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“Just because you are 70 does not tell me anything about your level of function.”, Peter
“Heavy is so relative.”, Peter
“If your doctor tells you you shouldn't lift X, Y, or Z, and they base it off of age, it's just pure nonsense.”, Peter
Most people don’t need more motivation. They need a different approach. Hosted by Gary Donia and Peter Brouillard, Different Life draws on years of experience helping people navigate pain, movement, recovery, and performance — but the conversation goes far beyond health alone.
We talk about:
• Strength training as a life skill
• Back pain, mobility, and injury recovery
• Pelvic floor health and durability
• Sleep, stress, hormones, and energy
• Performance and longevity over 40
• Discipline, habits, and identity shifts
• Parenting and modeling health
• Relationship-based healthcare
We discuss these not as isolated topics, but as part of a bigger question: What does it look like to live differently, not just try to live better?
If you feel stuck in patterns that no longer fit who you want to become, this show is for you. Because better often keeps you in the same cycles. Different changes your trajectory.
Peter: And have you progressed up to the point at which a particular weight, let's say 200 pound for a deadlift for an 80-year-old woman, that's crazy. If her body can do it and she has worked herself up to it safely, progressively over time under the expert care of a trainer, then it's safe for her.
Gary: Mm-hmm.
Peter: The end. Hey, buddy.
Gary: So-
Peter: Yes
Gary: ... you talk all day.
Peter: All the fucking time.
Gary: I was in this room-
Peter: My voice actually hurts
Gary: ... I was in this room from, like, 6:00 a.m. or something-
Peter: It's too much. Yeah
Gary: ... or 7:00 a.m.-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... until now, which is 11:00.
Peter: Oh, God, dude, I've been up for a while.
Gary: I think you've been in that room next door with, like, five different people or something. Many, multiple.
Peter: Yeah. Meeting, meeting. No, it was like client, meeting, meeting, client.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: And now more talking.
Gary: All you do is talk.
Peter: Why? I don't know.
Gary: It's like the land-
Peter: There's too much.
Gary: Yeah, it's like my nightmare.
Peter: Yeah, my fucking voice is killing me.
Gary: That'd be awful. I was like, "Doesn't he get sick of listening to himself?"
Peter: I mostly try to listen. I talk-
Gary: Oh, no.
Peter: I talk a lot.
Gary: No. No. No.
Peter: Yeah, but people like when I talk, though.
Gary: Yeah, that's what you think.
Peter: 'Cause-
Gary: I don't.
Peter: Yeah, but you're the only one.
Gary: I, I for sure don't.
Peter: A lot of people-
Gary: I literally turned the radio on in here 'cause I couldn't take it anymore
Peter: ... come to talk to me.
Gary: I was like, "Oh, my God."
Peter: He's talking again.
Gary: "Tell me about, like-"
Peter: "Tell me all your problems."
Gary: "How does that... What I'm hearing you say."
Peter: "How does that make you feel?"
Gary: "Tell me, how does it make you feel?" I was just like, "Oh, my God." I was like-
Peter: People-
Gary: I, I turned on Zach Bryan. I was just like, "I gotta be done with it. I can't do it anymore." I, like, cranked it up at one point. I was like, "You can probably hear it over here."
Peter: People wanna be heard. It's my job to allow them-
Gary: It'd be great if they could actually get a word in
Peter: ... to be listened to. I listen a lot.
Gary: They're, all they're hearing is you.
Peter: That's not true.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: I don't agree.
Gary: Let's get the transcripts. And we, I think we did it once before. We ran a transcript through to see how much you were ta-
Peter: That was, that was two years ago.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: That was two years ago.
Gary: And what was it, like 70% you and 30% them?
Peter: Yeah, yeah. I'm, I'm pretty sure it's down to, like-
Gary: It was like the Peter Show
Peter: ... 68% now.
Gary: Yeah, right. I want, whatever you did today, I want the transcript, and we're running it through.
Peter: All right.
Gary: And we're gonna see what percentage was you and what percent was-
Peter: For all of them?
Gary: ... the actual client. We'll go with the client because, like-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... you know, when you're doing a, whatever, quarterly meeting with a staff member-
Peter: I mansplained to Courtney this morning. Yeah. Basically.
Gary: Did you really?
Peter: No.
Gary: Did you talk to Courtney the whole... Did she get, like, a, a lecture from you?
Peter: Uh, it was a collaboration.
Gary: Yeah. All right.
Peter: Did my best.
Gary: That one I couldn't hear a ton because she was quiet. I wasn't actually sure who was in there.
Peter: Mm. It was me and Courtney.
Gary: Yeah. It was like a low, it was like a low talk session.
Peter: Well.
