Stronger Bones, Stronger Women: The Benefits of Strength Training

In today’s episode of the Pulling Curls podcast, Hilary Erickson is joined by fitness expert Kaleigh Cohen to discuss the importance of strength training for women. They dive into the benefits of resistance training, especially for bone health and overall functionality as we age. Hilary shares personal stories and insights, while Kaleigh offers practical tips on how to get started and find the right weights for your workouts. Tune in for an empowering discussion that could transform your exercise routine and health trajectory.

Find it here on Apple or Spotify Podcasts

Big thanks to our sponsor Family Routines — if you want to get some strength training in your life — this is the key!

Today’s guest is Kaleigh Cohen. Kaleigh has two YouTube channels, Kaleigh Cohen Cycling & Kaleigh Cohen Strength. She creates indoor cycle & strength programs that will transform you into an unstoppable force.

Links for you:

Kaleigh’s other episode on exercise in pregnancy (episode 248)

Timestamps:

00:00 Pulling Curls podcast: pregnancy, parenting, routines, YouTube.

06:05 Start with basic weights; focus on form.

07:24 Working out despite weight challenges; gradual progress.

10:23 Workouts help me discover and surprise myself.

Keypoints:

• Discussion on the importance of strength training for women’s overall health, especially as they age.

• Introduction of guest Kaleigh Cohen, who runs two YouTube channels focused on strength training and cycling.

• Personal anecdotes from Hilary about her mother’s severe bone issues and how it motivated her to take strength training seriously.

• Explanation of how resistance training helps increase bone density and overall strength.

• Clarification that strength training won’t lead to unwanted bulking up due to different testosterone levels in women.

• The misconception that walking alone isn’t sufficient for comprehensive strength training benefits.

• Recommendations for starting weights for beginners: light (5 lbs), medium (10 lbs), and heavier (15 lbs) sets, emphasizing good form.

• Encouragement for even small, consistent efforts in strength training, such as 10 minutes, three times a week.

• Personal insights from Kaleigh on how exercising helps her manage life’s challenges and improve other aspects of life.

• Call to action for women to start strength training, regardless of age, to avoid future bone-related health issues and maintain functionality.

Producer: Drew Erickson

Transcript

[00:00:01.410] – Hilary Erickson

Hey, guys. Welcome back to the Pulling Curls Podcast. Today on episode 252, we are talking about strength training for women. Let’s untangle it.

[00:00:10.600] – Hilary Erickson

Hi, I’m Hilary, a serial overcomplicator. I’m also a nurse, mom to three, and the curly head behind Pulling Curls and the pregnancy nurse. This podcast aims to help us stop overcomplicating things and remember how much easier it is to keep things simple. Let’s smooth out those snarls with Pregnancy and Parenting Untangled, the Pulling Curls Podcast.

[00:00:38.790] – Hilary Erickson

This episode of the Pulling Curls Podcast is sponsored by Family Routines. If you are looking to make margins in your life where you have some room to do extra things like strength training, come join me where we help you prioritize what you really want to do with your family and maybe even get those kids to help out a little bit more.

[00:00:56.690] – Hilary Erickson

Today’s guest has two YouTube channels, one about strength, one about cycling, and I join her a few times a week on YouTube so that I can do them with you. I want to introduce today’s guest, Kaleigh Cohen.

[00:01:08.110] – Hilary Erickson

Hey, Kaleigh, welcome back to the Pulling Curls Podcast.

[00:01:10.540] – Hilary Erickson

Thank you.

[00:01:11.100] – Kaleigh Cohen

I am so excited to be here again. This is just so much fun with you, Hilary.

[00:01:14.750] – Hilary Erickson

Yes. So we actually just recorded an episode on exercise and pregnancy, but I was like, we don’t need to leave out all my non-pregnant listeners. Let’s talk about strength training for women, because I feel like growing up, they were like, let’s do aerobics.

