Build muscle at any age. Keep the joints you came in with.

The body over 40 still builds muscle. It just stops forgiving bad programming.

What changes after 40

Recovery takes longer, so the program has to respect the day after, not just the session. Old injuries are now part of the anatomy: the meniscus from 2009, the shoulder from the crash, the back that goes when it feels like it. And the price of a bad week is higher, because a strain at 55 costs six weeks, not six days.

None of that is a reason to train less. It's a reason to have someone in the room who can tell the difference between a muscle that's working and a joint that's complaining.

What I do differently

I'm a personal trainer with a rehab specialist's eye. Every program here is built around the joint you're worried about, not despite it. Cognitive Functional Therapy tells me what your pain system will accept this week. Applied Functional Science tells me where the load should go. Then we lift, in the studio or on Zoom, at weights that go up.

Nutrition coaching is in the fee, because protein is the part of the over-40 equation most people get wrong, and it's the cheapest thing to fix. If you're on a GLP-1 medication, there's a page for that.

Who this is for

You're 40, 50, 60 or past it. You ski, golf, hike, run, or you used to. You've never lifted, or you lifted in your twenties and the body you're in now doesn't remember. You have at least one joint with a story. You don't want a gym; you want a program and a person.

How a session runs

First visit, a 30-minute assessment, $57. I watch you move, find the one change that helps most, and you feel it before you leave. Then 60 minutes or 30, one-on-one, $200 or $110, same price in the studio at 1800 Glenarm Place or online. The 6:30am and 5:15pm slots are open most weeks.

"Jamie has been my trainer for 3 1/2 years. I came to him as a 60 something woman who had never been on a workout routine. He has transformed me into a lean, mean work out machine. I am in the best shape of my life. He excels in targeted therapies. If your hip is giving you pain, he has specific exercises to relieve the pain. Joint or spine issues, he has a solution. My workouts address weight training for strength, balance, stretching and Pilates. He excels in creating individual work outs that give results. I highly recommend him as a trainer if you need rehabilitation or just need to get into shape."

Tom, 68, came in on pain medication and left it behind after four months. That's one person; results vary from person to person. But it's the kind of thing that happens here often enough that I stopped being surprised.

Bottom line: the best time to start lifting was twenty years ago. The second best time is before the next thing goes.

Recurring injuries after 40, in detail → · By activity: skiers, golfers, runners and more → · Training on a GLP-1 → · Personal training in downtown Denver →