Strength Training: The Non-Negotiable Essential for Women

Strength training isn’t just about building muscle—it’s the foundation of long-term health, energy, and resilience. In this episode, Dr. Kelsy Vick, board-certified Doctor of Physical Therapy and pelvic floor PT, breaks down why resistance training is the true essential in every woman’s exercise handbag.

• We’ll cover:
• How strength training changes your body (neural adaptations + muscle hypertrophy)
• The benefits for bone density, metabolism, mental health, and longevity
• Why strength training matters at every stage of life—from puberty to post-menopause
• What happens if we don’t strength train (osteoporosis, sarcopenia, metabolic decline)
• The best framework: 3–4 days/week, heavy enough to reach fatigue
• The truth about Barre, Pilates, and sculpt classes—what counts and what doesn’t
• The importance of progressive overload, variation, and training with specificity

If you’ve ever wondered whether strength training is optional, this episode makes it clear: it’s not just one of the tools—it’s the core essential for women’s health, strength, and confidence.

Tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube to learn how to make strength training work for your body and your lifestyle.

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00:50- 02:04 The Exercise Handbag and Strength Training

02:05- 05:10 The Longevity Fund

05:11- 06:12 What is Strength Training

06:13- 08:23 How does Strength Training Build Muscle

08:24- 12:03 The Benefits of Strength Training

12:04- 16:44 The Pillars of Strength Training

16:45- 18:12 The importance of variety and muscular failure

18:13- 19:17 Next week sneak peek

I know you guys are probably so sick after

hearing so much about this next essential

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for our exercise handbag, but it truly

is one of the foundational elements.

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So let's dive in to strength training.

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Welcome back to Wellness Exists, the Pod.

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I'm your host, Dr.

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Kelsey Vic, a board

certified orthopedic Dr.

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Physical Therapy and a pelvic

floor physical therapist.

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And we've been covering the

essentials as part of our exercise

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handbags, which are basically the.

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Handbags that we might have different

styles that we enjoy, whether that's

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Pilates or bar or sculpt or yoga, but

the foundations and the essentials that

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we carry in those handbags should be

relatively similar across the board

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and just tweaked a little bit depending

on The style of handbag that we enjoy.

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So our first essential was high

intensity interval training

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and sprint interval training.

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Our second was jump training.

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Last week we chatted about

zone two and how it might not

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be as essential as we thought.

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And then this week we're adding strength

training, which truly is maybe one of the

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most foundational ones in the handbag,

especially as women and especially

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as women throughout the lifespan.

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So if you've missed any of those other

episodes, they do build on each other.

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So if you're missing a few key components

today, maybe check out the previous

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three and you might have a better

understanding of where this series has

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been and then where it's also going.

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So before we dive into strength

training, I have this concept

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called a longevity fund.

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And the longevity fund for me is basically

little deposits that I make into this fund

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throughout life that allows me to build up

a solid foundation for my health overall

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that I can pull from at a later date.

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So should I go through an injury or.

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Have something happen where I have

to take a significant amount of time

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from exercising off or a mental health

disturbance, anything like that.

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I have this longevity fund as backup

where throughout my life I've been putting

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little bitty deposits, whether that's

exercise, whether that's water, whether

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that's a healthy meal, whether that's

a meditation or a mindfulness practice,

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whether that's hanging out with my

friends to fill my cup, whether that's.

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Diving more into my faith.

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All of these little bitty deposits

into that longevity fund help

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to build that solid foundation.

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That way when I do get a little bit

older and my body's not as strong

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as it used to be, I can rely on

this longevity fund and rely on

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the foundations that I've built up.

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Over time, over my lifespan in order

to help me basically live life to the

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fullest in those final few years of

my life, final decades of my life,

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or when I undergo an injury, where

I'm not able to do all of the things

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that I'm currently able to do now.

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So a big motivation for me

in my own health and wellness

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journey is this longevity fund.

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It comes back.

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To me wanting to build this

solid foundation so that

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I can pull from it later.

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And from I guess a clinical standpoint

and from a physical therapist standpoint,

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a lot of the patients I work with,

those who have built solid longevity

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funds, who've exercised consistently,

who've eaten right, who've slept

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really well throughout their life.

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They heal better.

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They recover better.

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They have a better mindset going

into rehab, and my goal is to get

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everyone, especially girls, to

build up these longevity funds

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so that we're able to just push.

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Our bodies and how we interact with

the world forward that much more.

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I have so many patients who I

mentioned in the jump training episode

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where we talked about osteoporosis

and osteopenia and bone fractures.

