Terry Mclaren Functional Physio

20/01/2026

So true, let’s just move more and gradually increase the effort 👍

NEED vs SUFFICIENT: Why this debate misses the point

There’s a big difference between what is needed and what is sufficient for muscle and strength adaptations. And confusing the two is where many gym arguments go off the rails.

Here’s the simple truth: nothing is strictly needed in terms of a specific load, rep range, or style of lifting to gain muscle or get stronger (https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/57/18/1211.long) or experience any real health benefit from doing RT (https://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/fulltext/2023/11000/the_coming_of_age_of_resistance_exercise_as_a.7.aspx). Heavier loads work. Lighter loads work. Both are sufficient for hypertrophy and strength when training is done well. It works in novices, and it works in trained folks (https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00154.2016).

Yes, heavier weights tend to produce greater strength gains (https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2017/12000/strength_and_hypertrophy_adaptations_between_low_.31.aspx and https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/apnm-2021-0515). But that’s a practice effect. If you train heavy, you get better at lifting heavy. That’s not magic physiology, it’s skill and specificity. In unpracticed tasks – isometric peak torque – everyone gets equally strong!

Importantly, lighter loads absolutely work, even in trained people, provided training is progressive. Progression can mean more load, more total volume, more sessions, or some smart combination of these. There is no special requirement to lift to absolute failure to make lighter- and heavier-load training equivalent (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-022-01784-y). That’s another myth that refuses to die.

And that old-school “strength–endurance continuum”? The idea that heavy weights are for strength and light weights are for endurance only? It’s simply wrong. Science has moved on, even if the gym floor arguments have not.

Sure, you can argue about time efficiency. Heavier loads might save you 10–15 minutes in some workouts. That’s a real but modest difference. It’s not the hill worth dying on.

Strip away the chalk dust, weight belts, and bro-science “disagreements,” and what’s left is this: MANY loading schemes are sufficient. None are strictly needed for the goals most mere mortals have when they go to the gym.

And here’s the part that really matters: 80% (likely more) of people don’t do any strengthening work at all. Arguing endlessly about the “best” way to lift is scorched-earth thinking. It’s counterfactual to evidence, public health and common sense.

If there is a specific task, sport, or event you want to train for, then by ALL means train for that. CrossFit, Hyrox, being “optimized” … this is not a threat, but it’s also not wrong!

Let’s stop fighting over trivial differences and get people lifting. This is not a threat to anyone’s favourite way to train. It’s simply ONE MORE option.

NOTE:
It works in trained people.
It doesn’t take that much more time.
If you don’t like (or want) to lift this way, so be it; you do you!
Ronnie was on steroids (Arnold was too).
Bone responds to heavier and lighter loads (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S8756328220304774).
Nobody is saying do 100 reps (of anything).
Yes, there’s limit (likely 30% of 1RM).
Use rep ranges if you want to keep things in check.
Effort scales work well, with practice.
It recruits type II fibres (very effectively; https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1113/JP278056)
At fatigue, no matter how you get there, all available motor units are engaged.
Power is developed at various loads – from 30-70% of 1RM.

17/01/2026

So just do a bit more 👍

Can small changes in physical activity make a major difference?

A new meta-analysis suggests that just five extra minutes of moderate physical activity a day is associated with a 10% reduction in all deaths in the majority of adults.

Read more via the link in comments ⤵️

16/01/2026

Excellent 👍

11/01/2026

Wow 😯

09/01/2026

Excellent advice

When you live with osteoporosis or even worry about it, it’s easy to believe you have only two options: push hard or stop entirely.
But bone health doesn’t improve at the extremes.

Osteoporosis isn’t simply a loss of bone. It’s a change in how bone responds to stress, load, and recovery. As we age, bone remodeling slows. Micro-damage takes longer to repair. That doesn’t mean bone should be protected from stress, it means stress has to be applied intelligently.

And this is important.
Bone does require impact.
Jumping, hopping, and higher-strain loading are proven to stimulate bone formation. The research is clear on that. What matters is how and when those forces are introduced.

High-intensity, repetitive, unsupervised impact especially layered on fatigue or poor mechanics can exceed what fragile bone and joints can safely adapt to. But appropriately dosed impact, introduced gradually and progressed under guidance, does the opposite. It strengthens bone.

That doesn’t make movement dangerous.
It makes programming essential.

Bone is living tissue. It responds best to regular, progressive mechanical signals that say, this structure is still needed. Walking, stair climbing, resistance training, posture and balance work form the foundation. On top of that foundation, carefully selected impact small jumps, hops, and landings can and should be layered in, when appropriate.

