Strength Training for the 50+ Group: Why Staying Fit is a Prophylactic for Aging Well

Welcome to the Living to 100 Club Podcast. Here's our host, Dr. Joseph Casciani.

Well, hello to everyone joining us today on our podcast. You're listening to the Living to 100 Club, and I'm your host Joseph Casciani. Before we introduce our guests, I'd like to remind everyone that I'm available for public speaking events, particularly to community organizations and senior groups. I'd love to talk to others about aging well and making it over those hurdles. There's an option on my website to book a call to discuss a presentation. I also offer one-on-one coaching for help bouncing back from struggles and setbacks. You can see this option as well on my website. And one last item of self-promotion: if you're looking for a consultant or trainer on clinical topics like dementia or depression, this is my wheelhouse, so feel free to contact me if there's a need in your organization. Contact options are on my website, again, livingto100.club. Now on to our podcast. Our guest today is Dave Durell. Dave is the creator of the Stay Strong Forever Master Course. In our conversation today, we'll be discussing his training programs for people over age 50. We're going to explore why is strength building so important for the senior population, what should be included in good workout routines, and a lot of related, uh, conversations. First, a little background on our guest. Dave has been improving the quality of people's lives through strength training for over 39 years. He's the co-owner, along with his wife Patty, of Rock Solid Fitness personal training studio in Dunedin, Florida. He's worked as a collegiate and NFL strength coach and had a 26-year career as a licensed physical therapy assistant. Dave operates the popular website strengthafter50.com, and he's the creator of the Stay Strong Forever Master Course, an online strength training program that helps people over 50 stay strong, rebuild themselves, and live full, active lives. Welcome to our program today, Dave.

Thank you very much, Joe. I am very appreciative to be here today, looking forward to our talk. I'm a big fan of the show.

Great, great. I'm looking forward to it as well. I always like to begin the program by asking our guests to tell us a little bit about the journey that brought you to where you are today.

Well, Joe, my journey actually started, uh, 50 years ago now that we've just turned into a new year. At age 13, I was a skinny kid, typical 99-pound weakling story. I got picked on and ridiculed quite a bit, so I convinced my dad to buy me a vinyl home barbell set, if you remember those. I do. And of course, back then, uh, no, no, uh, internet, no add to cart button. You had to send away for a mail-order course if you wanted to learn how to do some strength training. So I did that, and I set out to try to build up my muscles and get a little bigger. And the next year, '14, I entered high school and, uh, joined up on the high school wrestling team and immediately fell in love with that. And of course, wrestling involves a high level of, of strength and physical conditioning, and in my case, also resulted in some injuries. So So this, uh, really got me interested, Joe, in studying human performance, sports medicine, of course, how to get strong, which I was already interested in. So I chose a career path of majoring in physical education. Uh, my goal was to become a high school teacher and a wrestling coach at that time. I graduated from college in 1982 with that degree. And lo and behold, there were no teaching jobs in the state of Connecticut available that summer when, where I was living at the time. So I got a job at a local gym as a fitness instructor, stuck with them for a couple years and worked my way up to managing two of their locations in the chain. And during that time, Joe, you know, the source of, of strength training information was quite limited, really the best you could do for yourself was consult bodybuilding magazines to try to learn how to perform strength training and build your muscles up and just try to really mimic what the professional bodybuilders were doing. Um, back then Arnold Schwarzenegger was in his heyday as a bodybuilder. So, you know, everybody wanted to look like him and it was becoming quite popular.

Those were the days of Jack LaLanne too, if I'm not mistaken, right?

That's correct. I remember watching Jack Lalanne on television in black and white.

Yeah.

So I, you know, was working at a gym and I tried to do what I thought was best, which was what everybody else was doing. And that was approximately 2 hours a day training, 6 days a week. This is what all the pro bodybuilders were doing. And, uh, I didn't get the same results they were getting and I couldn't really figure out why. My muscles didn't get significantly bigger. I didn't get significantly stronger and I was tired all the time. And in the late '70s, I think about 1978, a new professional bodybuilder hit the scene and won the Mr. Universe contest. And his name was Mike Mentzer. And he advocated quite a different training approach, which was a high intensity, low volume Training Program. He was training 45 minutes, 4 days a week, as opposed to what these other guys were doing. And, and he was a winner. So I sent away for his mail order course and convinced another guy at the gym to work out with me. And over the next 4 months, Joe, I was able to gain 16 pounds of muscle.