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I have so many 80-year-old women who

have fallen and fractured their femurs

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or their thoracic spine or their lumbar

spine, their upper back, or their lower

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back, their hips, where we're working on.

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Helping them walk a little bit

better, helping their posture a little

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bit better after these fractures,

and after these injuries where?

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I know the research was not

there in the past to know what

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bone marrow density even is.

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Why are women affected more than men?

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So I think it's super important that we

start to educate about that and know,

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especially with bone marrow density,

it peaks way early in our lives.

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So helping people to understand that

women, especially, that this is the

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prime time to start to incorporate some

of these healthy routines, some of these

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essentials into your exercise handbag,

so that we can help build up our bodies,

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build that solid foundation for life.

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So I guess that's my big deeper why, and

one that strength training ties heavily

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into, honestly one that these essentials

in our exercise handbags ties to a lot.

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And honestly, one of the prime reasons

for the series because of how important

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it is that we really put little deposits

into each of our longevity funds.

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So as popular as strength training

is, it is for a very good reason.

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It's very protective against

a lot of different things.

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So not only does it help us with

our toning and our current aesthetic

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goals, but it also is protective

for our entire musculoskeletal

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system, our bone health, our brain,

our balance, especially as we age.

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So strength training

affects us positively Now.

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And way in the future, which is why

it really is the well-deserved popular

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girl that everyone's talking about.

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From the most basic standpoint, strength

training or resistance training is

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muscle contraction against an external

resistance to improve strength,

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endurance, or the size of a muscle.

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So the important thing to note is that

we are contracting against a resistance,

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whether that is shortening a muscle

or lengthening a muscle, or we can

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also have static contractions against

a resistance, such as like holding a

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platter in your hand when you're at

a dinner party trying to serve food.

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That's.

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An example of a static muscle contraction.

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But you can do the same thing with a

dumbbell or with a weight, or with a

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band or a variety of external resistances

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so how does strength training

actually affect us physiologically?

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The very first mechanism.

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That we gain strength by is actually

through neural adaptations, which is

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basically improving the connection of

our brain to our skeletal muscle fibers.

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Initially.

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Strength training increases our ability

to recruit those motor units, which is

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basically a collection of muscle fibers

that are stimulated by a motor neuron.

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Our bodies figure out what to recruit.

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Better when we start a strength

training program, nerves are how we

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communicate with those muscle fibers,

and so this first little strength gain

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that you might experience is actually

based on our neural adaptations, which

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basically means better communication

between our brain and our muscles.

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Not necessarily increasing the size

of the muscles, but how we communicate

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from our brain to our muscle tissue.

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So physiologically, we also

experience muscle hypertrophy.

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So when we lift a super heavy resistance,

our muscles undergo small micro tears or

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micro damage that basically stimulates

a rebuilding and repair process.

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That is why rest and

recovery is so important.

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Exercise is actually the stimulus

for muscle growth, but it's not

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where muscle growth happens.

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It just stimulates that micro damage

to cue our bodies to send in all

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of those Resources to repair and

rebuild stronger than we were before.

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So muscle is repaired and rebuilt

during the recovery Exercise is

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just the stimulus for that repair.

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Our body is queued to reinforce that

area so that we can handle the load

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better next time, which is why it's

also important that we consistently load

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the muscles bit by bit over time in a

heavier way so that we don't become static

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and plateau at a certain resistance.

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We always want to be pushing that

threshold a little bit more to

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stimulate that muscle hypertrophy.

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Depending on how you train different

reps, schemes and set schemes,

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your muscles will improve in size.

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They'll improve in overall strength,

You can look at it as how much weight

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you can lift for one, repetition.

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The maximum amount of weight or strength

training can also help with muscular

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endurance, so a sub maximal load.

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So a lighter load, a lot of repetitions

compared to strength, which is a

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high resistance for one repetition.

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So we've chatted about some of the

benefits of strength training, but

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here's a little bit of a list, and

I know you guys have heard them, but

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it's truly important and it truly does

affect so many systems within our body.

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Strength training increases bone

marrow density, so important for women.

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We chatted about this with the

jump training episode previously,

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but when we stimulate muscles, we

are also stimulating the bones.

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By working our muscle tissue.

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We're also stimulating bone growth

and bone reinforcement in those areas

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of the muscles that we're working.

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We also get improved metabolism with

strength training, decreased risk of

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cardiovascular disease, diabetes in

some cancers, improved mental health and

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cognitive function, especially as we age.

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Strength training also improves balance

and decreases fall risk as we age.

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I've mentioned fall risk a

lot, but it's so important.

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And I know a lot of us are in our

twenties and thirties, and it's not

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something we're thinking about right now.

