For those that want to dive in deeper here are the reasons why. First let’s look at a conceptional reason that will hopefully make you think about why pursuing a higher level of fitness will keep you living well. 

A handful of years ago I attended, well actually LiftBridge CF hosted, a seminar put on by a group of physical therapists (“PTs”) turned CrossFitters understand that teaching people how to move correctly could be a hugely impactful aspect of their professional work. Instead of only fixing problems, they could help prevent those problems by utilizing the principles of CrossFit.

During that seminar we spoke about the idea of living at your one rep max. The idea is simple, a one rep max or “1RM” is the most amount of weight you can lift for a single repetition in any given movement. In a lot of ways it’s how CrossFitters measure themselves and their progress….but the application to our everyday life is far more important than bragging rights. Here’s an illustration: Consider the farmer carry, this is probably the most basic lift that exists – you pick up an object in each hand and carry a specified distance. The heavier you lift, the cooler you are. Not really. But your goal is to increase the amount you can do by small percentages and that would indicate a greater level of overall strength. 

Now the application to everyday life. As we get older, the amount we can farmer carry decreases without us even knowing it. So one day you go to the grocery store and want a little reward, you buy yourself to 5 gallon jugs of icecream (who knows if these even exist but imagine they do). It’s hot so they slip out of your hands in the parking lot. Now you have to pick-up those jugs from the ground and finish carrying them to your car. In total they weigh 40 pounds and you notice your back feels a little funny and your hands and forearms are getting real tired…you barely make it to your car and have to set them down. 

What you just did was a one rep max farmer carry. And that can be dangerous. In training you only attempt max lifts seldomly, but because over a handful of years you have lost ability every day you are exposed to max lifts. This is a scary way to live. 

Now flip my mythical icecream pale example on its head. What if you trained the farmer carry regularly? What if instead of a one rep max of 40 pounds, yours was 100 pounds? Now every day you are operating at 40% to 50% of your max. That is a much safer way to live.

So many people are afraid they’ve gotten too old to exercise and if they do they’ll get hurt. But they never realize they are at far greater risk of injury by not pursuing higher levels of strength and fitness. 

Based on our experience and the development of our Longevity class we’ve found that pursuing the foundational aspects of fitness we can drive the outcomes people are looking for. We are always told that balance and energy levels are what our 50+ members really desire. 

It has become apparent to us that restoring functional movements (squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling, etc), improving cardiovascular function (lungs and hearts), increasing hand strength, and building foot speed / coordination are the levers that need to be pulled. When you pursue those principles and start to learn about where you have limitations you can start to restore balance, increase energy levels and create happier, healthier people. 

One last little tid-bit…and this is a bit of a shameless plug, but oh well this is my blog. The benefits of exercise at all ages is somewhat obvious, but the overlooked part of that is the community that comes along with it. If you were to apply the principles I’ve described, but you do them in isolation at an unfriendly gym where you don’t know anyone two things happen: 1) you will get bored, you will see exercise as an obligation and 2) you won’t push yourself like you would in a group. Our Longevity class is a community of supportive people (coaches and members) that want you to succeed and see you at your best.