Strength training

This issue, Alexandra Beck reframes strength training as a long-term health strategy, not a passing fitness trend.

Photograph: u_24u5lcc1 - Pixabay

Text: Alexandra Beck

If there is one thing I wish more people understood about strength training, it is this: it is not a fitness trend. It is infrastructure.

By the time most of us reach our 40s and 50s, we are no longer asking whether exercise is “good for us”. We know it is. The real question is where to put our limited time, energy and attention in a life that already feels full.

Strength training quietly earns its place

Strength training does not shout. It does not promise overnight transformations or demand constant reinvention. What it does is support everything else you want to keep doing well: moving confidently, recovering faster, staying resilient under stress and feeling capable in your own body as life gets busier rather than calmer.

I work with high-functioning individuals. They manage careers, families, ageing parents, travel, stress and responsibility. They are not looking for entertainment or punishment. They are looking for something that works over time.

Strength deliverables

Muscle and bone are not aesthetic extras. They are health assets. Muscles support joints, posture, and balance. Bone responds to load and remains stronger when it is consistently challenged. Together, they form the physical foundation that makes everyday life feel manageable rather than effortful.

This becomes especially important in midlife - recovery changes. Sleep becomes more fragile. Stress has a bigger impact. Hormonal shifts add another layer of unpredictability. None of this means the body is failing. It simply means training needs to be intentional rather than reactive.

Strength training provides a clear signal to the body: keep this tissue, support this structure, stay capable. Cardio is valuable, movement is valuable, but without strength, there is very little for those qualities to attach to.

What often surprises people is that strength training does not require extreme effort to be effective. Two to three well-designed sessions per week are enough for most people to build and maintain strength when the training is structured and consistent. More is not always better. Better is better.

This is why strength training is such a good investment. It compounds quietly. The work you do now pays off later in fewer injuries, more stable energy, better recovery, and a body that feels trustworthy rather than unpredictable.

Paying dividends outside the gym

People who train for strength often report coping better with stress. They move with more confidence. They hesitate less. They recover faster from demanding weeks. These benefits are not dramatic, but they are deeply practical. Practicality is what keeps people training long-term.

There is also a mental relief that comes from strength training done well. Familiar movement patterns. Clear structure. Progress you can feel rather than chase. Training stops being something you negotiate with and becomes something that simply has a place in your week.

In a world that constantly asks us to optimise, personalise and self-direct, there is value in training that is steady, repeatable and calm.

Looking ahead to 2026, strength training will become increasingly recognised not as a fitness choice, but as a health strategy. Not because it is new, but because it works when life is not ideal. It supports ageing rather than fighting it. It respects the reality of busy lives instead of pretending they will suddenly slow down.

Strength training does not promise to stop time. It changes how time feels in your body.

Return on investment

And if there is one thing I hope people take into the following year, it is this: you do not need more intensity, more variety, or more motivation. You need a structure that supports you in showing up again and again in a way that fits the life you are actually living.

That is where real strength is built.