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But as a physical therapist,

I can tell you it is something

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that a lot of my patients think

about, especially as they age.

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Strength training can also, of course,

improve your posture and reduce pain,

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and there's huge mental health benefits.

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A few of the benefits by age, knowing that

strength training not only affects us now

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even earlier as adolescents, but also well

into our eighties and nineties as well.

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So for adolescents, up to 40% of our bone

mineral density is accrued during puberty,

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which basically means that strength

training helps to set the foundations

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for our entire musculoskeletal system.

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It also helps to fine tune movements

As adolescents, we're trying to learn

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new movement patterns and strength

training really reinforces that when we

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are younger girls, and then it reduces

injury risk, especially in sports.

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In our twenties and forties,

strength training helps to maintain

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bone marrow density and fight

against that bone breakdown.

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It also helps to build lean mass,

which is muscle mass and support a

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healthy weight by balancing our body

composition, helps our reproductive

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health and menstrual cycle symptoms

and our menstrual cycle regularity.

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And it also, of course, reduces

the risk of injury and helps our

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recovery after injuries, which a lot

of the time in our thirties is when

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our bodies start to be like, oh.

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I can no longer do this, or, oh, I

can't warm up quite as well as I used

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to and jump into it as quick as I can.

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So strength training's super important

throughout our twenties and forties as

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well for perimenopause and menopausal

women, it counters the menopause

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related bone loss and muscle loss.

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Strength training also counters the

metabolic changes and weight gain and it

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helps with hot flashes, mood and sleep.

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And then in women, 50 plus helps to

preserve strength, reduce fall risk,

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fights against chronic diseases,

protects against pelvic floor

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symptoms as we age, and then also

fights against cognitive decline.

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So these are just a few,

but it basically shows.

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That strength training really does

tap into so many systems within

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our body, and it truly should be an

essential in our exercise handbag.

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And to spell it out for you, I guess if

we don't strength train, it can lead to

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osteopenia, osteoporosis, which is weak

or frail, fragile bones, and then an

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increased risk of fracture as we age.

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It can also lead to sarcopenia or

muscle loss, and as we age, it's also

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a lot harder to build that muscle.

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So again, setting that foundation

not only for our bone health, but

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also for our muscular health in

our earlier years of life, is huge.

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Without strength training, we

also have an increased risk for

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falls, fractures, cardiovascular

diseases, and metabolic changes.

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So basically a strength training's great.

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We need to incorporate it.

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So as far as a basic framework for

strength training and the current strength

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training recommendations, the guidelines

are three to four days a week of strength

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training hitting each body region twice.

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So whether you do two upper body days,

two lower body days, three full body

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days, one upper, one lower, one full

body, you can mix it around as long as

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you're hitting each body region twice.

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It is recommended about two to four sets

of each exercise with the important part

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being that you reach muscular fatigue

no matter what weight you're lifting.

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The weight should just be heavy enough

that you are able to reach fatigue

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within that, like I'd say maybe one to 30

repetition range depending on the style

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of exercise handbag that you choose.

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And we'll talk about that a

little bit later 'cause that

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can definitely get confusing.

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Strength training and your strength

training routines are also a great

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place to add in jump training.

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Super easy to go straight from squats

and to squat jumps, and really get

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like more bang for your buck during

each session rather than having to

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say, oh, I'm jump training today.

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I'm strength training tomorrow.

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You can totally combine them.

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External resistance is hugely important.

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We actually need that stimulus, we need

that weight, that external resistance,

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whether that's body weight, whether

that's actually lifting a dumbbell

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in order to create change and create

that micro damage within our system

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to cue that repair and rebuilding.

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So when they say in class, I've taken

some classes where they say, bend your

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elbow, create your own resistance,

straighten your elbow like you're pushing

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through, creating your own resistance.

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That is you mentally trying to create

that resistance rather than actually

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having that external resistance, which

is a key component of strength training.

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So it's still great for you.

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It still might get mobility.

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It still might help with that

mind muscle connection, but it's

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technically not strength training.

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So how do we incorporate strength

training knowing that we all have

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different handbag styles that we prefer?

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It's very hard to make a one

size fits all recommendation.

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10 pounds for you might feel like

five pounds for me, and vice versa.

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Someone might be able to

do five pound bicep curls.

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Someone might be able to do

25, and that's their limit.

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So it just totally depends on your body,

your foundation, your prior history of

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exercise and what your body can tolerate.

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But here's a few guidelines and

things to look out for, depending on

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the style of workout that you enjoy.

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So if you're an at home workout,

girly or a gym, girly lunges, squats,

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bicep curls, bands, weights, cables,

there's so many ways to implement

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external resistance, especially

at the gym, but at home as well.

