I will turn 76 on January 5th. I have consistently done serious lifting for almost six decades. I still train weights for 1.5 hours 4-5 days a week. In the last two decades, I have incorporated daily yoga and weekly hill sprints. I stand 5 foot 8 and weigh 170 lbs with approximately 14-15 % body fat. I made many poor decisions over the long course of my life, and taking care of my body was not one of them.
My wife 70 and I 66 have worked with Emma for 5 years she has transformed our lives and made us fit for living. We were not athletes when we started and did not attend the gym. Emma really tried to understand what our goals were and enabled us to deal with all the strange equipment and to explain clearly the relevance and importance of strength training to us as we age. I urge older folk to listen to what she is saying. Thanks to her kind patience and encouragement we have improved our strength and retained our motivation to train. Thanks to Emma and to Simon for an inspiring set of videos aimed at older athletes- well done
It has been 9 years since beginning my strength training journey. I am 73 years old and weightlifting has made me a strong old man. Emma is correct that you have to work hard to really force a change in your body. Also, you have to work consistently over a span of time. I truly wish that everyone would get on their own strength journey.
59 Years young! I love the powerlifting style of strength training. It fits my personality and keeps me strong. It isn't for everyone, There is NO one size fits all in exercise. Find something you love and enjoy the journey!!! ♥
This is very timely as I am now Osteopenic at 72yrs and have just had a personalised program at my gym to address this. Had been doing weights but not increasing weight as a progression, as suggested here. Great series Thank you.
I will be 81 in April 2025. I cycle using a road bike a e-assist bike and a Wattbike Trainer. I use a Concept 2 Rowing machine and a Concept 2 Nordick Ski erg. I lift light weights walk and run short distances. I test-rode a Nicolai Saturn 16 MGU e-assist Enduro MTB . In the Forrest of Dean North Wales on Tuesday 3 Nov and Wednesday 4 Nov riding an average of 25 miles each day. But will have to wait until Feb or March for delivery. Having had two TREK Domane + 7 SLR e-assist bikes over the last 18 months which basically could not stand the strain of an electric motor conneceted to a chain and cassette sytem. Hence the move to a Motor Gearbox driven bike with a carbon drive belt. Rather than the 200 tear old chain deriliair and cassette system. I have had one-to-one coaching in the Gym by a MacMillan Cancer Support PT a couple of years ago but wonder if I need coaching from someone who specislises in the elderly.
Simon great video. I’m currently doing a twice a week 6 week course for the over 60’s. Monday is cardio and Wednesday is strength training with mixed free weights and machine. I definitely feel the benefits of adding weighted workouts during the week which has added bonus of my Parkrun time 😁 Weight training isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but the older person’s in the class feel better for it as well.
@@alwaysanotheradventure Simon, its at a local gym although it is part of a franchise, CoreFiteness. The instructors/PT's are very aware of the needs and restrictions of the over 60's. Having herniated a disc at L5/S1 and not having been able to do anything physical for a few months I needed something tailored to get me back into the gym. Their Moto is Twice the results in half the time which is very evident.
I did the gym thing in my 30's, now in my 50's I've been guilty the last 3 years of nothing but endurance cycling and am quite shocked at how much upper strength I've lost having always been in manual jobs until I "semi retired" last year. In the last month I've started with the basics using bodyweight- push ups, planks and with kettlebells doing shrugs and shoulder presses. I've only just persuaded the wife to let me install a pull up bar on the only suitable load bearing wall in the house and have been doing them with the assist of "FitBeast" bands (attach with karabiner and stretch under your feet)as there's no way at this stage I'm wanting an injury. Plan is to join the Highland Highlife again and start using the Kingussie gym in the New Year (think by mid January the NY resolution madness will have peaked and folk will be back eating pizza and drinking beer on the couch lol). I did want to build an outdoor gym in the garden, but being realistic it would end up never being used in this climate (maybe for drying bedsheets in summer lol)
Agreed ! One of the best for fast twitch fires. I would add a cautionary note: do ateast 3 months of strength training in addition to starting slow. Torn hamstrings are a real thing, and painful ( I speak from experience ).
I'm 75, started lifting 11 years ago. COVID and lifting injuries have kept setting me back, but I basically train with a focus on powerlifting with goals of a 315 bench and 405 deadlift. I'm currently at 265 bench and 385 deadlift. Obviously I am skeptical about muscle lost cannot be regained.
It’s the fibres that we loose with age. We can’t grow new ones. But the ones that remain can be trained to work harder which it seems you’re doing to great effect!
