FOUNDATIONS: STRENGTH

Strength That Lasts

If movement is medicine, then strength is your long-term insurance policy. Building and maintaining muscle isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s one of the most powerful tools you have to protect your health, extend your independence, and increase your quality of life.

Why Muscle Matters

Science is crystal clear on this: muscle mass and strength are among the strongest predictors of longevity. Here’s why:

• Insulin Sensitivity
  Even if your had been living under a rock, you would still have heard how damaging spikes in blood sugar can be. Our convenience driven society has traded quality for speed and with it our food has been loaded with sugar and chemicals that are cheep to create and get you hooked. Muscle tissue acts like a sponge for blood sugar. The more muscle you carry, the better your body manages glucose and the lower your risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

• Bone Density
  Strength training loads your skeleton in ways no other exercise does. That stimulus tells your bones to stay strong, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures as you age. Squats, shoulder pressing, push-ups, are good examples of weight loaded exercises.

• Metabolic Health
  More muscle means a faster resting metabolism. You burn more energy even while sitting still.

• Resilience & Recovery
  When you get ill, injured, or even just stressed, muscle mass acts as a buffer. It gives your body reserves to draw on.

• Longevity & Independence
  Being able to get up from a chair, carry your shopping, or play with your grandchildren into later life often comes down to one thing: muscle.

How to Build It

Strength training isn’t complicated. The key is progressive overload, gradually asking your body to do a little more over time. That can mean lifting heavier weights, doing more reps, or moving with more control.

The essentials:

• Train 2–3 times per week. Consistency matters more than intensity.

• Focus on big compound moves that work multiple joints and muscles: squats, deadlifts, presses, pulls, lunges, carries.

• Use progressive resistance: start light, increase gradually.

• Rest enough. Muscle grows during recovery, not just in the gym.

• Balance strength with mobility and breathwork so you stay supple and calm as you grow strong.

Busting the Myths

• “I’ll get too bulky.” Muscle gain, especially for women, is slow and modest. What you’ll notice is tone, posture, and energy not bulk.

• “I’m too old.” Research shows people in their 70s and 80s can still gain strength and muscle with training. It’s never too late.

• “Yoga is enough.” Yoga builds mobility, awareness, and some strength, but it doesn’t replace the specific bone and muscle stimulus of resistance training. Together, they’re a perfect pair.

Your Invitation

If you’re new to strength training, start simple: bodyweight squats, push-ups, and rows with resistance bands. Build the habit first. If you’re more experienced, add structured sessions with progressive weights. The goal isn’t to look like a professional bodybuilder. The goal is to feel capable, resilient, and alive in your body for as long as possible.

Every rep you do is an investment in your future self.

My soon to be released LUMEN app, has beginner to advanced strength training programs, along with breath-work classes, meditation, hypnotic relaxation and of course, yoga.

Thanks for being here,

Stuart