Get Stronger After 40

Your Workouts Are Teaching You Something More Important Than Strength

Show of hands: Who wants to become rigid, closed off, resistant, fragile, predictable, or smaller versions of themselves?

Okay. Now who wants to be comfortable all the time?

Sorry. If you don’t want the first one, then you can’t have the second one—because humans adapt brilliantly. Unfortunately, we don't just adapt to challenge—we adapt to comfort too.

In other words, we become efficient at whatever we repeatedly do. If we repeatedly challenge ourselves, we become more capable. If we repeatedly seek comfort, we become more comfortable needing comfort.

This is where workouts become much more interesting than most people realize. We tend to think of them as times when we build muscle and improve health. But workouts are also places where we repeatedly practice our response to discomfort—as unfun as that may be.

When you exercise there will be moments when your legs start burning or the movement gets wobbly—and if you’re like me, you’re inclined to think, "Okay, that's probably enough." And if you’re on the verge of pain or injury, then stopping is absolutely the right decision. But every time you pull away from the normal discomfort of effort, you may be training something besides your muscles. You may be teaching your nervous system that discomfort deserves an immediate retreat.

Have you heard these thoughts in your mind–-or even said them out loud?

I just want to feel more ready first.

I need to know exactly what I'm doing.

I want to feel more confident.

Maybe I'll wait until things settle down.​
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That’s avoidance talking. The tricky thing about avoidance is that it rarely sounds dramatic. It’s very adept at sounding sensible.

When discomfort gets avoided repeatedly, something shifts: comfort stops being a preference and starts becoming a requirement. Things that once felt manageable start feeling like a lot. Any effort feels harder, while challenges feel more threatening. This isn’t because you've become less capable but because you’ve become increasingly accustomed to wanting to feel comfortable before proceeding.

And here's the insidious part: Comfort zones don't usually stay the same size. They expand.​
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This is one reason why people become "set in their ways" as they get older. It’s not age itself that makes us rigid, but because our brains become incredibly efficient at protecting us from uncertainty, effort, and discomfort. Eventually you're not just avoiding one difficult set at the gym—you're avoiding discomfort in general.

If you’ve noticed that new experiences feel like more effort, learning feels more draining, challenge feels less appealing, or risk feels less worth it, then your world has already become more predictable—and also smaller.

That's why strength workouts matter in a way that has nothing to do with burning calories or toned arms. They give you a regular opportunity to practice discomfort in small, controlled doses and remember something important: You do not need comfort in order to move forward.

One more rep isn't just one more rep. It's practice making sure comfort remains a luxury—not a dependency.

If you’re ready to expand your comfort zone—but would prefer to ease your way in—try my free 8-Minute Wonderfulness Workout.

What I Use (and Recommend)...

...to make all this work in real life

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