[00:01:29.800] – Hilary Erickson

Now I’m older than you, Kaleigh. Let’s just put that out there. But the more I’ve researched strength in women’s lives, the more I’m like, oh, we got to do this.

[00:01:40.020] – Kaleigh Cohen

Absolutely. And for real, it has become my passion to just share how much you can gain from just strength training in your life, especially for women who are hitting that menopause age, and even well after that. It makes such a huge difference in your everyday life. So I love it, and I am so excited to talk about it. Yeah.

[00:02:06.010] – Hilary Erickson

So a little backstory, Kaleigh already knows this, but my mom has bones that are like pretzels. So she got knees done, both femurs broke after she got knees done. It cracked her femurs. And then she recently broke one ankle, went septic, it healed, and then she fell and broke both ankles.

[00:02:25.270] – Hilary Erickson

Literally, it looks like a pretzel, like somebody just stood on a little stick pretzel on X-rays. So in seeing all of this, as I am 47 at the time of… Wait, am I 48? I think I’m 48 at the time of this recording. I’m like, I only have a few more years of estrogen flowing through my body. It’s time to really take strength seriously. I have done pretty lightweights here and there. I loved the Firm back in the day. I don’t know if Kaleigh, do you remember the Firm?

[00:02:53.360] – Kaleigh Cohen

That sounds super familiar. Was there a step?

[00:02:57.270] – Hilary Erickson

Oh, there’s a step. They are like step for wives because They are all perfectly in sync, perfectly with smiles plastered on their face. There’s no sweat at any point, no frustration. I did the firm for a long time, and I was really into that, getting with my Stepford Wives, doing exactly what they were doing. But let’s add heavy weights. That’s what I’ve been doing in the last year, and I am excited to talk about it because we got to grow our bones, ladies.

[00:03:25.990] – Kaleigh Cohen

Absolutely, yes. And that is one of the benefits of strength training is increasing your bone density, which you wouldn’t think so. But I should mention, resistance training kind of umbrellas all of the things.

[00:03:42.330] – Kaleigh Cohen

So I’ll interchange strength training and resistance training. Strength training generally falls under barbells, dumbbells, things like that. So just to put it out there, because there are so many other ways of resistance training that you can do kettlebells, exercise bands, resistance bands, all those things. So just as an umbrella, strength resistance will be interchange with my lingo today.

[00:04:04.910] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. And the beauty is that you can really make a good variety of it. You don’t have to just stick with dumbbells, because in my head, I was like, I’m going to have to get a bench and I’m going to be like Popeye with these big arms.

[00:04:19.110] – Kaleigh Cohen

And that’s another misconception that women are just going to bulk up, and you’re right, look like Popeye. And we don’t want that. But that’s not how strength training will go for us, because we don’t have the same amount of testosterone. So women will generally take a more lean look when they start adding strength training to their routines.

[00:04:38.810] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. And I think that’s what… Well, we all want Michelle Obama arms, right? That’s what we’re hoping for.

[00:04:43.520] – Kaleigh Cohen

Yeah, exactly.

[00:04:46.430] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. And the other thing, a lot of my friends are like, Oh, I just go on walks. And I do think walks are such a great thing for so many different reasons. Vitamin D, getting outside, fresh air, walking with a friend, therapeutic. It’s amazing. Walking with a great podcast. Absolutely. Yeah. But walking isn’t particularly resistance training, right?

[00:05:07.470] – Kaleigh Cohen

No, it’s not really. You don’t necessarily have that weight-bearing aspect that you need to gain all those benefits that you would from resistance training overall or strength training.

[00:05:17.910] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. And it’s just in one range of motion, I always seem. I walked for a long time, but my joints were in a one way. We only go one way.

[00:05:28.290] – Kaleigh Cohen

Exactly. Yes, that’s really true. That’s another really good point, because when you do add resistance training, you’re going to be moving all the different joints in the upper body and the lower body, all the things. So there is that aspect of strength training that really encompasses the entire body as opposed to walking.

