Beyond Strength: Better At Any Age
When most people think about strength training, they often focus solely on the physical benefits: lifting heavier weights, building muscle, or achieving a certain look. But strength training is about so much more than becoming physically stronger. It’s about transforming how you feel, move, and live—inside the gym and out. The beauty of it is that you don’t need to be an exercise fanatic to experience this. Additionally, whether you’re just starting out or have been active for years, building strength isn’t limited by age or experience, and its impact reaches far beyond what happens in your workouts. Incredibly, you can get stronger both physically and mentally at any age. As the old adage goes, “There is no better time than NOW”.
And to help you explore that potential, we’re thrilled to introduce Jessica Kilts, our new Head Coach and Strength Specialist! Jessica brings many years of hands-on coaching experience and a passion for empowering clients to become the strongest, healthiest, and happiest versions of themselves. Starting full-time next week, she’ll be here to guide you toward your goals with tailored programming, expert advice, and unwavering support. She’s beyond awesome.
In this article, we’ll dig into the many ways that strength training is truly life-changing by breaking it down into three key ideas:
Being physically stronger benefits you at any age; and you indeed CAN get stronger at any age.
Strength translates to many other important areas of your life.
The impacts of strength training are synergistic, amplifying your overall well-being.
1. Being Physically Stronger Benefits You at Any Age
It’s never too early—or too late—to start building strength. Whether you’re a teenager discovering fitness for the first time, a busy parent juggling responsibilities, or a retiree wanting to feel more energetic and capable, strength training offers a wealth of benefits at any stage of life. It used to be common belief that once you hit a certain age you could no longer get noticeably stronger, but modern science as well as our experience shows quite the opposite.
Building muscle and improving strength doesn’t just make everyday tasks easier (like carrying groceries, recreational sports and activities, or playing with the kids); it also protects against injury and helps counteract the natural muscle loss that happens as you age. In fact, research shows that maintaining and building strength as we age can be like adding armor in a way, significantly reducing the risk of falls, buffering against fractures, tempering tissues and bolstering joints, and warding off or reversing mobility issues.
The best part? Progress happens quickly. Almost instantly, you start to feel better and more capable. We see this happen in a single session of accomplishment. You also don’t have to spend countless hours in the gym to see results. Even two to three strength-focused workouts per week can lead to significant improvements in how you move, feel, and function.
In other words, getting stronger is never a bad choice and it always helps you function and feel better beyond just the exercise you are focused on.
2. Strength Translates Beyond the Gym
The magic of getting stronger is how it spills over into every other aspect of your life. When you build strength, you’re not just improving your body—you’re boosting your confidence, mental resilience, and ability to tackle challenges. Your physical strength makes you a more capable human in so many ways.
Here’s an example: Maybe you’re training to do your first-ever push-up, pull-up you body, or deadlift your bodyweight. That moment when you achieve it? It’s absolutely electrifying. It reminds you that you’re capable of doing hard and perhaps sometimes insurmountable things. This has a ripple effect on your mindset. You start approaching other challenges—at work, in relationships, or even in hobbies—with that same confidence. You change. You become more. You become better and better.
Strength training also improves your physical energy and focus. Ever notice how after a workout, you feel like you can think more clearly and tackle the rest of your day with ease? Does your mood and outlook improve? That’s not a coincidence. The act of moving your body enhances circulation and improves brain function, helping you feel sharper, more at ease, and more present in your daily life.
3. Strength is Synergistic
The beauty of strength training is how interconnected its benefits are. As you work toward physical strength, you’re also improving in other key wellness areas:
Weight loss and body composition: Strength training is one of the most effective ways to lose fat and build lean muscle. Muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more efficient your “metabolism” becomes. The activity to build achieves this by also being an energy burn. While that effect is not always mind-blowing as far as extra calories, it is still something extra as that muscle also uses up energy versus storing like other tissues which can. This further improves metabolic function and protects against dysfunction like diabetes.
Pain relief and injury prevention: Many people start strength training to address chronic pain or mobility issues. By strengthening the muscles around your joints and improving your movement patterns and range, you can reduce pain, improve motion and function, and move with greater ease.
Stress reduction: There’s a reason people say exercise is therapy. The act of lifting weights can be meditative, grounding, and a fantastic stress reliever. Strength training helps regulate hormones like cortisol and boosts feel-good endorphins, leaving you with a sense of calm and accomplishment after every session.
These benefits don’t exist in silos. As you get stronger, your energy levels rise, your mood improves, and you sleep better—all of which feed back into your ability to train harder, recover faster, and live better. You feel better and are even more likely to sustain other self care and wellness activities and habits.
Meet Jessica Kilts: Your New Strength Specialist
We’re so excited to welcome Jessica Kilts (bio) to our team as Head Coach and Strength Specialist! Jessica is an experienced coach who specializes in helping clients of all levels feel strong, confident, and capable. With her background in strength training and functional movement, she’s here to guide you on your journey—whether your goal is lifting heavier weights, moving pain-free, or simply feeling your best.
Jessica will officially be joining us full-time starting next week, so make sure to set up a consult with her, stop by and say hello, and get to know her. She’s already hard at work crafting personalized training plans that meet you where you are and help you reach your goals faster than ever. She’s a very skilled manual therapist to boot!
Note on Rate Changes in 2024
As we continue to grow and expand our services, we want to let you know that there will be rate adjustments starting in the new year. This change allows us to continue providing top-tier coaching, cutting-edge equipment, and a great experience for all of our clients. Thank you for your continued support and trust in us!
Final Strength Thoughts in the New Year
Strength training is about so much more than the numbers on a barbell or a scale. It’s about how you show up for yourself and your life—feeling capable, confident, and unstoppable. Whether you’re starting fresh or looking to take your fitness to the next level, we’re here to help you every step of the way.
Ready to start your journey? Reach out to schedule a session or learn more about how we can help you meet your goals.
Announcements:
Fun run in the new year anyone? Some of you have committed to a run in the Spring, but we are still gauging interest . 5k? 10k? Marathon? Let us know as we get the online program shaped up and run group going
Health coaching spots open again THIS WEEK. If you’re interested, please book a free consult with us now.
Personal training spots are open as well. If you’re interested, please book a free consult .
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