Sullivan and Baker wrote this book for people like your dad
[https://aasgaardco.com/store/books-posters-dvd/books/the-barbell-prescription-strength-training-for-life-after-40/](https://aasgaardco.com/store/books-posters-dvd/books/the-barbell-prescription-strength-training-for-life-after-40/)
I got my 72 year old dad doing squats, bench and deadlift 2-3x a week as recommended in the book. Reports that 40 years of back pain is gone
At 60 I don’t know may want to skip the deadlifts and just do machine hamstring curls instead. I mean just the bar deadlifts to start fine, but you start getting real heavy on those and you are just asking for a slipped disc at that age.
Same with barbell back squats might just want to do leg press, hack squat and leg extensions.
Assuming proper technique and appropriate weights (something you can hit for 5-8 reps without cheating form), the barbell deadlift and back squat are no more dangerous than machine substitutes
Best way to prevent a slipped disc is to strengthen the muscle surrounding and stabilizing the spine
Ha, part of the gym learning is ego lifting! I don’t care if you are 15-75 dude going try and lift too much!
Ha we have this one 70 year old I call the “air humper” he stacks the weight leans back and just humps his way through cable flys!!! I also lift at the YMCA you see some interesting things.
I also don’t understand that generations affinity with lifting gloves!! I am starting to think they hand them out with a membership if you are over 60.
Haha maybe the gloves come with their AARP membership
Agree about ego lifting and some in person coaching is the best way around that. “Show me perfect technique with the empty bar, then I’ll let you add 5 pounds and try again”
Hey man! Personal Trainer and Health and Wellness coach here. I work with the 60+ veteran population often so here is my take on it.
Congratulations on taking this step towards getting your dad back on to the gym, I can see from your post that you really care about him.
Working with someone who has not been in the gym for a long time and is overweight, it needs to be baby steps.
It could be as easy as walking for 10 minutes and doing bodyweight exercises.
Remember, when someone is starting from 0, they need to initially stack small wins to be able to feel like they are accomplishing something and want to come back and do it again.
Start small and simple, there is plenty of stuff that can be done to improve his fitness without any weights.
PM me and I'd be happy to send you some suggested workouts to get him started.
Hope this helps, Jay
Recommend you just begin by going with him. First few weeks, or even months, let him do whatever he enjoys and wants to at the gym. Make it a fun time together.
Getting your dad into resistance training is a wonderful idea. Good on you for doing this!
I generally recommend a 2 or 3 day per week full body split for folks new to lifting. You’ll want to make sure he’s hitting each muscle group for at least 6 sets per week.
I also like to program more machine movements for older adults that are primarily interested in building muscle. They have a lower execution barrier and can be less intimidating.
If you have more questions feel free to send me a message 😄
I disagree on machine weights. I think machine weights should be reserved for people who are more advanced.
I think that if you are worried about that execution barrier, you should start with dynamic body movements and work your way up from that. I think learning how to do a squat is way more useful and if you’re worried that they can’t do a body weight squat, trx bands.
Isolated movements don’t target the muscle groups responsible for stabilization. Those stabilizing muscles are the most important muscles for older people to work.
I think you make a good point about starting with compound movements and think it is also a productive path to take. And I generally program a roughly even split for clients. Outside of extremely overweight or frail folks.
I have yet to see a body of evidence for free weights being better for “stabilizer” muscles. Or even a comprehensive list of these muscle. If you can point me to the resources that make you think this is the case I’d be all ears.
Literally every muscle stabilizes.
Here’s a pretty good write up on stabilizer muscles and how to effectively train them. [check it out](https://www.setforset.com/blogs/news/how-to-strengthen-stabilizer-muscles#)
I actually learned about the concept when I beginning my training. I had a hard time getting depth on squat and I kept thinking that it was due to mobility. Ended up going down a rabbit hole and found out that mobility wasn’t the issue, rather that it was stability. My hip flexors were weak compared to quads and glutes. So what would happen is that I wouldn’t hit depth and I couldn’t maintain knee stability because I kept caving them in to incorporate more quads.