Thanks for video. My build is close to yours, 71 year old. Last winter I had that little bit of fat around the hips and back. I was training hard for the Great Divide Mtn Bike Route (GDMBR), over trained, and had hernia surgery. Just returned to gym last week; I'll check your work sheets to see where I'm at. Going to try again summer of 2025. Happy trails☮
Simon, as always a great presentation. Speaking for myself and possibly for far more folks lurking in the back, I am not sure I will ever get back to the gym. While fully aware of the benefits to an older athlete I just have no love of going to the gym. I did strength training religiously from my teens to late 20’s but now I think I would prefer to book a root canal than do it again. Maybe it’s the fact that I cant see myself ever fitting into a gym again, maybe its severe procrastination but whatever it is, I just cant mentally picture it ever happening. Its on my ‘to do’ list but I don’t think is will get done.
Day in the office. I hated the gym, much preferred to be out in the fresh air. Took up lifting 7 years ago at 57 and never stopped. It’s me time, all focus, just me, the bar and gravity. Get in, do the work, get out.
We converted our second bedroom to a home gym. No gyms in our corner of rural France. Best investment of my pension I ever made. At 70 years old and 40 years plus runner I work out with Chris Dorner on UA-cam twice a week, plus we bought a treadmill, Concept stationery bike and rower. Plus I pay for a personal coach in England with WeRun. She sets my monthly run programme and we have an online review meeting monthly. 45 years working life paying into pensions made this possible - i am so lucky- so I reckon j'ai meritee' as the french say. You can never invest enough in your health, fitness and performance. And I ever have to go to a public gym again which I never really liked.
Is it the space which puts you off or the people you find using them? I have recently found a very nice gym. Windows lookout over fields, there are potted plants about, proper chairs and pictures over the walls. It still has all the equipment you’ll ever need though and a couple of PTs on hand for a bit extra £££. It’s been thoughtfully designed for ordinary folk rather than for the larkabout laddies or the pumping iron types. It is the second gym I’ve belonged to with a similar ambience. The earlier one looked out over a lake with sail boats, swans and stuff. They’re probably rare but they are out there - and any one with a business sense ought to open more, imo. but 90% of gyms seem to be modelled on airless dungeons. 😂
@@ian4iPad2 When I was actively weight training for competitive sports it was hard even then to find a good space. What made a good experience vs a bad one was always the people using it. I lived in an active city and yet I had to work hard to find gyms that were not full of people that made you feel unwelcome. Good gyms existed, but it was work to find them even when I knew the city very well. That was nearly 30 years ago and well before the current fitness boom. Perhaps the culture of modern gyms has changed and what I saw and experienced has been pushed away but I am still hesitant to go back.
While I agree that resistance training is vital for older athletes, I think sone of the exercises presented in this video would turn off many of your intended audience. Most of the clients I work with have no interest in having a bar across their shoulders, so I find lots of modified options that are much more palatable. Plus, they’re not interested in techniques, such as bracing, etc. it’s more important just to get them doing something that’s beneficial than adopting. These more advanced lifting techniques.
I totally agree with you. I have zero interest in going anywhere near a gym. I have dumbbells at home, but I admit that I don't use them. I am a 61 year old part time postman, I do do some lifting and carrying at work. I enjoy running, but the need for strength training puts me off. I also enjoy cycling which i feel strength training is less important. I just cannot bring myself to regularly exercise indoors.
Thanks for this. I would like to see a good training program showing the use of a smaller selection of apparatus. For example two dumbbells, a single adjustable kettlebell, and a bench.
If you take a look at videos 4-6 in this series you’ll see how I started. That’s more generic than the person specific we do. It’s so individual by the time we get a bit older as we develop injuries and weaknesses to work on.
I've never enjoyed gym work, not now or anytime in my life, so I kinda know I'll never do this. I need some basic body weight exercises that I can do before I shower or something like that, I am fairly sure I could tag a few simple exercises onto a daily event and build on that but unfortunately for me the gym is never going to be my thing.
I am 74 and do regular strength and cardio and balance training I’m fairly sure I’ve read research that demonstrates that old people can regain muscle - not sure what the upper limit is or even if it’s known
@@alwaysanotheradventure Thank you for putting out such an important message. However I would also challenge you assumption (and message) that you are unable to grow muscle as you age. As a 64 year old male I have been training hard for 2 years and have gained significant muscle mass through heavy lifting and good nutrition. This has been accompanied by significant increases in measured strength. My two training partners (who are older than me) have experienced exactly the same in this time. I am lead t understand that the latest science literature would also support our experience. I think it is important you change this part of your message as it may give hope to may people who access your work.
