YouTube star ended up in coma after giving birth to second child due to rare complication
Kate and Joey are already parents to son Moon, five, and welcomed baby number two - a daughter named Mars - during a home birth at their residence in Hawaii on May 22.
Their first child was born inside a hospital via C-section, but the influencer wanted the 'magical' experience of giving birth naturally and at home, she explained during an interview with People published on Friday.
'This is my second kid, my last pregnancy. Let me challenge myself and go for this,' Albrecht told the outlet.
Kate saw both a midwife and OB-GYN during her second pregnancy and after nearly 24 hours of labor - their baby girl was born.
Afterwards, the mom-of-two went to the hospital for a checkup and to get stitches after suffering a tear amid labor. Kate was told she was 'fine' by doctors - but two weeks later the star had a horrifying health scare that initially had gone undetected: eclampsia.
She began to suffer different symptoms at the beginning of her postpartum journey, including headaches and pain around her mid-back area.
'I was so tired and so sore. I felt like, "Wait, this is supposed to be easier. I'm supposed to recover from a natural childbirth easier than a surgery," but I was bedridden,' Kate recalled.
Her husband Joey - who also joined in on the interview - explained that she had been seeing an OB but was told '"This is the healing process."'
When she also saw doctors over her stitches, the media influencer opened up about the pain she was feeling but, '[They] just said, "Oh yeah, well, you went through natural childbirth. Oh, you're a migrainer. You have headaches."'
Kate had been at home one day with her newborn baby girl and a family friend when she decided to take a nap due to not feeling well.
The star remembered falling in the hallway and into a wall. Her friend helped her into bed and soon reached out to Joey - who was away with son Moon at a party.
He wasn't too far away and soon arrived home - and noted to the outlet a film crew was shooting a scene nearby on the same street.
Joey emotionally recalled entering their bedroom to find Kate 'unconscious' and 'blood coming out of her mouth.'
After not being able to wake her up, he called 911 and sent the friend outside to see if there was a medic on set of the film - and luckily there was.
The medic arrived to find Kate had begun to have a seizure and after being quickly updated on the situation, the medic speculated she had eclampsia.
According to Mayo Clinic, postpartum preeclampsia is a 'rare condition' that 'sometimes develops up to six weeks or later after childbirth.'
It also 'can cause seizures and other serious complications' if it is left untreated.
She was intubated upon arriving to the hospital and Joey explained, 'At that point, she was then in a medical coma.'
Following tests, Kate did not have any brain bleeds and was transferred to the ICU. Joey left the hospital late that night, but even at home, would call nearly every hour to get any updates.
The next day, she awoke and was able to breathe on her own. Her husband said, 'I was like, "You had eclampsia. Yeah, the babies are fine." You're like, "What's eclampsia? What's that?"'
A blood clot had also been found on one of her kidneys, which had caused the pain she had been experiencing in her back.
Last month on June 9, Kate was discharged from the hospital and was happy to return home to see her son and newborn daughter.
The couple explained that they felt like they had been 'prepared' for everything - and never thought she would suffer from the rare medical condition.
She had even done tests that check for preeclampsia during her pregnancy, but those had also turned out 'fine' at the time.
Kate admitted that the situation 'was literally my worst nightmare' but offered a positive update.
'My family is okay. They're thriving. My baby's thriving. She's fine, and I'm good and getting better every day. I'm trying to make this into a positive, trying to find the positive in this horrendous experience.'
Over on Instagram, she also gave a message to their fans and followers on Friday.
Along with sharing photos of herself with baby Mars, Kate penned: 'I know a lot of you have seen the People article and have been worried and sending your love and we are so thankful for you! We are OK!
'We just posted the entire raw and real birth video on our YouTube channel (link in bio). It's the most raw video we've ever made.'
She added, 'Birthing naturally was by far the hardest thing and I really didn't think I could pull it off, but I did!
'Mars, Moon and Dada @joeyzehr and I are happy, healthy and healing now! We are working on a second video to tell the rest of the story.'
