I have been training individuals for the last 15 years of my life. From speaking with all the people I trained as well as many of my colleagues, one of the biggest regrets many people have are not taking care of themselves in their 20s.
I see it everyday in people I know and my loved ones. As they age, they get weaker, their quality of life starts to decrease. I recently went to Las Vegas with my parents and it really hit me close to home. They aren’t as strong and fast on their feet now compared to 20 or 30 years ago. I know many of you reading this are thinking “well duh… it’s a given” but do we have to go and just let it happen to us? The thing with exercise is that it will help you die young as late in life as possible. My parents are very traditional Chinese, they don’t see the value in resistance training or cardiorespiratory exercise. It has and always will be hard for me to help them especially because I am a strength coach.
I am telling you this now because I care about each and everyone of you reading this. I am not doing this to make money and buy crap I don’t need. Its about making a positive change in the world by sharing what I have learned in life and school. Do yourself a favor and start lifting weights. I don’t want you to be like Arnold or like some sexy coed. You just need to lift something that is heavier than you are used to. You need to push your body to adapt to the stimulus that you give it. Lifting a 2 lb pink weight is useless unless you are rehabbing an injury. Most seniors can lift at least 8 lbs, so don’t waste your time doing 2 lbs.
For those of you that are still in your 20s, 30s, and 40s lift weights it will make your body more resilient, stronger, and slow down the effects of aging. For those of you in your golden years. It is never too late to start. Case in point, I trained a lady in her 80s, she came to me because getting off the toilet seat was very difficult for her. Once she sat down that was pretty much it. She was going to sit there until someone came to help her up. Six months later she was able to sit to stand from the height that is lower than your typical toilet seat to full standing 75 times. From not being able to stand from sitting to doing 75 bodyweight squats is amazing. Want to share your experiences with aging and exercise please comment below.
In Strength,
Charles Trinh, MS, PES, CSCS, ACSM-cPT
Please feel free to share this post, in return please credit me as the original author of this work, include a link to this post and the bio at the end of this blog.
Charles has dedicated more than 15 years in the field of exercise science and performance enhancement. His extensive background in human performance and sports medicine enable him to develop scientifically sound fitness programs for individuals looking to get healthy, and up to high performance athletes. Charles has also done extensive work with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (former state director) and American College of Sports Medicine in providing continuing education units to personal trainers, strength coaches, physical therapist, athletic trainers and Medical Doctors. With his extensive training and experience, Charles has helped countless individuals reach their health and performance goals.
FunctionWorks Fitness 