@@Welshrugbyfan101 That's not really what i meant. You can't grow new muscle fibers. You can grow muscle tissue by making the fibres you have work harder.
@@alwaysanotheradventure I appreciate your reply. I may be misunderstanding or it could be the terminology we are each using. To be clear, you are right that you cannot grow new muscle CELLS, however you can grow new muscle FIBERS. Structural proteins are added to a muscle fiber in a process called muscle hypertrophy, resulting in an increase in fiber diameter. The act of lifting heavy enough weight breaks down the muscle fiber for it to regrow bigger. The type of fiber can also change in the process (fast and slow twitch fibers).
Another timely video for me ,nearly 60 and I have a physical job (dairy farmer) but suffer occasionally from pulled muscles ,maybe this would help? Also couldn’t help noticing the dog with the carrot 😂
@ I appreciate what you’re saying, but without a doubt everyone has biases: Guess what a power lifting champion’s bias is? Unilateral strength isn’t very important - unless you’re a youngish powerlifter - compared with mobility and balance. There’s ways to get strong, balanced and mobile. Powerlifting types moves restrict your strength range. Yes, you might deadlift a heap, but so? Young coaches also tend to push: age is just a number. Which it clearly isn’t.
I will turn 76 on January 5th. I have consistently done serious lifting for almost six decades. I still train weights for 1.5 hours 4-5 days a week. In the last two decades, I have incorporated daily yoga and weekly hill sprints. I stand 5 foot 8 and weigh 170 lbs with approximately 14-15 % body fat. I made many poor decisions over the long course of my life, and taking care of my body was not one of them.
My wife 70 and I 66 have worked with Emma for 5 years she has transformed our lives and made us fit for living. We were not athletes when we started and did not attend the gym. Emma really tried to understand what our goals were and enabled us to deal with all the strange equipment and to explain clearly the relevance and importance of strength training to us as we age. I urge older folk to listen to what she is saying. Thanks to her kind patience and encouragement we have improved our strength and retained our motivation to train. Thanks to Emma and to Simon for an inspiring set of videos aimed at older athletes- well done
It has been 9 years since beginning my strength training journey. I am 73 years old and weightlifting has made me a strong old man. Emma is correct that you have to work hard to really force a change in your body. Also, you have to work consistently over a span of time. I truly wish that everyone would get on their own strength journey.
Absolutely agree with this. I've always done heavy weight training as I enjoy it but as I'm getting older it's important to maintain muscle mass.
59 Years young! I love the powerlifting style of strength training. It fits my personality and keeps me strong. It isn't for everyone, There is NO one size fits all in exercise. Find something you love and enjoy the journey!!! ♥
This is very timely as I am now Osteopenic at 72yrs and have just had a personalised program at my gym to address this. Had been doing weights but not increasing weight as a progression, as suggested here. Great series Thank you.
Excellent! I hope you find someone to work with too.
I will be 81 in April 2025. I cycle using a road bike a e-assist bike and a Wattbike Trainer. I use a Concept 2 Rowing machine and a Concept 2 Nordick Ski erg. I lift light weights walk and run short distances. I test-rode a Nicolai Saturn 16 MGU e-assist Enduro MTB . In the Forrest of Dean North Wales on Tuesday 3 Nov and Wednesday 4 Nov riding an average of 25 miles each day. But will have to wait until Feb or March for delivery. Having had two TREK Domane + 7 SLR e-assist bikes over the last 18 months which basically could not stand the strain of an electric motor conneceted to a chain and cassette sytem. Hence the move to a Motor Gearbox driven bike with a carbon drive belt. Rather than the 200 tear old chain deriliair and cassette system. I have had one-to-one coaching in the Gym by a MacMillan Cancer Support PT a couple of years ago but wonder if I need coaching from someone who specislises in the elderly.
Thanks
Thanks Dan
LOVED......the "Bracing" lesson!
Simon great video. I’m currently doing a twice a week 6 week course for the over 60’s. Monday is cardio and Wednesday is strength training with mixed free weights and machine. I definitely feel the benefits of adding weighted workouts during the week which has added bonus of my Parkrun time 😁 Weight training isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but the older person’s in the class feel better for it as well.
What course is that Stephen - is it in a local gym or online?
@@alwaysanotheradventure Simon, its at a local gym although it is part of a franchise, CoreFiteness. The instructors/PT's are very aware of the needs and restrictions of the over 60's. Having herniated a disc at L5/S1 and not having been able to do anything physical for a few months I needed something tailored to get me back into the gym. Their Moto is Twice the results in half the time which is very evident.