The mom-of-two concluded with, 'We are so thankful for all of you. The Creative Weirdo family is literally the best community on the internet! ❤️❤️.'
Mr. Kate first began as a blog in 2009 and has since blown up to a successful YouTube channel which currently has 3.79 million followers.
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Medical News Today
an hour ago
- Medical News Today
Might a combination of 2 cancer drugs help treat Alzheimer's disease?
Researchers are actively seeking treatments or a cure for Alzheimer's diseaseOne current research avenue is to look at currently-approved medications that are used for other diseases, an approach that is called drug repurposing. A new study has identified two cancer medications that may help overturn brain changes caused by Alzheimer's disease, possibly slowing or even reversing the disease's symptoms. Researchers all over the world are actively seeking treatments or a cure for Alzheimer's disease — a form of dementia currently impacting about 32 million people globally. The medications used right now for Alzheimer's disease are designed to only help treat symptoms and slow disease progression. One avenue scientists are taking in an effort to find treatments for Alzheimer's disease is by looking at currently-approved medications that are used for other diseases, an approach called drug repurposing. 'The idea of drug repurposing or identifying new uses for existing drugs, can speed up the drug discovery process because the compounds already have been tested for toxicity and adverse events,' Marina Sirota, PhD, professor and interim director of the University of California — San Francisco Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute explained to Medical News Today.'Alzheimer's disease is a complex disease, which is very difficult to treat so we need to use all the tools possible to speed up drug discovery and help patients,' said SirotaSirota is the co-senior author of a new study recently published in the journal Cellthat has identified two cancer medications that may help overturn brain changes caused by Alzheimer's disease, possibly slowing or even reversing the disease's symptoms. Focusing on cancer drugs letrozole and irinotecanFor this study, researchers began by using past studies to assess how Alzheimer's disease changed gene expression in brain cells, mainly neurons and glia. 'Glia cells are non-neuronal cells that provide support and protection to neurons in the nervous system,' Sirota explained. 'By targeting both neuronal cells and non-neuronal cells (glia) we hope to be able to more comprehensively target disease pathophysiology.' From there, scientists then took the gene expression signatures they found and used a database called the ConnectivityMap, allowing them to examine thousands of drugs to find ones that reversed the Alzheimer's disease gene expression signature.'We started with a set of 1,300 drugs and narrowed it down to the combination of letrozole and irinotecan through data driven analysis using both molecular and clinical data,' Sirota said.'We first identified compounds that reversed the cell type specific disease signatures back to normal based on the gene expression profiles. We then further filtered the list to the candidates that affect several cell types,' she explained.'Then we wanted to see whether patients who are on those drugs already have a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease by querying electronic medical records across the UC system,' she continued. 'This has allowed us to narrow our list down to a handful of drugs and focus on this combination.' The analysis of electronic medical records did indeed show that both drugs were associated with a significantly lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, confirming the of cancer drugs reverses brain cell damage, reduces protein build-up in mouse modelNext, researchers decided to test the combination of letrozole — used to treat breast cancer — and irinotecan — used to treat colorectal and lung cancer — in a mouse model of aggressive Alzheimer's disease. At the study's conclusion, Sirota and her team found that the drug combination overturned multiple aspects of Alzheimer's disease in the mouse model, including undoing the gene expression signature changes in the neurons and glia caused by the disease. Additionally, researchers found the combination cancer drugs helped reduce the amount of amyloid-beta and tau proteins in the brain, which are known hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. 'This tells us that multiple levels of evidence — molecular data, clinical information and mouse model experiments are all aligning to tell us that these compounds might be helpful for Alzheimer's disease patients,' Sirota further noted that:'While we don't know the exact mechanism of how these drugs work to treat Alzheimer's disease, we know that irinotecan is a chemotherapy drug that works by inhibiting the enzyme DNA topoisomerase I, specifically targeting the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle. Letrozole's mechanism of action involves inhibiting the enzyme aromatase, which is crucial in the biosynthesis of estrogen.''However, we don't know whether it is the main aforementioned mechanisms or off-target effects of these drugs which might help Alzheimer's disease patients,' Sirota cautioned. 