Strength Training Does More Than Help Your Pain

I preach a lot about the benefits of getting stronger for not only getting out of pain, but also preventing it in the future. But there's an amazing side benefit to making strength training a part of your consistent routine.

For one, it increases your tolerance to physical activities outside the gym, like playing sports, skiing, running, and any recreational activity that you otherwise would have thought twice about if you had pain.

But a not-thought-about benefit of training and being generally active is that you think about food differently.

We live in a calorically dense world, with unhealthy food being more prominent and more readily available than healthy food. Our environment is set up for us to fail when it comes to a healthy body composition, and our national obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular health numbers reflect that. We have a terrible relationship with food.

But an interaction I had with a family member recently reminded me how much training helps this side of our health too.

We were, of course, talking about health because everyone knows I'm a coach, and I was snacking on a cookie as we were talking. He told me he was surprised I was eating that because I work out, and cookies are obviously seen as unhealthy.

I told him I did a heavy lifting day that morning, as well as a run in the afternoon and that I needed the calories. I had already gotten what I needed nutrition-wise that day (protein, nutrients, etc), and simply needed the calories to refuel and prep for a run I was planning the next day.

In one mindset, you think of sugar and carbs as the enemy and something unhealthy, and thus feel guilty when eating them. In the other mindset, the food is fuel for something you enjoy in life, plus you get to indulge in something objectively tasty.

Nutrition is ultimately fuel for the body, but because of how sedentary most of us are, we don't see it that way. But once training is a part of your life, you begin to look at food differently.

80% of my diet is pretty healthy food. It's enough to keep me going through a given day as well as fuel my workouts and training. The other 20% I indulge in less-healthy food that doesn't do much more than provide calories. But I can do that because I keep it in moderation and because it serves a calorie benefit to the output I'm generating in a given week.

I get the calories I need, plus I get to enjoy food. That's a sustainable combination. And it sets me up for success in an environment designed to make me fail.

We fail with body composition and health goals when we go in all-or-nothing. When we "go on a diet", that's usually extreme, but we regress when we inevitably go back to our usual eating habits.

Strength training as part of your consistent routine helps contribute to more sustainable eating habits and a stronger mindset. Food becomes both fuel and something for us to enjoy.

So get out there and lift some weights. And don't be afraid to eat that cookie.

To your good health,

Coach Stephen

---

Thanks for reading.

P.S.

Whenever you’re ready, here are a few additional ways that I may be able to help you.

Free:

Instagram: @CoachStrumos

*I share tons of bite-sized lessons and tips here

Paid:

1-on-1 Pain Management and Strength Coaching: Apply here