Seniors Personal Trainer Vancouver BC

Common Senior Fitness Myths

Myth #1: I’m Too Old to Exercise.

If anything, if you’re alive, you should be exercising. That simple. The trick is to start and manage a routine that isn’t too difficult and yet meets threshold. If it’s too easy for example, it won’t do anything and believe it or not, there are senior fitness routines that are too easy. Don’t worry, we won’t give you anything you can’t do but we will show you how to make sure your personal fitness routine is doing something for you.

Myth #2: I Can’t Grow Muscle Anymore.

You can get stronger and grow muscle at any age. Your muscles don’t have ages. They’re tissue that grows if you create resistance against it. One of my clients needed hip surgery and he was given a protocol of doing 25 squats a day to build up his hip joint before the surgery took place. This extra muscle and strength helped him recover faster. He’s 81.

Myth #3: I Could Fall if I Start Exercising

We do need to make sure your exercise routine is safe. We don’t want anyone to fall while they’re working out. We also will make sure we give you a routine that helps you feel more stable on your feet when moving around. Balance is very important for all of us and if we don’t train it, we can decrease our stability slightly.

Myth #4: I have Too Many Aches & Pains to Exercise.

This may seem like the most logical reason ever not to exercise. It was used by my own father recently. He has dislocated his shoulder over his lifetime about 20 times. There’s no cartilage left in his shoulder at this point and his range is very limited. A few weeks ago, he mentioned that his shoulder was getting a bit more sore than usual (we’re talking very sore). I asked him if he was doing any exercise for his upper body. He said he hadn’t been doing much of anything lately. 

I recommended that he go back to the rec center and try the routine I’d given him before and see if he could get things moving again. To his surprise, just a few exercises helped his shoulder feel much better. 

Basic blood flow and movement can do so much for our bodies that it’s crazy to think we shouldn’t be doing a bit of activity. So, even though you might be sore with severe arthritis in your knees, or have a tight low back or a shoulder without cartilage, you still may greatly benefit from an exercise program. 

We even have basic exercise programs to give you an idea of what our clients learn. See our At Home Workout as an example.

“More Senior Fitness Articles”

Here are some great quick articles on the benefits for seniors fitness programs:

How to Weight Train For Seniors

Do This to Maintain Bone Mass

Got Hip Pain Vancouver?