Rebuilding Strength in Midlife: What It Really Means to Be Strong

Send us a text

Rebuilding Strength in Midlife: What It Really Means to Be Strong

Episode Description:

What does strength look like when the version you used to know doesn’t fit anymore?

In this episode, Jama opens up about what it really means to rebuild strength in midlife: not just in your body, but in your mindset, your confidence, and the way you show up in your brand.

After years of defining strength through marathon training, hustle, and pushing harder, Jama hit a point where her body and energy said, “No more.” What followed was a deep shift, one that redefined how she approached fitness, creativity, and success.

Whether you’re a runner, a business owner, or just a woman navigating this new chapter of life, this episode will remind you that strength isn’t something you lose, it’s something you rebuild differently.

In this episode, Jama shares:

• How her definition of strength changed after hitting burnout
• The lessons she learned from shifting her training and lifestyle
• Why your body and your brand both need recovery to grow
• How alignment creates more power than constant hustle
• What “strong” actually looks like in this season of life

Because strength isn’t about doing more, it’s about learning to trust yourself enough to do what truly matters.

Timestamps:

– Hook: When strength stops looking like it used to
– How Jama’s running journey changed everything
– The truth about burnout and body signals
– Why pushing harder doesn’t always make you stronger
 – The link between body alignment and brand alignment
– What rebuilding strength really means
– Closing reflections: strong looks different now

Key Takeaways:

• True strength isn’t performance — it’s presence.
• Rest and recovery build more resilience than constant output.
• Your body and your business both need seasons of rebuilding.
• Alignment, not intensity, sustains your energy and creativity.
• Strength in midlife is about sustainability, not speed.

Closing Note:

If your definition of strong is shifting, it’s because you are. You don’t have to prove your power anymore, you just have to embody it.
The more you honor where you are, the stronger your foundation becomes, in your body, your work, and your brand.

https://www.jamapantel.com

Episode Transcript

Jama Pantel (00:00):
What if the version of strong you've been chasing
isn't strength at all?
What if real strength hasnothing to do with how much you
can lift and everything to dowith how you rise?
Hey y'all, it's your podcastBessie Jama and today we're
talking about strength.
Not just the kind you build inthe gym or on a run, but the
kind that shows up when lifeknocks you flat and you have to

(00:23):
decide to get back up anyway.
If you've been following me fora while, you know fitness has
always been a huge part of mylife.
But this year I had tocompletely rethink what strength
meant to me, physically,mentally, and even how I show up
in my brand.
Because the truth is, strengthevolves just like everything

(00:43):
else, and sometimes the hardestpart isn't losing it, it's
redefining it.
For many years running has beenmy therapy, my structure, and
honestly, my identity.
I'd run marathons andeverything else, I'd track
things, I'd chase PRs, strengthwas measured in miles and
minutes.
But earlier this year,everything changed.

(01:05):
My body was tired, my hormoneswere shifting, and my usual plan
stopped working.
Just as I said that, I realizedit wasn't earlier this year.
It actually started changingyears back, but I just realized
it earlier this year, and I hadto pull back, rebuild, and face
the uncomfortable truth thatdoing less felt like failure.

(01:28):
This wasn't just a fitness wakeup call, it was a life one.
I realized I'd built mydefinition of strength around
performance, around pushing,around proving, and it wasn't
sustainable, not in running, notin business, and not in life.
So I slowed down, way down.
I started strength trainingdifferently, I stopped running

(01:51):
and started walking.
I paid attention to recovery, Ifocused on nutrition, and
somewhere along the way, Irealized something.
I was getting stronger by doingless because I was doing it
with intention.
And although right now I am inmarathon training, I have
noticed that it does causestress on my body and it takes

(02:11):
longer to recover, and I am notwhere I want to be strength
wise.
However, old habits die hard,I'm still that marathoner at
heart, and it might be my lastone, I don't know.
I'll never give up running, butI have noticed that doing less
is more at this stage in life.
We often define strength byvisible effort, the grind, the

(02:33):
hustle, the long hours, the longruns, the heavy lifts, but true
strength is quieter.
It's saying no when you'veovercommitted, it's resting
before you break down, it'sstaying grounded when things
fall apart.
In brand building, it's thesame thing.
You can't pour into yourbusiness, your clients, or your
creativity if you're running onfumes.

(02:55):
The version of you who's burnedout, underfueled, and
overextended isn't leading,she's surviving.
Redefining strength meansbuilding a foundation that
supports you, body, brand, andmindset.
The whole picture.
When I started giving my bodywhat it actually needed, food,

(03:16):
rest, recovery, something wildhappened.
My energy came back.
I dropped the weight, myclarity came back, my creativity
came back, I started feelinglike myself again.
And that's when I realized theway we treat our bodies mirrors
how we treat our brands.
If you're constantlyoverworking and undernourishing
your business, it'll eventuallycrash too.

(03:39):
But if you give it space,structure, and support, it grows
stronger, just like you do.
So if you've been feelingdisconnected, tired, or
uninspired lately, maybe it'snot a sign to push harder, maybe
it's a sign to slow down andrealign.
Strength isn't about force,it's about foundation.

(03:59):
It's built in recovery, inboundaries, in the quiet
decision to stay consistent evenwhen no one's watching.
As a woman in midlife, buildingbrands, leading teams, raising
families, our version of stronggets to evolve.
It's not about perfectionanymore.
It's about sustainability anddoing this for the long haul.

(04:20):
You don't have to be asuperhuman to build something
powerful.
You just have to be presentenough to build it from a place
of alignment.
So if your body's been sendingsignals or your business feels
heavy, take this as aninvitation, not a failure.
Because sometimes the strongestthing you can do is stop
chasing the old definition ofstrength and start creating a

(04:42):
new one that actually supportsthe life and the brand you're
building now.
And that, my friends, is livingthe whole picture.