Gary: Your other sessions were a little bit more passionate. You were probably getting tired at that point. Anyway, just talk less.
Peter: I can't. It's-
Gary: Like, in general. Like, less meetings. You meet... You have too many meetings.
Peter: I have a lot of meetings.
Gary: Your, your schedule is slowly shifting to just one of, like, meetings all the time. It's kinda like CEO douchey-ness. "Let's have a meeting. Let's have another meeting. Let's... I'm gonna meet with you. Now, I'm gonna meet with you, and let's all meet together and let's have, like, this, and then here's a to-do, here's the action items."
Peter: And if they-
Gary: That's not the company we want
Peter: ... if they act on those action items, then that's a good thing. If it's just talk to talk, then that's shitty.
Gary: Yeah, but it's like, all right, we don't need the 400 action items. Let's like, you know, let's just have a few less meetings. It's just shifting to y- like, a lot of meetings. You, you meet, like, all the time. Just an observation.
Peter: Mm.
Gary: You know, less time, like, mingling around the clinic and meeting people and, like, having fun and doing whatever, and it's just like you're down this hallway, and it's like, "Oh, next person's called to the principal's office. Go meet with Peter so he can explore your feelings and give you some action items."
Peter: I, I think we should poll the employees-
Gary: Yeah
Peter: ... and see what they think of the meetings.
Gary: I already have.
Peter: And?
Gary: Nobody likes meetings.
Peter: Fuck you.
Gary: 'Cause I told them not to.
Peter: Yeah, you're an asshole. You're the, you're the problem.
Gary: I'm not the problem.
Peter: Yes, you are.
Gary: Meetings are stupid.
Peter: No, you, you get in people's ear, and you're like, "Meetings are really dumb. Yes, yes."
Gary: Tell people.
Peter: And they're like, "Yeah, I agree with Gary." It's-
Gary: People should agree with me.
Peter: No, they should not.
Gary: Uh, uh, you could ask them. I haven't actually asked them.
Peter: Okay.
Gary: Just feels like a lot of the meetings.
Peter: As long as they're productive.
Gary: I think people would like to see you more.
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: That's all.
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: Mm-hmm.
Peter: Okay. Okay.
Gary: And I don't think that you really like meetings that much because you don't like sitting.
Peter: Uh, I would rather be amongst the people.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: Yeah. My favorite times are with the clients-
Gary: Yeah
Peter: ... for sure.
Gary: Yeah, it doesn't even have to be with clients that you're working with, but just-
Peter: Could be with anybody
Gary: ... down, just down there-
Peter: Mm
Gary: ... like, seeing who's coming in the doors and talking to people-
Peter: Mm-hmm
Gary: ... and seeing how they're doing.
Peter: Yeah, yeah. That's some of my favorite stuff to do.
Gary: Like, outside of a meeting, like talking outside of a meeting.
Peter: No, I agree with you.
Gary: You know what I mean?
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: Like, just being a person.
Peter: In my defense-
Gary: Yeah
Peter: ... three of them were client meetings.
Gary: Today.
Peter: Yes.
Gary: So-
Peter: Where I was, like, helping people.
Gary: Today was, uh, that.
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: But in general-
Peter: Mm
Gary: ... it's a lot of meetings.
Peter: Mm.
Gary: I got my quarterly meetings. I got my weekly meetings. I got my meetings.
Peter: You and I meet.
Gary: And I don't like it.
Peter: Should we not meet?
Gary: I... Yes. I would... That'd be great.
Peter: Don't you think that those are-
Gary: Offer accepted.
Peter: Don't you think those meetings are very productive?
Gary: I don't care if they're productive or not. I don't like-
Peter: We should just not do them.
Gary: Send me an email. All right. Uh, all right. So I had a conversation with somebody the other day. One of my clients has to get a hernia surgery.
Peter: Mm.
Gary: And he was talking to his doctor, and he had questions. Like, so this is a guy that's, like, pretty active guy, like, in general, right?
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: He likes to be an active guy.
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: His job requires some physical, um, uh, capacity, right?
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: Like, he has to, like, lift things and whatever.
Peter: So in his leisure time, he likes to be an active guy.
Gary: Yeah, he's also an active guy, and he comes here two, three days a week-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... and strength trains and has been working really hard at this for, like, a couple years, right? And so he's asking the doctor, "Oh, when can I get back to these things?"
Peter: Mm.
Gary: Right? "When can I get back to strength training? When can I get back to this?" And like, like many doctors, uh, especially, uh, you know, older doctors, he was very, very conservative, and that, and that's okay, right? He's having a hernia surgery.
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: Like, I get that
Peter: 'Cause like any pressure at all is, like, dangerous according to the doctor.
Gary: Sure, no problem. I got no problem with you wanna be conservative after a hernia surgery, wait six weeks, whatever.
