The Strength Lab

The Strength Lab At the Strength Lab, We focus on helping women over 40 to tone up, gain strength, and be healthy.

06/04/2026

After about 20 years of coaching, a couple big reasons I see as to why women struggle getting results with at home workouts.

05/29/2026

Practicing movement. Preserving function. This is what I envision training to be. This is what I work to pass on to others. It's not all about PRs and crazy Instagram exercises. The basics done consistently will always win out over time.

05/12/2026

Great write up from Dr. Justin Farnsworth.

A spine that doesn’t flex, extend, rotate, and side bend is not a healthy spine.
It’s a spine you’ve been afraid to use.

The body is a use-it-or-lose-it system. Every joint, every muscle, every connective tissue adapts to the demands placed on it. Bone gets denser with load. Tendons get stiffer with progressive demand. Range of motion shrinks when it isn’t used and expands when it is.

The spine is no exception.

Most adults move their spine through a fraction of its available range every single day. They sit. They stand. They walk. They drive. The spine flexes maybe 20 degrees forward, extends maybe 5 degrees back, and barely rotates or side-bends at all. For decades.

Then one day they bend down to pick something up, the back complains, and they conclude the bending was the problem.
It wasn’t the bending.
It was the 30 years of NOT bending. Of not rotating. Of not side bending. The spine that suddenly hurts wasn’t broken by the movement that triggered it — it was made fragile by the years of avoidance that came before.

A spine that’s intelligently loaded across all four motions stays mobile, strong, and resilient. A spine that’s protected, coddled, and asked to do almost nothing becomes the spine that “goes out” the moment life asks for more.

The fix isn’t to use it less. It’s to use it more — across the full range of motion, under appropriate load, with patience and progression.
Flex it. Extend it. Rotate it. Side bend it. Load it. That’s what the spine was built for.

03/26/2026

We judge workouts by "difficulty" when in actuality, that's always up to you. Any training can be hard. Do more reps. Do an exercise you've never tried that you saw on Instagram. That's hard. Doesn't mean it's better.

The true test is how the training helps you over the long term. The entire point of exercise is to help you move and feel better. Not just for a period of time, but forever.

Don't buy into the "harder is better". I'm not saying you shouldn't challenge yourself, but a more gradual over time increase will be more helpful, more sustainable, and deliver better long term results.

03/25/2026

One in two women over 50 will experience a fracture due to osteoporosis.

Know your T scores. Pay attention to the trends. Should check lumbar, hip, femur. Don't just let someone tell you it's ok, look at the numbers yourself. Know what they mean and the impact it can have on your life. You can be "ok" but sitting on the lower end, at the edge of being osteoporotic.

This is why we need to lift heavy. Bones adapt when the stress is enough to force them to.

My go to movement? Trap bar deadlifts. You can load them heavy, probably the safest and easiest to teach. Or a KB deadlift, if you have access to heavy ones.

Too many people think they need MORE workouts, HARDER exercises. The truth is, nothing will ever beat out long term cons...
03/24/2026

Too many people think they need MORE workouts, HARDER exercises.

The truth is, nothing will ever beat out long term consistency. Focusing on the basics.

If you're not where you want to be, it's probably because you haven't been at it long enough.

Can't start and stop, hop from hardcore to nothing, bounce from program to program, diet to diet.

Learn to eat better (real) foods.
Focus on being functionally strong, full body. Push,pull,squat,hinge,carry.
Practice daily gratitude.
Get good sleep.
Drink water.

And SHOW UP.

If you're already on the path, keep it up. If you're not, start today. Just don't ever stop.

One of the most powerful things you can do for your fitness is to stop thinking of it with a beginning and end date. So ...
03/09/2026

One of the most powerful things you can do for your fitness is to stop thinking of it with a beginning and end date.

So many people get started, then when they don't see big changes in 6 weeks, 3 months, whatever, they quit.

Imagine this. Imagine you just got started and never stopped.

2-3x weekly you lifted weights. Added more when you could, focused on getting stronger.

Tracked your food for a few weeks to get a handle on your habits, then made a conscious decision to change things. Better foods to start the day. Less eating out. Limited processed foods. More whole foods. More fiber.

Everyday you went for a walk. An intentional walk to move your body, get fresh air, move like we're intended to.

You shut off your devices at night and went to bed. Didn't stay up to watch an extra episode or spend too much time scrolling. You went to sleep, let your body recover, get the rest it needs.

You focused less on results, and more on your effort around these things.

Holy s**t, do you know how much better you would feel? Mentally and physically? Think about it. Consistent effort on all these things, regardless of what's happening externally. Your body is getting HEALTHY. Your mind will be more clear.

Being in the game as long as I have, the only reason I can do what I do, and feel the way I feel, is consistency. Nothing more. I've built solid strength, and I keep it. Not fancy, not Instagram worthy, but makes my life easier. Solid nutrition habits. You can't put crap into your body regularly and expect to feel good.

Isn't that the point of taking care of yourself? To feel better? Move easier? Make our life a little better?

It all comes down to consistency.

And that's a decision you ultimately have to make. No excuses. Either do it, or don't. The choice is ours.

03/03/2026

If you're a woman over 45, once a week, YOU HAVE TO MOVE WEIGHT.

Heavy lifting us the thing that will help with osteopenia/osteoporosis and stimulate bone growth.

How heavy?

80-85% of you one rep max.

So what does that mean?

See where you are currently.

Let's say you're picking up a 40 lb KB for 6 reps.

If that's your heavy load, you're essentially saying that around 50 lbs is the most you can do for 1 rep. Now depending on your age, bodyweight, a few other variables, is that enough to stimulate growth? If you genuinely can't do more than 40 lbs for 6 reps, sure. But if you're stopping at 6 because it "feels hard", then no.

Lifting heavy weights will get a little uncomfortable. It will challenge you. But my oh my, will it help you out as you age. Stronger bones. Anti fragile. Getting back up without major injury after a fall. Maintaining your independence.

But you have to truly challenge your muscles. 5 and 10 pound weights for your lower body won't do it.

02/12/2026

Get those squats in to improve mobility. Playing fetch can be your timer! Squat until they bring it back. Prince gets some exercise too. Look at that vertical at the end!

Such a cheat code. Lift weights. Progressively overload. Build significant strength and don't lose it. You'll recover fr...
02/12/2026

Such a cheat code. Lift weights. Progressively overload. Build significant strength and don't lose it. You'll recover from EVERYTHING quicker.

Mastery requires consistent practice. There's no end date.

Without a shadow of a doubt, strength training is one thing that every person can do, regardless of age, gender, disabilities...that will truly benefit your life beyond what you can imagine. And it compounds over time. A very powerful thing.

Address

3434 Kinnamon Village Loop
Clemmons, NC
27012

Telephone

+13369336075

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Strength Lab posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Strength Lab:

Shortcuts

Share