I did the gym thing in my 30's, now in my 50's I've been guilty the last 3 years of nothing but endurance cycling and am quite shocked at how much upper strength I've lost having always been in manual jobs until I "semi retired" last year. In the last month I've started with the basics using bodyweight- push ups, planks and with kettlebells doing shrugs and shoulder presses. I've only just persuaded the wife to let me install a pull up bar on the only suitable load bearing wall in the house and have been doing them with the assist of "FitBeast" bands (attach with karabiner and stretch under your feet)as there's no way at this stage I'm wanting an injury. Plan is to join the Highland Highlife again and start using the Kingussie gym in the New Year (think by mid January the NY resolution madness will have peaked and folk will be back eating pizza and drinking beer on the couch lol). I did want to build an outdoor gym in the garden, but being realistic it would end up never being used in this climate (maybe for drying bedsheets in summer lol)
Sounds good! If you want a little advice to get you started again Emma in Fort Bill isn’t too far to come from Kingussie.
I would say sprint training should be also included into your training schedule. it is the most neglected type of training by older athletes.
Agreed ! One of the best for fast twitch fires. I would add a cautionary note: do ateast 3 months of strength training in addition to starting slow. Torn hamstrings are a real thing, and painful ( I speak from experience ).
I'm 75, started lifting 11 years ago. COVID and lifting injuries have kept setting me back, but I basically train with a focus on powerlifting with goals of a 315 bench and 405 deadlift. I'm currently at 265 bench and 385 deadlift. Obviously I am skeptical about muscle lost cannot be regained.
It’s the fibres that we loose with age. We can’t grow new ones. But the ones that remain can be trained to work harder which it seems you’re doing to great effect!
Thanks for video. My build is close to yours, 71 year old. Last winter I had that little bit of fat around the hips and back. I was training hard for the Great Divide Mtn Bike Route (GDMBR), over trained, and had hernia surgery. Just returned to gym last week; I'll check your work sheets to see where I'm at. Going to try again summer of 2025. Happy trails☮
If you can get advice from someone who really knows their stuff it helps. I had hernias fixed both sides ten years ago - still holding up!
I'm 64, i cycle, swim, swing kettlebells and steel clubs, deadlift and squat, never felt better.
Very interesting. I'm a 67yo cyclist, archer. I definitely need to be doing some systematic work with weights.
Simon, as always a great presentation. Speaking for myself and possibly for far more folks lurking in the back, I am not sure I will ever get back to the gym. While fully aware of the benefits to an older athlete I just have no love of going to the gym. I did strength training religiously from my teens to late 20’s but now I think I would prefer to book a root canal than do it again.
Maybe it’s the fact that I cant see myself ever fitting into a gym again, maybe its severe procrastination but whatever it is, I just cant mentally picture it ever happening. Its on my ‘to do’ list but I don’t think is will get done.
I thought the same then started to enjoy it. The videos 4-6 in the series is all stuff I did at home.
Day in the office. I hated the gym, much preferred to be out in the fresh air. Took up lifting 7 years ago at 57 and never stopped. It’s me time, all focus, just me, the bar and gravity. Get in, do the work, get out.
We converted our second bedroom to a home gym. No gyms in our corner of rural France. Best investment of my pension I ever made. At 70 years old and 40 years plus runner I work out with Chris Dorner on UA-cam twice a week, plus we bought a treadmill, Concept stationery bike and rower. Plus I pay for a personal coach in England with WeRun. She sets my monthly run programme and we have an online review meeting monthly. 45 years working life paying into pensions made this possible - i am so lucky- so I reckon j'ai meritee' as the french say. You can never invest enough in your health, fitness and performance. And I ever have to go to a public gym again which I never really liked.
Is it the space which puts you off or the people you find using them?
I have recently found a very nice gym. Windows lookout over fields, there are potted plants about, proper chairs and pictures over the walls. It still has all the equipment you’ll ever need though and a couple of PTs on hand for a bit extra £££. It’s been thoughtfully designed for ordinary folk rather than for the larkabout laddies or the pumping iron types.
It is the second gym I’ve belonged to with a similar ambience. The earlier one looked out over a lake with sail boats, swans and stuff. They’re probably rare but they are out there - and any one with a business sense ought to open more, imo. but 90% of gyms seem to be modelled on airless dungeons. 😂
@@ian4iPad2 When I was actively weight training for competitive sports it was hard even then to find a good space. What made a good experience vs a bad one was always the people using it. I lived in an active city and yet I had to work hard to find gyms that were not full of people that made you feel unwelcome. Good gyms existed, but it was work to find them even when I knew the city very well.
That was nearly 30 years ago and well before the current fitness boom. Perhaps the culture of modern gyms has changed and what I saw and experienced has been pushed away but I am still hesitant to go back.
