The strength of your muscles and the density of your bones are two of the biggest predictors of how independent, mobile, and pain-free you'll be in your 60's, 70's and beyond.

Building muscle through strength training lowers: menopause symptoms (including the frequency and severity of hot flashes), type 2 diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, frailty (falls, osteoporosis and fracture risk), & all-cause mortality.

This isn't debatable. There are decades of research confirming it.

The question is: What will get you to start building your muscle mass and bone density?

Because look, I get that the gym may feel like a foreign land. Or maybe you go to the gym but don't have the comfort or confidence to use the free weights. 

Here's what we've learned: If you've already tried exercise but struggled to stay motivated...
It's not your fault.

Universally, women have experienced so much wounding around our body, our self-image, our weight and our worth. Every time we step foot in the gym, that stuff gets activated. For a period of time, maybe you're motivated to strong arm yourself into it. But for many of us, the pain we encounter wins. 

The good news is there are 3 essentials that consistently create success for women feeling good in the gym, good in their bodies, and good in their bones. They are what we eat, how we move, and how we talk about ourselves. And what we've learned is that the self-talk is actually the most important anchor.