Personal trainer advice

JimManusPA wrote: »

JimManusPA wrote: »

I also suck and finding a program.

Suck AT finding a program…

Have you seen the thread about that here? There's quite a bit of discussion of various programs, and it can be a place to ask questions.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

Like Claireychn074, I think your former trainer was off-base if s/he thought age per se was a limitation. It sounds like some of the "bigotry of low expectations" (to borrow someone else's phrase) that is often applied to us as we age.

Now, if your trainer was basing that on something about your then-current physical capabilities (flexibility/mobility, muscle imbalances, etc.), that might be reasonable . . . but s/he should've recommended exercises to improve those limitations, not just dismiss you as "too old" IMO. If there was some limitation from your personal health/injury history that would limit doing those exercises, that also could be reasonable. But age alone? No.

I don't have much advice about finding a good trainer. I've never used one, though I've had multiple good coaches in my sport of choice, rowing. Mostly, that was from seeking out the best options that were available to me as a practical matter, looking at their success in terms of success of those whom they'd coached.

I mostly don't even lift nowadays, to be honest, though I think I'm in OK physical condition - above average, probably - for my demographic (female, age 66, lightweight (now that I'm post-weight-loss) for rowing competition purposes). I usually lift for a few months in my rowing off season, if I can talk myself into it. During on-water season, it drops out of rotation for reasons of recovery, time budget . . . and distaste for the doing.

I was semi-consistent about lifting in my late 40s for a couple of years. I was lucky to stumble into an adult ed class (Weight Training for Women, and yes, there was a Weight Training for Men class available, too). That was in my local school system's evening adult ed programs, taught by a very knowledgeable (and successful) competitive powerlifter. The women in the class were of varied ages, and he didn't rule out any exercises on an age basis. (Pretty sure he was in his 40s or beyond at that point, too, but obviously he'd been lifting for some years.)

I didn't start seriously being consistently active until my mid/late 40s, also after cancer treatment, so definitely a late starter. It wasn't so common for young women to be as athletic/active back in my 1960s youth as it is now. I was a bookish kid, one of those "chosen last in gym class" types.

Maybe look for a trainer with some years on him/her?

Regardless of their age, ask the person some questions about what role they think age plays in athletic or fitness development, whether they think there are limitations, what differences may apply to training older people vs. young ones?

Looking for answer like the things @claireychn074 mentions: Resilience, recovery, warm-ups; plus maybe injury avoidance, considering and accounting for any pre-existing conditions that might be limiting for you as an individual (since we can have accumulated more of those than the 20-somethings).

claireychn074 wrote: »

(snip some good stuff)

So find a PT who isn’t ageist but who understands you might need longer recovery times or warming up, pay really close attention to your diet, and check out some of the phenomenal athletes who are over 40 and work out here like @AnnPT77 @JBanx256 (okay she’s just turned 40 I think but has a physique people half her age will kill for) and I need to go and check handles of a few other inspirational peeps here 😀

Edit: @sijomial @cwolfman13

All those tagged people work out HARD 👍

Aww, @claireychn074, you're too kind! I do OK for a li'l ol' lady, I think. 😉

I'd for sure kill for Jbanx's body . . . my problem is that I won't work as consistently and patiently hard as she has and does, over a long time period, to get it. I'm more a hedonistic aging-hippie type, will work hard at things I think are fun to work hard at, and that's about it. 🤣 I'm lucky to like doing a pretty fitness-useful sport or two.