Thrive Fitness

08/24/2025

There is some great information here, but like anything related to fitness, we have to take into consideration a bunch of other factors when designing a program. We also have to treat each person as an individual, understanding their fitness history, injuries, and even their desire to lift really heavy things. There are a ton of benefits to coming to Thrive and lifting weights, even if the weights are not as heavy as this video is promoting.

A few key takeaways from this topic of lifting heavy weights at the gym. ("Heavy" means a person can only perform 4-8 reps of an exercise at the prescribed weight)
* Lifting heavy requires a high level of stability and control, and for some people this means many months of building up to this level of strength training. Start out with body weight and then light resistance, and work up to this level gradually.
* Lifting heavier weights will create an external stress on your system -- both mental and physical -- and may lead to better results for some people. Take the example of a heavy HexBar squat, using a weight you can only perform six to eight reps with, it creates a mental challenge and stress that is different than choosing a weight you can do for 12-15 reps.
* As we age, we actually may need more intense strength training to see the improvements that we saw in our 20s and 30s.
* A well balanced program will include a mix of heavier AND lighter strength training days, because you can't lift heavy / high intensity every day and be able to sustain it without burnout of injury.
* As you move from the 12 rep range to the six rep range, that does not mean you compromise technique, range of motion, or control/cadence to get there. You repetitions should look exactly the same as you move to heavier weights. You may find that you will need more rest between exercises, however.
* Like everything we do at Thrive, it always comes down to a Risk vs Reward analysis. There may be some movements that you never do with heavy weights, simply because it could lead to more injuries. But there may be others where you can safely progress to the amount of weight that this video is suggesting.
* At the end of the day though, I want people to come in each week and perform strength training. If you don't feel ready or comfortable with lifting heavier, I would never force anyone to do it. You are getting a ton of benefit from our current format.

As we move into September, you may notice that I am sneaking in some heavier exercises for those who are willing and able to try! I will simply "nudge" some of you to give this a try, with a mix of heavier exercises (can only do eight or fewer reps), medium exercises (can only do 10-15 reps), and then bodyweight exercises to work on mobility and full range of motion.

Should women train differently as they age? In this conversation with Mel Robbins, Dr. Stacy Sims breaks down why your 20s training plan might stop working i...

04/02/2024

While training our bodies to be stronger, we should always remember that our feet play an important role in our overall fitness. Along with our hands, our feet are our connection to the outside world. They are designed to absorb the shock of each step we take, and to spare our knees, hips, and lower spine of these large forces.

So it makes perfect sense to have STRONG FEET. The best way to maintain healthy feet is to make our feet work every day. If we always wear heavy cushioned shoes, then our feet will get weaker and this could lead to other problems up the chain of our ankle, knee and hip. Once again, this is a story of USE IT OR LOSE IT.

Here is a good discussion on choosing shoes that promote foot health. Key features -- 1) wide toe box to allow your toes to move freely and grip the ground. 2) Zero elevation drop off from heel to toe, or very minimal drop -- essentially a flat shoe.

These are the shoes the speaker (and I) recommend -- XERO shoes.

Some of you may need to gradually work yourself into a minimal shoe, as your foot may currently be weak. As you add more and more time in bare feet or in minimal shoes, your feet will get stronger. Before you know it, you will feel comfortable in these shoes all day long.

Get the 5 Tactics in My Longevity Toolkit and my weekly newsletter here (free): https://bit.ly/3vCFoXxWatch the full episode: https://youtu.be/htF_GapzU_cBec...

02/15/2024

If you have limited time to exercise each week, prioritize real strength training over all else.

Total body, functional strength training where you learn how to lift, push, pull, carry and lunge efficiently. These strength gains will cross over into real life improvements and a reduction in injuries.

Ideally, you also add in some sessions of aerobic training as well, but most of us should prioritize a GOOD strength training program.

02/04/2024

Here is an inspiring story of a 93 year old rower, who didn't start exercising until he was 73. A great example that it is never too late to start exercising.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/01/16/fitness-aging-richard-morgan/

For those who can't view this article, I cut and pasted it here:

At 93, he’s as fit as a 40-year-old. His body offers lessons on aging.

