Old Man Strength

You are never too old to get strong

Let’s get one thing straight right out of the gate: unless you’re in a casket or cryogenically frozen, you are not “too old” to get strong.  As long as you are alive your body has the ability to adapt and improve.

I hear it too often—from guys in their late 40s or early 50s who somehow think their bodies have just up and retired. “I’m too old for that,” they say, or “I would get hurt, or that would kill me.”  as if strength training is reserved only for 22-year-olds with TikTok accounts and pre-workout addictions.

Newsflash: the barbell doesn’t care how old you are. And neither does your body—it just needs a reason to adapt. In fact, if you have not been training your body has been adapting to that by getting weaker, stiffer and less resilient.  Muscles don’t know age; they only know effort or lack thereof.  So, if you're reading this and still breathing, I’ve got good news: you can get stronger. Probably a hell of a lot stronger than you are right now.  To be fair you must use smart training volumes, intensities and progressions.

“But My Joints Hurt…”

Yeah, no kidding. You know what also hurts? Sitting in a desk chair for 25 years while your glutes atrophy into pancakes so you look like a frog wearing jeans every time you stand up. Walking around with weak legs and a “bad back” isn’t a badge of honor—it’s a slow-motion disaster.  My mother never lifted a weight until she was in her 70’s yet she had both knees replaced prior to that.  Not training and living life did not protect her.  We must train to protect ourselves.  “Disuse is its own abuse”.

Strength training doesn’t wreck your joints—it saves them. Done right (with a proper volume, intensity and progression for your current abilities), lifting weights builds the muscle and structure that keeps you moving well into the later innings of life. You think that guy deadlifting 275 in his garage at 65 is beating himself up? No—he’s investing in his physiological 401k.  His muscles are getting and staying strong, but his bones and connective tissue are adapting as well.  He is investing so he can play with his grandkids, play golf and get off the toilet.   He is fighting to be able to live independently decades into the future while you are stretching your hamstrings for the fourth time this week wondering why your back still hurts.

The Myth of the “Young Man’s Game”

Let’s kill this idea once and for all: strength training isn’t just for the 20 something guys with too much time on his hands. While I hope these young guys will train, develop the habit and continue it, strength training is more important for the middle-aged father of three who has a desk job and the 60 year old grandfather wanting to enjoy his retirement years.   Older guys do have one advantage, you’ve lived some life. You’ve learned that shortcuts are usually traps, and that anything worth having takes hard work, dedication and commitment. That’s exactly what makes you perfect for strength training. You just need someone to coach you through it, so you don’t do something dumb on Day One and blame the barbell for it.

At MOE Strength, we train grown men. Husbands, dads, workers, thinkers—guys with responsibilities and knees that crack when they stand up. And let me tell you: those guys thrive under the bar once they stop pretending their best years are behind them.

What Are You Training For?

We don’t train likes and clicks on Instagram or to get abs. We are training to keep doing the things we love. To not need help carrying our own damn luggage. To toss our grandkids in the air without throwing out our back. To stay independent. To look your doctor in the eye and say, “I don’t need more pills—I just need a barbell and some coaching.”

You’re training for life. For freedom. For resilience.

And deep down, you know you want that.

No, You’re Not Too Broken

Yes, I know—you’ve got the old football knee, the herniated disc from 2009, or the rotator cuff from that one time you tried to throw the baseball 200 feet without warming up. Everyone’s got something. But guess what? We work around it. We train through it. And in most cases, training makes it better.   Does it fix everything, and take all the pain away? Nope!  Never will!  You don’t have to be pain-free to train. You just need to be willing.  Life is not supposed to be pain free.  I will let you in on a little secret many of my clients have discovered.  When you begin training you will have less pain and feel better.  Give it a try and will see.

The Hardest Part Is Starting

That’s the truth right there. The hardest lift you’ll ever do is opening the front door of the gym for the first session. But once you do, something clicks. You remember what it feels like to move, to sweat, to feel capable again, TO BE ALIVE. You remember that deep part of you that doesn’t want to fade quietly into old age. The part of you that wants to fight for strength.

And I am in full support of that.. At MOE Strength, we don’t hand you a random workout and hope you figure it out. We coach. We teach. We program. We keep you safe, challenged, and progressing—week after week. We don’t train you like a broken old man. We train you like someone who still has to wake up each morning go out and hunt, kill and drag food home.

Because you do.

Final Word

If you’ve been sitting on the fence, or office chair, feeling like you have lost something, its time to stand up and begin to fight. You’re not too old. You’re too smart to keep making excuses. 

One of my “Athletes of Aging” said it best. 

“I am an Athlete of Aging.  The event we play in is life.  It’s a death match.  One I will lose.  I intend to go as many rounds as I can.  I won’t give up, I’ll go down fighting.”

-            Jeff West

Come join the Resistance

– Coach Moe

 MOE STRENGTH

Everyone needs Moe Strength