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You also have body weight and you

can add more weight through dumbbells

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or bands or household equipment.

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That's also totally external resistance.

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When you think about bar Pilates

and sculpt, I know this is probably

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where a lot of the judgment comes

in, where bar you're usually using

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like one to three pound weight.

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Same with sculpt.

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It's usually lighter weights where you

see all of these other girls lifting

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1520 pound dumbbells for bicep curl bar,

sculpt Pilates classes typically utilize

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a little bit of a lower weight range

and a little bit of a higher rep scheme.

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So it definitely is a form of resistance

training, but the important thing is

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that you're reaching muscular fatigue no

matter if you're lifting one pound, two

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pounds, three pounds, or 15 or 20 pounds.

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So although it might be a lower actual

dumbbell or lower weight, you usually

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will have to do more repetitions in

order to reach that muscular fatigue.

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So we wanna reach muscle failure

prior to form breakdown, no matter

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the type of resistance or strength

training that you're performing.

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They've also shown that 25 to

30 rep ranges can help with

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things like aesthetic goals.

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those body composition changes

that a lot of girls want.

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And it can also help with mitochondrial

capacity, which if we think about

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it, mitochondrial capacity endurance,

we're doing those higher rep ranges,

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which usually equate to endurance.

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However, these lower loads, so

one to three pound dumbbells,

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higher reps of 25 to 35.

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Are not going to improve your

strength substantially unless you're

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starting from ground zero where

you haven't lifted weights before.

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Where lifting one pound is actually a

large jump from what you used to lift.

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If you're coming from a sort of trained

environment, lifting those one to three

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pounds, don't expect that to transfer

over to being able to lift a heavier box.

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If you think about it.

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You're lifting one to three pounds

35 times, that's not going to

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help you lift a super heavy box

one time when you're moving it.

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It makes sense logically.

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We want that specificity,

so it does have benefits.

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It is resistance training as long as

you're meeting the principle of muscular

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fatigue prior to form breakdown,

but do not expect your strength to

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actually improve with that lower

weight, higher repetition scheme.

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I think some of the true benefits come

when we actually vary, when we stick

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to one stimulus for a long period of

time, whether that's a three pound

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weight for 35 reps, or whether that's

a 25 pound weight for four reps.

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If we stick to that.

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For too long of a period of time,

we're going to experience plateaus.

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So variation in the amount of weight

you're lifting, the amount of reps

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you're doing, the exercises you're doing,

the direction of the exercise you're

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doing is actually hugely beneficial.

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That's why I love when girls tell

me I strength train, but I also do

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sculpt, or I do Pilates and dance.

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Like it's a way to get that strength

training, but vary it a little bit

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so that you're not consistently doing

six repetitions of bicep curls at 15

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pounds, you're gonna plateau after that.

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So it's very good to vary it so

that we don't start to plateau.

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So to sum it all up, the key for

strength training is we want to

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reach muscular fatigue, muscular

failure prior to form breakdown.

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We also want to progressively overload.

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We don't wanna plateau, so we want

to continue to increase either weight

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amount or the amount of reps that

we're doing, or the amount of sets

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we want to continually progress.

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We also want to include variability,

whether that's in the exercises we do,

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the weights that we're lifting, the

amount of repetitions that we're doing.

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We want to vary it to offset some of that

plateau, but we also want specificity.

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So if you really are training for a

big move coming up, you're not gonna

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want to be doing as much low weight,

higher repetition things in order

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to protect yourself with moving.

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you really wanna train how

you're going to perform.

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We've now covered the popular

girl in our exercise handbag.

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Definitely an essential for us as

women, especially now and as we age.

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So if you've missed the previous

episodes of high intensity interval

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training, sprint interval training,

we chatted about cortisol.

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In that episode.

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We did jump training and bone marrow.

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D and we've also done zone two training.

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If you've missed any of those episodes,

take a look at the ones right before this.

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We are doing this exercise handbag

series throughout September, so We

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still have one more essential to cover

and I'm excited to dive into it next

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week because we're actually talking

about the nervous system as well.

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So I hope you're excited.

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I hope you got a lot

out of today's episode.

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You learned something about your

body as a female, and I would love if

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you shared this episode and actually

taught another woman about strength

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training and her body as a female.

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That's my huge goal with this podcast

is just large scale education.

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So again, that we can all build our

longevity funds and really just push

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like girlhood and womanhood forward.

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So when we're all 80, we're gonna be up

in the mountains skiing, like no issue.

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That would be wonderful.

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So I hope you guys enjoyed this episode

and I'll see you guys again on the

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next episode of Wellness B, the pod.