278 The Muscle-Longevity Connection: Strength Training Supports Metabolism, Bones, and Healthy Longevity with Jeanne Phares
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Release Date: 07/27/2026
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
What happens when a medical tradition thousands of years old meets 21st-century wearable technology? In this solo episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch explores that question through her personal experience with the Watch2Care smartwatch, a wearable that tracks contemporary physiological data while presenting its findings through a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) framework. As a Western-trained physician and medical biochemist, Dr. Gillian was intrigued—but also skeptical—when her watch displayed unfamiliar scores associated with the TCM concepts of...
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Welcome to Season 5 of Growing Older Living Younger, and a new way of exploring what it means to grow older while continuing to live younger. In this solo episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch introduces a new themed format designed to move beyond individual topics and create a clearer pathway from information to action. Season 5 will explore healthy aging through three interconnected themes: Ageless Brain, Ageless Body and Ageless Living. Each series will look more deeply at one major dimension of healthy aging, bringing together different experts, perspectives and areas of science while asking...
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oes an increase in forgetfulness or increasing "senior moments" imply developing dementia? One of the greatest fears associated with growing older is losing memory, cognitive ability and ultimately independence. But dementia is not a single disease, and not every change in memory or thinking represents irreversible neurodegeneration. In this episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch welcomes Dr. Brad Montagne, a functional medicine practitioner, educator, author and host of the podcast Your Health Reclaimed. Brad begins by describing a personal...
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Is it possible to eat nourishing whole foods without letting grocery costs overwhelm your budget? Grocery industry insider and author Carol Ann Kates joins Dr. Gillian Lockitch to share practical ways to plan meals, shop sales, select produce, understand labels, and store food so less goes to waste. Their conversation offers useful ideas for smaller households as well as families. Rising prices and confusing product claims can make a healthy grocery trip feel expensive and complicated. A thoughtful plan can help you bring home only food you will enjoy and use. For people who want to stay...
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What if ingredients that can enrich a healthy lifestyle are already growing in your garden, waiting at the farmers’ market, or sitting in your spice cupboard? Too often, eating for longevity is framed as a list of restrictions, a mindset that can drain pleasure from food and make healthy choices feel difficult to sustain. or healthy longevity, nourishment must be practical enough for daily life and enjoyable enough to continue. Fresh ingredients, seasonal variety, herbs, plants, and mindful attention to what works for your own body can help make the kitchen a place of creativity...
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Could difficulty hearing conversations today affect your brain health, independence and quality of life in the years ahead? Hearing loss is often treated as a minor inconvenience of growing older, yet it can affect communication, relationships, social connection, confidence and independence. In this episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with hearing-health advocate and author Robert “Bob” Keefer, MD, about the association between hearing loss and cognitive decline, why so many people delay seeking help for hearing deficits and what questions to ask before choosing a hearing-care provider....
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Health care professionals emphasize optimizing cholesterol, blood sugar and hormone levels and from that assessing biological age. These measurements can provide useful information, but do they tell us whether the body is still resilient, adaptable and capable of recovering from illness, injury or stress? In this episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch and Dr. Sean Fletch explore the difference between moving a laboratory number into the desired range, and addressing the upstream conditions that caused it to change. Dr. Fletch reframes healthspan as more than the number of years lived...
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What does a physician-scientist actually do each day to support her own healthy aging? This is a question Dr. Gillian Lockitch hears often. Her answer is not a prescription, a shopping list or a collection of fashionable biohacks. Healthy longevity is personal: our genetics, health histories, medications, priorities and goals differ, so the most useful routine is one designed for the individual. In this solo episode, Dr. Gillian organizes her approach around the seven pillars of healthy longevity described in her book, Growing Older, Living Younger. She explains how epigenetics offers a more...
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Could retirement actually become the beginning of your most meaningful work? In this personal solo episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch shares how spinal surgery, ballroom dancing, entrepreneurship and podcasting transformed her understanding of healthy longevity. You’ll discover why curiosity, consistency and a renewed sense of purpose can help you remain mentally sharp, physically engaged and excited about the future at any age. For most of her professional life, Dr. Gillian Lockitch was a physician, medical biochemist, researcher, university professor and department head. She expected...
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What helps people stay active, strong, and independent as they age—luck, genetics, or habits built years earlier? In this episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with Carl Daikeler, co-founder and CEO of BODi, about why healthy longevity is rooted in consistency: regular movement, supportive nutrition, and the discipline to care for your body before a health crisis forces the issue. Carl shares his personal story of discovering a congenital heart block at age 59, receiving a pacemaker, and using that experience to deepen his commitment to healthspan...
info_outlineWhat role does muscle strength play in healthy aging, longevity, and independence? In this episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with Jeanne Phares about why maintaining and building muscle becomes increasingly important for women during and after menopause. Drawing on her personal experience as a leukemia survivor and decades of strength training, Jeanne explains the connections between muscle mass, metabolism, bone health, resilience, and recovery. Listeners will learn practical strategies for strength training, nutrition, and lifestyle habits that support vitality and healthspan at every age.
Jeanne Phares is Founder of Sage Lifestyle Collective and creator of the Sage Strength Transformation Program. She is a Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Strength Trainer, and author specializing in women's health after 50. Prior to entering the health field, she enjoyed a successful career as a Certified Public Accountant and executive mentor. Her work focuses on strength training, nutrition, menopause education, and healthy aging for women. She helps women build muscle, improve metabolic health, and maintain independence throughout midlife and beyond. A leukemia survivor, she credits decades of strength training with helping her withstand intensive treatment and recovery.
Episode Timeline
00:00 – Welcome and introduction
03:00 – Why muscle strength predicts healthy aging and longevity
04:36 – Jeanne's journey from CPA to health and wellness coach
05:30 – Leukemia diagnosis and the role of physical resilience in recovery
09:30 – Stem cell transplant and rebuilding strength after illness
13:15 – Turning health challenges into opportunities for growth
15:46 – Common misconceptions about lifting weights after 50
18:35 – Why walking and yoga alone may not be enough
20:00 – Muscle health, bone strength, and menopause
23:53 – Strength training as the foundation of healthy aging
25:15 – Nutrition mistakes women commonly make after menopause
28:49 – Hydration, electrolytes, and healthy aging
30:23 – Whole foods nutrition and listening to your body
34:44 – The one simple change that supports lifelong health
36:23 – Final thoughts and key takeaways
Connect with Jeanne Phares
Sage Lifestyle Collective www.sagelifestylepress.com
Free Gifts for Listeners: Each guest will receive all three:
1. Free Chapter Download: "Your Body Changed the Rules. Here's the New Playbook" from Eat for Strength for Women Over 50
2.Free Starter Guide: The Sage Strength Starter Guide
3.Lottery Entry: A chance to win one of 10 discount codes for the 8-Week Sage Strength Transformation Program or one of 10 free audiobooks of Eat for Strength for Women Over 50
Books:
The Beginner's Guide to Strength Training for Women Over 50
Eat for Strength for Women Over 50
Sage Strength Transformation Program : Free strength training and healthy aging resources
Connect with Your Host: Dr. Gillian Lockitch
Email: [email protected]
website: https://askdrgill.com