[00:05:47.160] – Hilary Erickson

What weight do you suggest most people start at? I just have dumbbells. I have those little tiny dumbbells you can pick up at Walmart. I do not have a barbell. Not interested in that. My husband has some bow and arrow type thing that he’s always like, You should try it. And I was like, I would rather die.

[00:06:04.210] – Kaleigh Cohen

I don’t even know what that would be. So that’s actually really interesting. But that is a really good question because I think part of the most intimidating… One of the most intimidating things of strength training is just getting started because it can be so overwhelming.

[00:06:18.580] – Kaleigh Cohen

You’ve got dumbbells and, like you’ve mentioned, benches and stuff, but you don’t need anything fancy. If you just have a couple of sets of weights to begin with, so the weight that you would select if you’re just starting out will vary. To be honest, when you stick with it, you’re going to have to up your weights probably pretty quickly. But just to make sure as you start out, because I always say getting solid form in your workouts is going to be key, and picking the proper weight for yourself is part of that form.

[00:06:50.500] – Kaleigh Cohen

Starting out, if you had a light, medium, and heavier set, even 5, 10, and 15 pounds, and then from there, work your way up. One thing to is honestly just go into the store and just pick them up and just do 30 seconds of bicep curls. And if you can get away with it with ease, you’re like, This was easy, then that’s probably not where you want to start.

[00:07:12.360] – Kaleigh Cohen

You probably could up your weight a little bit from where you are. So we can test them out in the store and see, too, how we feel. Same with squats. You can check your upper body and lower body right there in the store and then make your decision.

[00:07:24.930] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. It’s such a triumph when I’m like, I think I’m going to try it. I’m going to order… And I I just went up to 10. I don’t want you guys thinking that I’m like… So I do like a 5, 8, 10 when I’m working out with Kaleigh because that’s where I’m at.

[00:07:39.070] – Hilary Erickson

I also have a lot of weight on my body right now that we’re working to get off. But if you guys listen to my weight loss episode that was earlier in the season, I’ll also link to that in the show notes. But if you’re already working with your body overweight, adding more can maybe make you sore. I’m trying not to hate it too much.

[00:07:58.710] – Kaleigh Cohen

Yeah. Well, good. See, that’s the thing. You don’t want to hate it. So wherever you are, wherever you feel like starting, start there, because that is going to be the best place for you to start. Because that is the one thing with any type of exercise, really, is you don’t want to get overwhelmed and you don’t want to get discouraged right out of the gate, because that just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. No one wants that.

[00:08:16.310] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. Or being so sore the next day. You can’t even sit down to pee. Yeah, right.

[00:08:21.460] – Kaleigh Cohen

You’re like, The toilet and the stairs are my enemy right now, and I do not want to go to you. Yes. So I totally get that for sure.

[00:08:29.680] – Hilary Erickson

Okay. Okay. Do you have tips for people who are like, I don’t know about strength training, anything to get them started? By the way, follow Kaleigh on YouTube. I found her workouts, and I was like, I really like that she struggles a little bit. She challenges herself on her weights.

[00:08:42.330] – Hilary Erickson

As we’re recording this, she’s 37 weeks pregnant, still filming workouts, and she’s not so bright and bubbly that I literally want to kill her because I work out at 05:00 AM. So really, when they’re just like, Let’s go. I’m like, Let’s drive a knife into your heart.

[00:08:58.000] – Kaleigh Cohen

Yeah, let’s not. But that’s funny. So when you’re getting started, and we actually talk about this in the pregnancy podcast, is just do what you can to start out. Even if you just start out small, just start where you are. Start.

[00:09:12.130] – Kaleigh Cohen

Because once you get started, you’ll find that you’ll go longer and longer each time, or even that workout in that time that you’re there, that five minutes is going to turn into 10, 15, and 20. I would say the biggest thing is just start, even if it’s five minutes, and go from there. Because you will find that you will love it. And so that’s how I always feel. I mean, there have been a lot of people that I’ve worked with who started and question why we’re doing this. And then after a few sessions, they’re like, I get it. I’m like, yes, you get it. There we go.

