Why is the internet shouting at us to "lift heavy shit" and only eat protein?
And is there any actual truth to it?
If you’re anything like me, your social media feeds and for you pages are chock full (and have been for some time) of reels about protein and lifting heavy weights and how it will change your life/save your life/make you live until 135. It’s all very noisy, and it’s not always easy to work out what is true, and helpful (and how to apply in, you know, reality world where we live), and what is just another nutrition and exercise trend…
So today I thought we could dig into this together, and tackle the question: do we really need to “lift heavy shit” and only eat protein?
This is going to be a short substack this week because, well, basically the answer is yes!
There you go, that’s it- just get yourself down to the gym 10 days a week, start stacking up your barbell, lift heavy shit and then eat 6 raw eggs and a tuna and banana sandwich. Easy, right?
Erm no, not easy and if you’re anything like me you want to know (and actually understand) the reason why. I want to know the reasons why we’re given this advice, not only as a female runner, but also why it might benefit me as an older female runner. Why does this matter and why should I give it any on my precious time, attention and resources? And, again, crucially, how do I actually put it in to my life in a sustainable but meaningful way?
As we get older, we all naturally lose muscle and strength, this is a given, if you do nothing at all, the research suggest that you can expect to lose up to 8% of your strength each decade after you turn 30, and this decline accelerates even more after the age of 60. Putting this into context, if you are a non-active individual, by the time you reach 55 years old, you could be 20% weaker than you were 30.
Why does this matter? For me personally there are two fundamental reasons why it matters, I want to continue running into really old age, and I want to continue crawling and climbing in soft play areas with my grandchildren (I also want to continue breaking down the stereotype of what an old granny can do).
But also, I witness a lot of runners be hampered with reoccurring aches and pains- shoulder pain, back pain, plantar fasciitis, tendinopathy- it’s frustrating when they’ve spent so much time learning how to run, learning how to build a solid aerobic foundation, only to take 10 steps back if they try to add a bit of speed into their training week.
I hope I didn’t offend one of my clients last night as I tried to, rather ham-fistedly, explain why strength training was so important after they told me that their hamstring had pulled yet again when they tried to increase their speed in one of their weekly runs. The analogy I told them was to compare a well-trained runner’s aerobic engine to that of the finely tuned engine of a Ferrari- smooth, efficient, delivering continuous power- a runner’s breath is like the purring of the exhaust of the sports car. But, if a runner neglects strength work then their bodywork- all the muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments- can become similar to the ageing frame of a clapped-out Ford Cortina, rusty panels and creaking joints. Ok, it might still run, but without any care, corrosion can set in. And over time, rust leads to corrosion, leading to breakdowns that are not only harder to fix, but also threatens the longevity of keeping going, because, a powerful engine is nothing without a strong chassi!
Everyone likes being compared to a clapped out Cortina, right?
But it’s really not all doom and gloom and we’re certainly not ready for the scrap heap- because the good news is you can put muscle back on and retain more of it through, guess what, yes, “lifting heavy shit”.
Our hormones have a huge role to play in all this. Oestrogen is essential for muscle stem cell function and maintenance as it’s the main driver for muscle mass and strength. Oestrogen protects muscles, improves regeneration and aids recovery. A natural part of a runners structured training programme usually involves a cycle of stress, recovery and adaptation, known as periodization. If you add an interval session, hill sprint or run a longer than “normal” run, you create a small amount of damage in your muscle fibres, the body naturally breaks downs the muscles, then rebuilds them to be stronger and more resilient, helping you run faster and longer over time. And oestrogen plays a key role in this process- it helps reduce inflammation, supports muscle repair and ensures the new muscle tissue formed is strong and efficient. However, when oestrogen levels fluctuate and start their demise in perimenopause the body’s ability to recover and regenerate from hard training sessions, longer runs etc is impaired.
For runners, this means it might take longer to recover from tough sessions, and the quality of muscle adaptations might not be as high. Over time, this can lead to a higher risk of injury, slower progress, and potentially a shift toward storing more fat, especially around the midsection. Essentially, as oestrogen declines, the balance between breaking down and building back up shifts, making it harder to maintain strength, speed, and endurance. Studies have shown that when oestrogen has been taken away from animals their ability to regenerate muscle stem cells plummets by 30-60%.
So, what does this mean?
Not only do we experience natural decline in muscle mass and strength as we age, but more significantly as female runners, the decline in oestrogen has further impact and this can happen years before we reach menopause (perimenopause can start in late 30s and can last up to 10 years before you are classed as post menopause). Basically, the decline in oestrogen can intensify the natural age-related deteriorating processes, which can ultimately lead to quitting running.
But what can you (and I) do about it?
Building true strength involves increasing the maximum force that your muscles can generate in a single contraction, which translates to how much weight you can lift or move at once. It used to be that women were told to lift light but often, but we know now that this won’t lead to achieving true strength. I think this is something my generation have had to get their heads around, it was ok for women to “tone up” but building muscle? That wasn’t for girls! However, to send the right signals to your brain to recruit all the available muscle fibres, it is essential to engage in heavy lifting.
I’m not one to encourage weight loss etc, I’d rather be strong than thin, but I can’t keep it a secret that lifting heaving weights, has shown to increase your metabolic rate, which means you burn more fat.
And if you’re still not convinced that lifting heavy weights is for you because you’ve read that it has a negative impact on your running, then some great research has been published showing runners who lifted heavier weights compared to runners who lifted lower weights for higher reps, had significant improvements in their running economy and their VO2 max.
The role of protein
I know that when I’ve looked at how much protein I “should” eat in a day, I’ve just been left overwhelmed and wondered how on earth I’m going to do that, steak for breakfast anyone?! But protein isn’t just about meat, you can find protein in yoghurt, nuts, cheese, eggs - I think some of the difficulties lie in meeting our protein targets are in changing our mindset, because we’re now being told to actual eat! And eat more than we’ve ever been told to over many years of being told “eat less, move more”, 78 – 104 grams of protein alone in a day is way more than 2 bowls of Special K!
However, combining heavy strength training with substantial protein intake is highly effective in stimulating muscle protein synthesis and promoting muscle growth. Consuming a significant amount of protein after lifting weights also extends the anabolic window - the period during which the body is most receptive to muscle building; for up to four hours post-workout.
But HOW?
You don’t have to head down to the gym, you could start small at home, heavy shit = body weight! What do you do every morning without fail, put the kettle on? Turn your hair straighteners on, brush your teeth?
Whilst your waiting for the kettle to boil, start doing single leg squats, stand on one leg, bend the leg, straighten the leg, 10 each side, or do 5 press ups, on your knees to start off with, or whilst your hair straighteners are heating up, find what works for you and then if you want to progress, do your research, find a good gym who understands what female runners need or a PT who would do small group training with you and your friends. It’s definitely worth the investment.