A lot of times when I want to write articles on here, it’s sparked by either an event in my life, or from the various conversations I’ve had with my personal training clients…the people who choose Eric Moss Fitness for all their health and fitness needs…for which I’m thankful.

In this case, it was from a couple different things my clients have told me.  One was when a client said “My butt is actually being lifted…at 70 years old” and another had told me “I know it probably doesn’t mean anything to you but I was able to lift my cat’s specialized litter more easily” (just to put it into context, that last one was in her 80’s which is awesome FYI)

But yesterdays was what sparked this article…but its relevant to the others as well.  What my guy told me was “I can’t train like I’m 20 years old anymore.”  Which is ironic because he’s not even thirty yet.

It’s funny, because what constitutes as effective training doesn’t change that much based on age…the principles are universal after all.  The main thing that changes is the margin of error.  

When you are younger, you can get away with making mistakes.  I sure made my share.  In fact, I kept doing same mistake repeatedly for years…then I divorced her 😆.

As a person gets more mileage under their belt, and their body responds slower to training, they need to have better strategies then go hard or go home bro.

But methods are many, principles few and while methods may change principles never do.  The principles of progressive overload are universal.  And a simplified way to look at effective training progressions regardless of age, gender, or training experience is progress the things you can until you can…what you can’t.

Yes, lifting heavy things is important…but you have to earn the right by lifting light.  When you lift light in the beginning and progress it, it allows your body to put various structures in place in the form of gains (muscle thickening, cns efficiency, bone thickening, tendon thickening) which prepares your body for weights that are heavier, and heavier and then all of a sudden what was initially heavy to lift is actually well within your capabilities, because you adequately prepared it.

It’s especially important as people get older to do it the right way, because as strength coach Mark Rippetoe had famously quipped “strong people are harder to kill and more useful in general”

If you want to be harder to kill and more useful in general but aren’t sure where to start…I can help. I offer a free trial where we identify the best exercises for you based on your goals and figure out appropriate starting points.  All you have to do is text me at 973 476 5328 and introduce yourself to get started.

Eric Moss is a personal trainer in Boonton and moonlights as a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, and motivational speaker. In the tradition of the strength performers more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a live show and travels across the country doing presentations on goal achievement for conferences, corporations, associations, nonprofits, and government entities as well as for schools and universities. His personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville, Kinnelon, Pine Brook, Butler, and Parsippany New Jersey.