Getting stronger as you age doesn’t always mean lifting more weight than you did last month.
Sometimes it does.
Other times, getting stronger means improving your range of motion.
Moving with better control.
Maintaining strength you’ve spent years building.
Adjusting when your body needs something different.
And, perhaps most importantly, continuing to show up.
One of our members is about to give us a pretty incredible example of that.
Nancy has been training with us for more than five years.
She’s 68 years old.
And she’s approaching 750 workouts at GROW Strength & Training.
She also happens to be my mom.
750 Workouts Didn’t Happen Overnight
It’s easy to see a number like 750 and focus on the milestone.
But nobody does 750 workouts at once.
Nancy has built that number primarily by coming to group classes three or four times per week for more than five years.
There have been vacations.
Camping trips.
Busy weeks.
Aches and pains.
Weeks when she trained more.
Weeks when she trained less.
And plenty of completely ordinary Tuesday mornings when she simply showed up for class.
That’s what 750 represents.
Not perfection.
Consistency over a very long period of time.
What Progress Looks Like After Five Years
One of the things I love about Nancy’s story is that her definition of progress continues to evolve.
There have been seasons when she’s focused on lifting heavier.
She’s proud of the strength she’s developed in her upper body and has worked her way toward dumbbells she wouldn’t have chosen when she first started.
But more recently, we’ve also focused on something different with her squats:
Using less weight to achieve a greater range of motion.
It would be easy to look at a lighter barbell and think she’s going backward.
She’s not.
If reducing the load allows her to squat lower, move with more confidence and perform better-quality repetitions, that’s progress.
That’s part of getting stronger as you age: understanding that the number written on the dumbbell isn’t the only thing worth improving.
More Isn’t Always Better
This is something we want all of our members to understand.
Progressive strength training absolutely requires challenge.
Over time, we want to continue giving your body reasons to adapt.
But challenge doesn’t always mean grabbing the heaviest weight possible.
Sometimes progression is:
Using more weight.
Improving your range of motion.
Performing a movement with better control.
Becoming more confident with an exercise.
Improving your balance.
Learning a new movement.
Maintaining strength through a challenging season.
Or simply continuing to train consistently year after year.
The goal isn’t to win today’s workout.
The goal is to build a body that continues serving you well.
At 68, She’s Still Setting New Goals
After nearly 750 workouts, Nancy isn’t finished setting goals.
During a recent goal review, she was proud of increasing her workouts to four times per week as part of our 100 Workout Challenge.
She’s continuing to work on her squat.
She still wants to challenge her upper-body strength.
And she’s working on her nutrition by adding a more consistent lunch with protein and fruits, vegetables or whole grains.
That’s another misconception worth challenging:
You don’t reach a certain age where you stop having fitness goals.
Your goals might change.
Your training might need to change.
But there can still be something to work toward.
Strength Training Isn’t Only About the Gym
When I asked Nancy what has kept her committed to strength training for more than five years, part of her answer was simple:
She feels stronger and more flexible.
And then she said:
“Who knew at 68 I would be feeling this good!”
That’s ultimately what all those workouts are for.
The weights are tools.
The squats are tools.
The rows, presses and deadlifts are tools.
We’re using them to build strength that carries into the rest of life.
Because the real goal isn’t to become great at going to the gym.
It’s to use the gym to help you continue doing everything else.
Maintaining Strength Counts Too
There’s another lesson in 750 workouts that doesn’t get talked about enough.
Maintenance is an accomplishment.
Fitness culture tends to make us believe we should always be doing more.
More weight.
More muscle.
More workouts.
More intensity.
But there are seasons of life, and especially parts of a long training career, when maintaining the strength and abilities you’ve built is incredibly valuable.
You don’t need a personal record every week to justify your workout.
Sometimes the win is being 68 years old and still lifting weights three or four times every week.
That’s not “just maintaining.”
That’s protecting something you’ve spent years building.
Nutrition Evolves Too
Nancy’s nutrition hasn’t been perfect for five years either.
We’ve worked on protein.
Water.
Snacks.
Building more complete meals.
And right now, one of her goals is incredibly simple:
Eat an actual lunch that includes protein and a fruit, vegetable or whole grain.
No extreme diet.
No cutting out everything she enjoys.
Just another small improvement that supports what she’s trying to accomplish.
Long-term health works a lot like long-term strength training.
You establish habits.
You assess what’s working.
You make adjustments.
And you keep going.
What 750 Workouts Really Represent
I’ll admit that this milestone is a little different for me because Nancy isn’t only a GROW member.
She’s my mom.
Of course I’m proud that she’s approaching 750 workouts.
But as her coach and as the owner of GROW, I’m even more proud of what those workouts represent.
At 68, strength training is simply part of her life.
She’s not afraid to pick up weights.
She’s still learning.
She’s still setting goals.
She’s still challenging herself.
And she’s still showing up.
That’s exactly what we want strength training to become.
Not a six-week program you survive.
Not something you do until you reach a certain number on the scale.
Something you continue doing because you understand what it gives you.
Final Thought
Getting stronger as you age isn’t about refusing to acknowledge that your body changes.
It’s about continuing to work with the body you have.
Challenge it when appropriate.
Adjust when necessary.
Focus on quality.
Keep learning.
And keep showing up.
Nearly 750 workouts later, Nancy is still doing exactly that.
And perhaps my favorite part of her five-year reflection says it best:
“Who knew at 68 I would be feeling this good!”
Congratulations on almost 750 workouts, Mom.
I’m proud of the milestone.
But I’m even more proud that after more than five years, you’re still asking:
What’s next?