Wow.

While maintaining my body fat in the single digits. So it was really quite a transformation. And I was, absolutely hooked hook, line, and sinker on this new high-intensity, low-volume approach. So over the years, I continued to use that approach with myself. I started to use it with my fitness clients, continued to study the techniques and research, and also refine those techniques, kind of turn it into my own system as I gained more and more experience.

This was the high-intensity interval training day or a variation of that?

It was a variation of that. It was designed actually just for muscle building. So this was around the time, Joe, you might remember the Nautilus centers that came out in the '70s. And this was the premise behind Nautilus that you do, you know, one set per exercise and you do your whole body in the workout, train your whole body, and then you, you leave the gym and you don't come back for a couple days and you allow it to recover and build itself up. And this professional bodybuilder that, that I learned about was very successful as a pro bodybuilder using this type of approach, and that's what initially attracted me to it. So yeah, I stuck with that and I've used it myself now for 40 years and developed my own system for it, which we've used on our personal training clients. Um, uh, after several years in the gym business, jumping back now into the, uh, '90s, I decided to kind of branch out and move more into the medical field. So I decided in my 30s as a non-traditional student to return to school and study physical therapy.

Sure.

And get my physical therapy license, which I did. I got that in 1995 and moved from Connecticut to Florida where I live now. And as an interesting side benefit of going to school for physical therapy, I met my wife in physical therapy school who graciously moved to Florida with me and we got married almost 25 years now. So she's a physical therapist assistant as well. And now together we run our personal training studio, Rock Solid Fitness, which started out as just she and I, uh, starting a personal training, basically a side hustle. We were working full-time as physical therapist assistants in a, in a well-known rehab clinic. And, uh, working out at a gym. And we worked out a deal with the owner and started training people on the side in the evenings at that gym. And we got one client, then another client, then a couple more. Then we got a couple doctors and they started referring people to us. And before you know it, we didn't really have time for physical therapy anymore. So we went into the personal training business. And in 2011, started Rock Solid Fitness, where we operate now. And we have a staff of trainers who work for us now, and we kind of direct them, and we, we have devised the programs that are used, and we oversee the operation. I took an interesting side— sidestep also in the late '90s. I, uh, here in the Tampa Bay area where I live, I got an opportunity to volunteer with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team with their strength and conditioning staff. So I took that opportunity mainly as a learning experience at the time, but I quickly learned I really loved doing it. I loved working with the pro athletes in that setting. So at 40 years old, I set a goal to become an NFL strength and conditioning coach, which I was able to do.

Perfect goal.

Yeah, I went and, uh, For one year, I spent one year in Missouri as a graduate assistant strength coach to gain experience and got my master's degree in health fitness administration. And once I graduated, I got a job in the NFL, thankfully for my wife and I, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so I didn't have to, to move. I did that for one season and then subsequently also worked with the Jacksonville Jaguars for 6 years in a part-time capacity. And then once all that was over with, uh, went back and really hit hard the personal training business. And that's when we really developed Rock Solid Fitness.

I see. Sure, sure. So tell us a little bit about the clients, um, all ages or more, more middle-aged than seniors, or what's the breakdown?

We have clients of all ages, Joe. Um, I think we've had clients as young as 9 years old. I think our youngest now is 13. Um, she comes with her mom, but the majority of our clients are over 50. Um, we, we are in Florida after all. So it's a little bit older population and we have clients up into their 80s. Um, we've had 90-year-olds in the past as well. And, you know, once I got over 50 myself, Joe, in 2008, I started to get a personal appreciation for what people over 50 have to deal with physically when they come to train with us and do their strength training. You know, you start to get aches and pains that creep in from things you did when you were younger that come back as reminders. You may have different surgeries that you've been through by that point in your life. And all these things have to be accounted for, uh, strength training program. So we do that with our clients. We have a strength training based program with a physical therapy perspective. So our program is a combination of muscle building type movements, as well as what we call rebuilding exercises. Which are kind of based on each client and what they happen to be going through injury-wise or post-surgery-wise or what have you, whatever limitations they're experiencing. So we, we train not only the big showy muscles of the body, but also the deep muscles of the body that you can't see, but are very important for holding the rest of your body together. So we work on things like rotator cuff strengthening in the shoulders, strengthening the small muscles in the neck and the lower back that support the spine, the intrinsic muscles in the hands for helping people with their grip if they may have arthritis or other conditions. And we work this all into the strength training program.

