10/23/2025
💪 Why Strength + Muscle + Protein = Your Body’s Insurance Plan for Life
Most people hear me talk about protein, resistance training, and building muscle all the time — and for good reason.
If you truly understand what these things mean and how they work together, you’ll understand why they are essential for your health, longevity, and confidence.
Let’s break it down 👇
🧠 1. What Is Strength Training?
Strength training is your body’s ability to produce force — simply put, how strong you are.
It’s what allows you to move your body with control, lift things, climb stairs, and carry groceries without pain or hesitation.
Strength doesn’t just show up in the way you look — it also changes how you feel.
When you feel strong, you feel confident. There’s a psychological shift that happens when your body moves well — it builds belief in yourself.
Think of strength as powering up your engine — your ability to move effortlessly and live life without limitations.
💪 2. What Is Muscle Building (Hypertrophy)?
Muscle building focuses on increasing the size of your muscle fibers.
This is what gives you shape, tone, and definition. But more importantly, muscle helps your body function better.
The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, the better your blood sugar control, and the stronger your bones and joints.
Building muscle also protects you against injuries and improves mobility and balance.
You can work on both strength and muscle at the same time — in fact, they go hand-in-hand.
Strength training powers up your system, while muscle building upgrades your body’s capacity to perform.
🚨 3. Why Resistance Training Is Essential as You Age
As we age, muscle loss (sarcopenia) becomes a real threat.
Let me stress this — you do NOT want to lose muscle.
Losing muscle leads to weakness, poor balance, slower metabolism, and loss of independence.
It’s one of the main reasons people struggle with aging — but it’s completely preventable.
You lose muscle when you:
• Stop moving or become inactive 🪑
• Don’t eat enough food or protein 🍽️
• Get injured or laid up for long periods 🛏️
That’s why consistent resistance training — even three days per week — is crucial.
It keeps you strong, functional, and confident.
🍗 4. How Protein Ties It All Together
When you train, you’re actually breaking down your muscle fibers.
That’s the point — the stress of exercise tells your body, “Hey, we need to get stronger!”
But the repair and rebuilding process depends on protein — your body’s building material.
Protein is made up of amino acids — think of them as the nutrients that repair, rebuild, and strengthen those muscle fibers.
Without enough protein, your body can’t recover or grow no matter how great your workouts are.
Most people simply don’t eat enough protein — and that’s why I emphasize it so much.
Here’s the breakdown 👇
1.2 g/kg = Bare minimum (maintenance)
1.6–2.0 g/kg = Ideal range for building muscle and getting stronger
💡 Example daily protein goals:
• 150 lbs (68 kg): 82g (1.2g/kg), 109g (1.6g/kg), 136g (2.0g/kg)
• 200 lbs (91 kg): 109g (1.2g/kg), 145g (1.6g/kg), 181g (2.0g/kg)
• 250 lbs (113 kg): 136g (1.2g/kg), 182g (1.6g/kg), 227g (2.0g/kg)
⚙️ 5. Resistance Training + Protein = Progress
Here’s the relationship in simple terms:
Training gives your body the stimulus (the reason to grow)
Protein provides the building blocks (the material to make it happen)
It’s like trying to build a house — you can’t build it without wood, nails, and strong materials.
Or like putting high-octane fuel in your car — your performance depends on the quality of what you put in.
Consistency with both resistance training and nutrition is the formula for results — strength, tone, and long-term health.
🌱 6. The Big Picture
Resistance training isn’t just about building muscle.
It’s about building your body’s future — so you can move well, stay independent, and live strong for decades to come.
Every time you train, you’re not just exercising — you’re investing in your health, your confidence, and your quality of life.
📚 Protein intake ranges referenced from Dr. Peter Attia’s discussions on The Drive Podcast.
✅ Live long. Live healthy.
— Christopher from Freedom Body Fitness
