Healthspan, Not Lifespan: Why Muscle Matters in Menopause

Healthspan, not just lifespan, is the goal in midlife. If you’re a woman in menopause or beyond, building muscle through strength training is the single best way to extend your healthspan, the years you feel strong, capable, and independent.

In this episode of The Menopause Method, Cam Allen explains why muscle matters in menopause and how resistance training supports healthy aging. Walking is wonderful, but walking alone isn’t enough. Muscle is the true armor of aging.

You’ll discover:

• What healthspan vs lifespan really means
• Why strength training in menopause is essential for longevity
• How grip strength predicts health and independence
• Simple, doable ways to add resistance training to your routine today

👉 Comment below: Are you currently strength training in midlife, or just walking? I’d love to know where you’re starting.

If you’re ready to add LIFE to your years, hit play now. Try my Menopause Minis: 10-Minute Strength Workouts here: https://www.camoyler.com/meno-minis Use CAMYOUTUBE at checkout to save $20

Chapters:
00:00 Menopause Method: Healthspan Focus
04:17 Grip Strength: Key to Vitality
07:03 Prioritizing Strength for Menopausal Health

Transcript

0:00

Welcome to the brand new series on the menopause method. My name is Cam Allen and we are talking about longevity, not how many candles you can fit on your birthday cake kind of thing. Nope. We are talking about healthspan, the years where you actually feel good, steady and alive in your own body. Because let's be real, lifespan is just about how long you live. But health Spanish, that's about adding life to those years. And that is the difference between simply existing and fully living your life. And in this four part series, we're going to stretch the way we think about health. We're going to cover resistance training, stress, connection and purpose. Those are the real dial movers that not only extend your years, but make those years worth living. So if you're ready to think what aging can look like, let's go. We're starting with the biggest one that's often overlooked and it's a huge driver of longevity. It's resistance training. If you know me at all. I was CrossFit Cam in my 40s and now I'm Menopause Minis in my 50s. I like to say that we build strength here that carries you through life. And I want to start with this message I got from Melanie. This is what she wrote. I'm 48 and I walk over 12,000 steps a day. But I didn't know where to start with strength training. And I'm on day three of your menopause menis and this is exactly what I needed. I'm looking forward to completing more days. When I read that email, I thought, this is such a common story. We're doing all the things, the steps, the cardio, eating clean, you know what I mean? And yet there's still this missing piece. And when that missing piece falls into place, strength training, everything changes. Here's the part that most women don't realize. I love walking. Walking is wonderful. It is one of the four keys of midlife fitness. But strength training is the dial mover that actually changes your health span, not just adding years, but adding life to your years. So exactly what is healthspan? Lifespan is how long you actually live. But healthspan is how long you live healthy. My goal is to live healthy until the end and then just be gone. That's my goal. Research shows us that two sessions of strength training per week is enough to give you those full longevity benefits. And what I did is I took my longer workouts and broke them into 10 minute chunks so I could increase my consistency. Whatever. You're still getting your time in. You're still getting the reps in and you're still building muscle. Here's the funny thing, more than that actually is just extra. In fact, going all out six times a week can actually increase your all cause mortality. What? CrossFit Cam didn't know that. So that means in my life, the sweet spot is not about doing more. It's about doing enough of the right thing. Let's bring this to life and let's look at through the lens of the four bodies. Spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical. Because strength training isn't just physical. But let's start with physical, because why not? We know that muscle is the armor of aging. Strong muscles protect your bones, help stabilize your joints, and quite literally catch you if you fall. Grip strength. Something as simple as holding a heavy grocery bag is a great predictor of how long you're actually going to live. Is one of the simplest, most powerful predictors of longevity. And here's why. Your grip strength doesn't exist just in isolation. It reflects your overall strength and the overall function of your muscles and your nervous system. So basically, a strong grip equals a strong body. Also, grip strength gives a nod to your muscle mass and the quality of your muscles. We know that muscle naturally declines with age. And a lower grip strength often signals that our muscle mass, which is tied to like frailty, falls, and slower recovery and illness. Get this one. Grip strength also talks about your nervous system