Special Report: Put Some Muscle Into It

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Most people’s idea of exercise as we approach middle age and beyond involves lower impact cardio and lighter weights. But new research is shattering those long held beliefs, focusing on weightlifting and lifting heavier, even in your golden years.

Not only that, but weightlifting can be a valuable tool to jump start your body if your current fitness routine isn’t yielding the results it once did.

In this special report, we found out how more and more Central Texans are seeing big changes, when they put some muscle into it.

If you bet Michelle Scales that she can’t do something because she’s a senior, you’ll lose.

“Being retired, my job now is to stay fit. It’s full time job. And every day I do something,” she told us.

Scales started working out with Teresa Gingles at her clinic, Lasting Health and Wellness two years ago, after noticing common tasks just weren’t as easy.

“When I first started I had been on a trip and I could not lift the carry-on in the airplane overhead. I had to get my friend to do it. Now that’s a piece of cake,” she explained.

She and the other folks who work out here have all found success through strength training, making life-changing improvements through weights and resistance exercises.

Cindy Fuhr told us, “I was in a severe accident in January. And I really feel Teresa has gotten me better than I was before.”

Holt Kelly said, “you are stronger than you think you are, so you’ve got to try.”

“You have to be lifting heavy. You have to be getting resistance exercise into your week,” Gingles explained.

Gingles is a doctor of physical therapy. In addition to owning and running Lasting Health and Wellness, Gingles is the founder and executive director of Better at Last, a nonprofit she founded in 2023 geared toward empowering older adults to be the strongest, healthiest versions of themselves.

She said, “we have to be layering on resistance training, because if you’re not challenging your skeletal muscles and your bones, then you’re getting weaker in both areas, and those are when we see injury, decline and pain.”

Gingles hosts workshops across Central Texas throughout the year, teaching exercise classes and sharing vital information like the value of strength training. It’s something backed by science more and more every day.

“Research is coming in by the truckloads,” she said.

This movement toward strength training as a necessity for healthy aging kicked off in a big way with an osteoperosis study published in 2018. During the Liftmor Trial, researchers at Griffith University in Austrailia found a direct relationship between resistance training and bone density.

“What they found was that lifting heavy, really showed bone growth,” Gingles said.

Strength training also fights the muscle loss that happens naturally as we age, improves cognitive ability, helps with mobility making it easier to do daily tasks, and it can even benefit you in case of a fall. Teresa emphasizes lifting heavy means heavy for your body, whatever that weight may be.

“If two pounds is heavy, then by all means keep doing that, but keep continuing to progress. We can’t just stick with that two pounder, or you’re going to have to start carrying water bottles in from your car,” she said.

So what about those of approaching middle age who just don’t see the same results with their fitness routine as they did in their twenties and thirties? That’s been the case for social media influencer Oli Pettigrew. You may know him as That Englishman in Texas on Instagram and other platforms.

“In my thirties I was in really good shape, and when I was 31 i did the Mens’ Health cover,” he explained.

As a media personality who also hosted a national talk show, fitness has long been part of Oli’s lifestyle. But then the pandemic happened.

He said, “I lost my job when I was in Phoenix and moved back to Texas and I was honestly pretty depressed and I’d kind of fallen out of shape. So I decided, it’s time to get back into it.”

Only his old methods of training with short bursts of high intensity weren’t yielding any results. That’s when he was approached by Coach Angie Spence, a trainer and regional manager with Anytime Fitness. She had some suggestions.

Oli said, “we changed the way I’m working out because I’m not 31 anymore, I’m 44.”

She put him on more steady cardio with heavy resistance to keep his heart rate in a targeted range, and shifted his focus to building muscle and lifting heavy.

“Now I’m building muscle and burning fat at the same time, so I’m working less hard in my head, but making bigger gains,” he told us.

“Muscle is for every human, whether you’re man or woman, small or overweight, muscle is your fat burning machine,” Coach Angie told us, “muscle burns more calories at rest than fat.”

Oli says since he made these changes, he’s noticed major changes in his muscle mass, and strength.

He said, “I can’t believe how much stronger I am. The other thing is I can see it in the mirror. My clothes fit better, and when my wife hugs me she goes.. ooh, nice!”

Coach Angie say overall, when you plateau on your fitness journey it may be time for a change. And her advice is get help from a professional trainer who can help you identify your goals and make appropriate adjustments. But do something.

She said, “I can’t unhear that your body is your retirement plan. And its So important, It’s never to late to start.”

And when you do, don’t be afraid to put some muscle into it.

As a matter of transparency we need to share that Justin Earley is the owner of an Anytime Fitness gym location but it is not associated with the location featured in the story. As always before starting or making major changes to your exercise routine, be sure to consult your doctor.

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