A 2024 editorial (PMID: 38754987) introduced strengthspan as the length of time you maintain enough muscular strength to perform daily tasks, support health, and enjoy life.

To me, this is the metric that will decide how we live the second half of our lives.

We measure lifespan in years.
We measure healthspan in quality.
Now we need to measure strengthspan in resilience.

Why Strengthspan is Critical

For too long, aerobic fitness has dominated health guidelines. Strength was treated like the side dish. But the data now says otherwise:

• Higher muscular strength is linked to lower all-cause mortality (Peterson et al., 2011).

• Stronger individuals have reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and frailty (García-Hermoso et al., 2019).

• Strength correlates with better metabolic control, bone density, and functional independence.

And yet, only ~17% of adults meet both aerobic and strength recommendations. That means most people are silently sliding into preventable loss of independence.

Strength Across the Lifespan

Strengthspan isn’t something you “pick up” when retirement hits. It’s built, consolidated, and preserved in stages:

• Youth & Adolescence – Develop peak muscle and neuromuscular coordination. Unstructured play, climbing, sprinting, and resistance training lay the foundation.

• Adulthood – Progressive overload to build strength and power. This is the time to “bank” resilience.

• Later Life – Fight sarcopenia and loss of type II fibers. Train power (lighter loads, faster intent), balance, and joint integrity. Even in your 70s and 80s, you can regain strength.

Strengthspan is not just a geriatric issue—it’s a life issue.

Strengthspan Tips

1. Prioritize Compound Movements

Squats, deadlifts, presses, pulls, and carries recruit large muscle groups, stimulate bone, and train movement patterns you actually need in life.

• Mechanism: Multijoint lifts stimulate more anabolic hormones (testosterone, growth hormone, IGF-1) than isolation work.

• Translation: More bang for your buck, and better transfer to daily function.

2. Don’t Neglect Power

Power (strength × speed) declines twice as fast as strength with age. Losing power means losing the ability to catch yourself in a fall or climb stairs quickly.

• Train it: Medicine ball throws, kettlebell swings, jump squats, or fast step-ups.

• Science: Studies show explosive resistance training in older adults improves functional mobility more than slow training alone.

3. Grip Strength = Longevity Signal

Grip strength predicts mortality better than blood pressure. It’s a proxy for overall neuromuscular health.

• Train it: Farmer carries, pull-ups, dead hangs, heavy rows, thick bar holds.

• Daily test: If you struggle to open jars or carry bags, that’s a warning sign.

4. Eccentrics and Isometrics for Joint Health

Strengthspan isn’t just muscle—it’s tendons, fascia, and bones. Eccentric loading (slow lowering) and isometric holds build tendon resilience and protect joints.

• Examples: Slow eccentric squats, Nordic hamstring curls, wall sits, split squat holds.

• Science: Eccentrics stimulate collagen synthesis, reduce tendinopathy, and strengthen connective tissue.

5. Load Your Skeleton

Bone is living tissue. Without load, it weakens. Osteoporosis isn’t solved with calcium tablets alone—it’s solved with strength.

• Train it: Deadlifts, step-ups, weighted carries, impact loading within safe range.

• Mechanism: Wolff’s law—bone adapts to the load placed upon it.

6. Consistency > Intensity

You don’t need two-hour gym marathons. You need repeatable, lifelong habits.

• Evidence: Meta-analyses show 2–3 full-body strength sessions per week (30–45 min) are enough for major benefits in older adults.

• Micro-dosing works: 5–10 min daily “movement snacks” (push-ups, squats, hangs, carries) accumulate into big gains.

7. Nutrition & Recovery Are Part of Strengthspan

• Protein: 1.2–1.6 g/kg/day across meals. Essential to combat anabolic resistance with aging.

• Creatine monohydrate: 3–5 g/day improves strength, lean mass, and even cognitive resilience.

• Sleep: Muscle is built in the dark. Poor sleep blunts recovery and growth hormone release.

Closing Reflection

I often tell my patients: I can predict your future independence by two things—your grip strength, and how easily you rise from a chair (eldery)/ floor (advanced).

Strengthspan is more than gym numbers. It’s your ability to live on your terms, longer. It’s public health. It’s human dignity.

Over to you:

What’s the one strength ritual you’ll commit to over the next 12 weeks? Farmer carries? Daily squats? A power move you’ve neglected?

Because stronger doesn’t just mean fitter.
Stronger means more independence.

Thi Hien Nguyen 

Healthy Longevity Expert | Sports Physical Therapist  | Strength & Conditioning Coach | Master Personal Trainer| CEO @Hi Performance Center | Founder To100Healthy

References

• Faigenbaum, A.D., García-Hermoso, A., MacDonald, J.P., Morat, T., & Rial Rebullido, T. (2024). Bridging the gap between strengthspan and lifespan. British Journal of Sports Medicine. PMID: 38754987.

• Peterson, M.D., Sen, A., & Gordon, P.M. (2011). Influence of resistance exercise on lean body mass in aging adults: a meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 43(2), 249–258.

• García-Hermoso, A., Ramírez-Vélez, R., & Izquierdo, M. (2019). Is muscular strength associated with future health? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 49(7), 1079–1094.

• Valenzuela, P.L., et al. (2020). Eccentric exercise: mechanisms and role in disease prevention and rehabilitation.Eur J Prev Cardiol, 27(16), 1796–1807.