My name is Dan Cenidoza. I started my fitness career working with senior citizens at Oak Crest Retirement community back in 2006. At the time I was competing in Strongman competitions and I took the job for the experience, not because I wanted to work with older adults.

To my surprise, what I found was that I really enjoyed working with this age group. Not only could I see that I was making a difference in their lives, but they were really appreciative of it, too.

I once had a 92 year old lady give me a written testimony that said I was helping “to extend her life” Wow… That’s not a compliment you hear everyday!

I also found that the functional-type exercises we use in strongman could be scaled / modified for the senior population and produced far greater results than what is typically done in senior fitness training. So much so that people started to bring me their DEXA scan results that showed improvement in bone density.

The thought of preventing (or even reversing) osteoporosis drove me to refine and standardize my approach to senior fitness training. After focusing our routine on the exercises that build bone density, I got with a physical therapist and wrote a research proposal. We pitched the proposal to Towson University (my alumni) and it was ultimately approved. We launched a 2 year study which concluded in April of 2024. We expect peer-reviewed publication in early 2025. However, preliminary data shows that SAS is a superior fitness program in developing strength and functional capacity, reducing fall risk, and has the potential to reverse osteoporosis!

The impact this could have on our senior population would not only improve the quality of life, but could save billions of dollars in medical costs by reducing fall risk. Falls are the leading cause of injury for seniors and the number one cause of falling is lack of lower body strength. Each year more than 800,000 people over the age of 65 are hospitalized because of a fall injury, most often a bone fracture, and total medical costs for falls exceed $50 billion annually.

My goal is to have this program brought to every senior service institution, rehab facility and health club in the country. Like AARP or the Silver Sneakers program, every adult should be made aware that they have the power to build strength and reduce the injury risk of falling.

If you or someone you know, could use this program, please reach out!

-Dan Cenidoza
dan@baltimorekettlebellclub.com
410-657-2307

Strength Training for Older Adults and Senior Citizens

Resistance To Frailty

The topics of osteoporosis, sarcopenia, and the frailty syndrome are extremely important for anyone over the age of 60 or anyone planning to be in the future. This article will look at the need for preventative measures, the means to healthy aging of the musculoskeletal system, and the steps you can take to ensure that you will live out your years on this earth strong and physically capable.

Osteoporosis & Sarcopenia

Osteoporosis is a well-known condition involving decreased bone density with aging that most people are familiar. Sarcopenia is a disease of muscle loss and weakness that is the lesser known evil-twin of osteoporosis but just as important to understand. These two conditions comprise the public health problem known as frailty syndrome, which has unfortunately become increasingly common in aging adults.

Frailty Syndrome

Frailty syndrome is technically defined as “a decline in the functional reserves with several alterations in diverse physiologic systems, including lower energy metabolism, decreased skeletal muscle mass and quality, and altered hormonal and inflammatory functions.”

For a more user-friendly definition picture in your mind a stereotypical “old person.” You think of little gray haired men and women who are hunchbacked and have trouble walking. They are too weak to even stand, and look as if they would shatter with a minor fall. That image is what many of us now associate with the word “old.” No one wants to become the embodiment of this image as we age.

We cannot slow the passing of the years, our chronological age, but we do not have to succumb to frailty. Strength training is not just for the young. You can become stronger and more resilient in your 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and even 90+. Strength training is arguably more important for the aging person and absolutely essential for healthy aging.

Frailty is what makes falls the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults.1 Falls result in disability, functional decline and reduced quality of life. Fear of falling can cause further loss of function, depression, feelings of helplessness, and social isolation.

Financial Toll

The financial cost of frailty is huge. In a 2002 study, the cost of an individual fall averaged between $14,306 and $21,270.3 The cost increases rapidly with age and could easily exceed most peoples retirement savings. In 2013, the total direct medical costs of fall injuries for people 65 and older, adjusted for inflation, was $34 billion, and is expected to reach $54.9 billion by 2020.

Fortunately there are steps we can take to avoid the bleak and costly aging process. Physical exercise is well recognized by both the layperson and the medical community as an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Doctors will tell you the importance for “weight bearing” exercise when it comes to osteoporosis and sarcopenia.

Exercise Prescription

Unfortunately, there are only a very small percentage of physicians who actually know how to properly prescribe and program weight bearing, bone strengthening exercises. Physicians are trained to diagnose and treat disease, but most do not have the expertise to write exercise prescriptions or coach weight training techniques. It is ironic that exercise, one of the most powerful disease-preventing modalities, is not taught in medical education.

In my opinion as a strength coach and senior fitness professional, that lack of basic education is why there seems to be lack of information coming from the medical community about effective weight-bearing exercise.

If you look at the Surgeon Generals Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis, strength training is underemphasized and casually mentioned along other activities such as walking, dancing and gardening. No one ever seems to mention that those who have the strongest muscles (such as weight lifters and powerlifters) also have the most dense bones, and never succumb to osteoporosis or sarcopenia.

It’s understandable why a physician who is not also a trained strength & conditioning specialist would not elaborate on such a topic, but most will confirm that loading the axial skeleton is what increases osteoblast activity, resulting in bone production. Because of the body’s hardwired adaptive response to loading, the heavier the load is, the stronger the bone.

However, no doctor in their right mind would tell their patient to go lift the heaviest weight they possibly can, especially if that person was already showing the signs of frailty syndrome.

Senior Fitness

I have the unique position of being strongman and a strength coach who has worked in senior fitness for the last 20 years. Senior fitness was my first paid position as a fitness professional, and I have continued to work with seniors for my entire career.

My work in senior fitness has highlighted the importance of the role strength training plays in health and longevity and countering the negative effects of frailty syndrome. I have seen people of 70, 80 and 90 years of age who, because of regular strength training, do not fit the characteristics we associate with “old.”

With the Towson study, we also have scientific research to back it up our findings in the gym. Although the study has ended, the training continues. We invite you to join us!

For the complete schedule, or to register for a class, go to the follwoing website: https://bkc.sites.zenplanner.com/calendar.cfm

Let me know if you have any questions!

-Dan Cenidoza

dan@baltimorekettlebellclub.com

410-657-2307