It is part of our life to become older. However, it does not mean that you need to give up on everything. With over decade of experience with training elder (>70yr) population, I’ve learned that there is no special training for them.
The body is mainly still the same. They can build muscles, they can lift heavy object, and they can have cardiovascular recovery that is like athletes. I train my elder clients as same as I train my clients in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s. I have them work on squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, pulls, carries, supersets, HIIT and so on.
Never Too Late to Start
There are enough studies showing that even at age 90s with 180 minutes of strength training per week can increase their strength and muscles mass in 12 weeks. Of course, if they never done any training in the past, the amount of weight they can lift may be lower compared to those who trained in the past. Yet, strength and muscular growth can be expected even with older and novice experience in lifting weights.
Which tells us another thing. Those who have started the training earlier in life to how to lift and build muscle and strength can lift heavier and have stronger muscles even healthier when they get older compared with those who have not done any. In other words, it’s never too late to start strength training but start now.
Why should someone get stronger and build muscle at older age? Well, I’m getting older but not old enough to talk about it from my experience. However, my client in his 70s and still wakeboarding with his teenage grandkids and pretty much build the tree house by himself. Another client who is in her late 70s is traveling around the world in exotic places like Africa and Galapagos where physical strength and health are pre-requisite to even apply for those trips. 80-year-old client is racing Porche. I don’t know but that sounds more fun to me than getting weaker and wishing if I were stronger to accomplish more things in life.
Even when you start late with strength training, after 12 weeks, something that may have seem physically impossible may become possible. It is better to start early, but never too late to get started and enjoy the results from the strength training.
Basics Never Change
Important thing to understand is basics are the same with training elder client to an athlete. Fitness industry is making separate certifications so that they can make more money.
Here are somethings that I always have in mind while training my clients.
My priority for all of my clients is don't be afraid of lifting heavy. Even with younger trainees, they have tendency to lift lighter weight with higher repetitions mainly because they were not trained properly. Although some studies have shown that one can become stronger with lighter weight with higher repetitions, learning to exert strength by recruiting more muscle fibers can only be learned by lifting heavier object. You cannot lift 60lbs of soil properly without hurting yourself by lifting only 20lbs. You may be able to lift it but may have consequence for not learning the lift properly.
Strength training should be practiced at least 120 minutes per week combined with other form of physical activities such as hiking, biking, and gardening throughout the week. Depending on what physical condition they are in, approach of the training may vary but other than that mobility work and coaching lifting technique is still the same. Possible challenge could be mobilizing the tight muscles and joints, especially if they already had some procedures done, such as joint replacement and physical therapy did poor job of not optimizing the joint movement. May take some time to optimize their joints and muscle functioning, however, they can improve with proper application.
Consuming natural food sources rather than processed food should be the baseline for elder population just like with any other population. It is possible that they have been prescribed medication(s) by their doctors. It is a great opportunity to discuss with their doctors on what to do to reduce those medication. Of course, some medication may not be able to eliminate but even if you can lower the dosage of blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and other medications, their health and fitness level will improve dramatically. To do so, eating natural food sources such as, vegetables, fish, meat, eggs, nuts, seeds will become vital. Especially, protein and quality salt intake are very important as we get older to maintain our muscles and metabolism. Muscles are not just biceps and abs but also your heart and other organs too. Quality salt can be Himalayan Salt, Celtic Salt, or sea salt and they all have very important micro-nutrients called minerals which majority of population depletes. Mineral depletion will be more severe when someone is on ANY medication.
Importance of sleep has been spoken regularly but not properly practiced. Some of the reason is because of work and school schedule, which may be difficult to manage. However, there is enough evidence showing that sleeping less than 6 hours a night can negatively impact our memory, attention, mood, and health. It is true that older we get harder it is to fall asleep and stay asleep. Some of it is due to melatonin secretion is not adequate, which can be supported with melatonin supplement. Reduce the lighting around the house, especially the electric devices such as smartphone, TV, PC when they are not in use. You may also want to start turning them off 1-2 hour prior to your bedtime. Reducing room temperature down to below 65 degrees Fahrenheit will also help promote sleep. Although we’ve been advised to not to eat before you go to bed, however, you do not want to go sleep hungry as well for it may alert your brain as starving and you may have difficult time sleeping. Usage of stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol, and recreational drugs may negatively impact your sleep. Many may be able to fall a asleep but not stay asleep and/or have poor quality of sleep.
Know Your Reason to Gain Strength
If the age was not issue, what would you like to do? Does that require physical strength and health? It is hard to find something that does not require them; however, you still want to know why you are wanting to get stronger. Of course, “just because” is great answer too, because you will never know when the strength and health become necessity. Some of my clients started off with injury prevention and became fan of weightlifting.
Human body can handle a lot more than what social media, magazines, medical journal, tells us. Only limitation is our mind. Yes, it does require work, but return on investment, in my opinion, from strength training is a lot more than the work we put in.
It is fun getting strong!
Kota Shimada
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