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: So, and every doctor's a little bit different, some more conservative than others. But he then went on to tell this person, our client-
Peter: Mm-hmm
Gary: ... that at his age-
Peter: No
Gary: ... he really shouldn't be strength training-
Peter: Ugh
Gary: ... anyway.
Peter: What a psycho. Like, what a terrible-
Gary: Especially anything that's, like, quote, quote, "heavy."
Peter: Was this recent?
Gary: More than 10 pounds. This was, like, a couple days ago.
Peter: Jesus Christ.
Gary: And so he said, "You really shouldn't be doing that anyway."
Peter: What a horrible doctor.
Gary: Like, that is, like, not good for you.
Peter: That's so mentally insane.
Gary: Like, that it could cause things like the hernia-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... that it could cause whatever, like other-
Peter: Is this, like, an old person?
Gary: So I don't really know. I'm just assuming it's an older doctor.
Peter: Like, that's wild. Like, that's wild information.
Gary: So he basically told him, like, so of course our client-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... who comes to us for personal training-
Peter: "Well, my doctor said..."
Gary: ... we're doing a thing. He said, "I'm, listen, I'm not... Like, this is just what he told me."
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: He's like, "I trust you guys, and I wanna do whatever you, you know, if you guys say it's okay or whatever." And it really, it's unrelated to the hernia. This was just sort of a general message around, like, should he be strength training?
Peter: Diet and exercise? No.
Gary: In general.
Peter: None of those.
Gary: The guy was like, "No, that's, like, bad for you." So then I was like, "Okay, well, this is worth a conversation," right?
Peter: A guy of your age.
Gary: So is there such thing as being too old to lift heavy?
Peter: That's so crazy.
Gary: Right? So that's one, one question, right? Like, at what point should you stop?
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: Because I think some people have this, this question anyway, and, um, not so much for hernia purposes-
Peter: Mm
Gary: ... but, like, for their skeleton-
Peter: Mm
Gary: ... for their joints, for whatever. So is there an age at which people maybe shouldn't lift heavy or lift at all, like lift, like strength train? Um, and is there fluctuations? I think we talked a little bit about, like, younger athletes at some point, like on a different episode. But, like, is there, like, sort of these period... Like, should we go from, like, as you get older, 40s, 50s, 60s, there's, like, a tapering down. We go from, like, heavy weights to light weights. We got th- that sort of the conversation.
Peter: Mm.
Gary: So what are your initial reactions-
Peter: Fast
Gary: ... to what the doctor had said?
Peter: That's an incompetent doctor, and he should be disbarred. Not, not...
Gary: I don't think there's a bar.
Peter: I think they disbarred.
Gary: I don't think, he's not a lawyer.
Peter: He should lose his license.
Gary: He's not a lawyer.
Peter: Not a lawyer.
Gary: He's a disbarred... I think he'll be fine. He'll be, "Fine, disbar me. I'm not even a lawyer."
Peter: That, so-
Gary: So
Peter: ... so that's just, just, like, it's ignorant information. This is what this-- So we did a podcast a long time ago on our old pod- podcast called Doctor Don't.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: And this is a perfect example of he can't describe the nuance on how to keep his client safe, his patient safe, so he just gives a blanket, "You shouldn't do X." Don't do the thing, right? And then he points to some, uh, nonsense variable of age, right? The re- we'll get into the reasons why that that's, like, true for some people. But just because you are a number, then that has no difference on whether you're capable of lifting weights safely. Those two things are not connected. C- like, they're totally individual.
Gary: Right. And he wasn't even tying it to the surgery or the injury. He was just giving-
Peter: Like, in general
Gary: ... the general out- generality. Like, "You are now this age."
Peter: That's crazy.
Gary: "You should not be strength training-"
Peter: Right
Gary: ... with any kind of, like, heavier weights. He made some sort of, like, allusion to, um, like a higher reps, low weight.
Peter: Mm.
Gary: But, like, really low weight, like, you know-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... 10 pounds or less.
Peter: Like Pilates weight. Like, can you-
Gary: Is that what they do?
Peter: Like-
Gary: I have no idea. I don't do it
Peter: ... so Pilates basically uses, like, one to five pounds, maybe in rare cases somebody does a higher weight. But the hallmark of Pilates is, like, you know, you're doing Pilates, it's mobility, it's muscular endurance, it's core, right? It's all great stuff.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: But it's certainly not strength training, right?
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: And so, like, that's-
Gary: In the traditional sense of, like, gaining muscle and whatever. You'll get stronger-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... in, like, positions, like core, right? Like, you would-
Peter: Yes
Gary: ... you will get stronger-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... but not n- so much, like-
Peter: It's not the same thing
Gary: ... not with, like, your arms and le- you know. I've never done it. I don't know.
