is that any activity can become cardio exercise if done at the correct intensity. Cardio also raises the idea that we need to perform prolonged exercise to get the result, but that’s not necessarily the case. The trouble is that duration doesn’t necessarily translate to improved fitness. Someone going for a 4-hour walk isn’t going to see the results they would see from an activity with a higher intensity level. Cardio activities like running, cycling, or swimming improve our heart health because of the sustained elevation of the heart rate. While that’s true and that process also makes the heart and muscles more efficient, but it’s really the act of having the heart rate elevated for an extended period of time that brings those results and it’s not reserved for traditional cardio exercises. It is possible to be fit while still having an unhealthy heart due to lifestyle choices. Studies have shown that it is better to be fit and fat, than unfit. People who are overweight and exercise have better health outcomes than people with a normal Body Mass Index who don’t exercise at all. Exercises that we perform that are a high enough intensity and frequency can more than counteract any of the other lifestyle risk factors. There is growing evidence that shows that effective exercise alone and improving fitness is powerfully prophylactic in terms of health and longevity. Even if you no longer see visible fitness increases from your exercise, you are still catalysing positive changes at a cellular level and prolonging and improving the quality of your life. Traditional cardio exercises are not necessary to become healthy. Strength training exercises have similar results to traditional cardio training with similar cardiovascular health benefits. It also comes with less risk of chronic joint pain. Don’t feel tied to an exercise modality. Studies have shown that people have seen increases in cardiovascular health and efficiency with only a simple 12-week strength training program. Resistance training is the superior choice because, in addition to the cardiovascular benefits, you also improve strength, bone density, and muscle mass. Improved muscle quality is a jackpot outcome because it has a ripple effect that leads to all of the systems of the body getting better when we optimize the health of our muscles. Link: exercisecoach.com This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.

Oct 13, 2021 • 7min
Does Muscle Really Weigh More Than Fat?
We are replaying one of our most popular episodes for you this week! Brian Cygan and Amy Hudson break down the age-old question of whether muscle really weighs more than fat and why the number on the scale can be very misleading when you’re trying to improve your health and fitness. When many people start a strength training program, they look at their body composition and may wonder whether muscle is heavier than fat. The accurate answer is that muscle is more dense than fat. When people say that muscle weighs more than fat, what’s really being communicated is that muscle is more dense so it takes up less space within the body. Body fat is more voluminous. This is why you get a better change in body composition and physical health when you lose body fat as opposed to a combination of fat and muscle. The ideal approach to weight loss is to do what it takes to maximize fat loss, and the only way to do that is to combine whole food nutrition and whole effort exercise; science-based and intense strength training. If you don’t do strength training when combined with whole food nutrition, you will lose weight from both body fat and muscle mass. This can result in a slower metabolism and actually regaining the weight in the future. If you lose five pounds of body fat, you may not see a difference on the scale but still see a considerable improvement in body composition. You can lose more of your body mass overall even without losing a pound on the scale. The scale may not change over the course of the year but you will still feel stronger and have more energy and stamina. Get rid of the preconceived notions of what number on your scale means you’re healthy, and instead focus on adding strength, losing body fat, and feeling great. Link: exercisecoach.com This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.

