Meet Liz. Shes a 58-year-old retired medical lab technologist. Over her time working with us, she was able to lose 24 pounds, and deadlift 225 pounds!!!  As if that wasnt impressive enough, she did that after breaking a leg when she fell off a ladder. How did she do all that? Thats what well talk about in this article.

               Well cover:

  • What Liz was doing before she started working with us, and how well it was working for her.
  • Reservations that she had before starting personal training.
  • The exercise strategies that her trainer used with her to rehab the broken leg, lose weight, and deadlift 225 pounds.
  • The nutrition strategies that Liz used to lose 24 pounds.
  • The bottom line results she achieved.
  • Obstacles she encountered along the way (as if a broken leg is not enough).
  • How her life is different today.

If you want to see Liz tell her own story, check out this 11-minute video.

And if you want results similar to Liz, we have a special program, called Fitness Over 50. If you would like to see whether or not you qualify for that program, just fill out the application form on our home page.

What Liz Was Doing Before

               Even before Liz started working with us, she was very active. She took cardio boxing classes at the gym, she did yoga regularly, and during the winters she went skiing. Occasionally, shed do strength training on her own, but not exactly a structured routine. She was going through the motions, but wasnt exactly sure what she was doing.

               And because she couldnt see a relationship between effort and results, shed always find an excuse not to exercise.

               But while its certainly commendable that she was as active as she was, she was still around 178 pounds but she wanted to be around 145 pounds. She was also not as fit and toned as she wanted to be. Frustrating when youre spending tons of time on exercise and physical activity.

               She understood that what she was doing wasnt bringing her closer to her goals, so she decided to take things more seriously.

               She knew that for her to get to her goals, shed need to address nutrition for the fat loss, and proper strength training for the toning. But she was wise enough to know that she couldnt do it on her own. She needed professional help. She knew she needed a personal trainer to:

  • Help her with nutrition. She didnt want to go on another diet. Shes been on those before, and she can never stick to them long term.
  • Watch her technique, to make sure shes doing everything properly, and not injuring herself in the process.

               At that point, she had been getting my newsletters for about a year, so she thought it might make sense to at least reach out and chat.

               But she did have a few reservations before starting personal training:

  • She had pre-existing back pain. She didnt want to injure herself in the name of fat loss, and toning.
  • She didnt want to get bulky. She didnt want to look like Ahhhnnuld Schwarzeneggers twin.
  • She was always worried about the deadlift.

So I paired her up with one of my virtual trainers (she lives in southwestern Ontario, and her trainer is near Ottawa), Davin, and they got to work.

Lizs Exercise Strategies

               Throughout Lizs 2 years with us (so far), Davin had a general template for her:

They would do 5 of the 6 fundamental movements each workout. What are the 6 fundamental movements? They are (in no particular order) a hip hinge, a squat, vertical pull, vertical push, horizontal pull and horizontal push.

These are general categories, and there are a bunch of different exercises that fit into each category.

What makes these movements fundamental? Because they replicate real-life motions. The goal of strength training for a non-athlete is to make their life outside the gym easier. So we want carryover from what we do in the gym (whether thats a physical gym, or online training) to real life. For example, a hip hinge replicates the motion of picking things off the floor (groceries, furniture, kids, etc.). A vertical push replicates the motion of putting things on high cupboards, etc.

So an example of a workout would be something like:

Barbell overhead press – warm up set + 2 working sets – (8-10 reps)

Back squats – warm up set + 2 working sets (9-12 reps)

Dumbbell biceps curls (superset with squats) – 2 sets of 15-20 reps

Deadlift – warm Up set + 2 working sets (6-10 reps)

Lateral raises (superset with deadlift) – 2 sets of 15-25 reps

She would also spend about 20% of her workouts on isolation movements for muscles that are less emphasized by the fundamental movements (like the abs, calves, shoulders, and biceps).

               Its not exactly what theyve been doing the entire 2 years, as her program did change over time, but just an example.

               As I do with other articles, I want to emphasize that the actual exercises are less important than the progression model, which is the real secret sauce of an exercise program. I discuss this in much greater detail in my article on the most important factor in an exercise program.

Lizs Rehab Phase

               After only about 2 months into Lizs training with Davin, she fell off a ladder and broke her leg (her shin). Too bad, because progress was going well. She had already lost about 5 pounds, and improved her strength a bit.

               She took the next few months off, and once she got the all-clear to exercise again, the emphasis shifted towards rehabilitation.

               When a leg is broken, there is both weakening and stiffening. So exercise is meant to reverse that. Its meant to both strengthen and lengthen.