So these are really adjustments that you're recommending for this age group because we might be more vulnerable to the rotator cuff injury, for example. Is that, that's what you're saying?

That, that's correct. We, we are more vulnerable, and of course, it's harder to recover from those types of injuries as you get older. You know, if you're 72 and you tear your rotator cuff, that's going to be a much more difficult rehabilitation than it would be for a 22-year-old.

Sure.

So we, we We want to prevent all those things, and we get people coming to us, Joe, who have various aches and pains. You know, I hurt my back when I was 35, and now it's really bothering me. What can I do? My neck bothers me when I sit at the computer. What can I do? My doctor said I have arthritis in my knees. What should I do? So we have to address all these things that you just don't see in younger people.

Sure. They just don't come up.

So—

Yeah. That's really important, of course. Yeah. Let me ask you, Dave, before we get into— I want to explore the whole notion about adjustments for seniors and the importance of strength training. But before we do that, let me ask you about your experience as a physical therapist assistant. What— 20-plus years, 25 years, you worked with a lot of clients, I'm sure. What were some of the main takeaways from your your work as a— in physical therapy?

Well, I've worked over that period of time, Joe, with just about every type of patient in just about every setting. And, and one thing was consistent that's germane to our discussion today, and that is that the people that I worked with, the patients who needed rehabilitation for whatever reason, who came into that situation fairly fit, fairly strong, not overweight, you know, due to a physically active lifestyle leading up to that point, invariably recovered better and progressed more easily in rehab than those who had led a more sedentary type of lifestyle leading into it. So I really learned the importance of staying active and staying strong and fit, you know, kind of almost prophylactically, you know, just as a regular habit in your life, just in case anything goes wrong, you're going to be that much better equipped to get through it.

Sure. Well, that's good. That's really important. It's really like a risk factor then if you're not in good shape when you do have some kind of medical setback like a fall or a hip fracture or something like that. It's really a big, bigger hill to climb.

It very much is. That's a great way to put it.

Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. That's important. That's an important message, I think. So why is strength training so important for the 50+ age group? I mean, just to be in good shape? Stay fit, or are there other serious considerations for this age group?

There are, Joe. I mean, it's important from, to me, from a lifestyle perspective, number one. You know, once you're over 50, getting into your 50s and 60s, you're in lots of times a situation where, you know, if you have kids, they're getting grown up and they're kind of moving on to different areas in your life. You have so-called empty nest. You've been working at a certain career for a long period of time. You might have some resources, financial resources, and more time on your hands, etc. So, you've got the time and the resources, hopefully, to be able to do some fun things, what I call bucket list items.

Sure.

That, you know, you probably have been looking forward to for quite a while, but you were so busy you didn't have time the time or even perhaps the money to do it. And now you do, but are you going to be physically capable of engaging in some of those activities? So, you know, to me, it's just a shame to get to that point in life and you're like, okay, I've got this 20, 30, or in the case of your listeners, 50-year, perhaps, years ahead of me. And am I going to be physically capable of doing everything I want to do? Am I going to really make the most of these years?

Yeah.

