Elite Muscle Mechanics

09/15/2026

“I Can’t Believe I Just Did That.”

Hey ,

Naomi was here over the weekend doing some isometric training. No heavy weights for this little one for now!

Earlier this week I had one of my favorite moments we’ve had in the Exercise Lab.

After approximately twelve weeks of training, it was finally time to begin working with heavier loads.

We decreased the repetitions.

We increased the rest.

And we started increasing the weight.

The first set for most people felt relatively comfortable.

That made sense.

It was essentially where they had left off.

So we added weight.

And that’s when I started hearing things like:

“Wow. I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“I would’ve been afraid to try this on my own.”

“I would’ve worried that my form wasn’t good enough.”

Then another client finished a difficult set and basically said:

“That was hard… but I could do it.”

Exactly.

That’s the point.

These weren’t twenty-year-old athletes.

Every one of these people was over 60.

And they were lifting heavier weights than they believed they could.

Their form didn’t fall apart.

Their bodies didn’t break.

They didn’t leave injured.

And they didn’t “pay for it” afterward.

Instead, something else happened.

They became more confident in their bodies.

That’s an enormous part of getting stronger that we don’t talk about enough.

Because strength isn’t simply a number on a weight stack.

Strength changes your relationship with your body.

If you’ve dealt with pain, arthritis, injuries, surgeries, or simply decades of getting older, it’s very easy to start believing your body is fragile.

You begin avoiding things.

You become cautious.

You stop trusting yourself.

And gradually the boundaries of what you believe you’re capable of become smaller.

Then one day you safely accomplish something you thought you couldn’t do.

And suddenly:

“Maybe my body isn’t as incapable as I thought.”

That’s powerful.

Nobody had to tell these clients they were getting stronger.

Their bodies proved it to them.

We’ll continue challenging them with heavier loads for the next several weeks.

Then we’ll change the stimulus again and give their bodies an opportunity to recover.

Because we’re not chasing heavier weights forever.

We’re chasing adaptation.

And ultimately, we’re chasing something much bigger than strength.

We’re rebuilding confidence in what the body can do.

— Josh

P.S. Building strength is now at the forefront of what we do at Elite Muscle Mechanics.

We have two new services specifically designed to help you build strength: MAT43 Strength Regeneration and the Exercise Lab.

If getting stronger without unnecessarily beating up your body is one of your goals, take a look at the two programs below and see which one sounds like the right next step for you.

The Exercise Lab ➡️
docs.google.com/document/d/11M3WB66wL0_VbiE9vWoE_QanigqHe4-3nsy0e4sdbUU/edit?usp=drivesdk

MAT43 Strength Regeneration ➡️
docs.google.com/document/d/11lSysJdR9K5pdBrWZuwDqdHfJzYGn7C72osWbF3mxYg/edit?usp=drivesdk

Click here for an update from Elite Muscle Mechanics, LLC!

09/11/2026

You Have to Earn the Heavier Weight

Recently, we entered a new phase in our Exercise Lab.

We had spent approximately 8 weeks preparing for it.

During those 8 weeks, we weren’t randomly changing exercises or trying to make every workout harder than the one before it.

We were controlling variables.

Repetitions.

Sets.

Rest.

Resistance.

Our clients’ bodies were gradually adapting.

Then it was time to change the stimulus.

We decreased the number of repetitions and began increasing the weight.

Here’s what’s important:

The heavier weight wasn’t the starting point.

It was the result of everything we’d done beforehand.

That’s what intelligent progression looks like.

You establish a foundation.

You allow adaptation.

Then you change the variables and create a new challenge.

This is called periodization—systematically changing training variables over time to produce specific adaptations while managing fatigue and recovery.

It’s how serious athletic programs have been designed for decades.

But these principles aren’t reserved for Olympians or professional athletes.

In fact, I think they become even more important as we get older.

Because the consequences of random exercise become greater.

We don’t want to simply throw weight on a machine and hope your body tolerates it.

