Every year around summertime, gym attendance starts to drop. The weather improves, the days get longer, and people naturally spend more time outside. They're jogging, golfing, cycling, gardening, hiking, walking the dog, or chasing the kids around the yard.

That's all amazing. An active summer is a healthy summer. The problem is that many people treat their strength training like a seasonal activity. They train consistently through the fall, winter, and spring, then disappear from the gym until it gets cold again. Unfortunately, your muscles don't operate on the school calendar.

Muscle is living tissue. Like every other organ in the body, it responds to how it's used. When muscles are challenged regularly, they adapt by becoming stronger. When that challenge disappears, the body gradually lets some of that muscle go. Researchers call this detraining. Studies have consistently shown that periods of inactivity lead to declines in muscle mass and strength. The longer the break, the greater the losses tend to be.

This matters because muscle does far more than help us lift weights in the gym. Muscle helps us stay mobile, maintain balance, protect our joints, support healthy blood sugar levels, preserve bone density, and remain independent as we age. Muscle is one of the most important predictors of how well we function physically later in life.

The activities many of us enjoy during the summer are excellent for overall health, but they often don't provide enough resistance to maintain or build strength throughout the body. A round of golf, a bike ride, or an afternoon in the garden is certainly good physical activity, but those are not sufficient substitutes for regular resistance training.

The good news is that maintaining strength doesn't require that much time in the gym. For most people, two or three strength-training sessions per week during the summer is enough to preserve the progress they've worked hard to build. Some weeks may be shorter, some workouts may be less structured; and that's perfectly fine. The goal isn't necessarily to set personal records. The goal is to head into the fall just as strong as you were in the spring.

Enjoy that round of golf. Go on that hike. Go for a paddle at the cottage. Take advantage of every opportunity to be active outdoors. Just keep a foot in the gym. Your future self will thank you for it.