Studies consistently show that people with osteoporosis benefit most from consistent, weight-bearing, strength-based movement with progressive impact, not occasional bursts of exhaustion or avoidance of load altogether. These approaches help maintain or improve bone density, build muscle that protects the skeleton, and reduce fracture risk by improving balance, reaction time, and confidence.

Because fractures aren’t caused by weak bones alone.
They’re caused by falls, hesitation, loss of balance, and fear.

And fear grows when movement feels unsafe or unpredictable.

Progressive, repeatable movement including guided impact does something powerful.
It teaches the nervous system that the body can still handle load.
It builds strength around vulnerable bones.
It restores confidence in everyday tasks: getting up from a chair, carrying groceries, moving quickly when needed.

Osteoporosis doesn’t require you to punish your body.
And it doesn’t require you to protect it into weakness.

It asks for smart stress, applied consistently.

The most protective program isn’t the hardest workout you can survive.
It’s the one you can repeat tomorrow.

07/01/2026

🙏

When you move, even gently, muscles remember their strength.
Joints remember their flexibility.
The nervous system remembers that balance and coordination are not lost they just need to be practiced. Over time, the body responds.
Not immediately, not perfectly, but faithfully. And every small return of function, every regained step, every stretch or lift becomes a quiet victory.

The secret of anti-aging or simply of aging well is not in intensity. It is in intention. It is in the quiet moments when you choose to rise from the chair, to walk a little farther, to reach a little higher, to move even when your body protests. Because every repetition is a whisper to the cells, to the muscles, to the heart: I am alive. I am present. I will continue.

The magic isn’t in doing everything. It is in doing something that matters, consistently.

And here’s the remarkable truth: what you do three times a week, steadily, compounds over months and years. Strength accumulates.
Confidence returns. Independence is preserved.
Life’s edges expand again. Movement becomes freedom.
And freedom becomes joy.

You are not too old.
You are not too tired.
You are not too far gone.
The body remembers far more than you think.
The mind remembers hope far longer than fear.

So you move. Not because the world demands it.
Not because you must.
But because movement is life’s most intimate conversation with yourself.
It is how you say
I am still here.
I still matter.
I will keep living fully.

Not heroic. Not maximal. Just faithful. Just consistent. Just alive.

07/01/2026

Get to it 👍🙏

Have you ever considered recruiting a walking buddy (or a few) to keep you accountable with your movement regimen? Or complete each journey with a great conversation to make it more entertaining? Introducing Walking Moais. A Walking Moai comprises a group of 5-8 individuals who agree to meet weekly–for ten weeks–to walk and socialize.

In a study published in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, researchers evaluated the benefits of weekly walking with peers versus walking alone. The 16-week trial involved a cohort of adults aged 60 and up. According to the results, the “walking with peers” group improved more in motivation, functional capacity, body fat, physical activity, and walking self-efficacy than the “walking alone” group. Thus, science approves of the “Walking Moai” concept as a positive contributor to one’s physical and behavioral health.

Learn more (and watch a video!) about how a Walking Moai can improve your health, your social life, and your productivity: https://www.bluezones.com/2023/06/what-is-a-walking-moai/

05/01/2026

True😮‍💨👍

Don’t blame aging for all the abilities you’ve lost.

Yes aging does change the body.
Research shows that after midlife, we gradually lose muscle mass, power, and balance. Reaction time slows.
Recovery takes longer.
These are normal physiological shifts, not personal failures.

But science is equally clear about something else.
Aging itself accounts for far less decline than inactivity does.

Studies on sarcopenia, balance, and mobility consistently show that much of what we attribute to “old age” is actually disuse. When muscles aren’t challenged, they weaken rapidly at any age.
When balance isn’t practiced, the nervous system becomes less confident. When joints aren’t moved through their ranges, stiffness increases and pain follows.

The body adapts precisely to what it is asked to do.
Ask it for less, and it becomes less.
Ask it gently, consistently for more, and it responds.
Even in later decades of life.

This is why strength training improves muscle and bone density well into the 60s, 70s, and beyond. Why balance training reduces fall risk. Why walking, resistance, and simple movement can restore function people believed was permanently lost. These aren’t motivational slogans they are well-documented physiological truths.

What often limits us is not age, but fear: fear of pain, fear of injury, fear of discovering our limits. Over time, that fear quietly shrinks daily movement, and the body follows that smaller map.

