Progressive Load for the Long Game
Training for Your 80-Year-Old Self
Last week, I saw a reel of a 78-year-old woman deadlifting 135 pounds with perfect form, then easily getting up from the floor without using her hands, and finally walking up stairs without holding the railing.
The comments were full of people saying “goals” and “I hope I’m like that when I’m older.”
Here’s what those comments miss: that 78-year-old woman isn’t lucky. She’s the result of decades of intelligent, progressive training. She didn’t suddenly start lifting at 75. She’s been building the capacity for years.
And if you want to be her at 78, you need to start training like her now, regardless of whether you’re 35, 45, or 55.
The Healthspan Revolution
We’re in the middle of a fundamental shift in how we think about fitness and aging. The focus is moving from lifespan (how long you live) to healthspan (how well you live).
This changes everything about how we should be training.
If your goal is just to live longer, you might focus on cardiovascular health and staying lean. But if your goal is to live well—to maintain independence, mobility, strength, and quality of life into your 70s, 80s, and beyond—your training needs to look completely different.
Resistance training is being reframed not just as muscle building, but as fall prevention. Strength is about maintaining the capacity to live independently.
What Your 80-Year-Old Self Actually Needs
Think about the physical demands of being a healthy, independent 80-year-old:
Getting up from the floor (requires hip mobility, core strength, and coordination)
Carrying groceries (grip strength, shoulder stability, core control)
Walking on uneven surfaces without falling (balance, proprioception, reactive strength)
Going up and down stairs (leg strength, knee stability, cardiovascular capacity)
Reaching overhead (shoulder mobility and stability)
Getting dressed independently (hip mobility, balance, coordination)
Playing with grandchildren or great-grandchildren (energy, strength, mobility)
These aren’t athletic goals. They’re life goals. And they’re built through years of progressive, intelligent training.
The Progressive Load Principle for Longevity
Progressive load doesn’t mean constantly adding weight or increasing intensity forever. That’s unsustainable and leads to injury.
For longevity training, progressive load means:
