Senior Fitness Success: How Strength Training at 90 Keeps Liz Pain-Free

Strong and Pain Free, She’s Ready for a Busy Summer at 90

Liz Hopwood was planning to have hip-replacement surgery this spring.

But now, she’s too strong and too busy for that. It’ll just have to wait – because Liz, 90, is pain free and feeling great. She’s been working out twice a week with a trainer at a gym and almost every day at home.

“The doctor wants to postpone the surgery. He says, why operate if you don’t have any pain,” says Liz. Now she’s feels looking forward to traveling to two weddings, a class reunion, and a college graduation this summer. The surgery can follow all of that.

“My trainer has made me so strong,” says Liz, who retired from tourism in Washington, D.C., and lives alone. “The advancement that I have made and I’m making is just more than I expected. I can walk upstairs again. I’m amazed. I’m so strong and without any pain.”

Before working with her trainer, Liz had always been active. But after the death of her husband and moving to a new state, she had grown complacent about her home workouts – just a treadmill date with “Judge Judy” every day at 4.

When a gym sent her engaging emails full of interesting content about fitness later in life, she decided to check it out. She hasn’t looked back and attributes her energy and strength to working out with the trainer.

She Wanted to Set an Example

Her motivation is common among older adults who prioritize their physical fitness and continued autonomy: her six grandkids.

“My oldest granddaughter wasn’t exercising,” Liz recalls. “I knew I had to get back into exercise because it would help them. Now all my children and grandchildren tell me they’re exercising because I do. It makes me feel good.”

Usually when folks cite the grandkids, it’s because they want to be able to play with the youngsters – not inspire them! It’s one of the top reasons why people over 50 or so want to get or stay in shape. They know how important strength, endurance, and agility are to maintaining a high quality of life and physical independence.

Among the other main motivations for mature adults who work out with us:

·      Better sleep, mood, and mental clarity

·      Less pain and fewer symptoms of chronic ailments

·      Weight management

·      A supportive social environment

·      Better enjoyment of sports, hobbies and travel

She’s No ‘Freak’

Some people in Liz’s life are not as easily inspired as her grandchildren were – old friends she has back in her previous hometown, who rebuff her when she suggests they exercise, too.

“Most of them have died or they’re in wheelchairs,” she says. “They have this pain or that pain. They look at me and say, ‘No, YOU’RE the exercise person.’ It sounds like I’m a freak.

“But this is valuable – it’s the most important thing in my week,” she says about her gym workouts. “This pays off in health, in everything.”

And when she finally does find time for that surgery, she’s not worried at all.

“I probably won’t need a lot of rehabilitation,” she says. “I’m so strong.”

Do you want to be like Liz when you’re 90? Of course you do! Contact us today and let’s get started together.