A woman in her early 50s approached me in the middle of a session and asked if I had a couple of minutes to talk.
Her husband is a member and had been trying to convince her to switch from her group exercise classes to come train with us.
She had concerns:
- She knew we were more expensive.
- Changing up a routine after 25 years of group classes felt intimidating.
- Most importantly, she believed strength training with weights would increase her risk of injury or worsen her long-standing back, knee, and shoulder pain.
She viewed her current classes as “lower risk” because of the lack of weights and relatively basic movements.
This is a common belief—many people assume heavier weights automatically mean more risk. But in most cases of members coming to see us, the pain or injury they’ve experienced isn’t because they’ve used too much weight in another training program, it’s because they’ve used so little weight that they had to do an excessive number of repetitions.
For a body that can’t tolerate that volume, the high repetition count is what creates the pain or injury.
We discussed the types of exercises she was doing in her group classes.
Some involved higher-impact movements, like lateral bounds. While not inherently dangerous, doing them for a minute straight, five to ten times per class, can overload someone who can’t tolerate that much repetitive, explosive work of jumping and landing.
The same principle applies to very lightweight or no-weight exercises.
To create the same challenge as eight reps of a 30-pound goblet squat, you might need 40–50 bodyweight squats in a row. That high volume can actually increase the risk of pain or injury, while also being less effective and more exhausting.
By explaining that we focus on fewer, more productive reps—without the constant bounce from exercise to exercise, she began to see how our approach could help, not harm.
She gave us a shot.
Now, eight years later, her back, knees, and shoulders all feel great—outside of the occasional short-term flare-up. She’s stronger, more confident, and thankful she made the switch.
It’s important to note: group exercise is still better than doing nothing at all. The most dangerous thing you can do for your health is be sedentary.
But for many people, smart, progressive strength training is a safer, more effective long-term option.
– James Pratt