Peter: Yeah. So, so, so strength is-
Gary: I always equate it with, with, um, core
Peter: ... so it's core, stabilizer muscles. Do you get better at those movements?
Gary: Mm.
Peter: Do you have more muscular endurance, meaning can you hold those positions for longer?
Gary: Mm-hmm.
Peter: Yes. If you're at a very low level baseline strength in those muscles, do you get stronger? Yes. But it is not strength training in the same regard. Like, strength training means you continue to upgrade your level of how much force these muscles can produce.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: At some point very early on in Pilates, that plateaus. Does not mean it's bad. It's a great thing. It's just not strength training. These are two totally different things.
Gary: Right. 'Cause without the, enough resistance, you're not gonna gain muscle or strength.
Peter: Yeah, you just plateau.
Gary: You just can't.
Peter: 'Cause there's no more resistance.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: So, so a- a- at some point, Pilates continues to be the same resistance, as opposed to strength training, you continue to upgrade your level of resistance to match your current force production.
Gary: So do you have any rules around age when it comes to your client?
Peter: No. The age, I say this all the time, that age is not a factor when it comes to the type of program somebody can do. What the factor is is what is their current level of function. Now, is it true that on average most people, as they get older, lose strength, mobility, tissue integrity, they're more painful, right? Yes, that is true. But just because you are 70 does not tell me anything about your level of function. What your behavior has been from now until then really determines who and what you're capable of at any given age, not your age itself. So, so the number's unimportant, but I do need to, like, have you come in and then figure out what your baseline is, and then train you at that baseline that's safe for that person.
Gary: And that would be true at any age.
Peter: Any age. I mean-
Gary: From, like, a young athlete all the way up, I think
Peter: ... dude, we've seen, like, really terribly weak, like, immobile 20-year-olds because they just have never used their bodies in a way that, um, like athletically or any training. They have mostly sedentary, and they feel like an older person in their 20s. So, like, it can be any age where your body is debilitated. The age is not the factor.
Gary: But there, and, and there's no rule around, like, if you're 60 or 50 or 70 that you can only lift X number of pounds.
Peter: Those are all nonsense.
Gary: Right?
Peter: Yeah
Gary: Like, you could, y- your deadlift should-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... max out at 150 because you're now 60 years old.
Peter: Those, those are all, all lies that make no sense. They're all individual based. Those, those, uh, that advice is given on average. Doctors go, "On average, somebody of your age should not be able to do X," so then therefore that applies to you without giving any individuality into the program, in my experience.
Gary: Is there any... Do you have any belief that there's negative impact on people's, say, like their joints or their spine or, uh, whatever, the, their tendons, ligaments-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... by lifting heavy after a certain age? Do you think that, do you think that has a negative impact or, or more of a positive impact-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... or no impact? Like, do you know what I mean? Like, the weight, does the amount of weight have an impact on those types of things-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... good or bad?
Peter: So I don't even base this on belief, I base this on, like, what is essentially scientific evidence and facts.
Gary: And science is boring.
Peter: Science is boring. So, so what do I believe?
Gary: Yeah, we just want speculation.
Peter: So just, just wild claims.
Gary: Yeah, yeah, wild claims.
Peter: Says Peter.
Gary: Yeah, yeah, that's right, Peter. Yeah.
Peter: Well, in my experience-
Gary: According to Peter
Peter: ... according to Peter.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: So, so again, we'll go back to, like, age is not the determining factor, it's how strong is that particular muscle group and your tendons and your mobility for that particular movement. Can you do it well and safely, and have you progressed up to the point at which a particular weight, let's say 200 pound for a deadlift for an 80- a 80-year-old woman, "That's crazy." Well, if her body can do it and she has worked herself up to it safely, progressively, over time under the expert care of a trainer, then it's safe for her.
Gary: Mm-hmm.
Peter: The end. That's just, it is... So it's so individual, and if you don't, if you don't have somebody to help you through that or you don't know how to do it yourself, yeah, you shouldn't be randomly li- trying to lift more than you think, like, than you think is reasonable.
Gary: Right. And, uh, as I think we talked about on ano- other episode, is that strength training at any age can, will have a positive impact on the health of your bones-
Peter: Mm-hmm
Gary: ... your joints-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... your ligaments, your tendons.
Peter: So that's something that's-
Gary: They're gonna strengthen-
Peter: ... not well understood
Gary: ... when done correctly.
Peter: Yeah, most people-
Gary: But no, it's true
Peter: ... will think, like, "Weight training hurts my joints."
Gary: Right.
