Tips for Living Longer and Stronger

A well-known cardiologist was asked during a question-and-answer session following a speech on living longer, what is the secret to longevity? Without hesitation, he answered in one word, “Handrails.”

Longevity is not just a buzz word, in the blink of an eye, life changes when there’s a medical setback, injury, or fall. One minute, you’re upright and the next, down for the count.

According to Alex Mitchell, owner and founder of Stronger Now, a strengthening gym for the 50-plus crowd, located in Sandy Springs, affirms, “Preventing falls is one of the single best things you can do to ensure that, however long you live, you have autonomy and mobility while you’re alive. It is crucial to your well-being.”

While individuals recover after a fall, particularly if they are in good shape to begin with and regularly exercise and train, falling does not have to diminish your life and steal your confidence. The goal of an exercise program is to restore that confidence, and prevent falls whenever possible, through strengthening your body.

Mitchell sees many clients challenged from a fall work to take charge of their lives and protect their mobility. Falls happen unexpectedly, from simply walking a dog and tripping over the leash to losing balance.

He shared, “Our mission is to help our clients prevent falls and identify things that could cause a fall. It is also to be prepared when a fall is inevitable. We train people so that their bodies know instinctively how to fall. Many people are in the challenging position where they feel the need to use a cane or walker to prevent falls, but they also fear that the use of those devices will make them less confident and capable of independent movement later in life. Regular strength training can preserve and expand those people’s ability to move independently.”

Mitchell added, “A best practice is to find your baseline before trying to improve your mobility. Our first goal with clients is to improve their relationship with the floor. Once a client is comfortable seated on a mat we can work on foot, knee, and hip mobility which acts as a foundation for future work. Having a good relationship with the floor is the key to safety as you age. Falling is one of the greatest dangers older adults face and learning how to fall safely and get up easily can help you preserve your health later in life.”

For those who are very active and play tennis or pickleball, run and engage in sports, Mitchell said, “Even the greatest tennis players train with weights outside of tennis. As you age, it is true that general activity is not enough to preserve your lifestyle in the long run. Strength training is the best way to ensure that you can still do at 80 or 90 what you loved doing at 60 or 70 years old.”

He adds, “Muscle is the fountain of youth, and we can maintain it as we age. Strength training is the best way to create muscles and bones that are built to keep you young as you age. The most successful clients we have are those who come in frequently and consistently. Our programs are designed to see clients in the gym as often as their schedule allows. This frequency and consistency is really the key to success. When you’re consistent, you’re able to make very small improvements every workout, which is the safest way to get stronger.”

Mitchell’s longtime client, Nancy, a middle-aged woman, shared, “I’ve been working with one of the Stronger Now coaches on how to fall without injury for a couple of months. It’s helped me to realize that if I should fall, I can move in such a way as to prevent a broken wrist, hand, or arm. It’s been fun to learn to fall sideways into a roll, and I recently started learning to fall forward from a squatting position. Knowing how to land gives me confidence that if I do fall, I won’t seriously hurt myself.”

On a final note, Sol Na, who serves as a lead coach states, “I was inspired to coach at Stronger Now in honor of my late grandmother who passed away in 2023 from injuries sustained in a fall at home. She never engaged in strength training, and my goal is to honor her memory by helping our clients build the strength and coordination needed to prevent similar accidents. We empower individuals to safeguard their mobility, protect their independence, and live longer, safer lives.”

For more information, please visit www.strongernowgym.com.

Stronger Now’s Tips to Prevent Falling

• Train the muscles of the core, legs, and feet to ensure a strong, stable and powerful base of support.
• Train balance and posture to improve confidence in dynamic movements required for daily living.
• Get on the floor often to improve confidence in getting up and down as well as moving while on the floor.
• Deliberately train the ability to stand up off the floor under progressively challenging conditions.
• Practice falling with an educated professional on a padded surface to familiarize the body to a pattern of falling that is least likely to cause injury.