So, I think I think it's important from that aspect. And also the health benefits, Joe, for older people. I've come to understand that people in the 50+ age group benefit the most from strength training. It's really not all about, in my mind anymore, you know, having big biceps or big pecs or a six-pack abs. It's all about health and function. And strength training, you know, research has shown more and more and more how critical it is, how foundational it is for our health. Just a few examples, improving glucose metabolism. You know, diabetes is a big concern for everyone now, and strength training, by lifting weights, you're using up blood glucose, you're releasing it from your muscles where it's stored as muscle glycogen. It kind of has an insulin-mimicking effect. So it has a beneficial effect on glucose metabolism. Increases your resting metabolic rate, which is the amount of calories you burn at rest. So in that way, you know, your muscles are your calorie-burning engines, and the bigger and stronger they are, the more gas they consume. And, uh, it's— when you're talking about the human body, it's good to be a gas guzzler because that means you get to, get to eat a little bit more without any excess baggage getting added on. I see this all the time with my clients, reducing the pain and discomfort from arthritis. It just seems to really, you know, they say motion is lotion, and that seems to be amplified with strength training. Improving bone mineral density, that's a big one for anyone at risk of osteoporosis. And also cognitive function, Joe. Recent studies have shown that progressive resistance exercise, which is a fancy name for strength training, actually has a measurable beneficial effect on cognitive function in older folks. So, you know, we're all on the lookout for signs of dementia. That's obviously a big healthcare issue for seniors, and strength training, done in a progressive fashion, seems to have in clinical studies, a beneficial effect there. Not to mention your self-esteem. You know, you feel good about yourself. You feel accomplished when you're doing this. And, you know, if you're done working, you're retired, done with a career where you were highly successful, you may be looking for something like that to sink your teeth into and go in and see some progress and really feel good about yourself and about the ability to move and do these fun things that I mentioned earlier.

Yeah, that's a great description, Dave. I can see where generations ago we thought about retirement as a time to slow down. And what you're saying, it's not a time to slow down, it's just the opposite. We don't have the work obligations necessarily. We don't have a lot of those stresses and pressures. And now we have time to look at our lifestyle and see how we can improve it and what we can add to our lifestyle. So, the importance of good strength training and physical fitness, that gives us the opportunity to open so many more doors, I think, right?

It really does, Joe. That is a great way to sum it up. That is exactly the way I feel and what I am seeing with not only myself, but our clients. And the thing is, if you set it up correctly, you do not have to be a so-called gym rat you don't have to be a slave to the gym and spend hours and hours and hours in there for your strength training. You know, it's the kind of thing where it can be done in 45 minutes or less, once or twice a week. If you set it up correctly, it doesn't have to be dangerous and it doesn't have to be super time-consuming. And it's the kind of thing you can sustain from age 50 to age 100. As all your listeners are trying to reach.

Sure. Sure. Yeah. So if we don't do anything exceptional or don't do anything out of the ordinary in the way of strength training, our muscles will naturally deteriorate or weaken, or what happens, what happens to our muscles?

They actually will, Joe, by default, because there's a process that sets in, um, typically actually in people's 40s, which is called sarcopenia, which is just a fancy medical term for age-related muscle loss. And this is actually an evolutionary process, Joe. This is, you know, back to the caveman days. If you were the elder member of the tribe, you were no longer expected to, you know, chase down deer and water buffalo to feed the tribe. You left that to the younger guys. And so our bodies figure that, you know, now that we're older, we don't need all this muscle tissue. Muscle tissue is very metabolically expensive to your body. It takes a lot of energy resources to keep that muscle tissue alive and functional and operating properly. So, you know, from an evolutionary standpoint, if we can jettison some of that muscle tissue, And we're talking about 5 pounds per decade is a typical muscle loss for an older person. You know, your body thinks it's doing you a favor by conserving energy, but that's not how it works anymore. As you mentioned, we're not cavemen anymore and we're not, we don't have a 30 or 40-year lifespan. People are living to 100 now and we want to live to our fullest in those years. The only way to combat this age-related muscle loss known as sarcopenia is via strength training, is by taxing your muscles in a way that you're sending a signal that your body has to adapt to this type of training by maintaining and even adding new muscle tissue in order to combat what you're doing. So this adaptation process is the way to combat sarcopenia, and if we don't do it, then We're, we're just gonna get progressively weaker. That's, it's just a natural part of the aging process.

So you said 5 pounds per decade without doing anything? Uh, that's, that's 15 or 20 pounds from 50 to 90.

That's, it, it's very significant.

Yeah.

Imagine you're, you're, you buy a car with 250 horsepower and, uh, a few years later it only has 200 horsepower. Well, the next time you go up a big hill, you're really gonna notice that.

Yes. You're slowing down. Sure.

That's right.

Yeah. Interesting. So it is possible to build muscle after 50. Can you tell us a little bit about the routine or what, what goes into that kind of approach to build some muscle?