Peter: But the reality is is, again, like, boring science has shown that, like, progressive weight training, even under heavy loads, done responsibly, will cause, um, joint regeneration, which can actually, like, help the health of your joints, and-
Gary: Right
Peter: ... you're not gonna cause bone on bone or whatever nonsense that-
Gary: That's my favorite
Peter: ... like you get told. Yeah.
Gary: Bone on bone.
Peter: Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Gary: Oh, it's so, so, so bad. Uh, my doctor says I have bone, the bone on bone. I'm like, "Ah, that's it for you."
Peter: The bone on bone.
Gary: That's it for you.
Peter: Yeah, yeah.
Gary: Like, let's get to, let's get the, let's start digging the hole.
Peter: Yeah. In, step in the grave, sir.
Gary: You are d-
Peter: It's over
Gary: ... you are done.
Peter: No more movements and activity.
Gary: All right. So then are there any circumstances at which... I mean, the answer to this is yes, just so you-
Peter: Mm-hmm. Ah.
Gary: Just so I'm g- give you a clue, a clue. Are there any circumstances at which heavy, lifting heavy specifically should be modified?
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: So age by itself is not, right? We just dest- we just-
Peter: Age is not the determining factor.
Gary: Age is not, the number is not the de- But are there instances in which somebody should not lift heavy things, and that maybe they'd be better off being the person who does, like, a lighter, higher rep or something, even if it's a short time?
Peter: Yeah, there are lots of people that should not be lifting heavy things. It just-
Gary: Such as?
Peter: It de- it depends on that human being.
Gary: Let's start with Gary.
Peter: Ah, should Gary be lifting heavy things?
Gary: The answer is no.
Peter: From what I know about Gary-
Gary: Yeah
Peter: ... definitely should be lifting heavy things.
Gary: Oh, yeah, that's so... Number one on the list is Gary should not lift heavy.
Peter: Gary-
Gary: Now, after Gary, what else?
Peter: Gary's currently not injured, so Gary's...
Gary: Oh.
Peter: So if you're injured-
Gary: Gary's always injured.
Peter: So, so if you have an acute injury, you have a recent back strain, you bent over and you picked up the magical sock that hurts your back-
Gary: Ah
Peter: ... and you blew out your back.
Gary: I've, I've been there.
Peter: Right? Yeah. So, so at that point, definitely shouldn't be lifting heavy things. You should, like, probably, like, you know, ease back into it and build-
Gary: So acute injury
Peter: ... back up. Acute injury, definitely not.
Gary: Back or otherwise. Back-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... knee, elbow, whatever.
Peter: So, so-
Gary: You just recently, like, hurt yourself doing something.
Peter: Yeah, definitely nobody lifting heavy.
Gary: You don't wanna just jump right into, like, heavy things.
Peter: Take a break.
Gary: Doesn't mean you have to, like, do nothing.
Peter: That's the exact opposite.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: You don't do nothing.
Gary: Right.
Peter: You do something, but you meet yourself where you're at. As a general rule of thumb, I like to say, like, if movement is good, if it's uncomfortable, that's okay. If it causes moderate or high levels of pain, that's a sign to not do that thing. I- like, if you don't know how to modify the movement to have m- mild levels of pain, then maybe, like, see an expert. But otherwise, just use that as your guide. Like, movement is good even if it hurts a little bit.
Gary: Yeah. What else? Acute injury.
Peter: So acute injury, definitely no-go. Um, I would also say, like, if you have... So for instance, if you're older, and this goes into the older thing, if you're older and you have, like, very low bone mineral density and you have, like, like, like, your bones are, um, not very healthy, they're not very dense, then you definitely don't start heavy. In fact, no program should start heavy. You start very light.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: But basic movements that are functionally sound are very important.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: And slowly over time, working with your doctor, helping with the weight training that can stimulate bone growth, muscle strength, you may be able to get into something that's heavy. But to be honest with you, dude, heavy is so relative.
Gary: Mm-hmm.
Peter: Like, like, 200 pounds to somebody who, like, is a world-class weightlifter is relatively extremely light.
Gary: Right.
Peter: Whereas it's impossible for somebody else. So, like, h- heavy is a purely individual, um, effort.
Gary: Did I tell you how I was at the gym recently and I went to go pick up weights to do a shoulder press?
Peter: You did not tell me this.
Gary: Yeah. I went to go pick up... So I have a pretty good shoulder press.
Peter: Yes, you do.
Gary: Like, when I want to.
Peter: Uh-huh.
Gary: It's one of my stronger movements.
Peter: Yeah, when you want to.
Gary: Yeah, when I want to.
Peter: I agree.
Gary: So I went to go grab, like, just, like, the 35 pound dumbbells. You know what I mean?
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: Which is-
Peter: On, oh, 35. But that's weak compared to what you're capable of.
