Training for Strength OVER Weight Loss, with Mark Breedon

My guest this week was Mark Breedon.  Mark is a weight neutral strength coach for women. Mark wants to remove the focus on weight loss and aesthetics, and instead encourage his clients to train to become stronger and live healthier, happier lives.
Mark wants you to focus on what you body can do as opposed to what it is supposed to look like.

Obviously Mark is preaching to the choir here and I knew before we got to chatting that we'd have a lot in common.

We chat about Mark's own experience of training for aesthetics and how things have changed since he shifted his focus and evolved his business.

We address the elephant in the room which is why Mark decides to exclusively train women, and we talk to the fact that the weight neutral space is still very female heavy.

What is the  minimum effective dose when it comes to training?

 Why do we need to lift heavier?  Can we not just use the same weights for more reps?

 We talk about why even though ALL strength training is beneficial, for adaptation to occur, we need to be periodically upping our weights at the gym or switching out our kettlebells at home.

We end by discussing cardio and why there is such an emphasis on cardio over strength for women 40 + - the Slimfast, Get in Shape Girl generation where 'a moment on the lips' and 'nothing tastes as good as skinny feels' where the memes of the day.

Perhaps that can go some way to explain our pre-occupation with shrinking our bodies and our reluctance to take up space, but maybe there's more to it........

If you are interested in working with Mark, he hangs out on Tiktok and Instagram or you can check out his website here.

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.

AND if you enjoyed this episode, please share and follow the 'Find Your Strong podcast' and if you have time, write us a short review. It would honestly mean the world. Love to you all, Ela & Christine x

Chapters

• 3:26 Introduction- Why Mark Got Into the Weight Neutral Space
• 5:33 Why Mark Decided to Work with Women
• 7:21 Is the Space Female Heavy?
• 9:19 The Benefits of Training for Strength and Fitness Goals
• 11:13 Planting the seed of weight neutrality
• 13:06 Mark's experience with his clients
• 14:41 Can weight on the barbell replace weight on the scale?
• 16:59 What happens when we reach our 'goal' weight?
• 18:36 Benefits of strength training for longevity and independence
• 19:13 It's never too late to start lifting weights
• 20:57 Training in the gym vs training at home
• 23:11 Don't let the fear stop you
• 25:09 More stimulus for muscle adaptation
• 26:59 Cardio vs Strength
• 29:03 The reluctance to take up space
• 30:44 A shift towards strength training is starting
• 33:00 Finding the gym that works for you
• 35:16 Mark's strength goals
• 38:17 How you can work with Mark