'Additional experiments need to be carried out to better understand how these two drugs might work together to combat Alzheimer's disease in patients.'Using 'big data' and inventive approaches to find potential Alzheimer's drug targetsMNT had the opportunity to speak with John Dickson, MD, PhD, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, about this research. 'This is an interesting and innovative paper that uses 'big data' to aid in identifying potential drug targets to treat Alzheimer's disease and then tests candidates in a preclinical model of Alzheimer's disease,' Dickson, who was not involved in this research, said.'Combining the use of transcriptomic data from brain tissue from Alzheimer's disease patients, drug perturbation studies in cell lines, and patient data from electronic medical records was an inventive approach to identifying and narrowing down potential drug targets,' he Dickson's view, 'the decision to use a dual-therapy approach and plan to target multiple cell types with this strategy was also innovative.''The combination of drugs showed beneficial effects on the memory testing and neuropathological findings in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. In addition to identifying two potential candidate therapies for Alzheimer's disease, this paper also provides an experimental paradigm for identifying new drugs to treat a variety of conditions,' he look at repurposing existing drugs for Alzheimer's treatment? MNT also talked to Clifford Segil, DO, a neurologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, about this study, who said it is refreshing to see data that supports improving memory loss through a novel mechanism that is not related to current therapies that work on brain acetylcholine, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), or amyloid.'This study's design is smart and the data is captivating,' Segil, who likewise was not involved in the research, added. 'Repurposing medications already being used has been extremely rewarding in neurologists and I truly hope something grows out of this research.' And Peter Gliebus, MD, neurologist and director of cognitive and behavioral neurology at Marcus Neuroscience Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida, also not involved in the research, commented to MNT that this was a promising and exciting study, and said that repurposing existing drugs offers several advantages. 'Faster development since these drugs already have established safety profiles, which reduces the time and cost required for clinical trials,' Gliebus noted.'Cost-effectiveness [is achieved] by avoiding the high expenses associated with developing new drugs from scratch. And [this approach has] a broader impact, as many existing drugs may have unexplored mechanisms that could address complex Alzheimer's disease pathologies, such as neuroinflammation, synaptic dysfunction, and metabolic deficits.''Given the high failure rate of Alzheimer's drug trials, repurposing provides a practical and efficient pathway to identify effective treatments,' the neurologist concluded.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
‘I don't regret I stopped breastfeeding to take Ozempic. I should have done it sooner'
I remember standing in the bathroom that October morning in 2023, exhausted, staring at the scale. The number – 88kg, or about 13 stone – hit harder than I expected. I wasn't shocked, exactly, but I had been avoiding the scale for months. Something about seeing that number in black and white made it feel official: I didn't look or feel like myself anymore. My maternity clothes were still too tight. My face was fuller, my body unfamiliar. The baby was here, and healthy and I was grateful for that. But I was lost. I'd been through this cycle before. When I became pregnant with my firstborn, Lewis, in early 2019, I weighed around 65kg, or three stone lighter, which is more or less where I'd always been. At 5ft8, that felt like home: a stable, healthy weight where I had a good relationship with food and with myself. I was in my early thirties – young enough to 'snap back' after pregnancy (or so I thought). Yet, I was more preoccupied with it than I imagined – after his beautiful birth (a low-stress C-section since he was breech), one of the first things I did was get on the scale. Yet I was baffled: how does a baby weighing seven pounds result in a loss of only five, I thought? Postpartum, I did drop a few more pounds, eventually to around 77kg or 12 stone, but never below that again. Granted, I didn't diet or exercise particularly aggressively – I'm not built that way – but I stayed stuck. Then, later into my thirties, came Luke, my second son. I stopped looking at the scales midway through. Regardless of the fact that my body was doing this miraculous thing, despite