Gary: I'm aware.
Peter: Okay.
Gary: But in my head, I remember, so there's a, there's one of our therapists that work here, uh, her name is Alicia.
Peter: She's very strong.
Gary: Very strong, and she recently was doing 35-pound dumbbell presses in, like, a video or something that we posted. I think it was like-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... we posted something, and she was doing 35-pound-
Peter: She's-
Gary: ... like, shoulder presses
Peter: ... a tiny giant.
Gary: And everyone was talking about, "Oh, she's so strong," like she got... So as I'm going to grab these, I was like-
Peter: Hmm
Gary: ... I was like, "This is what Ali-" And she's, like-
Peter: And she's half your weight
Gary: ... she's, like, five feet tall.
Peter: And, like, no pounds.
Gary: So I was like, "All right." So I moved over, and I went to the other ones. So, but I was... That's my point, is, like, uh, heavy is, is relative.
Peter: Is relative.
Gary: Rel- So i, I was in, relative to her-
Peter: Yes
Gary: ... I was like, "Son of a bitch, I can't do the same weight."
Peter: Yeah, no, come on.
Gary: "I need to go up." But compared to you, I was like, "Well, it's, you know-"
Peter: But you're so-
Gary: "What do you do for a dumbbell overhead press?"
Peter: You're way closer to me though
Gary: What do you do for a dumbbell overhead press?
Peter: So if I'm trying to get frisky, s-
Gary: I don't even know what that means. Frisky.
Peter: If I'm, if I'm, if I'm trying-
Gary: No one talks like that
Peter: ... me. If I'm-
Gary: If I'm trying to get frisky- ... with your weight training- ... it's not the bedroom.
Peter: It could be.
Gary: It could be.
Peter: It might as well be.
Gary: Well-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... Stacy's there, and I'm trying to get frisky.
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: I get to 65.
Peter: 60... I bust out the 65s.
Gary: Yeah, that's a lot.
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: That's a lot with dumbbells.
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: Barbell is, like-
Peter: It's much harder
Gary: ... I'm way better, yeah.
Peter: Yeah, 'cause it's more stable.
Gary: Yeah, yeah. I like, I like that.
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: When I'm getting, when I'm getting frisky, I bust out the 40s.
Peter: That's your heavy load?
Gary: Yeah, yeah, that's enough.
Peter: Hmm.
Gary: Uh, no, I went to 45s on that one.
Peter: Oh, congratulations.
Gary: Yeah. I figured I'd go 10 pounds heavier than her, per arm.
Peter: Yeah, yeah.
Gary: One pound for every inch of height I have on her.
Peter: No, 10 pounds
Gary: Um, okay, so we covered, so bone density.
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: Like, low, low bone density, certainly for your spine especially-
Peter: Mm-hmm
Gary: ... but even for, like, your hips and stuff, you gotta be careful. You don't wanna, like-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... you don't wanna, like, fracture something if you're going to do kind of any movement with too much load.
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: If you have super low bone density, that could be a problem.
Peter: And I would say any, like, any new, any new person, like, if you're new-
Gary: Yeah, new
Peter: ... it's not heavy.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: It's not heavy. It's, it's intentionally light-
Gary: Yeah
Peter: ... to, like, low on the moderate scale.
Gary: Sure.
Peter: Like, meaning, like, meaning you may be stronger than the weight that you're lifting, but that's a good thing, especially in the beginning because, like, A, if you go too hard, too quick, it's gonna be brutally miserable and sore, you're probably gonna hurt yourself, and it's not sustainable.
Gary: Right.
Peter: So it's like, yeah, boy, take it slow for a while.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: Like, heavy, heavy can, can wait. Heavy can wait.
Gary: I think there are probably a few others, at least some that I can think of, like some cardiac stuff.
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: You know, you have to be careful, especially if you have, like, recent cardiac-
Peter: Like blood pressure related?
Gary: Yeah, I mean, like blood pressure. I mean, it's kind of more of a monitor situation, not that you can't do it, but you gotta monitor it. You gotta be careful with technique. Like, one thing that you're big on, and that I'm not as good at, is, like, the breathing part of it.
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: So when people... And this goes true for the h-
Peter: Well, that can be with a hernia, right?
Gary: It kind of goes... I was gonna say, it goes true with the hernia guy too.
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: It's like, you gotta, like, not hold your breath and bear down.
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: Those types of things where you're increasing your int-
Peter: There's a way-
Gary: ... intraabdominal pressure
Peter: ... to stabilize your core-
Gary: Yeah
Peter: ... but not, like, blowing out the pressure-
Gary: Right
Peter: ... through your stomach.
