Advice for Aging Strong: Questions for Trainer Alex

What's the best advice for aging strong? According to TogetherWON trainer Alex Oliver, it starts with believing you can still get stronger, because you can. His top priorities for staying independent are short-term memory, lower-body strength, and ankle and shoulder mobility, and his favorite exercise for adults over 60 is banded shoulder rotations. (For the bigger picture, see our guide to strength training for seniors.)

If you've worked with Alex, you probably already know how easy he is to like, and our clients absolutely love him. Alex brings a great mix of personal training experience, health science, competitive athletics, and a background in caregiving. That caregiving experience helped shape his passion for helping older adults stay strong, independent, and able to keep doing the things they enjoy. You can read more about Alex on our team page.

I thought it would be fun to change things up a little and ask Alex a few questions about training, healthy aging, and some of the things he sees come up most often with clients. It's a chance to hear directly from one of our trainers and get his perspective on what really helps people keep getting stronger and more confident over time.

What's one exercise you wish every adult over 60 would do regularly, and why?

"My favorite exercise for older adults is banded shoulder rotations. I strongly believe that many older adults struggle with shoulder mobility, partly because the shoulder is a more vulnerable joint, but also because we simply don't move it through its full range often enough.

I've seen this exercise improve shoulder mobility in every one of my clients who has consistently done it, often within just a couple of weeks."

Don't have a band yet? Here are more resistance band exercises for seniors to get you started.

What's something people think they're "too old" to improve that you completely disagree with?

"Strength.

A lot of people I meet believe they're too old to become stronger, or that because they're older, it might be better not to try at all. I believe the complete opposite.

I could tell dozens of stories about clients, and people I've met through powerlifting, who have radically improved their quality of life through strength training. Becoming stronger can improve someone's ability to perform everyday activities, give them greater independence, and create a real sense of accomplishment."

The research agrees. In a classic study, nursing home residents around age 90 more than doubled their leg strength after just 8 weeks of strength training, and walked faster too.

If you could give someone only three things to work on to stay independent as they age, what would they be?

"First, short-term memory. One thing I like to do is read a newspaper story and then try to write down three small details from it afterward.

Second, lower-body strength. Your legs contain some of the largest muscles in your body, and maintaining muscle and strength plays an important role in staying active and independent.

And third, ankle and shoulder mobility. Losing mobility in these areas can significantly affect your ability to walk comfortably and use your arms during everyday activities."

Curious how your legs measure up? Try our free 30-second chair stand test. For more ways to keep your memory sharp, see our guide to exercise for brain health.

What's one of your best memories from a training session with a client?

"I have a client who didn't have much confidence or ability when using the stairs. After about two or three months of training, I gave her a test to see how many steps she could go up and down in 45 seconds.

She completed 45 steps, one step per second. Seeing that improvement and how far she had come was incredibly fulfilling."

If stairs feel harder than they used to, this stair climbing workout is a good place to start.

If your clients got to design one training session for you, what would they make you do as payback?

"If you asked my group clients, it would definitely be one full minute of butterfly kicks.

If you asked my one-on-one clients, I think they'd choose either 15 spider crawls or 100 sit-to-stands. Apparently, I've given them some ideas."

Want to Train with Alex?

Alex works with clients one-on-one through in-person personal training and leads our group classes for senior living communities.

Thank you, Alex, for your answers and for being such a caring, fun and gifted trainer. We are so fortunate to have you on our team!