We want to know why we’re increasing it.

When we’re increasing it.

And what we’re looking for when you do it.

That’s exactly what happened when our Exercise Lab clients entered their heavier phase.

And their reactions were incredible.

Especially because every one of the people I’m talking about was over 60.

— Josh

P.S. Building strength is now at the forefront of what we do at Elite Muscle Mechanics.

We have two new services specifically designed to help you build strength: MAT43 Strength Regeneration and the Exercise Lab.

If getting stronger without unnecessarily beating up your body is one of your goals, take a look at the two programs below and see which one sounds like the right next step for you.

The Exercise Lab ➡️
docs.google.com/document/d/11M3WB66wL0_VbiE9vWoE_QanigqHe4-3nsy0e4sdbUU/edit?usp=drivesdk

MAT43 Strength Regeneration ➡️
docs.google.com/document/d/11lSysJdR9K5pdBrWZuwDqdHfJzYGn7C72osWbF3mxYg/edit?usp=drivesdk

Click here for an update from Elite Muscle Mechanics, LLC!

09/08/2026

Why More Reps Won’t Necessarily Make You Stronger

Why More Reps Won’t Necessarily Make You Stronger

Let’s say I give you a ten-pound dumbbell.

You lift it 10 times.

Eventually, 10 repetitions become easy.

So you do 20.

Then 30.

Then 40.

Then 50.

You’re definitely improving something.

But what?

Primarily, you’re becoming better at repeatedly producing force against that particular load.

That’s muscular endurance.

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with endurance.

We need it.

But endurance and maximal strength aren’t the same adaptation.

Eventually, if our primary goal is increasing strength, doing more repetitions isn’t necessarily the best answer.

Instead, we can manipulate the variables.

We can decrease repetitions.

Increase resistance.

Change the number of sets.

Change rest periods.

This is where exercise stops being random and starts becoming a science.

Your body adapts specifically to the demands you place upon it.

So before I prescribe an exercise, I need to know:

What are we actually trying to improve?

That’s a question I wish more people asked.

Because simply making someone tired isn’t difficult.

I could make almost anyone exhausted in twenty minutes.

But exhaustion isn’t the goal.

Adaptation is. Getting STRONGER is.

So if strength is the adaptation we’re looking for, eventually we need to progressively expose the muscular system to greater demands.

That doesn’t mean recklessly adding weight.

It means earning the right to add weight.

There’s a huge difference.

And recently, a group of our Exercise Lab clients experienced exactly what that means. I’ll tell you about it next time!

— Josh

P.S. Building strength is now at the forefront of what we do at Elite Muscle Mechanics.

We have two new services specifically designed to help you build strength: MAT43 Strength Regeneration and the Exercise Lab.

If getting stronger without unnecessarily beating up your body is one of your goals, take a look at the two programs below and see which one sounds like the right next step for you.

The Exercise Lab ➡️
docs.google.com/document/d/11M3WB66wL0_VbiE9vWoE_QanigqHe4-3nsy0e4sdbUU/edit?usp=drivesdk

MAT43 Strength Regeneration ➡️
docs.google.com/document/d/11lSysJdR9K5pdBrWZuwDqdHfJzYGn7C72osWbF3mxYg/edit?usp=drivesdk

Click here for an update from Elite Muscle Mechanics, LLC!

09/04/2026

Meet Your Team of Olympic Weightlifters

Imagine that inside each of your muscles lives an entire team of Olympic weightlifters.

Some are lightweights.

Some are middleweights.

And some are massive heavyweights capable of producing tremendous amounts of force.

Those “lifters” are a simple way of thinking about something called motor units.

When your brain asks a muscle to produce force, it doesn’t necessarily use everything it has.

Instead, your nervous system recruits motor units in an orderly fashion, from lower-threshold units toward higher-threshold units, as the force requirement increases.

This is called the size principle of motor unit recruitment.

Think about picking up a coffee cup.