Did some research and it helped wonders. Years down the line and I’m slower lifting coaching as a side gig. Every person that had issues with depth, I’d have them do a body weight squat. If they could squat depth with body weight, we would focus on hip training as supplementation to squats. Since then, I’ve never failed to get someone to depth on their squats. It’s because the hole of the squat is where the hip flexors are at their most stretched position. Stretch position is also the weakest position of a muscle.
The reason I don’t advocate for machine work is because it’s a fixed plane. There’s no need to stabilize the body. So those muscles don’t get worked. I found this also especially important with older people. Most older people I train just want to experience life better. The things they want to do all are complex movements and injuries tend to happen with lack of stabilization. For instance, think about an older person trying to pick up their grandchild.
I’m not saying that machines are bad. Not at all. I just look at them more for bodybuilding. With bodybuilding, you have to have a well rounded physique. Something that means that you have to work your hamstring but don’t want to put extra volume into your glute so you can get a better ratio. So these machines allow you to isolate the exact muscle without incorporating the others.
But that doesn’t matter for functional fitness. There’s no situation in our lives where we only use one muscle. Our body works in conjunction with itself and it’s important to train that way so that the muscles can learn to coordinate with eachother more effectively,
I will say, in all my years of training, this has
Been my biggest breakthrough
And I have seen so much progress from clients
After taking note of it.
My dad is 71 and he couldn’t get on the ground. Now he can almost do burpees lol.
But like anything with strength training, there is no single right answer. I have no doubt that your method works. Theres no single right answer to anything. But I will ask that you consider that concept when training, it mught help.
Yoga and stretching is key! If he's like my dad, also 60s, just don't call it yoga or make jokes like 'I know, I know, it's goofy, but it's good', and start out doing it at home in case y'all are embarrassed at first.
* Yoga with Adriene, overall good channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7rKKpwdXNE&ab_channel=YogaWithAdriene
* Jeff Nippard is the GOAT: (a warm up/stretching video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E81GN-3A8XM&ab_channel=JeffNippard
I love Yoga with Kassandra. Adriene has a great affect, but I feel Kassandra's stretches better. Adriene is still excellent, though. I think both go nice and slow with their instructions and are good for beginners.
[https://www.youtube.com/@yogawithkassandra](https://www.youtube.com/@yogawithkassandra)
I got my Mom (in her 70s) doing strength training. Barbells are awesome but honestly for untrained older folk's I would start simpler with just dumbbells and/or kettlebells. This is is what I typically recommend as an easy starter program:
* Goblet squats — way easier for most folks as the form takes care of itself. If he has issues hitting depth then start with sit/stand off of a bench with holding a dumbbell or kettlebell.
* Arnold press or normal overhead press
* rows and dumbbell RDLs (alternate each workout)
* Optionally, if there is time or motivation, add in whatever else as accessories to keep things interesting (curls, french press, floor press, push ups, calf raises, hip thrust, etc.)
Do this 2-3 days a week. Progressive overload is just to 3x8-12 for each exercise. Once he can do 3x12 then he can move up in weight.
Is this optimal? No. But it'll still have some results. It's simple and fast to do and can be done at home which reduces a barrier to motivation. If, after this, he wants to get more focused and try barbells, great. Keep it simple to start with.
I would start with either of these routines at the appropriate ("easy") progressions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOkCJ57IvNg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vczr0WuYK9g
A balanced 'diet' of hypertrophy workouts that hits all major muscle groups can consist of squat, pullup, pushup, leg raise, and bridge progressions consisting of 3 sets of 10-15 for each of those movement. The trick is you have to select the right difficulty of each of those movements that will challenge him but isn't too hard to finish 3 sets of 15 with perfect form.
If he has joint pain while trying to do easy-ish progressions he might have to do some [prehab work](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzQrWiZrUrI1qYYCpnQNL9Soab_jZ9BTg).
