Strength For Health

07/10/2025

We tend to lose muscle as we get older not because we get older but because we don't use our muscles enough. This process can start just as soon as our teenage bodies stop growing. But we can still grow new muscle well into our 70s, if we train hard enough.

We tend to get fatter as we get older because we eat more of the wrong things & move less, not because our metabolisms slow down. (Eating the wrong things matters far more than moving more. People can easily gain fat while training to run marathons because of eating the wrong things.)

Metabolism doesn't slow down until we are into our 60s (& even then, only a little bit), but as we get older, those of us prone to insulin resistance become more insulin resistant which increases that rate at which we store fat.

06/10/2025

There are times I really detest science journalism. Either the headline OR the data (showing a U-shaped graph) is correct: they cannot both be true (though both could be wrong).

On skimming through the article I was less unimpressed than I was by the headline. What multiple studies have shown is that alcohol is generally toxic to the human being but at very low intakes it is hard to measure the effects.

I'm not about to give up all alcohol on the basis of this headline but I am reminded that we don't benefit from drinking too much or too often.

29/09/2025

Twelve weeks, three months, ¼ of a year; that’s the time you’ve got available if you want to start getting fitter and stronger this year. And that is a huge amount of time in which to make a positive impact on your life.

It is still September so I’m not going to mention the dreaded ‘C’ word, but now that summer is officially over we tend to start thinking about putting off things (like new exercise programmes) until the New Year. But if you start training now you will be – if not transformed – a better version of yourself long before then. Now is the perfect time to get started in the gym.

I focus on getting ordinary people stronger in order to live their lives better. Very few of my clients play sport or enjoy exercising all that much but all recognise the benefits that strength training brings them after a few short weeks of training with me. But I am an athlete (a very mediocre one, maybe, but still an athlete) and I am delighted to work with people who are looking to improve their performance as well look after their health. All of my current clients train once a week and that has proved to be enough to make great improvements in their lives so please don’t assume that you need to find a huge amount of time to dedicate to your fitness.

If you are looking for private, one to one training to get you stronger then Strength for Health offers strength coaching and health and fitness advice in a private gym facility (with no audience, mirrors, measurements, scales or progress photos) in the heart of Beith. I have a few training times left Monday to Thursday afternoons and I am soon going to be opening up a couple of times on Thursday evenings (though they will only run until late March).

If you are interested in find out more about the benefits of strength training then please contact me via Messenger or WhatsApp on 07961 199746 and we can arrange for you to come and have a no-obligation chat with me.

24/09/2025

The "periodic table of vitamins" explained simply

We all know vitamins and minerals matter, but keeping track of which ones do what can feel like chemistry class. Here’s an attempt at the plain-English version:

1️⃣ Vitamins = Activators
They turn enzymes and reactions on, making energy, neurotransmitters, and hormones possible.
💡 Example: B12 and folate drive methylation, critical for DNA repair and brain function.

2️⃣ Minerals = Spark Plugs
Minerals act like cofactors that help enzymes run.
💡 Example: Magnesium is needed in more than 300 reactions, from ATP production to muscle relaxation.

3️⃣ Antioxidants = Shields
They neutralize free radicals that damage cells.
💡 Example: Vitamin C recycles Vitamin E, while CoQ10 protects mitochondria.

4️⃣ It’s a Network, Not Solo Players
These nutrients recycle and regenerate each other. One deficiency can drag the whole system down.
💡 Example: Without selenium, glutathione can’t work; without B2, folate can’t activate.

5️⃣ Food Sources Matter Most
Vitamins and minerals don’t float alone. They come packaged with synergistic compounds in real food.
💡 Example: Eggs give you choline + B12 + selenium, a combination you’ll never get from an isolated pill.

Think of your nutrients like a periodic table. Each one has a role, but together they form the chemistry of life. Focus on variety in whole foods, not just single “hero” supplements.

16/09/2025

Are you part of the 88 or part of the 12?

Only 12% of adult Americans enjoy optimal metabolic health, per https://t.co/MDGhaug6K3

If you're part of the 88, PLEASE learn more.

PLEASE look for an effective intervention to restore your health.

It IS possible.

You ARE worth it.

20/08/2025

This is a very useful resource to help people understand how many common foods affect blood sugar & therefore health.

Dr Unwin is an NHS GP (not some out-there, weird, social media influencer type) who listened to his patients & learned from them about the successes they were having in relation to diabetes through dietary changes when he could not fix them with medication. He then went on to perform clinical research to understand what was happening to them & then published the results. His information now forms part of the NICE guidelines for diabetes treatment but is still not widely understood or adopted by GPs in the UK.

