What Personal Training Looks Like For Women In Their 50s and 60s

Most people in their 50s and 60s who haven’t exercised much before just love entering a gym for the first time. Right?

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Having a personal trainer is so commonly thought of as intimidating, that it hurts our profession! The truth is that a good (hopefully great!) personal trainer can put you at ease mentally and change your body and your life. 

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We need to understand what your current ability level is, what your goals are, and create a plan to progress you in a safe, effective way. Preferably without a bunch of people sweating on everything around you!

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When you step into Evolve Training as a woman in your 50s, 60s, and beyond, we take the time to get to know you and create a customized plan. More often than not, these components are a part of that plan. 

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Lift Weights

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When new clients come into the gym, they often already know they have to lift weights. I love this phase. It’s often a mindset shift away from the old “walking or running is enough” way of thinking to a “I need to get stronger” philosophy. As a trainer, that’s when we can help you make the magic happen!

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Lifting weights used to be seen as intimidating. It is. You need to know what exercises to do, how to do them with proper form, and how to progress. Should you use 5lbs or should you use 15lbs? Maybe you should work your way up to 30lbs! 

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When women start training with us, we often have to get them thinking about the long term possibilities. Progressive overload is a concept that gradually increases the intensity, volume, or duration of workouts over time to challenge and grow the muscles. This is simply required for getting stronger. So if you use 5lb weights for strength training, our goal is always to figure out how we get you safely to 6lbs, 8lbs, 10lbs, 15lbs, and so on. That is how you make progress and actually get stronger.

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Some clients, over time, get a little obsessed and realize that Deadlifting 135lbs is a really cool thing to do when you’re a grandma. Lifting weights, and getting stronger, is always the most important part of training for women in their 50s, 60s, and beyond!

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Weight Bearing Exercise

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Prevent osteoporosis. It’s so common that doctors often send women to us with that goal in mind. They say you need “weight bearing” exercise, but what is that, really?

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Weight bearing typically means “Impact,” but that sounds a little too intimidating at first. But we are really looking for impact training, which could start with walking. If you aren’t already, you should be walking every single day. 15 minutes is a great start, and you can advance to whatever you have the time for. 

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Impact training is also any type of hopping movement. We often start with jumping jacks, skips, or bunny hops over a line. During this process, we make sure your muscles and joints are strong enough, and that you don’t have any weak points that would cause you not to be able to hop safely. 

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Next comes the agility ladder! You’ll look like a pro athlete once you learn some basic rhythm and techniques to make it safe, fun, and effective. 

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The final boss is the box jump. We’ve had women in their 50s, 60s and even 70s routinely do box jumps after teaching them proper technique. Some start with 6” and stay there. Our highest jump currently from someone in their 60s is 18”! 

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Our goal is to keep your bones strong and muscles powerful. If you can jump on a box, you will be able to go back to your doctor and tell them you’re doing plenty of weight bearing exercise!

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Balance Training

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Balance training often starts in our 50s and extends for the rest of your life. Tens of thousands of people 65 and older die from falls every year and it’s one of the leading causes of death for older adults. You need to be able to balance, and that starts with simply practicing and being strong!

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You always hear those TV segments that say older adults should be able to balance on one leg for 15 or 30 seconds. They are right. But you don’t simply get there by practicing balancing on one leg. Your muscles have to be strong enough.

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The most important muscles for balance are actually your glutes. If they are strong, your knees and ankles typically fall in line and make it much easier for you to balance. So if you want good balance, you have to create strong hips and legs.

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Most people, when they fall, don’t often just fall over from a standing position. They fall doing something a little more dynamic. So when we train for balance, outside of strength training, we often do it in a dynamic way. We train exercises that force you to catch yourself (but in a secure setting.) These are helpful for real life situations. Then, of course, we can test it all out by balancing on one leg for 30 seconds. If you can maintain that into older age, you’re going to be in great shape!

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Address The Weak Points 

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All of this training sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it? To support it all, the most important part of personal training is having an expert look for potential issues before they happen. If your ankles are tight, your knees are caving in, your hips are weak, or your posture is poor, it can lead to injuries. If we can address those weak points before an injury happens, and while you get started with training, we can lower the risk of injury significantly. 

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Everyone has weak points, especially if you haven’t worked out in many years. With personal training, you have a partner who can spot the issues and give you exercises specifically to turn your problem areas into a strength. 

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Nutrition Guidance 

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Nutrition is not a one-size-fits-all thing. Through communication and testing, we have to figure out what is going to work right for you.

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A trainer (or for more in-depth help, our own Nutritionist, Matt Ryan) can help you understand your caloric needs, your protein needs, and some basics on how to get started with improving your nutrition. 

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Ultimately, in order to achieve goals around having more energy, strengthening your bones, or looking better in a bathing suit, nutrition is an essential part of training. When you combine the exercise above and a consistently healthy (80% of the time!) way of eating, you’ll feel and look great! 

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As always, if you want to learn more about how personal training can make your life better, contact us and have a chat. We offer all new clients a complimentary trial session to learn more about us and experience your training and facility. We hope to help you Evolve soon!

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