20/01/2026
The Retirement Plan No One Talks About
We talk about retirement super, savings, exit plans.
But there’s a really important part that almost never gets mentioned.
💡 Money won’t help you get off the toilet!!!
Muscle doesn’t fade because you had a birthday.
It fades because it stopped being used.
And muscle isn’t about looking good in leggings at 70 or 80.
It’s about not tripping and breaking a hip, not losing your independence, and not ending up managed by strangers.
Muscle is what lets you:
• Carry your groceries
• Lift /play with your grandkids and feel energetic
• Catch yourself when you trip
• Get off the floor without a plan… or a witness
Yes — life happens.
Illness, injury, surgery, stress, menopause, chronic conditions… setbacks are real.
But having muscle / strength in the bank gives you more capacity to cope, recover, and stay independent when those things show up.
The goal is to live capable, with quality.
To travel without fear.
To stay in your own home for as long as you choose.
To be visited because you’re living not because someone feels they should check in.
That version of retirement doesn’t come from money alone. It comes from muscle.
I hear this all the time:
“I wish I’d started sooner.”
Or, “It’s too late now, it’s too hard.”
The truth?
The second-best time is now with the body you have, the energy you have, and the schedule you’re barely holding together.
You don’t have to love the gym.
You don’t have to become a “gym person.”
You just have to decide that your future deserves some effort from your present.
Capability in your body especially strength and muscle is the retirement plan no one talks about.
Because it takes effort, not paperwork or money.
And strength looks different for everyone it’s about doing what you can, at your level, and safely.
It doesn’t grow quietly in the background.
It needs attention.
And it pays you back with:
• Independence
• Confidence
• Lifestyle options
Strength is the retirement plan.
Lift now…
or let inactivity write your ending.
— Lisa
Clinical Exercise Physiologist
