What does it mean to be strong?

How do you define strength? Is it by how much you can lift? How far or fast you can run or ruck? How good you look in athletic wear? Whether you can get all the groceries from the car to the kitchen in one trip (after a Costco run, no less)?

Strength can be all of those things, sure, but true strength goes beyond that. It’s not just about the power of your body, but the power of your mind, spirit, and character. A strong man can protect his family physically, but he also helps them weather the difficulties that he can’t lay hands on. He looks out for the people who aren’t as strong as he is. A strong man is dangerous, but responsible. A strong man does the right thing, even when the right thing is the hard thing.

Let’s break this down.

Becoming strong

Maybe you lucked into some excellent genetics (we’re looking at you, Hafthor Bjornsson), but for the most part, strength requires work and dedication. As Ronnie Coleman once said, “Everybody wanna be a bodybuilder; don’t nobody wanna lift these heavy-ass weights.” If you want to be the kind of guy who makes your family feel safe through presence alone, you’ve got to pull on those workout clothes and put in some effort. 

The gym isn’t your only option, though. There are many different ways to make your body stronger. Maybe high-intensity interval training is your jam. Maybe you prefer to swim, or bike, or run, or ruck, or row. Maybe you’re someone who hikes mountains and scales cliffs. Maybe your job requires intense physical labor. Maybe you get into boxing, or jiujitsu, or Muay Thai. The specific method isn’t terribly important, as long as you’re making your body stronger.

Going to the gym (or hitting the trails, or heading to a CrossFit class — whatever you do to work out) doesn’t just build physical strength, either. Building healthy habits, especially the kind that challenge you physically, builds resilience. We know that, some mornings, you’d rather sleep in than pick up those dumbbells, go for a run, or hop on your bike. But choosing to do the hard thing in pursuit of excellence trains your mind and spirit as well as your body. Helping your family through difficulties will test your strength of will as well as the strength of your body; sometimes, it doesn’t test your body at all. That means that your strength has to go beyond your muscles.

Building strength of will and character is a lot like building physical strength; you have to put in the reps. The more you practice doing hard things, and the more you practice making good choices, the easier it becomes to do so.

Pictured above: Concours Tee in Black and Voyage Short - Lined in Camo

Using your strength

So you’ve become physically and mentally tough. Now what?

It’s time to use your strength responsibly. Remember, being strong isn’t all about toughness itself. Because a truly strong man demonstrates strength of character, part of being strong is using your toughness rightly. Any beefy dude can push someone smaller around. It takes a man of strong character to step in and defend the little guy.

Being strong means you have the ability and the responsibility to lift other people up. When you are strong enough to support and protect your family, you elevate them. You offer them the peace and security they need to thrive, because they know you’re shoring them up. Your strength creates a firm foundation for the people you love to build their lives on. And when your strength serves the people you love well, it builds a good life for you, too.

Pictured above: Concours Tee in Black and Interval Short - Unlined in Light Grey

Weathering Storms

A whole lot of life is made up of maintenance. Cars need fixing, houses need cleaning, bodies need feeding, bills need paying. The tools and objects we rely on break down and have to be repaired; we break down and have to be repaired. It’s not glamorous, but the everyday work of maintenance is necessary.

Strength requires maintenance, too. You can’t just exercise until you reach your fitness goals, then coast on that achievement and expect your strength to remain the same. You have to continue putting work in so that you don’t lose that strength. And that applies to strength of will and character, as well. If you don’t keep doing hard things and making good choices, those mental and spiritual muscles will atrophy.

(Keep in mind, you need to practice moderation as well. Pushing yourself to the point of injury is foolish, not tough. Part of maintaining your strength is exercising wisely. Don’t overdo it.)

So you keep putting in hard work. You keep going to the gym and making healthy choices. You take care of your body and maintain your strength. And maintaining your strength allows you to endure. When life gets hard — when a natural disaster strikes, or you lose your job, or a loved one gets sick — strength of body, will, and character enable you to carry on. It’s part of being that firm foundation that the people around you can rely on. Your strength doesn’t just keep you functioning in hard times; it keeps them functioning, too.

When you’re a strong man, you can weather life’s storms, and you can be a shelter for your loved ones.

In conclusion

Yes, we all want to be totally jacked. We all want to look like Arnold in his iron-pumping days. And physical strength is absolutely a worthy goal. You should work hard to be strong. You should be dangerous enough that you can keep other people safe. But physical strength isn’t enough on its own. To be a strong man, you must cultivate the strength of will to evolve, to elevate the people around you, and to endure whatever life throws at you.

So go to the gym. Go on a run. Wake up early. Feed your body well. Take care of your family.

Be strong.