The graphics that you can obtain from the link here can be really useful when it comes helping you make good choices about the food you eat. Any nutritional advice I offer is in line with it as well.

Some fruits spike your blood sugar more than others, and the difference might surprise you.

This visual from Dr. David Unwin helps us see how sugary different fruits really are. Each teaspoon = 4g of sugar.

Per 120g serving:
🍇 Grapes = 4.0 teaspoons of sugar
🍑 Nectarine = 1.5 teaspoons
🍉 Watermelon = 1.8 teaspoons

Even though all fruits contain natural sugars, some have a much gentler effect on your blood sugar, helping you avoid spikes and crashes.

Swapping higher-impact fruits like grapes for lower-impact ones like nectarines can support better energy and blood sugar control.

💬 Comment ‘Sugar’ to get the full infographic and original research.

19/08/2025

I've been promising myself a window sign for months and have finally got around to getting one. It took me two attempts as I initially ordered the wrong thing from Vista Print. But all my clients will tell you that progress and success come from repeated attempts and failures!

I am not taking on any new clients until 15th September but if anyone wants to have a chat with me with a view to starting training in a few weeks' time, I would be delighted to hear from you.

I want to acknowledge the creative genius, Michael Rowley, who designed my logo for me back in 2020. I've never seen it this size before and I am blown away by how good it looks. https://creativeki.com/logos

28/07/2025

"Should I train while I'm ill?"

It is a question that my clients often ask me & my answer is always, 'it depends'.

The easy answer is that I don't want anyone to come to train in my gym if they are ill because of the risk of passing it on to me & others but the fact is that we are often infectious before we start feeling unwell. Hindsight is very often the thing that tells us we shouldn't have gone to the gym, into the office or to visit great aunty Maggie. Life happens! And while it is a good idea to try to limit the spread of infection we just can't eliminate it & live any kind of normal life. And we have all had too many experiences in recent years of what abnormal life looks! Let's not go there again...

So, the most important thing to consider is whether training while your are ill is good for you or not. And that requires you to weigh up the costs & benefits of training or not training & to pay attention to your body & adjust your plan if you do decide to train. And that's what I've had to do over this past weekend.

I started to feel like I had a cold coming on Wednesday evening; just the first ni**le of a cough. On Thursday I knew I had a cold & even though I felt ok, I opted out of my evening cycling club ride in the hopes that I'd feel better on Friday & Saturday (because I had bigger rides planned on those days). Friday came & I didn't feel too good so did no exercise at all (though I did go out to Asda & lunch, so I wasn't suffering from full-blown man flu!). I felt ok enough to ride 35 miles on Saturday but it was a much shorter & less challenging ride than I really wanted to be doing, even though it felt much harder than it ought to.

Sunday I felt pretty grotty again, though I did manage a decent walk for an hour.

And today I was in the gym doing my scheduled weekly strength session. Or that was the plan anyway. I got stuff done but it felt harder than usual so I backed off. Initially I thought I might just run through my warm-up routine & stop there but I ended up doing one working set instead of my normal two & dropped my working weight down for all of my lifts. Deadlift was my last exercise & warming it up didn't feel great so I settled for doing a single heavy lift (instead of a heavier set of five) & calling it a day. I don't know if I was just being a wimp or whether my back was indeed sending me a warning signal but I chose caution over my programme.

After lifting I went for a short walk which felt fine but was slower than normal. And now, later in the afternoon, I feel moderately wiped out.

Was it a good idea for me to train today? On balance, I think it was but it was also very right not to push too hard. I'm clearly getting over my illness (it really hasn't been that bad) but I have learned to respect that fact that when I'm ill I need time & energy to recover. Training hard takes up that time & energy & prolongs my recovery so it just isn't worth it.

Now, if I was training for a specific competition on a particular day I might just have to push harder in my training but life has taught me that often doesn't work out well, though sometimes you have to take a gamble. But I'm not training for a competition, I'm training for my life & my health & there is no point on pushing myself so hard now that I can't function in the future.

The general rule I apply is that if you have a head cold (sore throat, blocked nose & sneezing) then you are probably ok to train, if you want to. If you have a chest cold (coughing & mucus) then just give yourself a few days off. But if you are running a fever, are achy & shivery and/or have an upset stomach or gut, you need to let yourself rest to recover. Mild headaches can be treated with paracetamol & worked around but anything more than that deserves rest & recuperation.

If you miss a week of training you'll barely notice the effect on your performance. And if you are feeling feeble & can't train to full effect, you are not really getting benefit from the training anyway while it is costing you time & energy. Pushing too hard instead of allowing yourself downtime to recover from illness just runs the risk that what might have taken a week out of your life morphs into a more serious illness (a chest infection, perhaps) that badly affects you for months to come.

