Hello Reader

I'm new to weight lifting and strength training.

My expertise on longevity is first academic.
Back when I worked in a lab, developing a senolytic (drug designed to clear senescent cells), I studied aging at a cellular level.
On a personal level though, my lifestyle was aging me at an accelerated rate (My story).

After burning out, longevity became a lifestyle for me.
At least what we understood of longevity in 2016.

I radically changed the way I ate, going from a somewhat standard diet to keto, and incorporated a lot of fasting.
I also got more and more into mindfulness and made it a daily habit. I was very active at that time too.
When I turned 36 in 2018, people could not believe I was in my thirties. "You look 26!" is what I kept hearing.
I definitely felt 10 years younger too.

Now at 42 with 2 kids, my life is much different. On my 40th birthday, I had a "State of the Union moment".
I bet you had some birthdays like that, when you look back to plan ahead.
When you take stock and reevaluate your life.

Well now that I passed the 4th decade of my life, I am officially aging.
Like my friend Paul Long said it, you can either ascend into age or descend into age.

We're here together in this community to ascend into age.

And that, Reader, takes intentionality and pushing yourself.

It's 2024, and since 2016 when I first got into it, our understanding of longevity, of what makes for better years past the age of 60, has grown a lot.

What I have learned from both academic approach and personal experience, is that the older you get, the more active you should be.

If I could give my 30 year old self an advice, it would be to build the habits for getting stronger.
Because the more muscle you start with, the less impact sarcopenia (age-related loss of muscle mass) has on your life.
That's why I think about building strength as raising capital.

However, at 40 the stake is higher and I have no problem finding motivation to hit the gym consistently, while eating a diet rich in protein.
I've walked to my gym in the snow and I always look forward to my workout.
Today I want to share some of the mindsets that are helping me.

A habit of training relies on the mind as much as it relies on the body.

Today I want to share the iron mindsets that are driving my consistency and leading me to not only keep going, although I suck at lifting, but to train even harder : .

1. A growth-oriented comparison​
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   Everybody says comparison is the thief of joy. Wrong. Comparison to others is the thief of joy.
   Comparison to self is the gift of growth. Especially if, like me, you are a competitive person.
   By practising the habit of progress, and tracking my loads, I know that this-week-me is lifting more pounds than last-week-me.
   I don't fall into the trap of comparing myself to other people in my fitness class. I acknowledge my progress and only compare myself, to myself in the past.
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2. Grit
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   Winning is not crushing your work out. Winning is not quitting when the going gets hard. When the workout gets tough, I keep pushing. I go to my limit, and some.
   It's hard to describe how great it feels to really push myself.
   Winning is not in the gains (muscle mass, muscle strength, energy).
   Winning is to come to the gym and do the work.
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3. The best things in life are on the other side of hard
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   Every strength training session is a time to do things that are hard for me. Hard is fun. Hard boosts life.
   When you conquer hard at the gym, you can face it in every other area of your life with confidence.
   When you conquer hard at the gym, you control stress better.
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4. Showing up anyways
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   I suck at lifting (for now) and I show up anyways. I give it my best effort.
   The only way to get what I want in life is by doing the work.
   I suck less at lifting now than I did 2 months ago.
   My baby is in the hospital and all I want is be with her and I show up anyways.
   I am not feeling great and I show up anyways.
   It's cold and snowing and I show up anyways.
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5. Stretching and sustaining​
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   When I add plates to the barbell, I look to add a weight that challenges me/grows my strength, but not too heavy that I can't sustain the effort.
   The gym is the perfect place to find the pace of consistency.
   The pace at which you can stretch and sustain.
   Going too hard at it hurts consistency.
   That's the antidote to burnout and overwhelm in every other area of our lives.
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6. Hacking the growth mindset​
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   If you haven't heard of the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset, I recommend the book on the topic by Dr. Carol Dweck.
   Studies on children found that those praised with labels ("You're smart") had a decrease in performance on tests, while those praised for effort ("You really tried hard") had better performance over time.
   What this means for us is that when it comes to the way we relate to ourselves, acknowledging that you gave it your best or you persevered during the workout, can lead to better and better perfomance.
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7. Tapping into my future self​
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   At the beginning of the year, I wrote the vision of my future self in details. I read it regularly. My daughters are a strong motivation for me. Even stronger now that my second was born with Down syndrome, as I want to be around and impactful in her life for a very long time.
   I visualize this picture of my future self and future family at the gym.
   My future self is strong and muscular. So I tell myself that I am strong and muscular.
   When I lift, I am that person.

Many people I talk to tell me that consistency and exercising regularly are a challenge.
It's hard to carve the time and keep this commitment to yourself.

But it's worth it.
You are worth it.
Your life is worth it.

Everyone misses a workout sometimes.
But those who get stronger are the ones who don't stop showing up.
I often "fail" at the gym: can't get the number of reps that the coach asked for, can't lift that weight, can't perform all the exercises in the given time,..
But I don't get hung up on that, I just keep going and keep trying again.
Winning is not the absence of failure, winning is to keep trying after we fail.
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Longevity is not a destination. It's a journey.
It's not about achieving longer life.
It's about who you become.

I really hope this ignites you.

Talk soon
Jihane

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PS: If it did ignite you, would you share that with your people? It would greatly support me in building this community. They can read previous emails on my creator profile here and sign up if they're into it.
Thank you! Much love!