Is It Ever “Too Late” to Start Strength Training?
I’m not quite sure why, but there is a trend among the older crowd to look upon the young with a mix of wistfulness and outright annoyance. See if you recognize any of these phrases:
“Youth is wasted on the young”
“When I was your age we didn’t do ______”
“I’m getting too old for this sh*t”
Pair any of the above phrases with a shaking of the fist and an inducement for people to get off their lawn and you’re in business.
For those who are more curious than curmudgeonly, the question periodically gets asked:
Is it ever “too late” to start strength training?
A mighty fine question. Let’s dive into it in detail.
I don’t know how it got started, but people’s understanding of physical improvement as they age seems to be that basically the best you can hope for is to stay just barely out of reach of the Angel of Death and his minions, Decrepitude and Disease — but real lifetime improvement is pretty much a thing of the past.
If you’ll forgive my French, that’s some bullsh*t.
While some physical characteristics are best developed when younger (and indeed become tougher to develop as you age, such as speed), strength is one of those raw, indomitable physical qualities that you can work on and reasonably expect to improve no matter how advanced in age you’ve become.
The truth is this:
Strength does not discriminate based on age, gender, or any other thing.
Is it easier to get strong if you’re a 19-year-old whose life revolves around lifting weights?
Of course — but that’s hardly a necessary condition to get stronger. You can make dynamite progress — in some cases becoming even stronger than you were in your “prime years” — provided you’re following a solid, proven program written by an experienced coach or trainer.
For example:
I trained a lady named Charlie a number of years ago who had a stressful desk job and very minimal time to work out — 2 hours per week, in fact.
To make things more interesting:
- She was on the wrong side of 50
- She had never done any strength training in her life and could barely lift a 20 lb kettlebell when we started
Within a matter of months — on two 1-hour sessions per week, mind you — I helped her work up to her first chin up ever!
I’ve done the same for other women who were past 50 as well, so it’s not a fluke; it’s a process.
As you get older you definitely need to train smarter due to the mileage you’ve heaped on your body as well as your generally reduced recovery capacity, but regardless, your body more or less responds to stimuli in the same way: you tell it to do something, it adapts, you repeat. That’s it.
It can take a bit longer when you’re not a 19-year-old super stud, but you’re planning on getting older anyway, right?
The “skeleton” of such a process comes down to this: Set a goal -> prepare your body for that goal -> follow a proven process to get you to that goal.
The devil’s in the details, of course, and everybody will need to follow an individualized path, but you can do amazing things if you’re willing to
#1: Commit to it
#2: Commit to doing it right.
It’s never too late!
So, how should you get started?
There are loads of options, but one that you might really like is my 9 Minute Kettlebell and Bodyweight Challenge.
As the name indicates, it’s just 9 minutes long, and it’s designed to be done WITH your current workouts — NOT instead of them.
How?
By harnessing the power of your body’s gait pattern (i.e. walking pattern) to unleash the strength ALREADY hidden inside you — via movements like crawling, loaded carries, and more.
Even cooler:
Many find that it actually amplifies their strength in their favorite kettlebell and bodyweight moves, like presses, squats, pull-ups, and more.
And best of all, it’s free.
How free?
I’m talkin’ freer than the 4th of July, my friend.
Get thee thine own copy here => http://www.9MinuteChallenge.com
Have fun and happy training!
Aleks Salkin
