57 year old female interested in getting stronger.

[PapaBear59]

While hiking with a 57 year old female friend we started to talk about aging yet being strong enough to have quality of life. She has degenerative disc disease in the L4 and L5 vertebra and is in constant discomfort. The doctor has her doing water aerobics 3 days a week. She also had rotator cuff surgery in which she has lost some range of motion. I started talking about Starting Strength and the video you posted about 62 Kathy Grace. She expressed interest in the program.

As I mention she is
57 years old
5’4”
144 lbs

She has never weight trained but is very active and other than the issues I mention fairly healthy

My question is (because of the disc disease) would you start her like anyone else or make modifications.

Thanks

[Mark Rippetoe]

Every 57-year-old has degenerative disc disease. Without exception. If her doctor talks her out of training, she doesn't train.

[Ray Gillenwater]

I think her back pain will be significantly reduced after about two weeks of training.

If she can hire a coach, and isn’t an MD ideologist (what Rip warned against - listening to people that likely don’t know enough about what we do), then she can almost certainly train productively and have a stronger back because of it.

Would love to see the story from start to finish if you wouldn’t mind encouraging her to take some video before she starts her training and as she progresses?

Have her take a look at the testimonials section of the board and she’ll discover that her situation is unremarkable.

I hope she finds a good coach. Aging women might need this the most (bone density loss and less muscle mass to begin with).

You’re a good friend! But keep Rip’s point in mind. No matter what you want for other people, all that matters is what they want for themselves. There isn’t (and shouldn’t be) a way to force people to get stronger.

Good luck!

[Emily Socolinsky]

Every 57-year-old has degenerative disc disease. Without exception. If her doctor talks her out of training, she doesn't train.

I have degenerative disc disease in L4 and L5, multiple herniated discs and severe arthritis. I am 44 years old and was diagnosed with this 10 years ago at age 34 after many many years of dancing. I started Starting Strength after nothing else I did (ie. PT) helped. After two months of training, my back pain was gone. A few months later, I attended the SS Seminar and opened my gym in 2011 to help others get stronger. Oh, and I started back with a dance company and danced with them for two years after thinking I was done in because of my back.

She needs to start this program now. And as Rip said, if she talks to her doctor, her doctor will tell her not to do this and then she won't train. I train women who are 50, 60, 69, 74 and 78. They all come with knee, back, shoulder issues. And they are all doing great.

I am happy to reach out to her or talk to you more about helping her get started.

[JFord]

I was 57 when I started (now 61). Also plagued with DDD. I still have back pain but strangely, it gets better after deadlifting. She’ll tweak her back from time to time but she’ll get over it.

Paul Horn told me you can have low back pain and be weak or you can have LBP and be strong.

I’ll take the latter.

She should train and not bother getting clearance from a doc (assuming she doesn’t have motor or sensory symptoms). She should get a SSC and sign the liability release without reading it.

This, coming from a doc.