Built for Strength
A Luminescence Women's Health Retreat
Dr. Mariza Snyder & Liz Plosser
with guest appearance by Schuyler GrantÂ
Presented by
Topanga, CA // August 28-30, 2026
Welcome to Built for Strength, a women's retreat where cutting-edge hormone and metabolic science meet real, embodied strength training. Co-led by Dr. Mariza Snyder, bestselling author and women's hormone expert, and Liz Plosser, former editor-in-chief of Women's Health and badass strength coach, this retreat invites you to understand what's actually shifting in your body during midlife, and then leave with the tools, movement practice, and mindset to meet it with energy, resilience, and confidence.
This retreat includes:
- Three strength sessions with Liz to build a body that shows up with energy and ease
- Daily lectures and Q&As with Dr. Mariza covering hormones, metabolism, brain health, and the nervous system
- A bonus self-massage and restorative breathwork class with Schuyler Grant
By the end of the retreat, you'll have a Morning Metabolic Ignition Routine, a weekly strength training framework, and a personal vision for your best next chapter.
Plus: You'll be able to ask Dr. Mariza and coach Liz questions in the Luminescence Community both before and after the retreat.
Retreat Schedule & Details
Check In: Arrive between 12:00pm and 2:00pm on Friday.
Friday, August 28, 2026
12:00pm–2:00pm: Arrive & settle in
2:45pm–3:30pm: Opening Circle
3:30pm–4:15pm: The Silent Shift — Talk with Dr. Mariza Snyder
What Is Actually Happening in Your Brain, Hormones, and Metabolism:Â Midlife is a biological turning point, not a decline. Dr. Mariza unpacks the "silent shift" happening beneath the surface, including brain fuel utilization, neurotransmitter changes, why stress hits harder now, and how modern lifestyle amplifies hormonal and metabolic dysfunction. This is physiology, not a personal failure.
4:15pm–5:00pm: Best Case Scenario — Talk with Liz Plosser
5 Pillars of Well-Being: Learn how to create a wellness framework for your life, simplifying how you move, fuel, sleep, stress manage, and connect in community.
5:00pm–6:00pm: Break
6:00pm–7:30pm: Wind Down, Rise Strong — Evening Strength Session with Liz Plosser
Foundational coaching through squat, hinge, push, pull, and carry with light dumbbells. Form before load, no ego, no rush. Closes with a nightly wind-down mobility sequence women can take home.
7:30pm: Dinner
Saturday, August 29, 2026
6:30am–8:30am: Light breakfast
8:30am–10:30am: Full-Body Strength Session with Liz Plosser
The Strength Playbook: Real load in your hands. Heavier weights, slower tempos, real rest. Goblet squats, Romanian deadlifts, presses, rows, walking lunges, and loaded carries.
11:00am–12:00pm: Brunch
12:00pm–1:00pm: Reignite Your Energy — Lecture with Dr. Mariza Snyder
Rebuilding Your Metabolism, Hormones, and Vitality: Dr. Mariza covers blood sugar and insulin, mitochondrial function, cortisol and chronic stress, and why traditional advice stops working in this phase of life. Women leave with a Morning Metabolic Ignition Routine, protein strategies, glucose stability tools, and a circadian rhythm framework.
1:00pm–4:00pm: Free time — hiking, journaling, hot tub, hammock naps
4:00pm—5:30pm: Self-Massage & Breathwork with Schuyler Grant
5:30pm—6:30pm: Optional contrast bathing (sauna + cold plunge) with Schuyler. A wondeful muscle recovery modality!
7:00pm: Dinner
Sunday, August 30, 2026
6:30am–8:30am: Light breakfast
8:30am–10:30am: Closing Strength Session with Liz Plosser
Bring-It-Home Workout Blueprint:Â A final full-body lift designed to be the workout you can return to anywhere, anytime.Â
10:30am–11:15am: Closing Talk with Dr. Mariza Snyder
Becoming the Woman Who Feels Good in Her Body: A guided future self visualization and reflection on clarity, awareness, alignment, and integration, bridging the gap between where you are and where you want to be through simple, aligned action.
11:30am: Brunch
Check Out: Depart after brunch. Topanga is full of epic hikes and cool little local shops, plus the beach is just 20 minutes away! Ask us for recommendations.
Commune Topanga is located off Old Topanga Canyon Road. Directions will be provided with your ticket purchase.
Questions? Email us at [email protected].
Meet Your Teachers
Dr. Mariza Snyder is a powerhouse advocate for midlife women, leveraging 17+ years as a practitioner and author. With her top-rated podcast, Energized with Dr. Mariza, and new book, The Perimenopause Revolution, she’s a trusted guide, offering science-backed solutions for perimenopause and metabolic health.
Liz Baker Plosser is a veteran wellness leader, former Editor-in-Chief of Women's Health, and NASM-certified trainer. She writes the Substack Best Case Scenario, hosts Lifting With Liz on YouTube, and is the author of Own Your Morning. Liz has spent her career helping women build strong, capable bodies, with the mindset to match.Â
Schuyler Grant has been practicing and studying yoga for more than 20 years. Her signature style integrates the breath-based flow of Ashtanga with the precision of Iyengar. She is a co-founder of Wanderlust and the founder of Kula Yoga Project, and is dedicated to bringing her students deep and transformative mind-body experiences.
Our PlaygroundÂ
At the end of the end of the end of a road, perched atop a remote valley of the Santa Monica mountains, sits Topanga Commune: 10 acres of meandering paths, oak trees, palms and gardens abutting state land. You won’t believe you are less than an hour from the heart of LA.
The property has a main house, a guest house, four tea house private rooms, three sweet A-Frame cabins, and plenty of space for camping. Sleep on organic mattresses and linens and enjoy the bounty of LA’s best local farmers for every home-cooked meal.
The property also has a sauna, hot tub, plunge pool, basketball, badminton, and a plethora of hammocks.
Songwriter Neil Young lived on this property for many years and was deeply inspired by this magical spot. If there is anywhere in the world to find “a heart of gold,” it may be here.
“I want to live, I want to give. I've been a miner for a heart of gold. It's these expressions I never give that keep me searching for a heart of gold.”
~Â Neil Young
EXPLORE OUR OTHER RETREATSLa Casa
Ladies Lounge
La Casita
Tea House Singles
A-Frame Cabins
The Grounds
This Retreat Is For You If…
- You've noticed shifts in your energy, body composition, or recovery and want to understand why
- You've been meaning to start strength training but don't know where to begin (or are ready to level up your routine)
- You want real education about your hormones and metabolism, not just a wellness weekend
- You're ready to stop pushing through and start building a sustainable practice
- You want to be in a room full of women who get it