how overjoyed I felt to have two healthy boys, I couldn't prevent the wash of shame – and anxiety, disgust, even – that seeing '15 stone' on my record post-birth provoked. I carried guilt along with the extra weight. Breastfeeding was supposed to be straightforward. According to the thousands – the parenting circles, the health campaigns and comment sections – who religiously repeat the mantra, 'breast is best', and, they'll add, it burns calories! It'll help you lose your pregnancy weight! Yet, that's not exactly a proven theory – and, for so many women, it just doesn't work. Plus, behind the slogans lies a trap of judgment and internal conflict: women face pressure if they can't breastfeed and pressure if they do – especially beyond six months, pressure that is linked with increased postpartum anxiety. The moment that someone stops early, even pain-ridden or supply-stricken mothers, a new wave of judgment from formula-shaming peers, and even loved ones. Couple that shame, then, with the enduring stigma of postpartum weight loss, and with the new judgment du jour – using injectables like Ozempic. Behind closed doors, in hushed voices at the playground, there are plenty of us talking about it both in the US, where I live, and the UK. In fact, I've noticed an increase in women around me using injectables, some to get them back to their pre-pregnancy weight, many of them stopping breastfeeding to do so. Reportedly, though I've never been invited to any myself, there are WhatsApp groups for so-called 'sema[glutide]-mums' – and, though I was able to get mine through my own doctor and work benefits in the States, many end up paying through the nose for it themselves. But, in the end, like me, they had to put their own mental health first. For me, breastfeeding Lewis was agony: I had bleeding nipples, terrifying letdown pain, a baby who fed for ages and still seemed unsatisfied. I alternated between breastfeeding, pumping and formula. When nothing helped, I felt I had failed. When I switched fully to formula, I felt relief and – you guessed it – more shame. With Luke, I tried again: this time I battled low supply, consulted lactation consultants, fixed his tongue‑tie, used nipple shields – but still, nursing felt like torture. I couldn't sleep at night; the obsessive feeding schedule crushed every ounce of mental stability. Two pregnancies and years of disrupted sleep and self-care meant I was stuck. Not just in my body, but in the overwhelming pressure to 'snap back'. The idea that 'bouncing back' – re-emerging with their pre-baby bodies weeks after delivery – is only reinforced by media that praises celebrity mums who manage it, and highlights those who retain their postpartum weight as failures. There's a catch though, as we're now learning: you might be negligent if you remain overweight – but medicating to lose it? Also, not good enough. According to most (admittedly) literature and experts, taking Ozempic while breastfeeding is not recommended – while we know the substance transfers to milk, we don't know the effects that might have on the baby. I knew that, while some people take it alongside nursing their babies, I wouldn't have ever taken that risk. So, by October 2023, I had stopped breastfeeding Luke out of sheer discomfort and in an attempt to regain parts of myself I had lost. My energy was gone. My self-esteem teetered at the edge of collapse. Food noise was intolerable – breastfeeding had left me so hungry, and my hormones were all over the place. I would wake up in the night and eat a whole bag of sweets, or go to McDonald's and compulsively order 20 chicken McNuggets – it was all so out of character and out of control. I thought that taking my ADHD medication again – from which I'd abstained during breastfeeding – might help me shed a few pounds, but when it didn't, I went straight to plan B: Ozempic. I was lucky that I had people around me supporting me, some of whom, like my mother-in-law and a friend, had safely used weight loss injectables themselves. That made the decision seem less shameful. I chose the lowest dose (0.25mg) to begin with, and then doubled it. The shift was magical: within days, food stopped crowding my mind. I wasn't waking at night to binge. My appetite, finally, felt normal and I wasn't having destabilising side effects. My son was thriving on formula – finally happy to have more than enough to eat – and within weeks, I was slipping back into my pre-pregnancy clothes. And the success only continued. By the middle of last year, I was back down to around 10 stone. I'm not skinny – but that was never really my prerogative. More importantly, I felt stable, energetic, and I felt like myself again. I could chase my kids around, feel present and engaged. Ozempic was never laziness or a cop-out – it was medicine that helped me restore a version of myself I'd lost. Of course, the shame still lingers in some circles. There's one friend I know I'd never tell (though I wouldn't lie if she asked). Despite the fact that she's a nurse, she made very strong comments about being 'against' the drugs