The human body maintains the ability to adapt to exercise at any age, showing that it’s never too late to start a fitness program
For lessons on how to age well, we could do worse than turn to Richard Morgan.

At 93, the Irishman is a four-time world champion in indoor rowing, with the aerobic engine of a healthy 30- or 40-year-old and the body-fat percentage of a whippet. He’s also the subject of a new case study, published last month in the Journal of Applied Physiology, that looked at his training, diet and physiology.
Its results suggest that, in many ways, he’s an exemplar of fit, healthy aging — a nonagenarian with the heart, muscles and lungs of someone less than half his age. But in other ways, he’s ordinary: a onetime baker and battery maker with creaky knees who didn’t take up regular exercise until he was in his 70s and who still trains mostly in his backyard shed.

Even though his fitness routine began later in life, he has now rowed the equivalent of almost 10 times around the globe and has won four world championships. So what, the researchers wondered, did his late-life exercise do for his aging body?

Lessons on aging from active older people

“We need to look at very active older people if we want to understand aging,” said Bas Van Hooren, a doctoral researcher at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and one of the study’s authors.
Many questions remain unanswered about the biology of aging, and whether the physical slowing and declines in muscle mass that typically occur as we grow older are normal and inevitable or perhaps due, at least in part, to a lack of exercise.
If some people stay strong and fit deep into their golden years, the implication is that many of the rest of us might be able to as well, he said.
Helpfully, his colleague Lorcan Daly, an assistant lecturer in exercise science at the Technological University of the Shannon in Ireland, was quite familiar with an example of successful aging. His grandfather is Morgan, the 2022 indoor-rowing world champion in the lightweight, 90-to-94 age group.
What made Morgan especially interesting to the researchers was that he hadn’t begun sports or exercise training until he was 73. Retired and somewhat at loose ends then, he’d attended a rowing practice with one of his other grandsons, a competitive collegiate rower. The coach invited him to use one of the machines.
“He never looked back,” Daly said.

Highest heart rate on record

They invited Morgan, who was 92 at the time, to the physiology lab at the University of Limerick in Ireland to learn more, measuring his height, weight and body composition and gathering details about his diet. They also checked his metabolism and heart and lung function.
They then asked him to get on a rowing machine and race a simulated 2,000-meter time trial while they monitored his heart, lungs and muscles.
“It was one of the most inspiring days I’ve ever spent in the lab,” said Philip Jakeman, a professor of healthy aging, physical performance and nutrition at the University of Limerick and the study’s senior author.
Morgan proved to be a nonagenarian powerhouse, his sinewy 165 pounds composed of about 80 percent muscle and barely 15 percent fat, a body composition that would be considered healthy for a man decades younger.
During the time trial, his heart rate peaked at 153 beats per minute, well above the expected maximum heart rate for his age and among the highest peaks ever recorded for someone in their 90s, the researchers believe, signaling a very strong heart.
His heart rate also headed toward this peak very quickly, meaning his heart was able to rapidly supply his working muscles with oxygen and fuel. These “oxygen uptake kinetics,” a key indicator of cardiovascular health, proved comparable to those of a typical, healthy 30- or 40-year-old, Daly said.

Exercising 40 minutes a day

Perhaps most impressive, he developed this fitness with a simple, relatively abbreviated exercise routine, the researchers noted.
Consistency: Every week, he rows about 30 kilometers (about 18.5 miles), averaging around 40 minutes a day.
A mix of easy, moderate and intense training: About 70 percent of these workouts are easy, with Morgan hardly laboring. Another 20 percent are at a difficult but tolerable pace, and the final 10 at an all-out, barely sustainable intensity.
Weight training: Two or three times a week, he also weight-trains, using adjustable dumbbells to complete about three sets of lunges and curls, repeating each move until his muscles are too tired to continue.
A high-protein diet: He eats plenty of protein, his daily consumption regularly exceeding the usual dietary recommendation of about 60 grams of protein for someone of his weight.

