For bone density, balance, the stairs and the suitcase: the lifts that matter most after fifty, taught slowly
Strength after fifty
Our main work: men and women from fifty to eighty who have been told to get stronger (by a physio, a doctor, a bone scan or a fall) or who want to carry their own cases at seventy-five. Five lifts, taught slowly and loaded carefully, with balance and the getting-up-off-the-floor built in, and the numbers in a book.
The evidence is not subtle: strength training is the single most useful thing an adult over fifty can do for bone density, balance, blood sugar, joints and independence, and almost nobody is shown how to do it. We teach it the way it should be taught: a light bar, patience, weight added when the form earns it, and a coach who has done this with a seventy-eight-year-old and a hip replacement.
The programme is built on the five lifts (a squat to a box, a hinge from blocks, a press, a row and a carry), with balance work on the single leg and the getting-up-from-the-floor pattern, which is the thing that keeps people living in their own houses. Weights start where you are, often a kettlebell, and the deadlift goes up about forty kilos in a first twelve weeks on average, which surprises everyone including, every time, us.
We read the bone scan, the physio's letter and the medication list at the assessment, we talk to your physio or GP if you want us to, and we measure what matters: the kilos, the carry, the sit-to-stand, the single-leg stand, the stairs. Most clients train semi-private twice a week with two other people of a similar age, which is half the price of one-to-one and, they tell us, most of the reason they keep coming.
What is included
- The five lifts, taught slowly with a light bar
- Balance and floor-to-standing built in
- The bone scan, the letters and the medication read
- Your physio or GP consulted, with your permission
- Measures: kilos, carry, sit-to-stand, balance, stairs
- One-to-one or semi-private, your choice
What it costs
The same prices as one-to-one and semi-private: £65 a session, programmes from £1,380 for twelve weeks, semi-private £195 a month. The assessment £60, credited. The programmes page has every price side by side; the assessment page says what the first ninety minutes involve.
Questions about after fifty
I have osteoporosis. Is lifting safe?
With the right loading and a coach watching, lifting is one of the best things you can do for it, and the guidance says so. We read the scan, start lighter, avoid loaded spinal flexion, and progress slowly. We will say if something is not for you.
Am I too old?
Our oldest client is seventy-eight and deadlifts sixty kilos. She started at seventy-five with a kettlebell.
Start with the assessment. Ninety minutes, and an honest answer.
Your story, the letters, how you move under a light bar, four baseline measures in a book you keep, and ten minutes on what it will take and whether we are the right people. £60, credited against a programme, and refunded if we say we are not.