I didn't set out to make training older adults my specialty; instead, the specialty found me.
When several adults over 65, with unique health considerations including Progressive Multiple Schlerosis, Parkinson's, and amputation, hired me, I realized my education in personal training was inadequate.
Imposter syndrome made me cautious about working with these people, but because I am conscientious, extremely dedicated, and a hard worker, I thought, "if not me, who?" My concern that they'd hire trainers who believe exercise is all "no pain, no gain" or who didn't know how to appropriately regress exercises to be safe for vulnerable populations won out, and I started studying diligently, networking with physical and and occupational therapists, and honing in on meeting clients where they were and taking them safely, and cautiously, toward better fitness.
Never does an older adult regret committing to a regular routine of exercising, stretching, and walking.
They only wonder why they didn't begin sooner.
When we talk about how much better they feel and how so many things once lost to them were now doable, a few common thoughts show up again and again.
Here are five:
1) I wish I'd begun decades ago.
We can't turn back time, but the best news ever is it's not too late!
Thanks to instagram and blogs, you've likely seen so many motivating stories about older adults doing pull-ups, dead lifts, and handstands. Do you have to be able to do advanced exercises like that? Not at all. But it shows that it's still possible for those who want it! Here's one brilliant example: @weareageist on Instagram
And not to be outdone, here's a post-workout stretch video I regularly assign to my clients. My 83-year old client Becky is the fitness model!
2) I wish I'd focused on building muscle.
It's still a common misconception that at a certain age, we don't need to focus on building muscle; that walking is the best exercise we can do.
Walking is excellent. Walk daily!
But having muscle strength and endurance is the closest thing we have to the fountain of youth. Having muscle strength and endurance is the difference between spending your later years sitting in a rocker, only observing life happening around you, or hiking mountains in Nepal, playing with your fur babies and grandchildren in the yard, or landscaping your entire yard well into your 60's, 70', 80's and beyond.
First, you need to discard the myth that we only lose muscle mass over time, never gain it. Believe instead that anyone can build muscle at any age!
It's true that sarcopenia, the natural loss of muscle mass related to aging, naturally starts around age 30, with the rate increasing around age 60. But that doesn't mean you can't build muscle!
The biological process of building muscle mass is the same at every age: cause muscle damage and metabolic stress in muscle tissue through exercise, and to repair the damage, your body grows muscle fibers!
And, the main method to achieve bigger, stronger and more sculpted muscles is also the same at every age: strength training.
3) I wish I hadn't been afraid to lift heavy weights.
Lifting heavy weights is an excellent way to spur your body to adapt and get stronger, but it isn't the only way. There are several other ways to achieve the same thing while staying safe.
These include:
Lifting lighter weights for more reps. For example, instead of doing a barbell bench press with 200 lbs for only (3) reps, you could instead do (15) reps using (2) 15lb dumbbells.
Slow down your reps. Set the "25 reps of squats as fast as possible" challenges aside for now. Instead, try doing (8) reps where you take (4) seconds to lower into the squat, and (4) seconds to press back up. I promise you'll feel the burn on those!
Do (1) more rep. Add (5) more pounds. Find the rep count and weight you can lift that feels "challenging but doable" (one of my main principles) and stick with that for 1-4 weeks. After you've built a solid foundation that makes that easier, start to increase how many reps you do or how heavy your weights are. Make it a goal to add just (1) more rep in your next workout; or instead, you could add (5) more pounds. And now stay there until that becomes easy.
Do a harder variation of an exercise. For example, once (15) bodyweight squats are easy, change to (15) goblet squats holding a 10lb dumbbell.
4) I wish I'd eaten better.
The food you eat is fuel for your body. Are you feeding your body the nutrients it needs to run like a well-oiled machine? Or are you feeding it garbage and expecting it to perform?
Again, it's never too late, and what you should eat to best optimize your health is going to be unique to your current health needs. There is no "one right diet."
