If you watch the news or are on social media you may have seen a post a few months ago about “Bad exercises for people over 50”. There was a news segment that listed 4 exercises with the title “Bad Exercises For People 50 And Older” and that this information was coming from Carolina Orthopedic & Neurological Associates.

 

The list included pull-ups, push-ups, squats with weights, and deadlifts.

 

Now I must admit I did not see the news segment myself and only saw pictures of it from coaches posting it on social media with outrage. I also have not seen anything directly from the Carolina Orthopedic & Neurological Associates in regards to what exactly they meant. I am simply going off what this news segment had on the screen.

 

In today’s world technology and social media can be such a great tool to spread information and keep everyone connected. While it can be so amazing it also has its downfalls. We cannot believe everything we see because quite frankly some of the information is complete B.S.

 

The information this new station was spreading is exactly that. B.S.. Now I cannot blame the original source because it is very possible the news station misinterpreted what the Carolina Orthopedic & Neurological Associates meant.

 

However to make a bold statement like that is completely wrong.

 

For a few different reasons too.

 

1. You cannot make a statement like that solely based on someone’s age.  If that is the case at 49 years and 364 days you can do all the pull-ups, push-ups, squats and deadlifts you want but 24 hours later you can’t? It does not work like that. Nothing magically happens to your body when you turn 50 that makes these exercises bad for you. I guarantee that there are people 50 and older who can do all of those exercises with much better form than some people in their 20s-30s.

 

2. Exercises are not inherently good or bad. Yes, some exercises are harder than others but that does not make them worse. Let’s start with the pull-up, yes pull-ups are a very challenging exercise which requires a lot of strength, and yes as you age if you do not strength train you will lose some strength but that does not mean you can not gain it back. If you are over 50 and have the strength to do a good pull up then they absolutely are a good exercise. All of the other “exercises” they mention I would consider “movement patterns” and not an exercise. Just because you say push up that does not mean it has to be from the ground, just because you say squat that does not mean you have a barbell on your back, and just because you say deadlift that does not mean you have to deadlift a barbell from the ground. Instead, maybe you do push-ups off a box, or you squat with a lighter kettlebell in your hand, or you do an elevated kettlebell deadlift to keep your back in a good position.

 

3. These are all movements we perform in our everyday life. If you are going to tell someone to never do a push up you might as well tell them to never push open a door again. If you tell someone to never squat that means you should never get up and down out of a chair. If you tell someone to never deadlift you also should tell him or her to never bend down and pick something up of the bottom shelf in the grocery store. The reason we perform certain movements in the gym is so that they can replicate things we do outside of the gym and help us get better.

 

With all this being said I do believe there was a good intention behind this news segment. I do agree that doing those exercises with a weight that is too heavy and if you do not have the adequate strength and motor control to perform them does increase your risk for injury. However, that applies to people of all age’s not just people 50 and over. You cannot make such a bold statement without any other information.

 

I would even go as far as saying these are some of the best exercises to help people over 50 slow down the aging process and improve quality of life when done correctly.

 

If you are 50 or older and ready to prove the Carolina Orthopedic & Neurological Associates wrong check out Core Principles! We help people 50 and better get strong, feel amazing in their skin, improve their quality of life so they can continue to do the things they love! We help create a community where you can come be yourself in an intimidating environment and work with people who have similar goals to you. If this sounds like a place you can see yourself coming too and want to check it out shoot an email to Info@coreprinciples-sc.com or give us a call @ 203-914-6396.

 

-Coach Pat