But if the idea of doing no training at all (lifting, running, cycling, etc.) is too much to bear, then go for a walk. Walk as much as you want but don't push yourself through fatigue. It just isn't worth it & it really doesn't benefit you at all.

Anyway, it turns out that my mild head cold is actually COVID. Colds actually seem to floor me more than COVID does but I'm not about to mess with an illness that has caused friends, relatives & clients some long-term problems. But all illnesses have the potential to produce long-term problems if you are unlucky enough or manage them badly.

I'm in the business of trying to help people improve & manage their health not about maximising their short-term athletic performance. My clients know I provide hard, demanding training but they also hear me tell them to rest hard too. After illness, injury or surgery, I believe it is important to get back to hard training but it needs to be balanced with rest if you want to achieve task recovery. It is a lesson I keep trying to learn myself! Maybe one day... (Do as I say, not as I do...)

28/07/2025

I agree with this 100%.

Well, maybe 99%...

This man is a scientist so he reports what the science says & the available evidence says you should train twice a week. I don't disagree with that & in fact try to follow that general rule myself in my own training.

But, I'm a coach who uses science to inform my coaching rather than letting incomplete science dictate what I do with my clients. Ultimately my clients are in charge of what they do & what they unanimously tell me is that training hard enough once a week works wonders for them.

Twice a week may be better than one but one is a million times better than none.

The People We Really Need to Reach with Resistance Training

Let’s talk about what really matters.
Most adults don't do any resistance training. None. Only 23% of U.S. adults meet the recommended muscle-strengthening guidelines of two sessions per week (CDC, 2022). That doesn't mean they lfit weights but that they self-report that they do something that the CDC says is 'strengthening.'

THAT'S the problem. Not the debate about drop sets vs rest-pause. Not the optimal split. Not even whether you need a weighted vest. Collagen supplements (waste of money). Protein at 3x your body weight (😂). Tumeric/Curcumin (a total waste of money). These are noise, distractions, and not worth your time or attention.

💥 The biggest reduction in risk—for mortality, frailty, type 2 diabetes, falls, and more—occurs when someone who was doing nothing starts doing something (PMID: 29089346, PMID: 27580152)

Yet, most of the conversation online is aimed at the 1-5% who are already lifting and seeking micro-optimizations. Supplement stacks. Periodized cycles. Fasting windows. Pre-sleep protein. Weighted vests... it's nuts! That’s all fine—if you’re chasing performance or a goal, go for it. But realize what is really making the difference (signal) and what is just fluff.

But let’s not confuse nuance with necessity.
🚨 For the majority? Forget the fads. Forget the weighted vest. Forget the magic powder. They're noise.
👉 The big picture? Consistent application of high effort with a load that challenges you—somewhere between 3 to 30 reps (PMID: 37414459). You don't need to go to failure, you can leave 1-3 reps 'in the tank.' Consistent application (twice weekly) of high effort. Twice weekly = So many health benefits.

That’s it. That’s the message.

Let's shift the focus. Get more people lifting something—not chasing every.little.thing (that's probably just making money for whoever is pushing it).

27/07/2025

This is the insanity is much of so-called nutrition 'science' I'm afraid. This is not an extreme example or exaggerated for effect. A couple of years ago the WHO published an article/guidelines linking eating meat & developing cancer based on the study that this graphic refers to.

27/07/2025

Food for thought.

There are multiple factors involved in explaining why the Swiss, French (& Spanish) are generally healthier than other Europeans but it really should make everyone stop & think before blindly trying to lower cholesterol in the mistaken belief that doing so will make you live longer.

02/07/2025

There is never a perfect time to start exercising. But that also means there is no more perfect a time to start than now. It is too late to start working on your summer body but it is the ideal time to build your winter one!

If you are like me, there is always some reason for doing something later. As far as going to gym is concerned it would be very easy to say, ‘I’ll do that when the nights draw in’, but the reality often becomes, ‘It will soon be Christmas, so I will do it after that is out of the way’. The dreaded New Year Resolution! Then January arrives and you are skint so before you know it, it is February. And if you don’t start then…well it is nearly the summer again and, ‘I’ll get around to it when then nights start drawing in’…

I offer strength training coaching and general health and fitness guidance and advice. It is amazing just how much effect one a session a week of proper training can have on the way you move and feel. And don’t worry about missing a week or two with holidays; it takes a lot longer to lose the strength you have gained than it did to gain it in the first place. And, once gained and lost, it comes back again twice as fast once you resume training.

There will never be a better time to start getting stronger, fitter and healthier than now. So please arrange to come and have a completely no obligation chat with me to find out more. What have you got to lose?