Each time you move carefully, imperfectly, honestly you send a signal to your muscles, bones, and nervous system: this still matters. That signal, repeated over time, becomes strength. Becomes confidence. Becomes resilience.

Aging changes the pace.
It changes the strategy.
But it does not eliminate the body’s capacity to adapt.

What you practice, you preserve.
What you abandon, you lose faster than time ever intended.

And every small act of movement is not defiance of aging
it is cooperation with biology.

01/01/2026

It all can help 🙏

I often post about manual therapy and exercise not having significant differences, however, that's the case when measuring pain and range and function. Maybe we're not measuring the right things when it comes to manual techniques?

Manual therapy for lumbar disc herniation is not about “pushing a disc back in” — it is about sending a powerful safety signal to a sensitized nervous system so your exercise and loading strategies can finally stick.
​
If you’re still telling patients you’re “realigning” or “pushing a disc back in,” you’re working with an outdated model.

A 2024 RCT by Taşkaya et al. showed that when manual therapy is added to a stabilization program for lumbar disc herniation, it specifically improves kinesiophobia and anxiety scores, while exercise alone does not change these psychological factors significantly (p < 0.05).

How manual therapy really works

Manual therapy acts as a neuromodulatory input, likely engaging supraspinal regions like the periaqueductal gray rather than mechanically repositioning discs.

In this trial, both groups improved in pain intensity and catastrophizing, but only the manual therapy group showed statistically significant reductions in kinesiophobia and anxiety.

Why this matters clinically

If patients are too fearful or anxious to move, even the best exercise program underperforms; manual therapy opens a “psychosocial window” where movement and loading become acceptable again.

Thinking of yourself less as a spinal mechanic and more as a nervous system “neuro‑modulator” aligns what you say, what you do with your hands, and how you prescribe exercise.

Practical takeaway for clinicians

Keep your manual techniques, but update the narrative: explain touch and mobilization as tools to help the brain feel safer so patients can move with more confidence.

Use that short-lived safety window to immediately layer in graded exposure, stabilization, and patient-led strategies instead of chasing repeated passive “fixes.”

Take my online course to level up your outcomes, get unlimited access and CEUs https://edgemobilitysystem.com/pages/mmtuqlq

28/12/2025

Wow 😯

27/12/2025

Great. Build strength then power 👍

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆

📌A new editorial in Mayo Clinic Proceedings highlights a critical shift in how we view fitness and aging: 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 may be a far better predictor of longevity than muscle strength alone. While muscle strength reflects the maximal force you can exert, muscle power combines force with 𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆, or speed. In a study of 3,899 adults, relative muscle power was found to be a significantly stronger predictor of all-cause mortality than muscle strength. Notably, the hazard ratios for mortality were substantially higher for low muscle power compared to low muscle strength in both men and women.

📌One important reason is that muscle power declines earlier and more rapidly with age than muscle strength. This matters because many daily activities—such as rising quickly from a chair, climbing stairs, or reacting fast enough to prevent a fall—depend heavily on movement speed, not just raw force. As a result, focusing solely on strength may overlook a key component of functional independence.

📌The authors therefore suggest a paradigm shift in exercise prescription. Instead of only asking, “How much can you lift?”, clinicians and individuals should also ask, “How fast can you lift it?” To improve functional independence and survival, the editorial advocates incorporating 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, where weights are moved with speed, rather than relying only on traditional slow-speed resistance training.

📌Think of your muscles like a car engine. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 is the torque—the ability to pull a heavy trailer up a hill slowly. 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 is the acceleration—the ability to get up to speed quickly to merge onto a highway or avoid a collision. While torque allows you to do the work, it is often acceleration—muscle power—that keeps you safe and effective in everyday life.

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⚠️Disclaimer: Sharing a study or a part of it is NOT an endorsement. Please read the original article and evaluate critically.⚠️

Link to Article 👇

09/12/2025

Good to understand

This new paper reframes the classic 80/20 idea in exercise physiology: ~80% of total activity should be low intensity, and ~20% should impose meaningful metabolic stress.
But instead of a simple binary, it maps six distinct intensity zones from light, frequent movement to maximal alactic bursts.

Zone PEP: low-load preparatory movement

Zone 1: low-aerobic (talking pace)

Zone 2: sustainable threshold work

Zone 3: VO₂max-level intervals

Zone 4: high-lactate strength/anaerobic efforts

Zone 5: brief, maximal VILPA-type bursts

It integrates daily-life load with planned exercise, offering a more physiologically coherent model for training, aging, pain management, and performance.

Fernandez & Seiler, 2025 (Front Sports Act Living 7:1641818)