when I was first going on them (I found it interesting to find out that she took them herself around six months later and lost 10kg). Some friends I've never told because they've never asked, others think I lost the weight another way, oblivious to the internal struggle I had to wage. It's not unusual to be discreet about it – judgment is still rife and, sometimes, you just have to protect your own peace. It's why the 'secret jabbers' (people feeling pressured to hide their Ozempic use) phenomenon is so widespread. Somehow, it's seen as a moral failing of sorts to use it over diet or 'self-control'. As a result, experts are calling for weight-loss medication to be understood as treating a chronic condition, not as a so-called shortcut. I believe that women should be able to make their own informed decisions about their own babies and their own bodies. I don't regret stopping breastfeeding early. I also don't regret taking Ozempic. These choices helped me reclaim my body and my mental health. They gave me energy, restored my confidence, and let me move freely in my life again. The more women who hear this without stigma – that whatever choice you make will be best for you and your baby – the more women who hopefully will avoid spiralling in private shame. Maybe someone will feel more at ease skipping another painful feeding session, or feel brave enough to ask their doctor about weight-loss medication without embarrassment. Ultimately, a cultural shift is needed: less 'fat talk', more celebration of postpartum diversity. Fewer whispers of 'just eat less' and more acceptance of body change – especially the radical transformation that pregnancy and birth prompts – as a part of life. Let's say that freedom from food noise is worthy. Some women might find healing through treadmill miles, others through letting go of milk and allowing a drug to help them reset. That's me and I can say, hand on heart, that it's been nothing short of life-changing for me. Currently, I weigh around 68kg (10.5 stone). I don't feel fat. I don't feel ashamed. I do feel healthy. And I do feel at peace with myself and able to enjoy being a hands-on mum. I'm still trying to find balance – some days I eat better and move my body more than others, but that's OK. I learned that my worth isn't tied to the size of my jeans or anyone else's opinion about that. The only regret I have is not doing it all sooner.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
The science-backed exercise method that can help fight the effects of ageing
At 10 years old, Danny Matranga wanted to be a basketball player, devoting countless hours to honing his skills and developing his athleticism. That was also the year his father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. 'I had this contrast, seeing what it's like to lose your physical function, then also experiencing my own journey of gaining more physical function. It became apparent to me that exercise was much more than just a tool for athleticism and aesthetics,' Matranga explains. 'I said, 'You know what? I cannot save my dad, I cannot fix this, but I can hopefully empower other people to not only develop their body, but also protect against disease.' For this reason, he became a personal trainer, choosing to specialise in strength training due to the emerging research around its benefits for both body and brain. Since then, further studies have cemented this training method's status as a top option for those looking to exercise for health, longevity and maintaining physical function. This is why it is believed by many, Matranga among them, to be the most important type of exercise you can do to live well into your later years. Read on to find out more about the science-backed benefits, and how to get started. First things first: all exercise is good Just because strength training is framed as 'the best' here, that doesn't mean other types of exercise are without merit. Any physical activity you do is highly likely to provide myriad benefits – movement truly is medicine. A 2011 study published in The Lancet monitored the medical screenings of 416,175 people over the course of 12 years, then split participants into one of five activity level groups: inactive, low, medium, high or very high. Those in the low activity group completed an average of roughly 15 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per day, but this accessible figure still saw them record a three-year longer life expectancy than those in the inactive group. 