Supertraining

People who are not seated or bedridden already do some activity to preserve 
their bones by the very nature of standing and walking under gravity.  When you 
start training the very old, you ask what they do as daily activity first.  
Some do gardening for example which can be quite an exertion...and may be 
preserving them better than we knew also.  Housework if done vigorously is also 
more of workout than may be thought.  If there are balance concerns, those 
should be addressed first...but be careful which balance teaching they get - 
one of my clients was getting some from a local senior home and they were all 
aimed at "forward tilt" to help one with a WALKER! not walking on your own!

If the person is already doing something like walking or stationary bike, you 
can likely help them start with the very light weights or no weight to get the 
form.  When I start older to very old clients (I have three right now) on an 
exercise, I teach the form without a weight.  One lady got significant and 
noticeable toning improvement from no weight on just bicep curls and kickbacks, 
the contractions alone appear to have some helpful merit to begin with.  

If someone is already doing some weight training, you can pretty safely segue 
them to a more aggressive style like PL or OL if they do not have joint issues 
and if the client so wishes.  But the reality is, anybody at any age recently 
may have blown out knees or other impediments, look at the 18 yo's around you!  
Some of the ladies this weekend took up lifting and then PL already into their 
50's and 60's....

When asked, the physicians appear to generally support the clients in lifting 
weights....and once you get by the idiotic notion they're going to get "BULKY" 
if they lift,  some grab the opportunity with both hands and you'd better keep 
an eye on the loads, have that talk about REASONABLE jumps lol!

Example:  the 80 yo was doing sets of 30 reps of unweighted below parallel 
squats for three sets very quickly (about 3 weeks) after he started, he had 
formerly played softball until at age 65 he slid into second base and tore his 
hamstring up.  He didn't quit jogging until three weeks after he tore that 
hamstring.  Teach him a move and you can bet he will be persistent and will 
progress, you just have to watch how much he does and of what... he also took 
up standard full pushups and does 3 sets of 20 now, he got that far after 5 
weeks of working up to that.  He is now adding a seated military press and a 
shoulder flye!  biceps curls also.  His comment is that his shoulders do not 
look "beefy" enough to suit him yet.... and he's up to 45 minutes from 30 
minutes performed very faithfully three times a week!  He had never lifted 
weights (when he played football, they didn't lift weights) and he is clearly 
showing signs of improvement to his build!

Side note:  the 80 yo's wife (also a client) is even more fit at 75 - she 
literally RAN around a corner to get a phone after running up the stairs!  Our 
joke is that when she slows down this is a clear sign of the Apocalypse!  (And 
retirement with this pair is such a joke, I don't think I can keep the pace 
they do on their schedules!)

Fit people overall have less opportunity to break down.  That's my observation. 
 An athlete is an athlete and should be respected at ANY AGE.   The boomer 
generation may be doing their elders a bit of a favor in that they seem more 
determined than ever not to go QUIETLY into that good night...!

The Phantom
aka Linda Schaefer, CMT, competing powerlifter (master and open)
Denver, Colorado, USA

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: Ryan Stevens <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 

> I know it mentioned "neuromuscular effects" but how about the effect on the 
> skeletal system. I would think older individuals that haven't been exposed to 
> that amount of load might experience osteoporotic compression fractures or 
> something similar. Just a thought 
> 
> Ryan Stevens 
> kansas city, USA 
> 
> --- On Tue, 12/9/08, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 
> 
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> Subject: Re: [Supertraining] Explosive heavy-resistance training in old and 
> very 
> old adults 
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2008, 6:47 PM 
> 
> I had to say I enjoyed hearing one of the competitors this weekend at a PL 
> meet 
> tell me she was "delighted with her bench effort but disappointed she 
> didn't deadlift enough". She had been doing around 240 lbs in the gym 
> but only managed about 215 lbs at the meet. She was over 70 years of age 
> . I can't off hand remember her weight class, but she looks 
> around 110 lbs tops....! 
> 
> It's nice that the research is finally catching up with what I know to be a 
> truth! I keep seeing older powerlifters and people taking up PL and even OL 
> in 
> their 50's and 60's... and they stand much taller and appear to have 
> great balance even walking around, in their 70's and even early 80's! 
> (One of my clients in his early 80's has much better balance after a year of 
> squatting without weight and it has improved his posture as well... what 
> prevents him from taking up competing and using a barbell is the fact he 
> suffers 
> severe peripheral neuropathy or I am sure nothing could stop him! The balance 
> improvements and improved yes, muscularity in his legs and glutes is a 
> testimony 
> to even bodyweight exercise and consistent work - and he had never lifted 
> weights or done a PL style movement, he used to run and play softball and 
> football.) 
> 
> All I can say is this: If Grandma wants to deadlift, hand her the chalk and 
> teach her good form. I think you'll be surprised. And if you aren't 
> competing with her yourself, you should be in the audience or handling 
> her..... 
> Lifting "heavy" (for "heavy" is different to all of us) is 
> truly the Power that Preserves! 
> 
> The Phantom 
> aka Linda Schaefer, CMT, competing drug free powerlifter 
> Denver, Colorado, USA 
> 
> -------------- Original message -------------- 
> From: "carruthersjam" 
> The below study demonstrated that explosive-type heavy-resistance 
> training seems to be safe and well tolerated in healthy women even in 
> the eighth decade of life and elicits adaptive neuromuscular changes 
> in selected physiological variables that are commonly associated with 
> the risk of falls and disability in aged individuals. 
> 
> Explosive heavy-resistance training in old and very old adults: 
> changes in rapid muscle force, strength and power 
> P. Caserotti 1,2 , P. Aagaard 1,2 , J. Buttrup Larsen 3 , L. Puggaard 
> 1,2 
> 
> elderly • aging • strength training • power • countermovement jump 
> ABSTRACT 
> 
> Age-related decline in muscle power predicts falls, motor impairments 
> and disability. Recent guidelines suggested that training programs 
> should be tailored to maximize muscle power. This study investigated 
> the effects of 12 weeks of explosive-type heavy-resistance training 
> (75–80% of 1 repetition maximum) in old (60–65 years, TG60) and very 
> old (80–89 years, TG80) community-dwelling women. Training was 
> performed with maximal intentional acceleration of the training load 
> during the concentric movement phase. Maximal isometric voluntary 
> muscle strength (MVC), rapid force capacity, assessed as rate of 
> force development (RFD), and impulse, maximal muscle power during a 
> countermovement jump (CMJ) and during unilateral leg extension task 
> (LEP) were evaluated. RFD, impulse and MVC increased by 51%, 42% and 
> 28% in TG80, and by 21%, 18% and 18% in TG60, respectively. CMJ jump 
> height increased by 18% and 10% in TG80 and TG60, respectively, while 
> jump peak power increased in TG60 (5%). Finally, LEP increased 28% in 
> TG80 and 12% in TG60. 
> 
> These findings demonstrate that explosive-type heavy-resistance 
> training seems to be safe and well tolerated in healthy women even in 
> the eighth decade of life and elicits adaptive neuromuscular changes 
> in selected physiological variables that are commonly associated with 
> the risk of falls and disability in aged individuals. 
> 

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