Personal Training for Longevity: When you go to a Personal Training Gym, look around you. Who do you see? Mostly people who are quite fit … of course, that’s what personal training does for you.
Fitness is our goal – strength of course, but also we claim flexibility and balance as well as cardiovascular fitness.
Personal Training for Longevity
Look again. What is the average age of a personal training client? 40-something? Or more? At Bench Gym, we have a couple of 80-year old's whose fitness goals include increasing strength and muscle mass and maintaining good health – healthy heart, good cholesterol level and blood pressure.
When you reach middle age, you begin to think about your life span. It’s time to do something to live as long as you can – and to make it a vibrant life with physical capability and energy and mental vitality.
As we grow older, we know that muscle mass decreases (starting in our late 20’s). But we can maintain and even build it – and strength training is one of the main ways to do so, according to Harvard Health.
Nutrition is another way, especially via protein intake because amino acids build muscle tissue. So is staying active like walking 7,500 steps a day on your phone’s steps app counter.
We can walk 7,500 steps or more on our own. Maybe we have an elliptical or treadmill in our house. We can go to a membership gym and work out three times a week. All good. But can you do better or stay motivated?
First, we need to use all of our muscles. Sure, biceps, pectorals and quadriceps that we readily notice and admire, but also all three parts of our triceps and all three parts of our deltoids that keep our shoulders working into old age, and of our abdominal muscles that power our core and protect our lumbar spine from damage.
Second, you need to know how and when to use which pieces of equipment, how much resistance and how heavy the weight (and which one – dumbbell, barbell, kettlebell?), and how far to stretch and contract your muscles. What you need at age 40 is not the same as what you need at age 80.
Third, what if you have a mild injury? Sore shoulder, painful knee? You might need a doctor. Or maybe your fitness trainer can help or alleviate the symptoms.
To build and maintain muscle and cardiovascular endurance efficiently for longevity, you need the skills and guidance of a personal trainer. At Bench Gym, our personal trainers are knowledgeable about the musculoskeletal system and physiology,
Longevity has another dimension. It is mental and spiritual. We need to feel good about ourselves. Fitness from personal training enables us to look good and be proud of our appearance. As a bonus, your personal trainer here at Bench Gym – the person who is by your side for an hour each time – is also your accessible informal and friendly longevity counselor.
By: Jon Ponce- Fitness Expert/Owner, Bench Gym Personal Training, Washington DC
Stan Nollen, Emer-Professor, Georgetown University- Blog Contributor/Fitness Enthusiast
