Brent Alvar, PhD, CSCS,*D, RSCC*D, spoke at the NSCA's 2013 Personal Trainer conference on the evidence supporting resistance training for older adults.

From the 2022 Personal Trainer Virtual Conference, Robert Linkul outlines the devastating effects of sarcopenia and how detrimental it is to the aging body. He offers guidance about programming that will specifically assist older adults in gaining or maintaining muscle mass as they age, and highlight the most effective and efficient resistance training exercises that will help older adults get strong quickly.

This Personal Trainers Quarterly article shares considerations to counteract the decline of muscular fitness in older adults. Visit NSCA online to read more on corrective exercises, health, and fitness

This article explores how personal trainers can use the 1x20 strength-training program to potentially build strength with the older adult client.

This article dives into the extensive benefits of strength training for aging exercisers, emphasizing its positive effects on muscle mass, bone density, balance, and metabolic health.

This article provides a blueprint and “mini-macrocycle” that will assist the personal trainer in creating a program design for older adults by offering organized templates, direction in selecting exercise components, and the creation of volume controls specific to the client’s needs.

This Personal Trainers Quarterly article presents protein dosing strategies to maximize wellness for the aging population. Visit NSCA online to read more on nutrition, health, and wellness.

This article discusses the ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) scales and how to educate older clients to utilize them, as well as how to monitor and safely progress their training intensity.

This article provides four exercises that are specifically designed to assist in building efficient posterior chain strength that can ultimately improve quality of life, ability, and performance for the older adult.

Falls resulting from trips are a leading cause of injury and can sometimes result in death, especially in the older population. Numerous researchers have studied the biomechanical mechanisms that differentiate fallers from nonfallers and determined whether training can beneficially impact those outcomes. Exercise and task-specific interventions have demonstrated fewer falls after trips but can be costly and often require specialized equipment, making their applicability less practical. Qualified health and fitness practitioners can develop evidence-informed, exercise-based programs focusing on 3 components (balance training, task-specific training, and resistance exercise). Such programs may help to reduce fall risk in older adults based on previously documented studies identifying the biomechanical demands of a successful fall arrest after a trip perturbation. These multicomponent programs should include a safe task-specific training element that does not require specialized equipment.