Gary: Like, holding your breath-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... or whatever, so I would say people like that, like, you have to be a little bit more, sometimes the heavier stuff with those types of things because-
Peter: If you don't know how to breathe
Gary: ... yeah, because the instinct for a lot of people is-
Peter: Is to bear down
Gary: ... to, like, bear down, and that can have implications on things like a hernia or-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... cardiac type stuff.
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: Um-
Peter: In the beginning, I always, like, you notice people all of the time when they're giving some level of effort, they're holding their breath when they're first starting to train.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: They're just trying to, like, learn the movement, and their instinct is to-
Gary: Right
Peter: ... bear down, and then you have to, like, help them work through that.
Gary: I teach all of your clients how to do that with, like, light weights, so you-
Peter: Just-
Gary: So you won't progress them too quickly
Peter: ... just so that they look, it looks hard.
Gary: Yeah, yeah. I just walk by, and I'm like, "Hey, listen, if you don't want him to, like-"
Peter: Yes, make a red face.
Gary: Uh, yeah, you just have to, like, hold your breath, make it look like you're trying-
Peter: Grimace
Gary: ... real hard and grimace. Like, well, then he won't add any weight, but if you don't-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... like, he's definitely gonna add weight. Like, you don't want that, so.
Peter: So, so I've noticed this before, and what they get wrong is they keep having the weight move at the same speed.
Gary: Yeah, yeah, they have to slow it down.
Peter: You guys-
Gary: You gotta shake. You gotta, you get a little bit of a shake.
Peter: It's been done.
Gary: Yeah. I have to work on teaching them how to, like-
Peter: Yeah. To fake me out.
Gary: I teach all your clients how to cheat.
Peter: Yeah. It's, it's one of your, like, side missions.
Gary: Yeah, it's like I just want them to know there's another way.
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: It doesn't have to be, it doesn't have to be like this.
Peter: There's only one way, Gary.
Gary: Yeah, there's that.
Peter: Only one way to go progress.
Gary: Ugh, yep.
Peter: Effort over time.
Gary: Um, okay, and then I guess the other thing is that I think sometimes people can overdo it 'cause they, this, it's, like, this balance between, well, how do I challenge myself-
Peter: Mm-hmm
Gary: ... and how do I not hurt myself?
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: Right?
Peter: It is a balance.
Gary: And so I feel like you even have to deal with this a little bit, right?
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: Like, you wanna lift heavy and whatever, and every now and again... Like, there was one day that I thought, like, you might have crippled yourself 'cause you, like, you did, like, a deadlift or something. I forget what you were doing. You did something.
Peter: It was deadlift.
Gary: And then you put it down, and you just, like, left the room.
Peter: Just nope.
Gary: And, and I was just like, "Did he just hurt..." And you came back, and I was, "Did you just hurt yourself?" You're like, "No," but, like, I was like-
Peter: That was the last rep.
Gary: Yeah, like, I potentially was going t- you know, if I kept going, and so I just kind of put it down, and I had to go to the bathroom. You, I think you ran to the bathroom. But, like-
Peter: You can only do that through experience. There, like, I have hurt myself plenty of times by doing that last rep.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: And, and it's like you just have to learn-
Gary: I, I have never.
Peter: I have never.
Gary: Because I never do the last rep.
Peter: That's right. I've hurt myself plenty of times by testing the waters.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: And I just, that was by experience. I was like, I didn't like the way that last one felt. I knew I was strong enough to do another one, but I'm good.
Gary: Yeah. Yeah, sometimes you just feel something. You move a little differently.
Peter: Just didn't, didn't feel right.
Gary: Feel a little twinge.
Peter: Did a little something, yeah.
Gary: And there's no reason to, like, go through that-
Peter: That's the end of that
Gary: ... until you stop.
Peter: Whereas in my, like, in my 20s and early 30s, you grind out that last rep-
Gary: Right
Peter: ... and then you pull something.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: It's like, that's not-
Gary: And then you're set way back.
Peter: And then it's like I'm not-
Gary: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Peter: At this stage of my life, the order of operations, don't get hurt.
Gary: Right.
Peter: Right? Stay mobile.
Gary: Mm-hmm.
Peter: Work real hard.
Gary: Right.
Peter: So-
Gary: There is, like, a general, there is, like, a, a belief out there, I think, that people promote that, like, hey, like, once you get to a certain age Like, you can shift to the model of that higher rep. Like, you still work to-
Peter: Mm-hmm
Gary: ... you still work to-
Peter: High effort
Gary: ... fatigue or whatever.
Peter: Yeah
Gary: To work to failure.
Peter: It's just not-
Gary: But it's-
Peter: ... heavy weight.
Gary: Yeah, instead of doing that four to six-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... right?
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: So you're doing four to six at, like, 80% of your one rep max or something, right?
