Can strength training help with insulin resistance?

On Ep. 159, Dr. Morgan Nolte, a geriatric physical therapist whose work focuses on reversing insulin resistance, uses a garage analogy. The bigger your garage, the more cars you can park before they spill onto the driveway. Muscle is the garage. After a meal, glucose gets stored in muscle as glycogen, and the more muscle you have, the less spills over into fat tissue. She mentions a stat of roughly 80% of the glucose we eat going to muscle, though she frames that number as approximate. She also suggests pairing meals with some movement to reduce the insulin response.

Her baseline recommendation is strength training at least twice a week, at moderate to high intensity, covering all major muscle groups. She calls it the cornerstone, with cardio and flexibility rounding out the program. She also points out that menopause plays a part: as estrogen production changes, many women notice belly fat showing up without changing how they eat or train. That is not a willpower problem, and it is worth discussing with your doctor.

On Ep. 108, Nikkiey explains that muscle helps regulate blood sugar by using glucose for energy, which means your body handles carbohydrates more efficiently. She says this matters most if type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance or high A1C runs in your family, and that even with a diagnosis, strength training can help lower how intense it is. She shares that WarriorBabe members have reported better A1C results, coming off cholesterol medications and reversing type 2 diabetes. Those are member stories, not promises, and any change to medication should go through your doctor.

The takeaway: if cutting carbs and doing endless cardio has not moved the needle, it is the plan, not you. Building muscle gives your body somewhere to put the glucose.