Why bother building bone strength?

Life threw me the mother of all curve balls recently: a cancer diagnosis. Anyone who has been flung into this crazy world, or who knows someone who has (and that is frighteningly all too common), knows that it suddenly becomes a rollercoaster of appointments and treatments before you’ve even had time to blink.

Now, I promise this isn’t about to become a cancer blog. That’s not why we’re here and it’s certainly not what you signed up for. But it’s part of my life right now, it will be noticeable in my videos and frankly, trying to hide it would take more energy than doing my squats!

However, there are things I’m learning from this experience and, strange as it may sound, even some things I’m grateful for & that’s what I want to share with you today, because it all comes back to one word: 

STRENGTH. Specifically, why you should bother with it at all.

A crash course I never signed up for

Treatment has given me a front row seat to what happens when strength disappears. I’ve watched it fall away at a speed that frankly scares me. 

Going up and down the stairs having to hold on, feeling wobbly and not quite confident walking out and about by myself, struggling to open a jar. Each one small on its own, but together they add up to something much bigger: the possibility of losing independence.

What I’ve been given, & oddly enough I’m grateful for, is a preview. A little snapshot of what it could feel like to grow older and lose my strength & I’ll be honest with you, it’s not a pretty picture.

What I’m realising though is I’m lucky, I came into this from a place of strength.

My strength is being severely tested right now but having that cushion I’d built up beforehand is standing me in good stead. I’m kind of ahead of the game & that is what I would like to share with you ~ why putting in the work today, will reap rewards with whatever’s ahead for you.

What we know for certain

None of us knows what’s around the corner, but there are two things we do know for certain.

• We are all going to grow older.
• Muscle and bone strength decline as we age if we do nothing about them.

That’s not my opinion, that’s just scientific fact.

Here’s the good news though that comes with it. Research shows it’s possible to build muscle and bone strength at any age. It takes time & consistency, but as I’m finding out, it is so worth the effort.

What do you want to be doing in your 80s?

Imagine yourself in your 80s. What do you want to be doing? 

When I ask people this they say things like travelling, playing with the grandkids, golf every day which are all great answers.

But how about being able to get up from your chair without help? Showering by yourself? Opening a jar or a bottle of wine? Or my personal big one: going to the toilet unassisted ~ if there’s anything that’s guaranteed to get me up & doing squats it’s this one!

We take these things completely for granted. Lose your strength and every single one of them becomes a real challenge.

You don’t need a gym

Yes, lifting heavy weights is brilliant for bone strength, but if the gym isn’t your thing, or it simply isn’t possible for you right now, that is not a reason to do nothing. You can build real strength from your own home. 

That’s what this newsletter is all about and I’ll be showing you exactly how in the weeks ahead.

So the message I want to shout from the rooftops today is this: 

Do something now for your future. Don’t wait until it becomes a problem. Because if you ever do hit a health issue, like I have, you’ll be so grateful you’re already in the strongest possible shape to get yourself back up and running fast.