It, it is possible to do, Joe. Now we, we have to take a few things into consideration once we're over 50, some of which we've already mentioned, working around certain physical limitations, et cetera. Hormonally, we're a little different. I think we all realize that. So we may not build the Arnold Schwarzenegger physique that I referenced earlier, but the process, the physiological process of muscular hypertrophy, of building muscle, is the same for everybody at every age, whether male or female. So whether you're 80 or 18, the process is the same. If you tax your muscles sufficient to stimulate them to adapt to what you're doing. And then, this is critical, Joe, when you're over 50, you allow enough recovery time for those changes to take place. You can definitely build muscle. I see it every day of the week with our personal training clients. They typically add a few pounds of muscle and lose a few pounds of fat simultaneously. So it definitely is possible. But like I said, we have to take into consideration giving some extra recovery time and accounting for some different things that may be going on with us. And of course, have realistic expectations, but it's totally possible.

So the recovery time is not because of age. The recovery time is needed at any age, what you're saying.

The recovery time is needed at any age, Joe. It's, it's It's, uh, I liken it to getting a suntan. That's an easy analogy for a lot of people to figure out. If you do something that's— most people have a sense that when you're strength training, when you're trying to build up your muscles, the training has to be somewhat intense. You know, if we use a ridiculous example, you're not going to build up your biceps by doing curls with pencils. Nobody would think that would work. The weights have to be taxing. And the more intense the activity is, which it needs to be intense to build muscle, the less amount of time you will be able to engage in that activity. In other words, Joe, intensity of effort and duration of effort are inversely proportional. So, you need to do it, it needs to be a hard, intense workout. And if it's hard and intense, you won't be able to continue it for a long period of time, nor should you. You need to tax the muscle in the most efficient way and then allow it the time to, first of all, compensate for the exhaustive effects of the workout. In other words, recover the energy you used up during the workout. And then also allow enough time after that for overcompensation to take place. In the form of new added muscle tissue. And that doesn't take 5 minutes, that takes a few days.

Okay.

There are some people, especially when they're younger, who can make good progress in spite of their efforts, in spite of the fact that they're working out every day due to favorable genetics, etc. But that's not the best way to go about it and definitely not a good way to go about it for someone over 50.

Okay. So how are you— curious, Dave, how are you defining intensity here? Is this like the amount of weight that we're lifting with dumbbells or barbells, or how— what's intensity?

Well, intensity is different for everyone, Joe, and it's a measure of effort. So the way I define intensity is it's the percentage of maximum momentary effort being exerted. So for example, if I were to be performing a set of barbell curls for my biceps, if the listeners can envision that, and I grab a certain amount of weight on the barbell and I'm doing my curls in perfect form, really strict form, no throwing, no heaving, no anything. And I do 10 repetitions, and then I attempt an 11th repetition, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot move that barbell on that 11th repetition. I'm just so fatigued that it just won't move. So no matter how hard you try, you can't do an 11th rep. So that's 100% intensity. That's set of failure, 1 to 10 reps, what you did. Once you perform that last possible rep, Joe, you've done everything possible that a human being can do to stimulate an increase in muscular strength. And once you do that rep, you don't have to do it again. So in, in our personal training practice and on my website Strength After 50 and my courses, we advocate training at that level and then you move on to the next exercise. This is how we're able to get a full body workout in, in 30 minutes.

I see. Okay. Yeah. So it's those shorter, like shorter intervals really.

Yeah, exactly. It's, it's the higher intensity. Now it's done safely. Of course, I don't want to scare anybody with all this talk about intensity. It's, um, I advocate slow controlled repetitions. We, we're not in a weightlifting contest here. It's just, Slow controlled movement. You're just trying to fatigue that muscle, and the weight is only significant to you personally compared to how much you did last time. So, okay, as we say in our facility, we prepare, we don't compare. So if Joe can lift, uh, you know, 400 pounds on the leg press and I do 300, big deal.

All I'm trying to— sure, no, it doesn't matter.

Yeah, I'm just trying to get the 305.

Yeah. Comparing ourselves to where we were last week or yesterday.

Exactly.

Yeah. That's important. Sure. So someone coming into your fitness studio, they might be there an hour or less.

They're there less. In our, our fitness studio, they're actually there 30 minutes.

Yeah. How many times a week?

Uh, 2 times a week, sometimes 1 time a week. And my, My online clients, it's 45 minutes, but since I'm not right there with them, I have them warm up first, perform a specific warm-up, and then do a little stretching primarily for their shoulders and hips afterwards. So that one's 45 minutes, but the strength training portion is about 30.