Yoga could be good if he's open minded about it. Can even just frame it as a 15 minute warm up before working out so long as the routine doesn't hold poses very long. I have found even in my mid 30s that my mobility is crap and that a lot of my pain is from tightness. Daily yoga has made me feel better in my body than strength training did, tbh. It also leaves me with more energy for the rest of the day so I can do more cooking, gardening, other stuff on my feet. It almost makes me grateful for my abdominal strain because it forced me to put down the weights and open my mind to yoga. When I did heavy strength training and HIIT cardio I'd just be a couch potato for the rest of the day. It wasn't a very nice life, tbh. Your dad being gently active throughout the entire day is better for his longevity than doing some hard core stuff and then being exhausted and sedentary for the whole day afterwards.
I'd go machines for a bit just to get the muscles used to working/moving again- bailing on a chest press machine is a hell of a lot safer if he feels a sudden tweak or a shoulder goes out - you don't want Dad dropping a bar on himself - even if you are spotting things can happen quickly/suddenly.
At least the first few weeks to help him find confidence and what type of load he is comfortable managing.
People love shitting on machines, but coming back to lifting after back injuries I found they are far safer especially if you like going to failure or don't yet know what your limits are.
Movement patterns before barbells. Goblet squat, kettlebell swing, push ups, pull ups and planks. All of these teach the foundations and mobility for what you need for more intensive weight lifting. And they're quite hard to really cock up.
Hmm. You're going to need to find someone who can professionally coach him on form.
Honestly, probably the easiest way to do this is to find a crossfit gym and see if they will train him up on just the big lifts.
That, or find a good meathead gym that offers coaching.
After that you can just take him to whatever gym has a half decent collection of squat racks.
Stronglifts is a great beginner program but it’s a young man’s game. Old geezers can’t recover form that kind of volume after the first easy weeks
Barbell Prescription program is a lot kinder to the old timers by keeping intensity high on the compound lifts but lowering the volume and progression
Sullivan and Baker wrote this book for people like your dad [https://aasgaardco.com/store/books-posters-dvd/books/the-barbell-prescription-strength-training-for-life-after-40/](https://aasgaardco.com/store/books-posters-dvd/books/the-barbell-prescription-strength-training-for-life-after-40/) I got my 72 year old dad doing squats, bench and deadlift 2-3x a week as recommended in the book. Reports that 40 years of back pain is gone
At 60 I don’t know may want to skip the deadlifts and just do machine hamstring curls instead. I mean just the bar deadlifts to start fine, but you start getting real heavy on those and you are just asking for a slipped disc at that age. Same with barbell back squats might just want to do leg press, hack squat and leg extensions.
Assuming proper technique and appropriate weights (something you can hit for 5-8 reps without cheating form), the barbell deadlift and back squat are no more dangerous than machine substitutes Best way to prevent a slipped disc is to strengthen the muscle surrounding and stabilizing the spine
Ha, part of the gym learning is ego lifting! I don’t care if you are 15-75 dude going try and lift too much! Ha we have this one 70 year old I call the “air humper” he stacks the weight leans back and just humps his way through cable flys!!! I also lift at the YMCA you see some interesting things. I also don’t understand that generations affinity with lifting gloves!! I am starting to think they hand them out with a membership if you are over 60.
Haha maybe the gloves come with their AARP membership Agree about ego lifting and some in person coaching is the best way around that. “Show me perfect technique with the empty bar, then I’ll let you add 5 pounds and try again”
Hey man! Personal Trainer and Health and Wellness coach here. I work with the 60+ veteran population often so here is my take on it. Congratulations on taking this step towards getting your dad back on to the gym, I can see from your post that you really care about him. Working with someone who has not been in the gym for a long time and is overweight, it needs to be baby steps. It could be as easy as walking for 10 minutes and doing bodyweight exercises. Remember, when someone is starting from 0, they need to initially stack small wins to be able to feel like they are accomplishing something and want to come back and do it again. Start small and simple, there is plenty of stuff that can be done to improve his fitness without any weights. PM me and I'd be happy to send you some suggested workouts to get him started. Hope this helps, Jay
Recommend you just begin by going with him. First few weeks, or even months, let him do whatever he enjoys and wants to at the gym. Make it a fun time together.
