Preston Personal Fitness: Brynn Ackerman Shares What Women Should Really Focus on for Long-Term Health

Aug 5

What we focus on grows. As a 23-year-old woman working in the fitness industry, my focus is strength: being able to do a push-up, carry in all the groceries in one trip, move furniture, and stay independent for the long haul.

It's strange how easily health gets pushed aside to fit societal pressure. The idea that our body weight measures our worth, that pant size is a competition, that how little we eat is something to brag about. If that stings a little, it might be worth asking whether you're chasing the wrong things. The good news is that the things that actually build health, strength, brain function, longevity - are also the things that make us look and feel good. They just take longer to show up, so accept that instant gratification is not the answer. We live in a world where everything is at our fingertips. You can order something online from Amazon and it will be here tomorrow. That’s great, but how is that affecting our outlook? Our tenacity? Our accountability? Our consistency? Our hard work….

I think a lot of young women have lost the plot in an industry that keeps selling them their problems. So consider this a rant before you try another supplement or quick fix, a rant about the health and wellness industry, and about how it isn't always looking out for your best interest. The truth is, this is simpler than the industry makes it look. There's a real difference between a workout that leaves you tired and one that actually works, and there's a lot of misinformation in between.

I'm not claiming to be the ultimate expert. What I can say is that I spent six months living in Sweden studying how one of the healthiest countries in the world approaches daily life, and I've spent the last two years working as a trainer and instructor dedicated to building these foundations for communities. My goal is to help you get the results you've been chasing in a way that also makes getting out of bed in the morning feel good. That's it. So if this resonates, pass it along. The more people thinking about health this way, the better.

WE KEEP TEACHING THE WRONG LESSON

Scroll social media or watch the trends in the news, and the pattern is obvious: everyone keeps getting thinner. And sure, most people want to look a certain way; everyone wants to look good and feel good. But everyone should also want to actually be healthy, and those two goals have gotten tangled up.

Working as a trainer, you start to notice how the messaging shifted decade by decade. The "eat less, move more" advice that dominated the 1980s left a lot of people with sluggish metabolisms and hormones that never quite recovered. By the 1990s and 2000s, the message had curdled into something closer to "eat as little as possible," chasing an aesthetic instead of a functioning body. In a strange way, that trend never really left; it just got outsourced. Now GLP-1 medications do a version of that work for us. That's a conversation that deserves its own piece… it's coming.

Here's what I think every woman, no matter her age, should actually be focusing on. This is built from working with clients who are thriving well into their 90s, and from clients who committed to doing this the right way and never looked back. Done properly, fitness is genuinely life-changing. Here's how to break it down. Follow this, and the results are inevitable.

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Stress starts in the nervous system. When your nervous system isn't regulated, nothing else really flows. Our muscles stay tight, the mind stays occupied, and cortisol stays elevated. That's often why people carry extra weight around the midsection or feel puffy: the body is stuck in a stressed-out state.

This isn't just a feeling, it shows up in the research. A 2017 study in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association followed medical students, a population known for high stress, through a 12-week program. The group that took a weekly group fitness class saw measurable drops in perceived stress along with real improvements in physical, mental, and emotional quality of life. Students who exercised alone or not at all didn't see the same across-the-board benefit. The class itself, not just the workout, was part of what made the difference.

At Preston Personal Training (PPT), we build around that. We regulate stress on purpose, which is part of why your trainers are in your corner every step of the way. At the end of the day, we want every client to see results, and that starts with getting the nervous system out of "fight or flight." We are building a community that creates accountability and makes sure you show up for yourself even on days you don’t feel like it. We have trainers who have coaches themselves. Why? Because we are all human and we need a solid community that has our best interest at heart to thrive.

SLEEP

Sleep might be the single most important lever we have. It regulates everything. Skimp on it, and your muscles stay torn down instead of repairing and growing. Sleep and protein are the only two things that actually rebuild muscle. And the more muscle you carry, the less fat you carry, and the better your body runs as a whole.