Your body doesn’t need its heavyweight Olympic lifters for that.

So it doesn’t call them.

But now imagine trying to pick up something substantially heavier. Maybe a bag of dog food or mulch.

The smaller lifters aren’t enough anymore.

Your nervous system must start calling in reinforcements.

Eventually, if the demand becomes high enough, you’re asking those larger, higher-threshold motor units to contribute.

And that’s incredibly important if your goal is strength.

Because if you’re training never creates enough demand to challenge your higher-force capabilities, you’re leaving a significant part of your strength potential untrained.

This is one reason why simply doing more and more repetitions isn’t the same thing as training specifically for strength.

You’re asking your body to solve a different problem.

And the body becomes remarkably good at solving whatever problem you repeatedly give it.

Want to improve endurance?

Train endurance.

Want to become stronger?

At some point, you must give your body a reason to produce greater force.

You have to call in the heavyweights.

But there’s an important catch.

You shouldn’t just walk into the gym tomorrow, throw twice as much weight on the machine, and hope everything works out.

There’s a process.

And skipping that process is exactly where many people get into trouble. It’s the thing we all fear; getting hurt!

We’ll talk about that next.

— Josh

P.S. Building strength is now at the forefront of what we do at Elite Muscle Mechanics.

We have two new services specifically designed to help you build strength: MAT43 Strength Regeneration and the Exercise Lab.

If getting stronger without unnecessarily beating up your body is one of your goals, take a look at the two programs below and see which one sounds like the right next step for you.

The Exercise Lab
docs.google.com/document/d/11M3WB66wL0_VbiE9vWoE_QanigqHe4-3nsy0e4sdbUU/edit?usp=drivesdk

MAT43 Strength Regeneration
docs.google.com/document/d/11lSysJdR9K5pdBrWZuwDqdHfJzYGn7C72osWbF3mxYg/edit?usp=drivesdk

Click here for an update from Elite Muscle Mechanics, LLC!

09/01/2026

How Do I Get Stronger?

Recently, a client came to me with a concern.

She wasn’t sure exercising once a week was going to be enough to really move the needle toward her goals.

It’s a concern I hear all the time.

And it comes from one of the biggest misconceptions we have about exercise:

If some is good, more must be better.

Exercise longer.

Exercise more often.

Do more repetitions.

Work harder.

Sweat more.

Push yourself.

And eventually, you’ll get stronger.

Unfortunately, strength isn’t built that way.

Strength is built through quality, not simply quantity.

If I give you a relatively light weight and ask you to lift it over and over again, your body will absolutely adapt.

You’ll get better at lifting that weight repeatedly.

You’ll develop endurance.

You may experience some strength improvement, particularly when you’re first beginning.

But eventually, if you want to become meaningfully stronger, something must change.

Your body must be challenged to produce more force.

That means progressively exposing your muscles to heavier weights.

And that’s where things get interesting.

Because getting stronger isn’t about seeing how much punishment your body can survive.

It’s about providing a carefully controlled stimulus that asks your body to adapt.

That’s a very different philosophy.

The goal isn’t:

How much exercise can we make you do?

The better question is:

What’s the appropriate amount of exercise required to create the adaptation we’re looking for?

The answer is much less than people expect.

More exercise isn’t better.

Better is better. Progressively harder, and with quality is the key.

And understanding why starts with something pretty incredible happening inside your muscles every time you pick up a weight.

In the next email, I’m going to introduce you to your own personal team of Olympic weightlifters.

— Josh Lewbel, MS, MATm/Rx, CSCS
Elite Muscle Mechanics

P.S. Building strength is now at the forefront of what we do at Elite Muscle Mechanics.

We have two new services specifically designed to help you build strength: MAT43 Strength Regeneration and the Exercise Lab.

If getting stronger without unnecessarily beating up your body is one of your goals, take a look at the two programs below and see which one sounds like the right next step for you.

