Unfortunately, there’s a pervasive societal myth that, with age, comes a need for more rest, more caution, and less physical stress on our bodies because we believe it will provide protection from injury.
The opposite is true!
As our bodies age, we need to put more effort towards robust activity, build confidence in a way that decreases fear and feelings of fragility, and deliberately stress our bodies because exposure to increasing forces is protective.
Physical adaptation is a two-way street: Towards increased capacity, durability and independence OR a quick and dramatic (sorry it’s the truth) decline.
I find it interesting how much fear is wrapped up in certain physical endeavors. Things like lifting heavy weights or introducing impact exercises such as running and jumping.
The fears are understandable. I’ve been there. When I started training with kettlebells after more than a decade of doing nothing but yoga and walking, I was afraid of my 20 lb bell. I didn’t know what to do with it. Now, I regularly and easily pick more than my body weight up off the ground, and swing bells 3+ times that weight.
At age 40, I realized I had zero capacity for running and jumping. I was frozen with fear as I made my first attempts. It was like my brain didn’t know how to talk to my body. I was privileged to have some solid coaching, mentorship, continuing education courses, and tools from performance physical therapy to guide me on the path.
Capacity to do new and challenging things isn’t built in a day. It comes from slow, steady exposure to gradually increasing forces. It also comes from actually doing (not just thinking about doing, or learning about how to do) the thing.
Back in my full-time yoga teaching days, I expressed apprehension about attending an advanced level yoga class to one of my mentors. I said something about not being able to do forearm stands in the middle of the room. Her response to me was simply “that’s okay, it’s where you learn it.” This has stuck with me. I think of it often when considering how to begin an unfamiliar (aka scary) endeavor.
️ Having a general fluency in the basics of strength, speed, and impact exercise is a non-negotiable for mitigating injury and disease, bouncing back from life’s inevitable setbacks, feeling more energized, staying agile, and aging with a high level of independence.
️ I’m honored to offer my Online Membership to help tackle your strength training needs.
My online membership includes two live weekly classes (Foundational Strength and Active Recovery).
With little equipment, you’ll learn the basics of building strength, speed, power (that’s force + speed) and tolerance for impact loading.
Scared? Don’t know where to start? This is where you’ll learn it—from actually doing it. Foundation, foundation, foundation. That’s why one of the weekly classes is called “Foundational Strength”. You can gradually build up volume of lower intensity exposure before increasing the intensity.
Questions? Not sure if this type of exercise is appropriate for you at this time? CLICK HERE to schedule a free discovery call. I’m happy to discuss your goals, and help you determine if my membership is right for you.