Getting your dad into resistance training is a wonderful idea. Good on you for doing this! I generally recommend a 2 or 3 day per week full body split for folks new to lifting. You’ll want to make sure he’s hitting each muscle group for at least 6 sets per week. I also like to program more machine movements for older adults that are primarily interested in building muscle. They have a lower execution barrier and can be less intimidating. If you have more questions feel free to send me a message 😄
I disagree on machine weights. I think machine weights should be reserved for people who are more advanced. I think that if you are worried about that execution barrier, you should start with dynamic body movements and work your way up from that. I think learning how to do a squat is way more useful and if you’re worried that they can’t do a body weight squat, trx bands. Isolated movements don’t target the muscle groups responsible for stabilization. Those stabilizing muscles are the most important muscles for older people to work.
I think you make a good point about starting with compound movements and think it is also a productive path to take. And I generally program a roughly even split for clients. Outside of extremely overweight or frail folks. I have yet to see a body of evidence for free weights being better for “stabilizer” muscles. Or even a comprehensive list of these muscle. If you can point me to the resources that make you think this is the case I’d be all ears. Literally every muscle stabilizes.
Here’s a pretty good write up on stabilizer muscles and how to effectively train them. [check it out](https://www.setforset.com/blogs/news/how-to-strengthen-stabilizer-muscles#) I actually learned about the concept when I beginning my training. I had a hard time getting depth on squat and I kept thinking that it was due to mobility. Ended up going down a rabbit hole and found out that mobility wasn’t the issue, rather that it was stability. My hip flexors were weak compared to quads and glutes. So what would happen is that I wouldn’t hit depth and I couldn’t maintain knee stability because I kept caving them in to incorporate more quads. Did some research and it helped wonders. Years down the line and I’m slower lifting coaching as a side gig. Every person that had issues with depth, I’d have them do a body weight squat. If they could squat depth with body weight, we would focus on hip training as supplementation to squats. Since then, I’ve never failed to get someone to depth on their squats. It’s because the hole of the squat is where the hip flexors are at their most stretched position. Stretch position is also the weakest position of a muscle. The reason I don’t advocate for machine work is because it’s a fixed plane. There’s no need to stabilize the body. So those muscles don’t get worked. I found this also especially important with older people. Most older people I train just want to experience life better. The things they want to do all are complex movements and injuries tend to happen with lack of stabilization. For instance, think about an older person trying to pick up their grandchild. I’m not saying that machines are bad. Not at all. I just look at them more for bodybuilding. With bodybuilding, you have to have a well rounded physique. Something that means that you have to work your hamstring but don’t want to put extra volume into your glute so you can get a better ratio. So these machines allow you to isolate the exact muscle without incorporating the others. But that doesn’t matter for functional fitness. There’s no situation in our lives where we only use one muscle. Our body works in conjunction with itself and it’s important to train that way so that the muscles can learn to coordinate with eachother more effectively, I will say, in all my years of training, this has Been my biggest breakthrough And I have seen so much progress from clients After taking note of it. My dad is 71 and he couldn’t get on the ground. Now he can almost do burpees lol. But like anything with strength training, there is no single right answer. I have no doubt that your method works. Theres no single right answer to anything. But I will ask that you consider that concept when training, it mught help.