The Exercise Lab ➡️
docs.google.com/document/d/11M3WB66wL0_VbiE9vWoE_QanigqHe4-3nsy0e4sdbUU/edit?usp=drivesdk

MAT43 Strength Regeneration ➡️
docs.google.com/document/d/11lSysJdR9K5pdBrWZuwDqdHfJzYGn7C72osWbF3mxYg/edit?usp=drivesdk

Click here for an update from Elite Muscle Mechanics, LLC!

08/28/2026

Torn Muscles?

Strength is directly related to a muscle’s ability to contract and produce force.

When a muscle is torn, the integrity of that tissue has been disrupted. That can reduce force production, alter how well the muscle is recruited, and decrease its ability to tolerate contraction.

And that creates an important question:

If the muscle’s ability to contract is part of what has been compromised, shouldn’t restoring that ability be part of the solution?

That is exactly where Muscle Activation Techniques™ can play an important role.

The goal of MAT is to identify muscles that are not contributing effectively and improve their ability to contract.

In the case of a recovering muscle injury, that means we are not simply trying to “strengthen around” the problem.

We are trying to improve the function of the muscle itself.

Traditional strength training is designed to place progressively greater demands on the body. That is valuable, but only when the tissues being asked to perform are capable of handling those demands.

If a muscle has a significant contractile deficit following an injury, simply adding more resistance may not address the underlying problem. The body may instead find another way to complete the movement by compensating with surrounding muscles.

That is why our approach is different.

Restore the contraction first. Then progressively strengthen it.

As the tissue heals and becomes appropriate to work with, MAT can help restore the muscle’s ability to contribute before asking it to tolerate increasingly demanding exercise.

Then strength training becomes much more valuable because we are building upon a better-functioning foundation.

This is an important distinction.

A torn muscle should not necessarily become something we permanently avoid using.

Ultimately, that muscle needs to regain its ability to contract, produce force, and participate in movement again.

That is the function we want to restore.

And once it is restored, we can progressively build strength on top of it.

MAT helps restore the ability to contract.
Exercise builds upon that ability.

That combination is an important part of how we help people move from injury toward stronger, more capable bodies.

Josh Lewbel, MS, MATm/Rx, CSCS
Elite Muscle Mechanics

Click here for an update from Elite Muscle Mechanics, LLC!

08/25/2026

Certified Strength

When I was 14, I wanted to get better at playing sports. Mostly running and basketball were what I cared about.

Specifically, jumping higher and being able to shoot from farther out on the court. A teammate suggested that I start lifting weights.

I fell in love with it. I wanted to know everything I could about improving performance.

It was in the early days of dial-up internet. I can still remember scouring through searches for exercises on AOL! And yes, I remember that awful sound connecting the internet through the phone line.

The position that works with athletes in the capacity I was looking for is called a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. That credential grew in the mid-90s and was nationally recognized in 2002 when I sat for my exam.

I recall that summer spending time sitting on my deck, studying and recovering from knee surgery. I loved the information, and I got to apply it to myself right away!

However, the coolest part to me was going to the exam. I got to drive and stay in a hotel room so I could get up early for my exam. I think it was held at Bridgewater State.

I got to hit the road on my own, go somewhere new, and be a grown-up. It was a moment of growth both personally and professionally.

I recall sitting in Friendly’s for dinner the night before reviewing flash cards. I really enjoyed that experience.

So, if you’ve ever noticed the letters CSCS that show up after my name, that stands for Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

It opened doors for me.

I’m proud of this designation.

The knowledge I gained through going through the CSCS program was incredibly beneficial to my own ability to exercise and to make exercise effective, challenging, and safe.

When you join the Exercise Lab, we can help build your confidence, so you understand how to perform exercises effectively and safely, while getting results.

The goal is for you to be able to trust your body — and trust that what you’re doing is working.

It’s not the final word on exercise, but it has given me many of the concepts I still use today.

I get to apply them every day in The Exercise Lab and…

Next week, 9/1, I’ll begin the Strength in September Series!