Yeah, great. Well, let me ask you, there's got to be people that start out with great resolutions. They want to build up their muscle strength and it doesn't last, that motivation, that desire seems to taper off. What's going on there? What do you— how can you offer some support for the person who loses the motivation?

Yeah, that's a problem, Joe. We always use the word sustainable with regard to our training. You know, that's a big thing when you're over 50. You're not necessarily looking for results to, you know, look good on spring break. You want to sustain this for decades to come and have a high level of function. And the motivation is important. I think one reason that I see problems with motivation is that, as we just alluded to a moment ago, people get stuck on this notion that getting stronger and being fit requires these long, grueling workouts that are performed every day, you know, the kind of workouts I did in my, my 20s out of the bodybuilding magazines, this thing where you got to go in 2 hours a day, 5 or 6 days a week. And if you have to do that, it's really difficult to maintain motivation for that type of training, as opposed to if you're on a, a 30-minute once or twice a week program. It's like, all right, I really don't feel like going today, but you know, what the heck, it's only 30 minutes. I'm sure I can get through it. And, you know, once you get there, you're— or once you start, if you're at home, you know, you get into it and then it's—

you're—

then you're okay. It's a lot easier to motivate yourself for 30 minutes than it is for hours and hours.

Yeah. Yeah. That's true.

Another big factor, Joe, I find is exercise selection. So there are, you know, not all strength training exercises are are created equal. Some require a high level of athletic ability. Some carry a high risk of injury, such as, you know, explosive weightlifting-type movements that you might see in the Olympics or on different events on television. Anything where you— where balance is required, where you're throwing things or tossing things or this type of thing, You know, that's very difficult to sustain. You might be okay with that when you're 51, but when you're 91, maybe not so much. So we advocate just simple movements where you don't— number one, safety. You can exit the machine or the apparatus, the exercise you're doing at any given point safely. You're not going to get trapped under anything. For example, if you go to a gym, you might see people who are exercising, they're performing barbell squats where they've got the bar across their back and they're doing a squatting motion up and down. Well, if something happens during that exercise, it's very difficult to exit that exercise safely.

Safely, sure.

At any point. So we don't even have any barbells at our facility. I don't advocate those types of movements. They're just too dangerous and the risk isn't worth the reward. So, you want to be able to exit the machine safely at any point and not have to rely on balance or athletic skill to perform the exercise. That will go a long way towards making the exercise sustainable. You'll be able to see measurable progress on a regular basis, which will also keep up your motivation. If what you're doing isn't yielding any results, which if the workouts are too long and too frequent, they won't, you're going to get discouraged and frustrated and lose motivation for that reason.

Yeah. I was going to add that you need to see a little bit of reward, small steps and a little bit of reward that keeps you coming back. Yeah.

Yes.

Now you mentioned tele— telecoaching. Is this effective? You do this through your programs?

We, we do, and it, it is very effective, Joe.

It's, it's—

I think of it as the fitness equivalent of telemedicine, which is becoming more and more popular today, as you know. You know, it's, it's the kind of thing where a lot of people today, especially post-pandemic, I find are interested in working out at home. So what's become a big thing is this this telecoaching so we can meet with people via Zoom. I can see them on their screen. They can position their device in such a way that I can watch them exercise and coach their form and correct certain things and kind of guide them through. And also, you know, kind of offer some enthusiasm to kind of increase their motivation, which we were just talking about, and also the accountability. If you are training on your own, you might find 1,000 different reasons not to do it one day. But if you have an appointment scheduled with me and you know I am going to be on that computer watching you, that is going to go a long way towards that sustainability we were talking about. So, it works out great. We do it with our personal training clients. We have a couple that are, you know, being a snowbird is very popular here. We have people who are in town half the year and out of town half the year.

Sure, away from the routines.

Yeah, they want to continue when they're back home in Pennsylvania or wherever it is, and they just jump on the computer with us. We tell them the kind of equipment that they're going to need, and, uh, can they do it that way?

Can you tell us quickly what type of equipment?

