Dr Abbie Smith-Ryan: The exercise physiology scientist on why all women should lift weights and eat more protein

For far too long the main health and fitness message directly at women of all ages was along the lines of “move more, eat less”, thanks in no small part to the toxic diet culture and body image pressure heaped upon women for generations.

Yet a far better mantra, and one infinitely more useful to improving the health, fitness and wellbeing of all women, is “lift weights and eat more protein”.

Because for decades women have been told to do hours of endless and monotonous cardio on tiny amounts of food, while all the while a far healthier approach is to exercise to build muscle and bone strength, increase lean muscle mass and improve metabolic health through lifting heavy weights, eating more nutrient-dense protein, and taking science-backed supplements, such as creatine, to improve training performance.

This is the view of Dr Abbi ...