How exercise changes how we age

“This is an interesting case study that sheds light on our understanding of exercise adaptation across the life span,” said Scott Trappe, director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Ball State University in Indiana. He has studied many older athletes but was not involved in the new study.

“We are still learning about starting a late-life exercise program,” he added, “but the evidence is pretty clear that the human body maintains the ability to adapt to exercise at any age.”

In fact, Morgan’s fitness and physical power at 93 suggest that “we don’t have to lose” large amounts of muscle and aerobic capacity as we grow older, Jakeman said. Exercise could help us build and maintain a strong, capable body, whatever our age, he said.
Of course, Morgan probably had some genetic advantages, the scientists point out. Rowing prowess seems to run in the family.
And his race performances in recent years have been slower than they were 15, 10 or even five years ago. Exercise won’t erase the effects of aging. But it may slow our bodies’ losses, Morgan’s example seems to tell us. It may flatten the decline.

It also offers other, less-corporeal rewards. “There is a certain pleasure in achieving a world championship,” Morgan told me through his grandson, with almost comic self-effacement.
“I started from nowhere,” he said, “and I suddenly realized there was a lot of pleasure in doing this.”

The human body maintains the ability to adapt to exercise at any age, showing that it’s never too late to start a fitness program.

01/25/2024

USE IT OR LOSE IT. A very simple phrase, but the more I learn about moving and exercise, the more I realize this is the most important thing to remember as we try to slow down aging.

- Use your MUSCLES
- Use your JOINTS
- Use your CARDIOVASCULAR system
- Use your POWER system (move your body and objects quickly)
- Use your BRAIN

EDIT: But don't overdo "USING IT". Get a variety of movements, not too much and not too little. Listen to your body, it can tell you a lot.

In the people I meet each day, I see proof over and over again. The people who keep using their bodies, age more gracefully and can continue to enjoy all of the fun things in life.

thrivefitnessgeorgetown.com

09/12/2023

Thanks for the share, Paul Berg.

Buyer beware, not all medical procedures end up in good outcomes.

Experts fear that private equity's growing stronghold in the industry could exacerbate the overuse of cardiovascular procedures that are actually unnecessary for patients.

09/05/2023

We have a new employee to "count" reps this week!

08/13/2023

Skecher Slip-ins! As Tony Romo says, "You don't even have to bend over to put them on!"

We are all somewhat guilty of desiring more conveniences in our lives. Food can be delivered to our front door with the key strokes on our smartphone. We can have nearly any product delivered to us in a day from Amazon. We have drive thru car washes, to take the place of a bucket and a hose in our driveway. Our houses are full of appliances that take the workload out of our hands. And we hire help to take care of our lawns and houses.

While I certainly prefer living in 2023 compared to 1823, as I have easier access to the rest of the world, more information at my finger tips, endless entertainment options around me, and I won't die from an infected cut on my leg!

But I also know that our convenient lives are slowly killing our ability to move well, maintain good posture, and avoid premature aging of our bodies.

So instead of viewing bending over and tying your shoes as a negative, think of it as a postive. An OPPORTUNITY to maintain your mobility and flexbility by moving more every day. If we look for opportunities to move more, then its amazing how all of these little tasks can add up to have a bigger impact on how our body stay younger and more mobile.

So next time you have to decide between taking the stairs or riding the elevator, or walking to a friend's house instead of driving, just think of the benefits of the "extra" movement. And finally, even though Tony Romo is certainly charming, you can choose to bend over and tie your own shoes.

Place more value in your non-exercise movement all day, every day, and your gym workouts will be that much better.

Sometimes Tony Romo and his wife Candice can’t make up their minds on going out or eating in. That’s why he loves the convenience of Skechers Max Cushioning...

06/27/2023

Hey folks! Members often ask why I program so many hip hinge movements in our workouts, and I often reply that it is probably the most important movement pattern that we need to try and master.

The hip hinge directly translates to real life and keeps us out of back pain situations.

The hip hinge features our glutes and hips taking the workload away from our lower backs. It also teaches us to always maintain a stiff and neutral lower spine, so that the hips can do the real heavy lifting.