Oct 6, 2021 • 16min
Should I Stretch Before or After a Strength Training Session?
We are replaying one of our most popular episodes for you this week! Before you jump into your next exercise session, learn why what you’ve been told about stretching is completely wrong and how it can actually increase the odds of you getting injured. Brian and Amy explore some common myths regarding stretching before and after exercise and discuss whether or not stretching is a necessary component of strength training. Do you need to stretch before you work out? There are a lot of prevailing myths around stretching and exercise and people are usually coming at this from one of two angles, either to prevent injury or to increase performance. In terms of preventing injuries, stretching has been shown in a number of studies to have no impact on the likelihood of injury. Even with uncontrolled environments like a sport, stretching doesn’t seem to have an effect on the odds of getting injured. There is a difference between stretching and a dynamic warm up, which is something that can be beneficial before physical activity. In strength training, the key to preventing injuries is to control the forces that the body is exposed to. Clients in the Exercise Coach undergo no intentional stretching before exercising. Static stretching before an activity does not reduce the odds of an injury, but it does have a negative impact on performance. Over a hundred studies showed that static stretching reduced the strength of the muscle by at least 5%. Stretching is like loading a muscle so it makes sense that it would reduce the muscular capacity. When it comes to stretching after a workout, there are a couple of things that people believe. The first is to reduce muscle soreness. The trouble is soreness is not a good indicator of whether or not you performed an effective workout and not everybody gets sore after strength training. Several studies showed that stretching, before or after exercise, has no impact on delayed muscle soreness. To actually prevent muscle soreness one of the best things you can do is get your body into motion sooner. It can take delayed muscle a couple days to set in, so getting in your next workout can prevent that. A common myth regarding strength training is that it will make your muscles tight or inflexible. It’s not the case that muscles lose flexibility as they get bigger, so the idea of stretching to prevent tightness is based on a false assumption. Resistance training has been shown to actually improve flexibility, not reduce it. It’s very common, especially people who have experienced the effects of aging, that when they start to engage in a safe and effective strength training program that they will start to move better too. The best way to gain flexibility is through the safe and controlled exercises available at the Exercise Coach. When we perform strength training, especially eccentric training, our bodies produce new proteins that contribute to making our muscles more flexible, which doesn’t happen with static stretching. The main takeaways regarding stretching is that you don’t need to do it to prevent injuries before exercise and it’s not necessary to prevent soreness or stiffness. It’s okay to stretch to relax, but it’s not a necessary component of a strength training program. Links: exercisecoach.com This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.

Sep 29, 2021 • 19min
Is High-Intensity Strength Training Safe For Seniors Too?
We are replaying one of our most popular episodes for you this week! Is it safe for seniors to perform high intensity strength training? The question is actually “is it safe for them not to?” Brian Cygan and Amy Hudson discuss the science behind strength training and why high intensity, whole effort exercise is one of the best ways to prevent the ill effects of aging, even if you are afraid of your joint pain or heart issues holding you back. A number of people are curious whether strength training is an appropriate exercise for them, especially as they get older. But the real question we should be asking is whether it’s safe for seniors to avoid strength training. The science indicates that there are a number of mortality benefits associated with strength training, and individuals who don’t engage in strength training over the long term are at a higher risk of premature death. For people in their 60’s, strength training has cognitive benefits, blood pressure and blood sugar benefits, and even bone density benefits. There are two levels of safety at the Exercise Coach, orthopedic safety and cardiovascular safety. Researchers have concluded that high intensity strength training, when done correctly, is safe for people into their 90’s. The benefits of performing strength training outweigh the risks of not doing so. Even older people with osteoporosis can benefit from strength training. High intensity strength training is safe and addresses directly the most important markers of healthy aging. From a cardiovascular standpoint, high intensity strength training has a positive influence on resting blood pressure. It’s common for Exercise Coach clients with high blood pressure to see their blood pressure normalize. Another study compared the impact of strength training versus traditional cardio in cardiovascular rehab. A large proportion of the people performing the cardio exercise as part of their rehabilitation experienced some kind of angina or chest pain, whereas the people in the strength training didn’t experience any. The slow and controlled nature of the exercises performed at the Exercise Coach is the key to making them safe for anyone to do. It’s possible to increase the intensity of the exercise without increasing undue stress on your joints or your bones with this method. The environment of the Exercise Coach is about as good as it gets from a Covid-19 perspective since it offers private sessions in a studio with a small number of people. Sarcopenia is the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and is really the root of a number of issues related to aging. It’s similar to the effects of muscle atrophy after an injury, and is linked to a number of the diseases of aging that we are most concerned about. The most effective way to combat sarcopenia is to engage in a meaningful strength training program. The data shows that whole effort exercise can reverse decades of muscle loss in a matter of 10 to 12 weeks. The more deconditioned somebody is when they start, the more profound the results they will see in a short period of time. Link: exercisecoach.com This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.

