there is a customer here that does basically low weight but 6 sets of 40-50 reps. He is 70 years old. Is this safe?
Hello M.C. Doreen Rioux,
Is this person retired from work and/or has much free time? It should be fine. This is no different from a stock person loading shelves eight hours or more a day. This works muscle endurance. If the client seems comfortable, I would have no worries; although, I do not know this client’s history which may say otherwise.
Take care,
Natalie aka NAPS 2 B Fit.
Hello Doreen,
chances are that he has done this already for a long time. I would wonder about the possibility of repetitive stress injuries. With that many reps and sets per exercise, he probably only does a few, and does them every time he works out (pure conjecture).
As Natalie says, low weight and high reps are the hallmark of work on muscular endurance but I would not use that many reps and sets even for that.
It certainly is different from the general recommendation of using higher weight and fewer reps to build strength, and I would try to encourage the client to change. I would expect reluctance on his part, though. Maybe you can make some publications available to him like this one from the NIH which suggests a different way of training. http://nihseniorhealth.gov/exerciseandphysicalactivityexercisestotry/str…
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com
Hi M.C.,
It may depend on a few different factors, but I think 6 sets of
40-50 reps could be setting the person up for overuse–given his age and any orthopedic issues he may have. It also depends on how many days a week he is doing this. One question to ask and think about is what benefit is he getting with that many reps? With my older clients I generally use a rep range of about 20 max (of course it depends on many factors related to each individual).
Here are some good guidelines from ACSM on resistance training and the older adult:
http://acsm.org/docs/current-comments/resistancetrainingandtheoa.pdf
Hope this helps you.
Best,
Christine
It is difficult to make a call without seeing the performance of the exercises. It is likely that he is neither doing harm nor improving fitness. I imagine there is some chance of repetitive stress, though that would be more likely if he were doing these movements on a daily basis. Which he may be, but we don’t have that information either.
I would want to know if he is lifting to VMA/failure. If he was moving quickly or slowly, controlled or not controlled, ROM used, overall mechanics both postural and in the movement, and possibly mental aspects like OCD, TBI, psychological issues, etc.
Does he appear to be in pain at any time? Have you observed him during non exercise movement?
I would be hesitant to approach a person in this type of situation without a bit more to go on. And if I were thinking about bring this up, I would invest quite a bit of time and effort to become acquainted with the person. I would want to know them better and begin establishing rapport to lay the ground work for any type of intervention into their routine. Often, just in the natural course of connecting with patrons and attempting to show that I am approachable, patrons will bring up the subject of what I think of their routines.
If do decide to become involved, be prepared to back off if the person appears to become defensive. You won’t do anyone any good if you press them and they judge you to be critical or too pushy.