Strength Training: Your Body’s Secret Weapon

by Josh Knox

Member Services Director

Sanford-Springvale YMCA

"What if two half-hour workouts a week could transform your health, your confidence, and the way you move through life?"

 In just two 30-minute sessions a week, you can slash your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and early death by up to 20%. Strength training isn’t just about building muscle, it’s about building a longer, stronger life.

Without it, we lose 3–8% of muscle each decade, our metabolism slows, and fat creeps in. But in as little as 10 weeks, resistance training can flip the script, adding lean muscle, boosting calorie burn at rest, and cutting body fat.

Here’s what really happens when you train:

1. Hypertrophy - your muscle fibers grow stronger and thicker.

2. Strength gains -better nerve-to-muscle communication, stronger ligaments and tendons.

3. Better biomechanics - smoother, more powerful movement.

4. Injury resistance - fewer falls, fewer imbalances.

This isn’t just gym talk, it’s real life. Strength means lifting heavy groceries with ease, sprinting for the bus, crushing a personal best in your sport, playing with your kids or grandkids, or moving through life

Josh Knox

 with less pain or even pain-free. Whether you’re 16 or 76, your body adapts, grows, and surprises you when you challenge it.

Lift. Move. Rest. Repeat. Your future self will thank you.