Sep 22, 2021 • 10min
Is Twice Per Week Really Often Enough?
We are replaying one of our most popular episodes for you this week! One of the most common questions we get at the Exercise Coach is “Is exercising twice a week really often enough?” Listen in as Brian Cygan and Amy Hudson explore why whole effort exercise twice a week is not only enough, it’s the optimal amount you need to achieve the best fitness results for your body in the shortest amount of time possible. Exercising twice a week is more than enough. In fact, exercising more often can actually be counterproductive. The most important thing you can do as you age is addressing the health of your fast-twitch muscle fibres. To stimulate and improve the quality of your fast-twitch muscle fibres the exercise needs to be intense and brief. When we work our muscles in this way it forces adaptations, which are the end results that we are seeking from an exercise program. The flipside of this intense exercise is that you need to give your body enough time to fully recover and super-compensate, which takes at least 48 hours. All the results we want from exercise, like increased muscle mass, strength, neurological efficiency, and improved insulin sensitivity, are not actually caused directly by exercising. Our bodies produce the results we want once we’ve achieved adequate recovery. If you exercise more frequently than twice a week, all we are doing is interrupting and disrupting the body’s innate ability to produce the very results we want. Overtraining can cause people to stall out and even go backward in terms of their fitness improvements. We should be able to measure the results of any exercise program, which is why this idea is built into every program at the Exercise Coach. If you’re not seeing results from your exercise routine, question whether your exercise is intense enough and whether or not you are giving your body enough time and resources to recover properly. During a workout, you are depleting the stored energy in your muscles so that they will build themselves back up over time. Your recovery time is just as important as your workouts. The consumption of your muscle’s fuel is a major metabolic signal that triggers these kinds of transformations. The answer to getting the best possible results is almost never just exercising more. The key is combining whole effort exercise and whole food nutrition to get all the results we want. Link: exercisecoach.com This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.

Sep 15, 2021 • 15min
What Kind of Weight Bearing Exercise is Best for Osteoporosis?
We are replaying one of our most popular episodes for you this week! Learn why strength training is the foundation to rebuilding bone strength and bone density and why osteoporosis isn’t a permanent sentence. Amy and Brian break down the research around bone density and strength training, what exercises you should do to strengthen the most vulnerable parts of your body, and what exercises you should avoid completely. Many people are recommended to engage in weight bearing exercise to help deal with the effects of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis and osteopenia affect millions of people of which 80% are women. Research indicates that as many as 1 in 4 women over the age of 65 have low mineral content in their spine or femur. Just moving around isn’t going to cut it in terms of reversing osteoporosis. People can be very active and still suffer from osteoporosis. You need to exercise in more meaningful ways to deal with osteoporosis and this means proper strength training. Strength training improves every system of the body for the better, and this includes the skeletal system. The goal of this kind of strength training isn’t to increase bone mineral density; the aim is to prevent future fractures. When you look at it that way, strength is the lead domino in that it improves strength, balance, and bone density. Sarcopenia also weakens the bones as well as the muscles as we age, so aiming for strength first will also address osteoporosis. Strength also acts as a shock absorber in the case where you experience a high impact force. There are two schools of thought on how strength training affects bone density. The first says that the results are sight specific and load dependent. The second says that it’s due to hormonal factors. Other research shows that your bones will not get stronger without sufficient loads. We need the bones attached to the muscles to be loaded in order for our bodies to send signals to the bones to get stronger. We need to perform exercise that directly loads the bones we want to strengthen, as well as perform exercise that creates the metabolic stimulus that elicits a full spectrum release of miocines. Building stronger bones takes time - up to multiple years to really turn around bone loss - which is often more time than it takes to see other health and fitness results. This is a path we have to travel in order to apply the level of muscle loading we need to grow stronger bones. Bone strength is a marathon, not a sprint. The very first step to improving bone strength is to begin a safe, effective strength training program. There are a few exercises that should be prioritized to strengthen bones, typically movements that address the hips, legs, and lower back. For anyone with osteoporosis, they should avoid overhead pressing movements and twisting movements. Link: exercisecoach.com This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.