health. Grip strength also depends how well your brain and your nerves are communicating with your muscles. A weaker grip can actually be a clue of neurological decline. That's crazy. And then, of course, muscle gives us things from like opening jars to carrying our groceries. And grip strength shows how capable and independent we can remain. So independent itself is a huge deal when it comes to quality of life. Now, there are dozens of studies that show people with stronger grips actually live longer, have a lower risk of heart disease, have fewer hospitalizations, and recover better from surgery. In other words, your grip strength is like a window into your overall vitality. So I've got three things for you to add to your workouts at home. First, let's do farmer's carry. You're going to pick up a pair of heavy dumbbells, kettlebells, bags of groceries, whatever. And you're gonna walk 20 to 40 steps, keeping your posture tall and your shoulders back. When you do this, I want your ears, your shoulders, your hips and your heels to be lined up. Be in a nice straight line, keeping your shoulders away from your ears. So that's one that's called farmer's carry. Also, you can do a suitcase carry. So a suitcase carry, you just hold one weight in your hand like you're carrying a suitcase and you walk. This challenges your grip and your core at the same time. I love doing this. Farmer's walk and suitcase carry work like 25 muscles. So don't snooze on this one. This is a good one. And if you can, try the dead hang. So you can hang from a pull up bar as long as you can. Start with 10 to 15 seconds and build up over time. And if you want to drop in the comments, how long can you actually do a dead hang? Because I would love to know. Okay, that takes care of the physical body. Let's pull strength training through the emotional body. Think how good you feel after a short strength workout. 10 minutes of squats, 10 minutes of pushups, 10 minutes of presses. You feel the pride, the accomplishment and the energy. That's amazing. Compare that to the guilt and the self criticism that comes when you skip your workout and you can feel how strength shifts your emotions. Okay, let's pull it through the mental body. Every single rep you do in the gym is like a little vote saying I can do hard things. That confidence doesn't just stay in the gym. It spills into your work, your relationship, your boundaries. That's how CrossFit Cam got into CrossFit because my first marriage was falling apart and I wanted to feel strong. And there's nothing more than feeling strong and using weights and lifting it over your head. And boy did I feel powerful at a really weak time of my life. And then let's pull it through your spiritual body. For me, I believe that strength training actually is a way to honor my body. Not as a punishment like I was in my 40s, but actually. And I'm not trying to shrink myself or erase myself like I was probably in my 40s, but I'm actually choosing to be present in this menopausal body today and for years to come. And yet, if you look around most health advice for midlife women, it's still obsessed with walking challenges or doing sit up challenges or getting your steps in or crazy cardio. Yes, those things are important and it's part of the plan, but it's incomplete. Nobody tells you the very thing that makes up the biggest difference is how you age is your muscle. That's the thing most women are doing the least. So I want to invite you to notice. What would it be like if you stopped asking, do I have the time for a long workout? And instead Ask yourself, how strong do I want to feel in the next decade? Because here's the double bind I like to ask. Do you want to spend 10 minutes draining your energy, scrolling on your phone that endless doom scrolling? Or would you rather spend 10 minutes recharging and investing in your future? That's an easy one for me. Because when you choose strength, you're not just working out, you're rewriting the story of how you're actually going to age. So here's a reflection for you today. What would it look like to become the woman who feels strong in her body, not just for today, but for decades ahead? Let that question sit with you. Journal on it. Talk about it with your friends. Strength isn't about what you lift. It's really about how you live. So if you're wondering where to start, I'd love for you to join me, Melanie and all the other women inside the menopause minis. These 10 minute strength workouts were designed for real life. The kind of life where time and energy feel limited but you still want to be capable, strong and steady, and actually proud of your body. So right now you can save an extra $20 when you use the code. Cam YouTube at checkout so the link is below and then use that special code. It's just for you guys. Cam YouTube and save that extra 20. Come join us. These 10 minutes can really change how you age. Be sure to stay tuned for part two of the Longevity series. Getting part two right will literally add years of health to your life. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to hit subscribe and I'll see you next time on the Menopause Method.