Building resilient systems: Combating sarcopenia & strengthening business growth

In my personal transformation journey, I’ve learned that nutrition is only part of the equation. Building muscle is just as critical, not just for physical appearance but for long-term health, strength, and vitality. Yet, stepping into a gym for the first time can feel overwhelming—especially if you’ve never been taught how to use the equipment or structure a workout.

Breaking through the bubble

We all live in bubbles, shaped by what we know and who we interact with. I’ve spent over 18 years in software development, working across different roles—**individual contributor, manager, and manager of managers**. Over time, I learned the principles and best practices needed to build strong teams, products, and services.

When I first walked into the gym, it felt like entering a completely different world. Looking at the vast array of equipment, I had no idea where to start. It was unfamiliar, mysterious, and intimidating—much like stepping into a new tech role without onboarding.

But just like in software development, learning a new system requires research, practice, and iteration. Over time, through structured workouts and continuous learning, I began to understand how to train different muscle groups, optimize my routine, and align my workouts with my transformation goals.

To navigate this, I discovered three main gym workout systems:

1. Full-body training – Engages multiple muscle groups in each session, ideal for beginners or those with limited workout time.

2. Push, pull, legs (PPL) – Divides workouts by movement patterns: pushing (chest, shoulders, triceps), pulling (back, biceps), and legs. This is my preferred workout system as it allows balanced muscle engagement, structured progression, and optimized recovery between sessions.

3. Upper and Lower split – Focuses on training the upper body on some days and the lower body on others, allowing better recovery.

Why build muscle?

When setting goals, clarity of purpose is everything—whether in fitness or in software development. My goal wasn’t just about weight loss. I wanted to prepare my body for my 40s, 50s, and beyond. As we age, we naturally lose muscle mass, a process called sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia is a condition characterized by the gradual loss of muscle mass, strength, and function. This process accelerates as we get older, making it harder to regain muscle later in life. Sarcopenia manifests in different forms, including primary sarcopenia, which occurs due to aging, and secondary sarcopenia, which is linked to chronic diseases, malnutrition, or inactivity.

Diagnosing sarcopenia typically involves a combination of physical assessments, muscle mass measurements, and strength tests. Methods such as DXA scans (Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) help assess muscle mass, while grip strength and walking speed tests provide functional indicators of muscle deterioration.

That’s why the best approach is to build muscle now, while it requires less effort—though it’s never too late to start. Proactive strength training, a high-protein diet, and consistent movement can help delay or even reverse the effects of sarcopenia, supporting long-term health and mobility.

Building scalable business systems: Lessons from strength training

The infrastructure that supports business operations and software development mirrors the physical body’s muscle structure. Without maintenance, optimization, and a long-term strategy, businesses—like the human body—become fragile and inefficient.

Here’s how businesses can apply muscle-building principles to product development and growth:

- Resistance training = Technical debt reduction

- Just as lifting weights builds strength, regularly addressing technical debt fortifies infrastructure.

- Progressive Overload = Continuous Improvement

- Just as progressive overload in strength training requires gradually increasing resistance to build muscle, businesses must consistently push their limits by seeking new challenges, adopting new technologies, and refining strategies to foster innovation and scalability.

- Balanced diet = Data & AI Strategy

- A well-balanced diet fuels muscle growth; similarly, a clean and structured data strategy, coupled with robust security measures, strengthens AI and decision-making processes while ensuring data integrity and protection against potential threats.

- Consistency & Recovery = Continuous integration & Deployment (CI/CD)

- Businesses that maintain consistent iteration cycles avoid burnout and keep innovation sustainable. Implementing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) ensures that best practices are standardized across the organization, reducing manual errors and improving scalability. Additionally, building Platform Teams helps centralize expertise, enabling developers to leverage shared tools, automation, and governance frameworks, ultimately enhancing software delivery and operational resilience.

- Monitoring progress = Observability in software

- Tracking muscle development is key to progress—just like software teams monitor system health and user behavior metrics. In today's data-overloaded world, modern businesses must proactively seek new ways to visualize and interpret vast amounts of information. Advanced observability solutions, AI-powered monitoring, and real-time analytics are essential in filtering noise, identifying trends, and ensuring systems operate efficiently. Just as progressive overload is necessary for continued muscle growth, iterative improvements in monitoring and visualization are crucial for maintaining stability and fostering innovation in dynamic business environments.

Strength in Fitness & Business

The journey to building muscle and long-term health closely parallels the development of strong, scalable businesses. Both require commitment, strategy, and continuous improvement. Whether you’re stepping into a gym for the first time or refining your company’s technology infrastructure, success lies in setting clear goals and taking consistent, measurable action.

If you’ve been hesitant about starting strength training, I encourage you to take the first step. The unknown only remains intimidating until you start learning—and once you embrace the process, you unlock long-term growth.