Pay attention if you want to get stronger.

I’ll be sending a 2-minute-read email twice a week for the next four weeks.

— Josh Lewbel, MS, MATm/Rx, CSCS
Elite Muscle Mechanics

💪 Please mark my emails as important so you don’t miss them.

💪 Share them with your friends so they can benefit too.

Click here for an update from Elite Muscle Mechanics, LLC!

08/21/2026

It’s been a pleasure having my nephew, Scotland, spend the summer with us as an intern at Elite Muscle Mechanics.

He is a hardworking, talented, personable, and incredibly smart young man, and it’s been great watching him learn, grow, and become part of what we’re building here.

As he heads into his junior year, we wish him nothing but success and look forward to seeing where his hard work takes him.

And when he’s ready, we’ll be here waiting for him next summer.

Congratulations, Scotland! We’re proud of you.

08/19/2026

September is for Strength

If you’re seeking to get stronger, then pay attention.

I’m going to teach you the keys to getting stronger.

It might be different from what’s in your head.

We all know strength is important for our age and independence.

Many never get it because of fear, lack of knowledge, equipment and confidence.

We try all sorts of things to achieve it but often miss a few key elements to achieve it.

I will tell you how…

I’ve achieved great strength from training despite injuries and pain.

Strength in the one thing that helps to overcome weaknesses to make life more rewarding.

Pain is weakness. Strength is Independence!

I’m going to be writing to you biweekly, the whole month of September.

I’m going to teach you to get stronger.

I’m going to share the details to unlock the strength that’s in you so you can count on it for years to come.

I have no idea who said this or exactly what they said, but I heard a quote recently, it went something like…

“Lift weights now so you aren’t the one who needs to be lifted later.”

I’m excited about September, I’m ready to get stronger, are you?

Please mark my emails as important so you don’t miss them.

Share them with your friends so they can benefit too.

— Josh Lewbel, MS, MATm/Rx, CSCS
Elite Muscle Mechanics

P.S. This is Scotland’s last week interning with us. It has been a great summer having him. Please wish a great school year!

Click here for an update from Elite Muscle Mechanics, LLC!

08/13/2026

The Sprained Ankle wasn't the Problem

This past week I was working with a client who had sprained her ankle a couple of weeks ago.

Initially, she made good progress, but then the improvement stopped.

The swelling had gone down, she’d been resting it, and yet the pain along the outside of her ankle just wouldn’t go away.

She looked at me and asked, “Why am I not getting any better?”

As we continued evaluating her, she noticed something interesting.

Her injured foot didn’t rotate the same way as the other side.

That observation turned out to be the clue.

As I traced the movement further up the chain, I found that the biggest restriction wasn’t coming from her ankle anymore.

It was coming from an old knee injury.

Years after the original injury, her knee still wasn’t moving the way it should. That loss of motion changed how her foot and ankle functioned, making it much harder for the ankle to fully recover.

So instead of continuing to focus on the ankle, we restored the muscular function around her knee.

Immediately afterward, we retested her ankle.

It moved better.

It felt better.

The interesting part is that we weren’t just helping her with her current ankle sprain.

We uncovered a much older problem that had quietly been affecting the way she moved for years.

That’s one of the biggest misconceptions about pain.

The place that hurts isn’t always the place that’s responsible.

Sometimes an old injury, one you’ve learned to live with, continues changing the way your body moves long after you’ve stopped thinking about it. Then, when a new injury occurs, that old limitation can become the very thing preventing recovery.

That’s why we don’t just ask, “Where does it hurt?”

We ask, “What isn’t working that’s forcing that area to hurt?”

When you solve that question, you don’t just help with today’s injury.

You often uncover an opportunity to improve and solve problems that have been quietly limiting you for years.

— Josh Lewbel, MS, MATm/Rx, CSCS
Elite Muscle Mechanics

P.S. Stay Tuned for the Strength in September Series!

Click here for an update from Elite Muscle Mechanics, LLC!