But in a nutshell, consider these nutritional guidelines:
Focus on portions. When you overeat, you feel bloated, sluggish, tired, and uncomfortable. That's when you know you ate too much at one sitting.
Do gentle movement like walking after big meals. A 10-minute walk is an excellent digestive aid.
Eat more protein. Protein is the building block needed for building and maintaining muscle mass.
Eat carbs for energy. Your body more easily accesses and uses carbs as an energy source, but focus on single-ingredient sources like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Eat carbs that contain fiber. Because carbs are turned into sugar in your body, the fiber in fruits, vegetables and whole grains are what slows the uptake of sugar into your bloodstream, lowering your risk of metabolic diseases.
Eat fats from healthy sources such as nuts and seeds, fish containing omega 3s, eggs, avocados, etc. Fats help you absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K), maintain healthy cell membranes, aid in hormone production, reduce inflammation, and support brain health. But fats are calorically dense, so a little goes a long way and these are easy to overeat.
Include overly sugary foods, fried foods, packaged foods with little to no nutritional value only sparingly.
Learn to appreciate the subtle wholesome flavors of high-quality meals, as opposed to the overly flavored packaged foods and restaurant foods that train your palate to think every food should be an overwhelming flavor bomb.
5) I wish I'd focused less on weight loss.
The older we are, the more we've experienced the obsession with being skinny.
I remember being a teen and sneaking Dexatrim, an over-the-counter hunger suppressant, because everywhere I looked, being thin (gaunt) was the gold standard.
Did I need to lose weight? NOT AT ALL.
But we've been fed the lie our entire lives that thin is in.
The reason I don't promote weight loss as my main service is because I think it's the wrong focus. Being thin doesn't translate to being healthy.
I also have clients whose goal is to gain weight. And they are often harrassed with comments from others like, "must be nice" and "that's not a 'problem'" and other dismissive words.
Many clients have lamented over how much time they wasted focusing only on their weight and the sometimes-insane things they've tried.
Cabbage soup diet, anyone?
I even had a friend lose 20 pounds after being diagnosed with cancer, and when she looked in the mirror, she said to herself, "all these years I thought I'd look so much better if I was 20 pounds lighter, but this was not what I meant."
Thankfully, while slowly, the trend has shifted thanks to the body positive movement, people realizing either through their own experience or reading about others' experiences that being thin isn't synonymous with being healthy, and there's also been a shift in appreciating fitness, muscle tone, and accomplishment.
The way I see it, and how I try to help my clients see it, is it doesn't matter how much you weigh if your health markers are where they should be, if you feel great, and if you are able to do all the things you enjoy.
If this is a challenge for you, think how much time and emotional energy is taken up by worrying about your weight? Has that been time well spent? Do you feel better for it?
If you think your future self would thank you for beginning your new fitness journey today, let me know how I can help!
Here are several ways we can work together:
Join my Goal Getters Program! Get daily access to me, and I'll be your coach, your accountability partner, and your biggest cheerleader! On sale now, buy 2 months, get a thrid month free! Use code TAKE33GG at checkout!
Join my online workout group! We meet twice a week and get fit done together! Use code TAKE33VGW to get 3 months for the price of 2!
Join Remote Coaching PRO, private personal training with me but without the need to match our schedules and at about half the cost of 1-on-1 in-person training! Use code TAKE33RCP at checkout to get 3 months for the price of 2!
Buy my 4-workout bundle, which includes a 45-min consultation and 4 custom-designed workouts you do on your own, with coaching from me on how to make the workouts adapt as you get stronger! Perfect for those who are self-motivated! 25% off between now and January 15th, 2025!
Book a 1-hour consultation! I'll assess your current health and fitness, your movement patterns, and your goals, and help you decide how best to get fit done! 25% off between now and January 15th, 2025!
Play the next Game! We team up, we exercise, drink water and eat better for points, and we compete against other teams! It's fitness wrapped up in a game and it's a super fun way to get fit! Next game starts..... January 13, 2025
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