'Every additional 15 minutes of daily exercise beyond the minimum amount of 15 minutes a day further reduced all-cause mortality by 4 per cent and all-cancer mortality by 1 per cent,' the study states. Moderate-intensity exercise is any form of activity that elevates your heart rate and has you breathing harder, but still allows you to hold a conversation – be that strength training, walking, running, cycling or otherwise. Strength training, however, has a whole host of bonus benefits that make it a wise use of your time – particularly when viewed through a longevity lens. The bonus benefits of strength training, especially as you age Sarcopenia and dynapenia refer to the age-related loss of muscle mass and muscle strength or function. According to a review published in the Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 'muscle mass decreases by approximately 3 to 8 per cent per decade after the age of 30, and this rate of decline is even higher after the age of 60'. Further possible effects of sarcopenia and dynapenia include an increased risk of falls and reduced physical capacity, as well as a consequent increase in fat mass, decreased bone density, increased joint stiffness and 'increased incidence of insulin resistance in the elderly', the review later adds. 'All these changes have probable implications for several conditions, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and osteoporosis,' it concludes. Strength training, which bolsters muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments while also improving balance, coordination and heart health, is the natural antidote. The Live Active Successful Ageing study, published in the British Medical Journal Open Sport and Exercise Medicine journal in 2024, explored the long-term effects of strength training – otherwise known as resistance training – on adults at retirement age. Hundreds of participants were placed in one of three groups: those put through a year of supervised resistance training with heavy loads (relative to the individual's strength level), those tasked with completing regular moderate-intensity training, and a non-exercising control group. Four years on, 369 participants returned for an assessment – the average age was 71 years, and 61 per cent were women. Those who lifted heavy weights still had higher strength levels then before they started the programme, whereas the other two groups saw a decrease. They also maintained higher levels of lean body mass (or muscle) than the other two groups. The study concluded: 'In well-functioning older adults at retirement age, one year of heavy resistance may induce long-lasting beneficial effects by preserving muscle function.' Another 2023 study published in the GeroScience journal linked twice-weekly strength training sessions, performed for 12 weeks, to positive effects on cognitive health in adults aged between 60 and 80. It states: 'Findings suggest that resistance training seems to elicit alterations in various neurometabolites that correspond to exercise-induced 'preservation' of brain health, while simultaneously having its beneficial effect on augmenting muscle functional characteristics in older adults.' In short: it's good for both your mind and body, helping maintain physical and mental function as you age. How to start strength training Whatever age you are, and whatever age you start, strength training will deliver significant benefits if performed correctly. To illustrate this point, Matranga spins his camera around during our Zoom interview to reveal a woman in her eighties performing textbook Romanian deadlifts in his fitness studio. 'It's actually unbelievable what she can do – it's not normal, but it's normal for us here,' he tells me. 'It still blows my mind. We're seeing all of this research that's just now coming out, and I think, 'Hey, if you want samples of well-ageing adults, they're right here in the gym.' I feel like the research is starting to echo what I've been seeing for a long time, so I really want to encourage more people to start strength training.' Rather than jumping straight into a hardcore training plan, he recommends starting with one or two full-body sessions per week – 'You're only going to make progress equal to the amount of work you can recover from, and a new exerciser can't recover from an advanced routine. We want to start at a level that is appropriate for our fitness level, and it only takes two days a week to change your life.' Workouts can take as little as 20 minutes and comprise just four moves, Matranga adds. 'When you're a novice, you can go into the gym and do a pushing exercise and a pulling exercise [like a chest press and a bent-over row] for your upper body, something like a squat for the front of your legs, something like a deadlift for the back of your legs, and then you can walk away after four exercises having trained every single muscle in your body,' he says. To begin with, you can use the workout below twice per week to work your whole body with just a couple of dumbbells. Practice the exercises without weights at first to reinforce favourable form, then work up to a weight that challenges you when completing the target number of repetitions. The key pillars of successful strength training It is helpful to work with a trainer when you first start strength training. This can allow you to perfect your form for each exercise – like any physical activity, lifting weights is a skill that needs to be learned. Beyond this, there are a few fundamentals that need to be present for this pursuit to be successful. Consistency: The body adheres to the SAID principle, which stands for specific adaptations to