You’re Active. But Are You Training for the Next 20 Years?
Why strength matters for staying active, capable and doing what you love as you age
By Erin Aben, Co-Founder of Excellence In Fitness
My husband Joe and I love being active. We hike, ski, bike, travel and explore new places. We want to keep doing all of it for as long as we possibly can.
We’ve also spent more than 20 years building Excellence In Fitness together. Here’s something I’ll admit though. Even after all those years of co-owning a personal training business, I haven’t always prioritized my own strength training the way Joe has.
Now I’m an empty nester, and I’ve found myself thinking about this next chapter differently.
Maybe I’m missing my kids more than I want to admit, because lately I seem to be taking life advice from all three of them. Ella has me journaling more, Jameson has me drinking less wine, and annoyingly, feeling a lot better because of it. And Sam keeps reminding me to slow down and notice the details. “One thing at a time, Mom,” she tells me.
Funny how that works. You spend years trying to teach your kids about life, and then one day you realize they’re teaching you.
Joe and me doing what we love — and hoping to keep doing it for many years to come.
I think that’s part of what being an empty nester is. Finally having a little more room to ask myself what I want the next 20 or 30 years to look like, and how I want to feel while I’m living them.
For me, part of that answer is being able to keep doing the things we love. Joe and I love being active. I want to keep doing all of it for as long as we possibly can, while staying open to whatever comes next.
That’s changed how I think about strength training.
Since January, I’ve finally been consistent with strength training twice a week. And yes, Joe trains me. He holds me accountable, and apparently having your trainer live with you makes skipping a workout a little harder.
I can really feel the difference. The pain I used to deal with is gone. I feel stronger, I move better and my body feels better than it has in a long time.
I’m not training for the body I had at 30. I’m training for the life I want at 70.
And the more I learn about healthy aging, the more I realize this isn’t just about me.
Being Active and Being Strong Aren’t Quite the Same Thing
A lot of our clients at Excellence In Fitness are already active. They’re not trying to become “fitness people.” They simply want to keep doing the things that make their lives full.
Staying active absolutely matters. But being active and being strong aren’t the same thing. We need both.
Walking, biking and other aerobic activities are great for our health, but they don’t give our muscles the same challenge that resistance training does. As we get older, strength training becomes increasingly important because we need to intentionally challenge our muscles if we want to maintain our strength, function and independence.
Our muscle mass, strength and power naturally change over time. But that doesn’t mean we’re powerless to do anything about it. Research from the National Institute on Aging, Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins all points to resistance training as one of the better tools we have for maintaining strength and physical function as we get older.
And that strength matters far beyond the gym. It helps us stay capable, confident and able to keep doing the things we love.
Strength training isn’t meant to become your life. It’s something we do so we can keep living the life we want.
The Goal Isn’t Bigger Muscles. It’s a More Capable Life.
One of the more encouraging things I came across while researching was the American College of Sports Medicine’s updated guidance on resistance training. In 2026, ACSM published its first major update in 17 years, drawing on 137 systematic reviews representing more than 30,000 participants. The research looked at how resistance training affects strength, muscle, power and physical function.
The takeaway I keep coming back to is a simple one: consistency matters more than complexity.
You don’t need the fanciest workout. You don’t need to train like an athlete. You definitely don’t need to be the strongest person in the room. You need the right challenge for you, done consistently, and progressed appropriately over time.
That lands for me, because consistency is exactly what finally changed this year. I’m not trying to get great at working out. I’m trying to get strong enough for the life I don’t want to give up.
What Does the Research Actually Recommend?
For most of us, it doesn’t need to be complicated. Current recommendations call for strengthening the major muscle groups at least two days a week. That feels doable to me, and more importantly, it’s something I’ve finally been able to do consistently.
At Excellence In Fitness, we see the same with our clients. There’s something powerful about knowing someone is expecting you. Our coaches know their clients, look forward to seeing them two or three times each week, and are there to keep them motivated and accountable. Your training is intentional and continues to progress as you get stronger. You’re not just showing up for a workout. You have someone in your corner who wants to see you succeed.
I’ve also recently gotten interested in the work of exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist Dr. Stacy Sims. Her focus on women, strength and aging has really resonated with me. For so many years, I thought about exercise in terms of calories burned or making my body smaller. Now I’m much more interested in what I’m building and protecting: muscle, strength, bone and the ability to keep doing the things I love.
I don’t want to make my body smaller. I want to make my life bigger, and I want a body strong enough to enjoy it.
I’m still figuring some of this out myself, but I know getting stronger has become an important part of how I want to live this next chapter.
Maybe that’s really the point. We’re not training to spend our lives in a gym. We’re training so we can keep living the lives we love outside of it.
If you’re thinking about your next chapter too, I hope this gives you something to think about.
And if strength training is one of those things you know you probably should be doing, but you’re not quite sure where to start, come talk to us. You don’t have to be “a fitness person.” You just have to have something you want to keep doing.
I’d love to see you in the studio.
— Erin
Our Scientific Approach
At Excellence In Fitness, our approach to healthy aging and strength training is informed by established medical, scientific and professional organizations, along with peer-reviewed research. Learn more about the scientific sources behind our approach.