[00:09:46.200] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah, that’s amazing. I will say when I was researching it on myself, getting my bones thicker, they were 10 minutes, three times a week. 30 minutes of strength training can really make a difference in your bones. And in my head, I was like, okay, I can do 30 minutes a week. That’s something that’s doable for me. And now I’m increasing that just because I like the benefits and I feel like it could be helping me lose weight, et cetera, and just feel better.

[00:10:08.980] – Kaleigh Cohen

If you just start it for that… If you pick that one reason and just stay dedicated, just for even, like you said, 30 minutes a week, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish from there.

[00:10:20.430] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. Anything else? What do you love about working out, Kaleigh?

[00:10:23.040] – Kaleigh Cohen

What I love about working out is it’s that time for me to just let go of everything else, not worry about anything, and just find out what I’m capable of. Because I think sometimes we get so bogged down in life that we are just going through the motions, and we don’t have that opportunity to really step out and just take charge of something.

[00:10:44.020] – Kaleigh Cohen

I feel like when I am doing my workouts, that’s a time for me to really just find out what I am capable of. I usually surprise myself.

[00:10:53.650] – Kaleigh Cohen

Now, every day is not like that, but when you have those days, they’re really good. Those are what always bring me back.

[00:10:59.110] – Hilary Erickson

And they remind you that you can be capable like that in other areas of your life, in your business, in parenting, especially parenting teenagers. I can breathe through this. We’re going to be fine.

[00:11:08.580] – Kaleigh Cohen

Exactly. Yes. That’s what I love, too, is just how what you take away from your workout will actually spread all throughout the other aspects of your life, not just in the weight room or whatever exercise you might be doing.

[00:11:23.930] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. I’ve seen the benefits all through my life, so I can’t recommend people to try it out more. Our moms, the people that are my age, our moms made the mistake of not using weights, and we’re seeing that they’re having to go to nursing homes to assisted living earlier because of their bones.

[00:11:41.020] – Hilary Erickson

Like, mentally, they’re there. They’re still great with my kids, but they’re going to have to go somewhere else because they just can’t hold themselves up. They don’t have the function that they need to live on their own. Yeah.

[00:11:51.470] – Kaleigh Cohen

And that is really a struggle to see. But really, at any age, you can start training. So don’t ever feel like it’s too late for yourself to start if you haven’t yet, and you will still see those benefits come through.

[00:12:06.780] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. And hopefully, I’m hoping that now that I’m doing it now, once I hit menopause, which will probably be in the next year or so, no, probably a couple of years, I’ll feel the benefits even more and keep functional and all those different kinds of things. I just don’t want to end up with pretzel bones.

[00:12:24.000] – Kaleigh Cohen

Yes. No, for sure. It makes such a big difference, especially during that time of your life. I have heard so many benefits from women who do the workouts that have experienced positive outcomes during that time because of their strength training.

[00:12:38.000] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. All right. Thank you for coming on, Kaleigh. Thank you for your workouts, even if I swear at you sometimes at 5:00 AM.

[00:12:44.310] – Kaleigh Cohen

Well, thank you for working out with me. It’s always my favorite to have someone to work out with. It makes the workout way better.

[00:12:50.170] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. All right. Thanks, Kaleigh Cohen.

[00:12:53.520] – Hilary Erickson

Guys, I hope you enjoyed that episode. I can’t tell you that the more I’ve shared my mom’s issues, other people have tell me that their mom has had similar issues, and I know none of us want to be in that situation as we get older. So let’s grow our bones together. Let’s keep doing strength training. Thank you, Kaleigh, for all the good work you do out there. I love that your YouTube channel is free and totally available for all of us to check out and do, even if I swear you every now and then.

[00:13:22.160] – Hilary Erickson

Thanks for joining us on the Pulling Curls Podcast today. If you liked today’s episode, please consider reviewing, sharing, subscribing. It really helps our podcast grow. Thank you.

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