StrengthSpace, LLC

05/14/2026

It's tempting to complicate our exercise with skill-based movements. But if our goal is to build lean muscle tissue, and preserve it as we age, simpler is often better.

In Lesson 7, we talk about skill. It's tempting to incorporate a lot of skill based exercises into your training. The trouble is, the more skill is involved,...

05/08/2026

Who would have thought that maintain a fit body would optimize for longevity?

04/28/2026

FAQ: What About Eccentrics?

https://youtu.be/oqf4Ouixf3Q

In this video, Dr. Lee discusses eccentrics, or lengthening a muscle under load. While this should never be skipped or neglected, misunderstanding what makes it valuable can lead to unproductively overemphasizing it.

FAQ: What About Eccentrics?

04/14/2026

FAQ: What about joint noises?

https://youtu.be/vExy4Zi9RZM

Should we stop exercising if we hear crunching, grinding, snapping, or clicking noises in our joints? Dr. Lee has some encouraging thoughts about how strength training can actually help!

Shout out to Live Oak Strength for the great question!

Dr. Lee discusses crunching, grinding, or snapping sounds, and whether we should avoid exercises because of them.

03/31/2026

FAQ: Why am I getting more out of breath during my workouts?

As new clients begin to get stronger, and learn to recruit their muscles more deeply, strength training workouts can start to make them more out of breath. But this doesn't mean they are getting in worse shape - it means the workouts are becoming more demanding because they are using more muscle mass!

Have you been training for a while, and find that you are getting *more* out of breath during your exercise? Dr. Lee explains why, as our strength improves, ...

03/27/2026

FAQ: What "counts" as strength training?

https://youtu.be/wgRetNRcjAc

In this video, Dr. Lee discusses the benefits that only strength training can give, and why those benefits require loading that is meaningful, progressable, measurable, and (usually) external.

There are many healthy activities that involve using our muscles. But which of them actually "count" as strength training? In this video, Dr. Lee discusses t...

03/18/2026

FAQ: What about VO2 max?

VO2 max is all the rage. A low VO2 max is highly predictive of our risk of death. In this video, Dr. Lee explains what it actually is, and how most of its predictive power may be because it is a proxy for body composition and frailty.

VO2 max is a valuable assessment of the risk of death and disease. But what if all of its predictive power is simply due to it being a proxy for body composi...

03/15/2026

Are your priorities right in the gym?
Seeing bigger numbers keeps us motivated, and mixing up exercises keeps us interested, but it can be a mistake to prioritize numerical progress and variety over what really matters: consistency and intensity of effort.

In Lesson 6, we discuss what's really important to a healthy exercise program. While variety and progression can help keep you motivated, it is consistency a...

03/13/2026

FAQ: Grip Training to Live Longer?

https://youtu.be/6rQvm50_uy4

It's true that grip strength is a strong indicator of our mortality risk, but it's actually a lagging indicator of whole body strength and muscle.

Studies show that grip is a strong predictor of our mortality risk. But does this mean that training our grip in isolation will help us to live longer? In th...

03/09/2026

FAQ: Are Machines Just For Beginners?

Many people think that strength machines, because they are simple to use, are better for beginners. They think that we should progress to more "advanced" exercises involving free weights. And while free weights are widely available and can be the basis of a great workout, it is not true that they are superior at strengthening connective tissues like muscles and tendons. In fact, machines can allows us to safely achieve a much deeper level of stimulation and fatigue.

If you are exercising because you want improvements to your body, rather than to master skills in the gym, than machines can help you to accomplish this safely and efficiently.

In this video, Dr. Lee addresses the concern that machines, because they are simple, appear to be just for novices. The reality is that advanced lifters know...

03/03/2026

Lesson 5: More is not always better!

https://youtu.be/mPLVyKEpUr0

We've talked about exercise frequency before, but here's another attempt to drive home the idea that intense exercise has diminishing returns. Diversify your portfolio with other healthy activity to avoid overuse injuries and inadequate recovery.

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