What can you lift after age 65?

Some 16 months ago I mustered enough courage to enter a gym and enroll myself just to check what I could do for longevity and healthspan, the new term used instead of lifespan. Because truly, you could live long but not be able to move freely because you are wheelchair-bound or dependent on a lot of help for mobility.

As I approached the seventh decade of my life, I wanted to regain balance and some strength. So in April 2025, I started my strength journey. I always was a weekend athlete and gym-goer even from 30 years back, but with no coach or physical therapist. I thought some gym is better than none. Maybe that helped as I could still go on a treadmill for 20 minutes, do brisk walking with a YouTube Leslie Sansone video, but with no clear plan in mind. Just move, I told myself. Then I watched podcasts and reels on Instagram of people who started to do strength training and I got really interested.

The first few months with my coach was fun, tiring but fulfilling. Sometimes it was boring to do some exercises which I used as my challenge. I conquered my most boring sets by just getting better at them. It was a lot of mind over matter for me. Just do two sets of this. Keep your mind busy while you row yourself to a target heart rate. Look forward to added weights and resistance. Then after about 10 months, my coach broached the idea of a competition. What? I thought. How can I even compete at my age? I was to compete with no one, as no one my age was at the gym!

So for a few weeks my coach and I started to train for the “bench only” competition and, having seen my progress, he signed me up. True to his prediction, no one else competed in my weight and age class. I was to set the record, a national record at that.

During the exercises on the bench, I started to piece things together – so this is why you do chest presses, leg presses and the ever boring step ups. He was setting me up for the bigger lifts – or what they call SBD. Squats, bench and deadlift are the compound lifts every powerlifter does. Powerlifting, I soon found out, is a sport. It is different from Olympic weightlifting which Hidilyn Diaz won a gold medal for. Powerlifting is a strength sport and winners are determined by combined total weight lifted in squat, bench and deadlift for your age group or weight class. Olympic weightlifting, on the other hand, consists of two explosive overhead lifts: the snatch and the clean and jerk. Powerlifting tests absolute strength while weightlifting involves explosive power, speed mobility and technical precision, according to Google.

Now that we know the difference, it is interesting to note that I was really looking for more strength, especially for my lifestyle which involves traveling and hiking in coffee areas in the mountains. For both activities, I need strength, endurance and mobility. That is exactly what powerlifting is training me for. I used to dread having to walk down the stairs when an airplane parks far from the terminal and I had to carry my bags. I now notice the improved strength and endurance to do these activities. It is not to have a curvy physique, but an adaptable one. They call it anatomical adaptation. It is not for weight loss, but for body recomposition. I weigh almost the same but my clothes fit better and the Tanita scale at the gym shows I have gained muscle and have reduced fat. That is changing the fat-muscle ratio in our bodies. I would not be surprised if my osteopenia has been helped as well. As muscles gain in size, the bone decides to also grow.

Because of my newfound strength, I now like lifting things and moving things around because I can do them with less effort. I catch myself fast when there is a tendency to lose balance. As we age, we need to maintain our balance and mobility. Even if these are the only two things you gain from strength training, it will be so worth the time and effort. But then there is more to gain: you will appreciate the mobility as you are more agile and you will gain balance so you are not easily knocked over for whatever reason.

After 65, many people are prone to falls and small accidents which could be avoided if our bodies were more responsive and if we had more balance. At this time we also need strength in walking, climbing and going down stairs and general endurance. What is sad is if the mind is active but your body is not. So as we continue to keep our minds active, we have to do the same for our bodies.

It is never too late to start. I know of people in their 80s who gather for physical therapy sessions twice a week. Not for repair, but for body conditioning and resistance training. My own sister improved her blood test results just with twice a week sessions.

It may be the best gift you can give yourself: start getting stronger and fit for your golden years. Whether you’re just 40 or pushing 80, it is never too late to start the journey. But get a coach, that is rule number one.