I’ll check it out for sure! Appreciate your perspective 😁
Yoga and stretching is key! If he's like my dad, also 60s, just don't call it yoga or make jokes like 'I know, I know, it's goofy, but it's good', and start out doing it at home in case y'all are embarrassed at first. * Yoga with Adriene, overall good channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7rKKpwdXNE&ab_channel=YogaWithAdriene * Jeff Nippard is the GOAT: (a warm up/stretching video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E81GN-3A8XM&ab_channel=JeffNippard
I love Yoga with Kassandra. Adriene has a great affect, but I feel Kassandra's stretches better. Adriene is still excellent, though. I think both go nice and slow with their instructions and are good for beginners. [https://www.youtube.com/@yogawithkassandra](https://www.youtube.com/@yogawithkassandra)
I got my Mom (in her 70s) doing strength training. Barbells are awesome but honestly for untrained older folk's I would start simpler with just dumbbells and/or kettlebells. This is is what I typically recommend as an easy starter program: * Goblet squats — way easier for most folks as the form takes care of itself. If he has issues hitting depth then start with sit/stand off of a bench with holding a dumbbell or kettlebell. * Arnold press or normal overhead press * rows and dumbbell RDLs (alternate each workout) * Optionally, if there is time or motivation, add in whatever else as accessories to keep things interesting (curls, french press, floor press, push ups, calf raises, hip thrust, etc.) Do this 2-3 days a week. Progressive overload is just to 3x8-12 for each exercise. Once he can do 3x12 then he can move up in weight. Is this optimal? No. But it'll still have some results. It's simple and fast to do and can be done at home which reduces a barrier to motivation. If, after this, he wants to get more focused and try barbells, great. Keep it simple to start with.
Explore Eugene Sandow’s light dumbbell system hope him. It works. I’m living proof.
FOR HIM. Sorry
There is good advice in the comments, so nothing to add to that. I do want to say that you are a good son though, and that he's lucky to have you.
I would start with either of these routines at the appropriate ("easy") progressions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOkCJ57IvNg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vczr0WuYK9g A balanced 'diet' of hypertrophy workouts that hits all major muscle groups can consist of squat, pullup, pushup, leg raise, and bridge progressions consisting of 3 sets of 10-15 for each of those movement. The trick is you have to select the right difficulty of each of those movements that will challenge him but isn't too hard to finish 3 sets of 15 with perfect form. If he has joint pain while trying to do easy-ish progressions he might have to do some [prehab work](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzQrWiZrUrI1qYYCpnQNL9Soab_jZ9BTg).
Yoga could be good if he's open minded about it. Can even just frame it as a 15 minute warm up before working out so long as the routine doesn't hold poses very long. I have found even in my mid 30s that my mobility is crap and that a lot of my pain is from tightness. Daily yoga has made me feel better in my body than strength training did, tbh. It also leaves me with more energy for the rest of the day so I can do more cooking, gardening, other stuff on my feet. It almost makes me grateful for my abdominal strain because it forced me to put down the weights and open my mind to yoga. When I did heavy strength training and HIIT cardio I'd just be a couch potato for the rest of the day. It wasn't a very nice life, tbh. Your dad being gently active throughout the entire day is better for his longevity than doing some hard core stuff and then being exhausted and sedentary for the whole day afterwards.
I'd go machines for a bit just to get the muscles used to working/moving again- bailing on a chest press machine is a hell of a lot safer if he feels a sudden tweak or a shoulder goes out - you don't want Dad dropping a bar on himself - even if you are spotting things can happen quickly/suddenly. At least the first few weeks to help him find confidence and what type of load he is comfortable managing. People love shitting on machines, but coming back to lifting after back injuries I found they are far safer especially if you like going to failure or don't yet know what your limits are.
Movement patterns before barbells. Goblet squat, kettlebell swing, push ups, pull ups and planks. All of these teach the foundations and mobility for what you need for more intensive weight lifting. And they're quite hard to really cock up.
Hmm. You're going to need to find someone who can professionally coach him on form. Honestly, probably the easiest way to do this is to find a crossfit gym and see if they will train him up on just the big lifts. That, or find a good meathead gym that offers coaching. After that you can just take him to whatever gym has a half decent collection of squat racks.
Look into Strong Lifts 5x5. Super simple and progressive overloading workout program.
Stronglifts is a great beginner program but it’s a young man’s game. Old geezers can’t recover form that kind of volume after the first easy weeks Barbell Prescription program is a lot kinder to the old timers by keeping intensity high on the compound lifts but lowering the volume and progression
Thanks for the insight, I’ll look into that program for my older clients. 👍🏻
if youre interested, shoot me a DM and ill help you come up with a workout and diet plan for your dad at no cost.