For years, women were told the secret to aging well could be found in a jar.
The right cream, serum, treatment or supplement.
And while I’m all for taking care of our skin and looking our best, I believe one of the most powerful anti-aging tools we have has nothing to do with wrinkles.
It’s strength.
Muscle. Strong bones. Good balance.
The ability to get up off the floor, carry your own suitcase, lift your grandkids, climb the stairs, travel, play, work and live independently.
That is what aging well looks like to me.
Strong is the new anti-aging.
We Need to Change the Conversation About Getting Older
Somewhere along the way, we started associating aging with becoming weaker, slower and less capable.
But getting older and getting weaker do not have to be synonymous.
Yes, our bodies change as we age. And yes, maintaining muscle becomes increasingly important.
But here's the empowering part:
We can do something about it.
Strength training sends our body a message:
I still need this muscle.
I still need these bones to be strong.
I still have things I want to do.
I’m not done yet.
And THAT is why strength matters so much.
Muscle Is About So Much More Than How You Look
I love a strong, toned arm as much as the next woman.
But muscle is not just cosmetic.
As we age, maintaining skeletal muscle supports our metabolism, mobility, balance, bone health and our ability to perform everyday activities.
Think about what you want your life to look like 10, 20 or even 30 years from now.
Do you want to travel? Garden? Golf? Play pickleball? Walk the beach? Carry your own groceries? Get down on the floor and - more importantly - get back up?
Those things require strength.
We spend so much time planning financially for retirement. I think we need to start asking ourselves:
Am I physically investing in the life I want to live later?
Stop Being Afraid of Getting Strong
I still hear women say, “I don't want to lift heavy weights because I don't want to get bulky.”
Ladies, we need to let that one go.
Especially as we get older.
Our goal shouldn't be to take up less space.
Our goal should be to build a body strong enough to carry us through the next chapter of our lives.
And strength training doesn't mean you have to become a bodybuilder or spend hours in the gym.
It means challenging your muscles consistently and progressively.
It means picking up weights that actually require some effort.
It means realizing that muscle is something worth protecting.
Don't Forget About Impact
Strength isn't only about lifting weights.
As we get older, activities that safely introduce impact can also be valuable for maintaining strong bones and physical capacity.
That might mean jumping, hopping, skipping, jumping rope or other appropriate weight-bearing movements depending on your fitness level and health.
For years, women were often encouraged to make everything gentler as they aged.
Walk. Stretch. Slow down. Be careful.
Walking is wonderful. I LOVE getting my steps.
But walking alone isn't the complete answer.
Our bodies need appropriate challenges.
We don't want to train only for the life we're living today. We want to train for the life we want to be capable of living tomorrow.
Strength Changes How You Carry Yourself
There is another benefit of getting stronger that doesn't show up on a lab report.
Confidence.
There is something incredibly powerful about realizing:
I can lift that.
I can do another rep.
I can walk farther.
I can handle this.
Physical strength has a funny way of spilling over into the rest of our lives.
You stand differently.
You move differently.
You begin trusting yourself differently.
And suddenly “I can't do that anymore” starts becoming…
“Watch me.”
Own Your Strength
This month is Own It October, and I can't think of a better thing to own than your strength.
Don't surrender it because of the number on your birthday cake.
Build it. Protect it. Celebrate it.
You don't need to be the woman you were at 30, 40 or 50.
You get to build the strongest version of the woman you are right now.
So pick up the weights.
Take the stairs.
Challenge your balance.
Get your protein.
Move your body.
And stop thinking of exercise only as something you do to make your body smaller.
Train because you want your LIFE to stay big.
Because the goal isn't simply to live longer.
It's to stay strong enough, healthy enough and confident enough to enjoy those years.
Own your age. Own your body. Own your strength.
Because strong isn't just how we fight aging.
Strong is how we keep living