               While they were doing a number of rehab exercises, the two that Liz seemed to benefit the most from are banded terminal knee extensions and assisted squats. And again, while the exercise is important, its really the details that make or break it. The details being the other parameters of exercise prescription:

  • Frequency: she was doing them daily.
  • Intensity: how tight the band is or how much resistance there is.
  • Sets and reps: 1 set of 10-15 reps.

For the assisted squats, the goal was to increase range of motion over time. And it worked. She started with very limited range of motion, due to both weakness, stiffness, and hesitation at going deeper. Over time, she could get deeper and deeper, until she was doing a full, butt-to-heels squat. Eventually, the assisted squats turned to regular squats (without assistance), and even further, adding weight to the squat.

And after about 3-4 months on a more rehab-oriented routine, she was basically back to normal, ready to exceed her previous, pre-injury levels. So she returned back to her pre-injury routine.

Lizs Nutrition Strategies

               As for nutrition, I feel like a broken record now, saying that the worst way to lose weight and keep it off is to go on a diet. Diets dont work (in the long term). Ive written about this extensively in articles like You Dont Need A Diet You Need a Therapist and The Mindset Shift That Will Ensure Fat Loss Success. So I wont rehash those points here.

               Because of that, my team and I rarely prescribe diets/meal plans for clients. Instead, we ask a bunch of questions to help us figure out the easiest way to lose weight not the hardest way (thats a diet). For example, with Stellis, the only 2 things we needed to do to get her to lose 6 inches off her waist is to just eat protein at every meal, and stop eating when shes 80% full. I didnt tell her what not to eat. I just needed to find ways to make it easy. Not difficult.

               The key to long term success with fat loss is to make it simple. But a diet is pretty much the opposite of simple. So instead, after asking Liz a bunch of questions, Davin found that what would be simple for her are these strategies:

  • Drinking protein shakes, and having a source of protein at each meal. Of the 3 macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats and proteins), protein is the most filling. So its a way of reducing calories without necessarily placing limits on calories. You tell someone to reduce their calories, and they get hungry. You tell someone to eat more protein, and theyre full enough that they reduce their calories spontaneously, without hunger.
  • Going from 3 meals to 2. Like I talk about in my upcoming book, The No BS Guide to Intermittent Fasting for Women, theres no magic to intermittent fasting, but if it helps you lower your calories without feeling hungry, its a good tool for the job.

Lizs Results

               While methods are nice, occasionally you have to look at the results (I stole that quote from Winston Churchill).

               So what were Lizs results?

  • Her weight went from 178, down to 154 a 24-pound drop. Of course, she also gained muscle along the way. So she likely lost more like 28-30 pounds of fat, and gained 4-6 pounds of muscle.
  • Her deadlift improved from 135 lbs. when she started working with us to 225 lbs. in her most recent workout.
  • Her bench press went from 30 pounds, up to 70 pounds. A big improvement in her upper body strength.
  • Her squats went from 65 pounds to 80 pounds not bad for someone who broke their leg.
  • Her overhead press improved from 30 pounds, up to 60. So her shoulders and triceps were stronger and more toned. Hello sleeveless dresses.

Overall, these were pretty impressive improvements in both strength, body fat and muscle tone.

Lizs Obstacles

               As if a broken leg is not enough of an obstacle, there was one other major obstacle to her nutrition: Liz is a very social person. She goes out to eat, has friends over, goes to restaurants, etc.

               In other words, shes normal

               If you want to make a person fail at their nutrition, ask them to choose between their social life, and their health. Present it as an either/or solution.

               But if you want to make a person succeed at their nutrition, you can figure out ways they can have both be social, go out, eat at restaurants, AND (not OR) have great improvements in their body fat.

               Thats more about logistical management than nutrition.

               To that end, Davin used the strategies that I talk about in my article on how to eat healthy in tough situations, and top 20 cheat meal strategies (this ones a video).

How Lizs Life is Different Today

               Now that Liz is 24 pounds lighter, and a heck of a lot stronger, how is her life different? Quite a bit.

               For one thing, she has a better body image. She looks great in her clothes, she likes what she sees in the mirror, and in pictures.

               Theres also the confidence of being able to lift 225 friggin pounds at 58 years old.

               Besides that, theres also the great behavioral/psychological benefit. See previously when Liz tried to make a dietary change when there was the inevitable slip-up, shed get discouraged, and give up her diet. So a bad day would derail her for months. Nowadays, when she has a bad day or a bad meal, its just a blip. She just gets back on track, without derailing her. After all, shes not on a diet in the first place. She has 2 very simple things to do with her nutrition, none of which involve severe restriction.

               For all these reasons, and others, were very proud of Liz, and the progress that shes made.

if you want results similar to Liz, we have a special program, called Fitness Over 50. If you would like to see whether or not you qualify for that program, just fill out the application form on our home page.