Yeah, the— well, the best way to go about it is the number one thing that we like to have people get is a set of adjustable— these adjustable dumbbells. Which are available online or at sporting goods stores. It's where you have one pair of dumbbells, but on that, on that same handle that the dumbbell is on, you can alter the weight and change it from, let's say, 5 pounds all the way up to 50 pounds in many cases. And that way you have only one set of dumbbells taking up room in your home. But you can perform a huge variety of exercises, and most importantly, you can progress the weight. If you only have one set of 15-pound dumbbells, you can never progress. And that, that type of routine, I am sorry to say, but despite what you may have heard elsewhere, that's not going to get you stronger. That's just not going to work. So, um, that's really a key. And of course, you can also do some other things if all you have is one set of dumbbells. We, we work with people in that, that setting, and we, we might alter the repetition speed. So also with bodyweight exercises, we'll do that. So if you're doing push-ups and you're pretty good at them, instead of pushing yourself up in 1 or 2 seconds, we might make you do it in 10 seconds just to make it harder and progress in that way. So an adjustable set of dumbbells is great, an adjustable bench You can get them nowadays that fold up and go into a corner of your house. They're specifically made for home training, but something where you can lie flat or incline it or sit in an upright position that will let you do a variety of exercises. And to that, we add a doorway chinning bar and we add a physio ball, also known as a Swiss ball sometimes, those big balls that blow up and we have people perform exercises utilizing those. So, and also once in a while, we're not crazy about exercise bands, but they do provide some resistance. So we work with some people who have those. And if you have all the different colors, then you can progress yourself. So those work out pretty well too. But that's the key is finding a way to generate the intensity that we spoke about. So you're your body has to adapt and get stronger, and a way to progress it so that you can, you can build up. Uh, once you adapt to one level, you can move on to the next level. And if you have those, those items, that's kind of the bare minimum to be able to do that.

Okay. So you have the availability on your website for people to go and have a chat with you and sign up for some telecoaching. And what's your website?

Uh, the website is strengthafter50.com, Joe, and it's something that I created to kind of bring this message that we've been talking about, the importance of strength training for people over 50, and offer them a safe, sustainable, time-efficient way to perform it. I wanted to kind of bring that not only to people in Dunedin, Florida, as we're doing in our personal training studio, but all over the world, and, uh, it's been quite popular so far. And I have online courses there, the self-study courses, where they can learn how to perform the, the program that I advocate. And they also have the option to connect with me via telecoaching, as you mentioned. Both options are available.

Great. Well, we hope we get some listeners to track you down and maybe take you up on some of these programs. That'd be great.

Yeah, that would be fantastic, Joe. And there's, there's plenty of free information on there as well. So, you know, if they head over though, they're sure to learn something about productive strength training for people over 50.

Well, this has been a great conversation, Dave. I especially like the fact that I don't have to spend an hour every morning with my exercise routine. That's very, uh, Encouraging. I like the sound of that. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, I, I want you to stay active now, Joe. That's just for the strength training. So when you're not doing that, you still gotta get out there and—

Plenty of other things.

Move around.

Yeah. No, I'm out there every morning. Great. So, yeah, it looks like we're outta time, but, uh, before we wrap up, Dave, I, I just wanna remind our listeners about a co-sponsor for our program, A Mighty Good Time. Are you looking for ways to engage and stay active? Check out amightygoodtime.com. It's a one-stop shop for events and activities for those 50 and over. It's free to search and it's free to post. Amightygoodtime.com. And be sure to visit the Living to 100 Club website to sign up for our weekly podcast announcements and monthly newsletters. And while you're there, be sure to download a free copy of my 9 Tips for Living Longer. Lastly, pick up a copy of my book, Living Longer Is the New Normal. It's all about maintaining a positive mindset in all we do. You'll find it on Amazon as an ebook or a hard copy. So we've been talking today with Dave Durell. Dave, for those who might want to contact you, what's the best way for them to do that?

Joe, they can visit me at my website, strengthafter50.com. Um, anyone who leaves a comment on the website, I read and respond to every single one. And they can also connect with me via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

Great. Well, thanks again, and thanks to everyone for tuning in. Hope to see you next time.

Hi, this is Suzanne Newman, host of the Answers for Elders podcast and radio show. We are the North Star that guides you through the complicated journey of senior care with trusted experts in money, law, living solutions, and more. So join us on this station, your favorite podcast channel, or just go to answersforelders.com. Meet the wayshowers who will help your journey go a lot easier.