Examples at the gym include Romanian Deadlifts, Good Mornings, Hip Thrusts and Glute Bridges, as well as single leg versions of all of these.

The hip hinge movement is a fundamental movement pattern that involves bending forward at the hips while maintaining a neutral spine. It primarily targets the muscles of the posterior chain, including the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. Performing the hip hinge movement offers several benefits that can translate to real-life activities:

1. Improved lifting mechanics: The hip hinge movement teaches you to lift objects from the ground using your hips and legs instead of relying solely on your lower back. This technique reduces the strain on your back and minimizes the risk of injury during activities like lifting heavy objects, moving furniture, or picking up groceries.

2. Enhanced athletic performance: Many sports and physical activities, such as sprinting, jumping, and throwing, involve powerful hip extension. The hip hinge movement strengthens the glutes and hamstrings, which are crucial for generating explosive power and improving athletic performance in various sports and activities.

3. Proper posture and spinal alignment: The hip hinge movement reinforces proper spinal alignment, encouraging a neutral spine position. This can help correct poor posture habits caused by excessive sitting or slouching. By strengthening the muscles that support the spine, the hip hinge movement can alleviate back pain and improve overall posture.

4. Increased core stability: The hip hinge movement engages the core muscles, including the abdominals and lower back, to maintain a stable and controlled movement. Strengthening the core through hip hinge movements can enhance overall stability, balance, and coordination during everyday tasks and physical activities.

5. Improved functional movement patterns: Many daily activities involve hip hinging, such as bending down to tie your shoes, picking up a child, or reaching for an object on the ground. By practicing the hip hinge movement, you develop strength, flexibility, and body awareness that carry over to these functional movements, making them easier and more efficient.

6. Injury prevention: Weak glutes and hamstrings, coupled with poor lifting mechanics, can increase the risk of various injuries, including lower back pain, hamstring strains, and knee issues. Regularly performing the hip hinge movement helps strengthen the posterior chain muscles, promotes proper movement mechanics, and reduces the likelihood of such injuries.

7. Increased flexibility and mobility: The hip hinge movement requires good hip mobility and flexibility. Regular practice can enhance your range of motion in the hip joint, reducing stiffness and tightness. This increased flexibility not only improves your ability to perform the hip hinge movement but also enhances your overall movement quality and reduces the risk of musculoskeletal imbalances.

In summary, the hip hinge movement offers a wide range of benefits that extend beyond the gym. By strengthening the posterior chain, improving lifting mechanics, enhancing athletic performance, promoting proper posture, and reducing the risk of injuries, the hip hinge movement can improve your functional capabilities and overall quality of life.

06/20/2023

06/20/2023

The back pain industry is THRIVING, mainly due to the modern environment we live in. (smart phones, computers, TVs, vehicles, and lack of daily movement)

No one can really FIX your issues. To truly have a pain free future, we have to OWN our spine hygiene. This takes consistent and mindful work on your part. Good posture and a stabile lumbar spine all day, every day. Avoid positions that trigger pain.

Most of all DON'T STOP MOVING. It may seem counterintuitive, but brisk walking is the best remedy to start back on the path to feeling great. Walking decompresses the spine, so move frequently throughout each day.

A few more key points for healing back pain:

1. Walk every day, even for short durations sprinkled through your day.
2. Don't sit still for prolonged periods of time.
3. Active your glutes. Strong glutes take the load out of your lumbar spine. (THRIVE workouts -- glute bridges)
4. Mobilize the joints above and below the lumbar spine -- your upper back and your hips should provide the mobility. Your lumber should always be stabile and stiffened.
5. Learn how to Hip Hinge properly. (THRIVE workouts)
6. Brace your core before heavy lifting.
7. Build muscular ENDURANCE in your low back. (Thrive workouts - core exercises)
8. Avoid stretching your lower back when you are in pain. Again this is counterintuitive to many who say: " you need to stretch your back". But again, we want your lower back to the STABILE not mobile. Stretching an unhappy lower back is like picking a scab, it keeps you in pain for longer.