At 59 many people think I’m too old or have no reason to be lifting weights. They think I’m
insane because I “pick things up and put them down” and push myself to do so. Au contraire my friend. I’m not to old and while my sanity may be fair to question one thing I can say with absolute certainty is that my health and well being at age 59 is directly attributable to the fact that I lift. I’d argue that strength training is more important AFTER age 50 than before. FAR MORE IMPORTANT. You see, I don’t strength train to make a fashion statement or to look good… one look at my pictures online will tell you that lol And my days of competing are behind me… well maybe 😁 I doubt I’ll ever get back to doing 600lb Deadlifts or 500lb squats not because I can’t do them but because right now at least there isn’t a need or motivation for me to do them. And I don’t strength train because I’m trying to hit some silly made up number on a scale that if I do manage to hit it makes me “awesome” but if I don’t… then I’m an utter failure. None of those things matter to me. NONE OF THEM! What does matter is having a long, happy, healthy life and being able to do the things I want to do in my later years. I lift because...
I don’t want to end up like so many of my friends at this age or older who are having surgery after surgery to replace hips, knees, shoulders and so on to undo all the damage they’ve done over the years by not taking care of their bodies.
I don’t want to struggle to get out of a chair or need help to getting out of the car or being able to do any number of the things we need to do day to day because I don’t have the strength or energy to do so.
I don’t want to have to worry about my bones breaking because they’ve become brittle or having joint issues that limit my mobility
I don’t want to have to worry about falling or if I do fall not being able to get back up. I don’t want to spend hours upon hours in doctors waiting rooms or have to worry about being able to buy food because I’m spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on prescriptions each month.
I don’t want to have to worry about becoming dependent on friends and family to take care of me as I grow older or not being able to do the things my wife and I want to do when we retire.
Bottom line I do it because as I said earlier I want to live a long happy life and be able to enjoy each and every minute of it. And it doesn’t have to take a ton of time. On average I lift 3 times a week for 45-60 minutes. It is an investment in my time, one that is sure to pay off many times over in the next 20, 30 and maybe just maybe 40 years. And contrary to the myth so many believe strength training when done correctly is VERY SAFE. Safer in fact, than doing cardio. Yes you read that right… in my 40+ years spend in gyms I can tell you with absolutely certainty that far more people get injured doing cardio than do strength training. Not so Fun Fact: More injuries occur on treadmills than all the other pieces of equipment at the gym combined! So if you are someone who has worried that you might get hurt using weights, or that you’re too old, or too out of shape…. Let those thoughts go because they simply aren’t true. My wife Laurie (who is also 59) and I have trained people who were well into their 80’s using barbells. We’ve helped people who have challenges like M.S. COPD, Parkinson’s, Cerebral Palsy, and many others to improve their healthy, well being & quality of life by incorporating weight training into their life And we’re proud to say we’ve had clients survive major heart attacks in their 50’s and 60’s because they’ve worked with us and strengthened their bodies which enabled them to survive, recover and even flourish afterward. We don’t say those things to brag, no we hope instead they will inspire you to let go of your fears, get off the couch and change your life. We all know that our bodies change as we grow older. We all know that it is inevitable that at some point we will no longer be on this earth. What most don’t know or perhaps it’s better to say don’t WANT to know is that it completely up to us how are bodies will age and yes to a certain extent, even how long we will be on this earth. • When you’re ready to make YOU and your health a priority. • When you’re ready to have that longer, happier, healthier life. • When you’re ready to take charge of your future and be able to look forward to your golden years…. We’re here to help. We offer up to 6 group training sessions a day both virtually and at our studio.
Give us a call at 910-399-8350 or send us a message and we can chat about our programs and how they can help you achieve your dreams.
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