Peter: Like 85.
Gary: You would do, like, 12 to 15, and you would be at 65%, or I don't know the exact data there, but-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... is there any credence to that? Like, in terms of-
Peter: Yes
Gary: ... reducing the likelihood-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... of injury.
Peter: Yes.
Gary: Maybe pre- you're still getting the benefits of strength, and you're getting some of the skeletal ben- You're still getting a lot of the benefits of strength training.
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: But theoretically at least-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... that you're reducing your likelihood of-
Peter: Just sliding scale
Gary: ... negative-
Peter: Mm-hmm
Gary: ... um, you know, things happening because of strength training.
Peter: I don't disagree with that. I would say that, in general, pushing the limits of your capabilities from an absolute strength perspective, um, is a higher ... You're risking more injury, uh, over time because you have less margin for error because you can't s- you can't make as many mistakes-
Gary: Mm-hmm
Peter: ... with a heavier weight that's, like, to the- your limit than you can with a lighter weight. Now, these are two different things. Imagine, like, if I took, like, let's just say 15 pounds for, for, like, 20 reps overhead. Like, that last rep, I could barely get it. Like, that's not heavy, but it's hard.
Gary: Mm-hmm.
Peter: Those are two different things as opposed to, like, let's say I took, like, 40s and I could really only d- grind out six, but that last one, that's, like, at the limit of my strength. That's more dangerous for people who don't understand their limits and how to keep technique-
Gary: Right
Peter: ... than for s- than for the lighter weight. I agree with that completely, which is why, like, generally you should be ... You should have an understanding of how to do that correctly, or you are asking for more injury over time, and it takes, like, expertise, training, help, stuff like that, right?
Gary: Right. So in general, there's a little bit of nuance to it-
Peter: Okay
Gary: ... which is why it's helpful to, to work with somebody even if it's just in the beginning-
Peter: Yes
Gary: ... to learn how to do it properly.
Peter: Yes.
Gary: If you don't, if you haven't done this before and you don't know, showing up at Planet Fitness and just doing the machines or whatever a- and not having a plan or not knowing how to do it-
Peter: Mm
Gary: ... or not knowing where to start-
Peter: Mm-hmm
Gary: ... or how to do the techniques right, um, whether you do the machines or the dumbbells, they, they all require some form of technique. So I would say, like, it's always good to work with somebody even if it's for a few visits to figure it out-
Peter: Yeah
Gary: ... if you have no prior experience especially. But I would say, in general-
Peter: Mm-hmm
Gary: ... there's no real age rules around-
Peter: No age rules
Gary: ... like lifting weights.
Peter: Yeah.
Gary: There's some considerations. There's a little bit of nuance. There's, like, a good version for each person.
Peter: Mm-hmm.
Gary: But it's not this universal, "Hey, you hit this magical number, please stop lifting heavy things."
Peter: Never. That's not a thing at all.
Gary: Yeah.
Peter: So if your doctor tells you you shouldn't lift X, Y, or Z, and they base it off of age, it's just pure nonsense. They just don't understand, um, the conversation that we just talked about. And tell me what you think of this analogy. I actually think of, like, how to control our bodies similar to learning how to drive a car. Like, there are some people who've never been involved in sports, who've never been involved in physical activity. They mostly are sedentary. That's most of their life. You could enter your 30s and really not understand how to drive your body, like h- how to, like, move your body around in the world. You get hurt a lot more. You're weak or so on and so forth. And then you have, like, really high level intuitive athletes that have trained their whole life. They have a just a totally different understanding of how to move their body. It's kinda like driving a car in the sense that, like, I would never go from somebody that just drives slowly on a street to all of a sudden, like, going full blast on a racetrack. I would 100% crash.
Gary: Mm.
Peter: And then so in that circumstance if I wanted to do that, I would seek help professionally, and I would learn how to do it slowly over time to get competent. Whereas, like ... So, like, just in the same way, like, if you just wanna go for walks or go to, like, you know, some ... like, a class that is, like, much easier in nature, that sounds great. You probably don't need professional help. But if you want to perform at your best and you want to slowly get stronger, slowly gain muscle mass, gain mobility, and gain things that are better than you're at today, then you should probably seek the help of an expert to g- help get you there.
Gary: So what you're saying is if you wanna get frisky-
Peter: If you wanna get frisky-
Gary: You need-
Peter: ... seek some help
Gary: ... you need ge- you need to see somebody.
Peter: I agree with you.
Gary: You just don't get frisky alone.
Peter: You never do get frisky alone.
Gary: That's sad.
Peter: That's weird. We don't, we don't wanna get frisky alone. Get frisky with help.
Gary: On that note, we shall end today's show.
Peter: See you, buddy.
Gary: See you.