One of my current clients, Priscilla, is over 80 years old. She started training with me more than 20 years ago to work on overall strength as she prepared for retirement. She led an active life and wanted to continue as she aged. Like most people, she had to work around life’s accumulated injuries and limitations, in her case, shoulder and biceps issues.
We focused on squats, presses and deadlifts. Over time, we adjusted weights and movements as priorities and physicality issues changed, and she eventually got to over 200 pounds.
Recently, she needed to prepare for back surgery, and we kept building her strength with a full range of basic movements, scaled to her level.
Priscilla’s doctor required a stress test to determine if she was fit enough for surgery. She passed with flying colors. The surgeon said her strength meant they didn’t have to worry about whether her body could handle the procedure and the recovery. That’s not a small thing to hear from a doctor. That’s the kind of outcome strength training makes possible ‒ not just looking better but being structurally ready for whatever life puts in front of you.
Two Groups Who Need This Most
I’ve been coaching people in DC for over 26 years. I’ve watched a lot of fitness trends come and go. But if you ask me what actually changes people’s bodies and keeps them moving well for decades, the answer hasn’t changed: strength training.
I don’t mean one specific style. I mean the whole spectrum ‒ bodyweight strength, barbell strength, dumbbell strength. It doesn’t matter which apparatus someone uses. What matters is that they’re consistently building strength against resistance over time. The clients I’ve coached who’ve seen the most transformation and the most longevity are the ones who’ve made strength training a habit. They didn’t seek a “perfect program;” they simply continued strength training, week after week, year after year.
Of those who walk through a gym door, two groups benefit the most from strength training: women of all ages and people over 50.
Here’s why. For many younger men, the weight room is the default. It’s the first place they go. Nobody has to talk them into it. But for many women and for older adults, strength training is something they sometimes get around to, not something they start with. I’ve seen this pattern over and over: when someone doesn’t know what to do in a weight room, they avoid it. Instead, they go running. They do yoga. They hop on a bike. They find something that doesn’t involve a barbell or a bench. I get it. The weight room and the movements can be intimidating. And then there are men wearing Zumbaz pants and tiny tank tops!
I want to be clear ‒ there’s absolutely nothing wrong with running, yoga or cycling. (I am an avid cyclist!) Those modalities have real value and a place in a healthy life. But what they often don’t include is load-bearing exercise. That’s the piece that strength training brings that almost nothing else does as well.
Strength training builds a full range of motion. It supports flexibility. It supports your cardiovascular system. And, obviously, it builds muscle, which becomes more important, not less, as we get older.
Five Things You Can Do, Starting Today
This isn’t the New York Times, and I’m not going to give you 20 things to overhaul in your life. Just do these five things and you’ll be in a good place:
A simple twice-a-week program, 20 minutes a session. That’s it to start. It’s not the end-all, be-all, but it’s a real foundation.
• Squats. Stand up out of a chair 30 times in a minute. A basic test and a basic builder of leg strength. Need more of a challenge? Try standing up with only one leg.
• Pushups. Start against your kitchen counter. Aim for 20 pushups in a minute. Need more of a challenge? Aim for 30 pushups in one minute!
• Planks. Hold an elbow plank for up to a minute. Isometric core strength carries over into everything else you do.
• Lunges. Step back, bring your knee as close to the ground as possible. Aim for 10 on each leg.
• Good mornings. Place your hands across your chest. Bend from the waist and stand up. Aim for 20 repetitions. Want more of a challenge? Place your hands behind your head.
Cycle through all of these movements for 10-20 minutes. That back-and-forth combination is a great foundation for almost anybody, at almost any age.
Want to Go Further?
Strength training is having a real moment right now across the country, especially in DC. You can see it in the number of places built specifically around it: Urban Athletic Club (www.urbanathletic.club), DC Strength and Nutrition (www.dcstrengthandnutrition.com), Sweat DC (www.sweatdc.com/shaw-dc-faq/), CutSeven (www.cutseven.com/). Even Orange Theory (https://www.orangetheory.com), a studio built on cardio, is adding strength classes into the mix. That’s not a coincidence. It’s a response to what people are actually seeing in their own bodies and what trainers are seeing in their clients.
If you’re ready for professional coaching, the places I mentioned are all great starting points. Walk in, ask questions and find a coach or a space that feels right for you.
Start with twice a week. Don’t worry about diet and nutrition yet ‒ that comes later. Right now, just worry about the movements. Make one change at a time and let it build.
That’s how you get the body and the years you’re looking for.
Graham King is the owner of Urban Athletic Club. graham@urbanathletic.club