Thanks for this.
While I agree that resistance training is vital for older athletes, I think sone of the exercises presented in this video would turn off many of your intended audience. Most of the clients I work with have no interest in having a bar across their shoulders, so I find lots of modified options that are much more palatable. Plus, they’re not interested in techniques, such as bracing, etc. it’s more important just to get them doing something that’s beneficial than adopting. These more advanced lifting techniques.
It’s follow-on from videos 4-6 which were body weight. Some is clearly better than none. Completely agree these aren’t for everyone.
I totally agree with you. I have zero interest in going anywhere near a gym. I have dumbbells at home, but I admit that I don't use them. I am a 61 year old part time postman, I do do some lifting and carrying at work. I enjoy running, but the need for strength training puts me off. I also enjoy cycling which i feel strength training is less important. I just cannot bring myself to regularly exercise indoors.
Thanks for this. I would like to see a good training program showing the use of a smaller selection of apparatus. For example two dumbbells, a single adjustable kettlebell, and a bench.
If you take a look at videos 4-6 in this series you’ll see how I started. That’s more generic than the person specific we do. It’s so individual by the time we get a bit older as we develop injuries and weaknesses to work on.
I wish I could afford a gym and a trainer so I guess I have to muddle through with Toob videos.
I wouldn’t be squatting in running shoes
I was told off - I now use flats
What's the issue with squatting in running shoes please?
@@franciscooper4771 It's the squishyness of the heel. You're meant to have a firm base and the padding in some shoes can make you unstable.
I've never enjoyed gym work, not now or anytime in my life, so I kinda know I'll never do this. I need some basic body weight exercises that I can do before I shower or something like that, I am fairly sure I could tag a few simple exercises onto a daily event and build on that but unfortunately for me the gym is never going to be my thing.
Perhaps you might like to take a look at the videos 4,5 and 6 in this Older Athlete series which is how we started?
I'm going to have a go at the exercises shown in 6, that's the kind of thing I was looking for, I could easily fit this into some sort of routine.
I am 74 and do regular strength and cardio and balance training I’m fairly sure I’ve read research that demonstrates that old people can regain muscle - not sure what the upper limit is or even if it’s known
You can't grow new muscle fibres (to the best of my knowledge) but you can train the ones you have to work harder.
@@alwaysanotheradventure Maybe I’ve misunderstood what this research means pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37875254/
@@alwaysanotheradventure Thank you for putting out such an important message. However I would also challenge you assumption (and message) that you are unable to grow muscle as you age. As a 64 year old male I have been training hard for 2 years and have gained significant muscle mass through heavy lifting and good nutrition. This has been accompanied by significant increases in measured strength. My two training partners (who are older than me) have experienced exactly the same in this time. I am lead t understand that the latest science literature would also support our experience. I think it is important you change this part of your message as it may give hope to may people who access your work.
@@Welshrugbyfan101 That's not really what i meant. You can't grow new muscle fibers. You can grow muscle tissue by making the fibres you have work harder.
@@alwaysanotheradventure I appreciate your reply. I may be misunderstanding or it could be the terminology we are each using. To be clear, you are right that you cannot grow new muscle CELLS, however you can grow new muscle FIBERS. Structural proteins are added to a muscle fiber in a process called muscle hypertrophy, resulting in an increase in fiber diameter. The act of lifting heavy enough weight breaks down the muscle fiber for it to regrow bigger. The type of fiber can also change in the process (fast and slow twitch fibers).
Another timely video for me ,nearly 60 and I have a physical job (dairy farmer) but suffer occasionally from pulled muscles ,maybe this would help? Also couldn’t help noticing the dog with the carrot 😂
That’s Jolly - a very happy gym dog!
Might be camera angle but I'm not convinced her squat technique quite right. Looks like she leans forward too much.
She's a former world champion Steve...
@@alwaysanotheradventure Yep I know just saying it must be camera angle as shot from front looks like she is leaning forward. Watch video at 1:10.
Hmmmm, weightlifting tips from a young power lifting champion. There are plenty of mature coaches around who know what’s needed for older people.
Not tips, but instruction for us from a coach who specialises in older athletes.
@ I appreciate what you’re saying, but without a doubt everyone has biases: Guess what a power lifting champion’s bias is? Unilateral strength isn’t very important - unless you’re a youngish powerlifter - compared with mobility and balance. There’s ways to get strong, balanced and mobile. Powerlifting types moves restrict your strength range. Yes, you might deadlift a heap, but so? Young coaches also tend to push: age is just a number. Which it clearly isn’t.