imposed demands. Put simply, it adapts to become better at the things we consistently ask it to do. Lifting weights sends a clear signal that we need stronger muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons, among other positive physical adaptations, but it needs to be done regularly to maintain this message. One or two times per week is a good place to start. Challenge: To provide a stimulus sufficient for triggering positive changes, strength training has to be somewhat challenging. After all, if an activity feels easy, why would the body need to adapt when it's already up to the task? This doesn't mean you need to lift incredibly heavy weights – 'challenging' is a term relative to the individual. Instead, experiment to find exercises, weights and target numbers of repetitions that cause you to feel the 'burn' in the target muscle, Matranga advises. Alternatively, you can perform repetitions until your muscles tire to the point that you are forced to involuntarily slow down your movements. Always stop short of the point when your technique breaks down, however. Progression: Doing the same workout, week in, week out, will initially deliver benefits for beginners – because they are new to strength training, they need less stress to trigger adaptations. But progress will soon plateau. To see continued results, progressive overload is needed. This refers to the process of gradually and incrementally increasing the difficulty of your workouts in line with your improving strength and fitness levels. The easiest ways to do this are increasing the weight you're lifting, upping the repetitions you're performing per set or raising the number of sets you complete of an exercise. For example, if the workout above starts to feel easy, the following week you could add a couple of kilograms to the dumbbells, aim for 20 repetitions per set rather than 15, or perform four sets of each exercise rather than three. What benefits can you expect to see after a few months of strength training? 'The first thing you're going to notice is improved energy and perception of energy,' says Matranga. 'You're going to feel like you have more juice. 'You will definitely notice you have more speed, power and balance in your movement too. I'm not saying you will be a freak athlete, but you will be able to get off the sofa easier and walk a little quicker.' These are the first impacts of strength training that his clients tend to report. They are soon followed by tangible changes to their bodies, both inside and out. '[With an appropriate diet] you might start to see changes – typical results with strength training are weight loss, of course, but also changes in muscularity,' Matranga continues. 'Glutes could be lifted, arms might be more toned or pecs might be firmer – the things a lot of us are looking for aesthetically. 'Then after a few months, that's when we can start to see real health improvements like better regulated blood sugar, better regulations of blood lipids, better bone density, better blood pressure and better heart health too.' Strength training isn't for me Matranga says he often experiences pushback from people who are hesitant to start strength training because of its somewhat bullish reputation. However, once they get started, it is the training modality he has 'had the best luck getting people to stick with'. 'Resistance training is so much safer than conventional wisdom has said over the last couple of decades,' he says. 'A lot of people think, 'If I go to the gym and do a deadlift, my back is going to explode, or I can't do squats because they are bad for my knees'. But if we actually look at the literature, resistance training is really safe. 'It's safer than running [and most sports] because it's very controlled and rehearsed. There's no dynamic movement, you're not on a slippery court or a field, so the injury risk in resistance training is very low.' He also says it is a good option for newcomers to exercise. Firstly, because strength lays the foundations for all other forms of exercise – you can't do any physical activity if your body is not strong enough to tolerate it – and secondly, because it is scalable. If you can't do a bench press, you can do a press-up. And if you can't do a press-up, you can drop your knees to the floor or elevate your hands to make the move more accessible. You can also use resistance machines in gyms to learn the movements behind certain exercises in a more stable environment. 'As with so many exercise modalities, the lowest barrier for entry is actually above most people's capability,' Matranga adds. 'I have never met a person who couldn't do a machine chest press or a cable lat pulldown or an assisted squat, so I really love that resistance training is beginner-friendly and safe, despite what many people think.' Of course, if you have any underlying health conditions, it is always worth checking with a medical professional before starting a new exercise plan. But Matranga's point still stands: strength training is far more accessible than most people realise, and the payout is immense.
