Get Ahead of the Aging Curve

Written by: Matt Mombourquette

A woman sitting on a rock in the mountains.

You are a busy professional. Likely you have a few little's at home as well. Maybe you play hockey or tennis a few times per week or attend a yoga or Pilates class. That's all good! You might be thinking that you don't have the time to workout at this stage in your life. However, if you want to maintain the ability to continue the activities you love as you get older you will absolutely benefit from adding in resistance training to your weekly routine. The great news for you is that you can achieve this in as little as 20 minutes per week.

Sound gimmicky? It’s no joke. Read on...

At One Up Fitness, we train clients as young as 13 and old as 93. Most of the clients we serve are in their early 50's. One of the most common things we hear from new clients is that they've been active their wholes lives and then ‘all of the sudden' they notice they don't have the strength, stamina, or resilience that they had 10-20 years ago. This limits their ability to thrive in their activities, often having to stop or pause the activity while recovering from an injury. This creates a vicious circle.

As some of you who’ve experienced this can attest, stopping activity, even for a few weeks, can have a significant impact on our fitness level and capacity to return to the activities we love.

The truth is that this potential series of events does not happen 'all of the sudden'. For anyone over the age of 30 who does not perform regular, challenging resistance training it is safe to assume that they have already started to lose strength and muscle tissue, even if they are regularly active. They just don't notice the impact until it reaches a tipping point...'all of the sudden'.

The good news is that we can prevent this impact by starting our training early and getting ahead of the aging curve.

Aging and physical decline is inevitable in everyone, but the rate of decline is very much in our control. This is all strongly correlated to our physical strength and muscular health.

There are other variables at play of course such as:

But if there is one dial that you can turn today that will have the greatest impact on your health as you age that is strength training.

The time investment to achieve this is far less than what most people believe. With as little as one challenging, strength training workout per week we can maintain and even increase our strength and muscle mass.

This workout needs to include exercises that address all of the major muscle groups of the body and those exercises need to be performed with a high level of effort, otherwise they will not stimulate the body to stay strong and keep / build muscle tissue.

This sounds strange and fringe (because it is) and it is also supported by some of the most recent scientific literature. The reason why this is not a popular option for most is because the vast majority of recommendations from personal trainers and health enthusiasts are coming from the context of 'maximizing athletic performance' and not managing aging for the general population. You don't have to (nor should you) train like a competitive athlete to keep fit and stay healthy.

I have been a personal trainer for 17 years. I have personally instructed thousands of one on one sessions. I can say with confidence that the top goal for most people is not about maximizing their athletic performance.

What they really want is freedom, in one form or another.
Freedom from weakness and frailty.
Freedom from disease and dependance on others,
Freedom of time and decision making.

Another thing that I’ve learned in my career is that it is far easier for people over 50 to regain lost strength and fitness that they had in their 30's and 40's than it is to attempt to build it for the first time. So, the sooner we start, the better. That said, it is never too late to start either. It may just require more time to reach your goals.

One Up Fitness’ Approach – Less Frequent Yet Challenging Resistance Training

Less frequent, but still challenging resistance training workouts are the best long term solution to health and fitness. This approach is easier to get started and to maintain over a long period of time due to the low bar to entry (anyone can do this) and the fact that the time commitment each week is so little.

Our approach at One Up Fitness will:

Ultimately, we aim for keeping you on the court, in the pool, or on the ski hills with less risk of injury. And you can keep this habit for the rest of your life. In my opinion, consistency with a regime is the most important variable to control.

It’s sometimes easy to take for granted the strength and resilience we have in our 30’s & 40's. Instead, it would be wise to take advantage of our strength and resilience in our early years and to invest our effort into optimizing our strength and muscle health. The same way it's wise to invest in our finances with savings accounts and appreciating assets.

My recommendations to help get ahead of the aging curve include:

I will leave you with a quote to consider: “If you don’t make the time for health and fitness now you will eventually have to make time for your illness later.”

If you’re ready to get ahead of the aging curve and would like support in starting your fitness journey, we can help! Click here or call today to schedule your 1-hour, complimentary fitness consultation with one of our expert trainers.