Hustle culture tells us to sacrifice sleep for output, but the evidence points the other way. The largest study ever conducted on the four-day workweek, nearly 3,000 employees across 141 companies in six countries, published in Nature Human Behaviour in 2025, found no drop in productivity when people worked less and rested more. If anything, well-rested employees made fewer mistakes and worked more intensely in less time. The same logic applies to your body: recovery isn't the opposite of progress, it's the mechanism for it.

And ladies!!! Don't let anyone tell you sleep needs are one-size-fits-all. Women generally need more sleep than men, largely due to differences in hormonal cycles and recovery demands. Treat your 9 hours like it's non-negotiable, because your recovery systems depend on it.

STEPS

A 2022 study published in JAMA Neurology, following more than 78,000 adults, found that hitting around 10,000 steps a day was associated with roughly a 50% lower risk of developing dementia, and even a modest 4,000 steps a day cut that risk by about a quarter. Walking briskly made the effect even stronger.

Steps also do double duty for blood sugar. A 2025 study in Scientific Reports found that a 10-minute walk taken immediately after eating meaningfully blunted the blood sugar spike that follows a meal, outperforming a longer walk taken later. You don't need to log hours of cardio; you need to move, consistently, especially right after you eat. A short walk after a meal isn't just a nice habit; it's doing real metabolic work.

So keep it simple! You eat, take a 10-minute walk. You sit for work all day, set a time hourly and get in 10 minutes of steps or simply 10 air squats. That is enough to keep your blood flowing and body happy.

STRENGTH TRAINING

Strength training is, hands down, the most effective lifestyle intervention for long-term health. But there's a real difference between a workout that makes you tired and one that's actually effective. You shouldn't walk out of a strength session more wrecked or tighter than when you walked in. We warm up, we train, and we stretch… every time.

Think of a muscle like a braided rope. To build it back stronger, you have to pull it apart, fiber by fiber, then let it repair. That's what happens when you lift heavy: you tear the muscle down on purpose, then give it what it needs to rebuild. Real exercise science doesn't leave you in pain for the sake of it, and a real coach can always tell you why you're doing what you're doing. If your trainer can't answer that question, it might be time to find one who can. There is real science behind working out; it is not just movements thrown together. At PPT all of our instructors and coaches build programs with intention. Intention to strengthen, focus on form, low impact, functional movements that create lasting impact over time. All you have to do? Show up.

HYDRATION

Last but not least, hydration! Water regulates body temperature, cushions joints, supports digestion, and keeps your brain and muscles functioning the way they're supposed to. Even mild dehydration can affect focus and workout performance. Keep it simple: drink consistently through the day, and reach for electrolytes when you're sweating hard or training outdoors.

WHY PPT TRACKS WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS

This is exactly why, at PPT, we don't chase trends, we use data. Instead of obsessing over the number on the scale, we track the things that actually predict whether you'll be strong, capable, and independent decades from now: metabolic health, bone density, and grip strength. Grip strength alone has become one of the simplest, most telling markers researchers use for long-term health and longevity. Bone density work matters just as much for a 25-year-old building a foundation as it does for a client in her 70s protecting it. None of it is flashy. All of it is what actually moves the needle.

That's the whole philosophy behind what we do: skip the noise, follow the science, and build something that lasts.

COME TRAIN WITH US

If any of this hits home, don't just read about it, START. Your first class is free. Message @buidlwithbrynn on instagram or find our Facebook page Preston Personal Training to find what class works best for you. Our Ellicottville location has classes 5 times a week and is open for private 1-on-1 or private group sessions. Our Olean location has classes every single day of the week. Find what works for you!

Whether you're brand new to training or looking for a studio that actually knows what it's doing, we'd love to have you in a class. Come see what training with a purpose feels like.

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Brynn Ackerman is a certified group fitness instructor and Preston Personal Trainer at Preston Personal Training located in both Olean and Ellicottville, NY. Brynn’s passion for health and wellness took her to Sweden where she studied one of the healthiest counties in the world to bring their lifestyle back home. For more information about her, visit her Instagram (@buildwithbrynn) or search her on Facebook.