I am always inspired by our clients that walk through our doors. Our clients are dedicated individuals that want to be healthier and learn how to move properly, eat well, and live happier. Many of our clients at the Performance Ranch are over 50, some in their 60’s, a few in their 70’s and a handful in their 80’s. These “active adults” have one thing in common, they actively pursue exercise to better their lives. 

I have one client in mind her is named Julia. This 82 years young lady inspires me every time I work with her. I have been fortunate enough to have trained her since she turned 70. It has been a fun journey helping her maintain her strength, her health and her golf game. This active lady plays golf several times a week. In addition to strength and conditioning, she also seeks out pro lessons to help sharpen her game. 

When Covid hit last year and we had to shut our doors, Julia had to stay home and miss her weekly appointments. Although, she tried to stay as active as possible, with a potential risk of injury it was hard to maintain her strength on her own. Fast forward a year and she was finally able to come back in for her weekly sessions. When she walked in the door, she was having a hard time standing up tall and her walking gait was impeded. With only a month of training under her belt, I saw a total transformation of her gait and posture! This week she was moving around the gym with ease, and walked several minutes on the Air Runner. Her consistency has paid off in just a few sessions. 

At some point age is going to catch all of us. But if we consistently work on movement, strength, flexibility, conditioning and eat well we have a fighting chance to age as well as Julia. I am excited to have her back in consistently and to see what the future holds. I know with her willingness to improve she will have great results.

Another one of our dedicated clients, Ross is in his mid 70’s. He has been with me and the Performance Ranch for almost as long as Julia. He consistently comes in 3x week for the last decade. In that time I have seen him stand taller, get stronger, move easier, and enjoy life more. His dedication has led him to taking on new challenges outside the gym walls. Here are his Zumwalt Rules for Success. 

• Get an accountability partner
• Schedule your workouts
• Seek professional coaching
• Invest in yourself
• Log your results
• Brag about it to your friends and family 

Strength Train For Life

Strength training is one of the most fundamental activities you can do for yourself, but it needs to be done often and consistently. Ideally, if you are in your twenties and thirties you are training to be as strong as you can now. When you get into your forties and beyond, strength training should be a 2-3x week activity. I recommend finding a qualified coach with several years of experience working with older adults to help you. The bodybuilder that only trains bodybuilders may not be the person for you. I have worked alongside trainers in coaches the majority of my adult life, like anything, there are some good, some not so good, and some that are amazing!

A well-qualified coach will help hold you accountable and progress you in a way that will challenge you to rise above. The simplest answer to adding strength training into your life is to make it a part of your routine. As Ross says, schedule it out. Strength is something that you cannot do randomly and expect to see results. It takes a thought-out plan, that consistently challenges us to achieve results. The key is to work with a qualified coach to help you stay injury-free. The old saying goes, “the best ability is availability.” You can’t make progress when you’re hurt. A professional will help keep you safe. If you are overcoming an injury, finding a team of rehab specialist’s like Elite OSM teamed up with a facility like ours is your best opportunity to overcome your challenges.

Professional Help

If you don’t know where to start, seek out a coach to make sure you are doing the right thing for yourself. Social media can be a good thing to see what others are doing, but it can also cause exercise envy. There are people out there that can do amazing things with their bodies. This didn’t happen by chance, these people are genetically gifted and also have worked very hard at their craft for a long time. We have to constantly remind ourselves that we need to master the basics first to have a chance at keeping our bodies progressing. This will also boost our confidence and allow us to try new things. A professional coach will allow you to make the breakthroughs you are envisioning.

Our mission at the Performance Ranch is to have our clients leave our doors knowing how to take care of themselves. We assess movment from day 1 and dive into movement mastery once we know a starting point. Whether it is strength and conditioning, nutrition, mindfulness, recovery or sleep, we are here to help you. Finding a starting point is half the battle, once you know where to began we know how to get you there.