How to Keep Exercising as You Get Older (Without Breaking Down)

If you’ve ever thought “I love training, but my body doesn’t bounce back like it used to”, you’re not alone.

As a physiotherapist in Brighton and Hove who also loves exercise, this is one of the most common conversations I have with patients at Life is Movement. People don’t want to stop training as they move into their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond — they just want to do it without constantly picking up injuries.

The good news? You absolutely can.

Below are the core principles I personally follow in my own training, and the same principles I use when helping people in Brighton and Hove stay strong, active, and confident in their bodies long term.

1. Balance the Body

One of the biggest mistakes I see in the gym — and one of the fastest routes to injury — is unbalanced training.

Most people naturally gravitate towards what they enjoy or what they’re already good at. That often means lots of pushing and very little pulling, plenty of upper body work and not much leg training, or repetitive patterns that overload the same tissues week after week.

Balanced training means:

• Matching pushing movements with pulling movements

• Training your legs as well as your upper body

• Considering how your spine, hips, shoulders, and knees all work together

From a physiotherapy perspective, balanced training spreads load more evenly across the body. That reduces stress on individual joints and tissues, which is especially important as we get older and recovery slows slightly.

This is something we focus on heavily at Life is Movement — not just building strength, but building well-distributed strength.

2. Stay Injury-Aware (Not Injury-Fearful)

Age itself isn’t what stops people training. Injuries do.

The goal isn’t to avoid movement or be overly cautious — it’s to be injury-aware. Two key ideas help massively here.

First, train your joints through as much controlled range of motion as you can tolerate. Strength at end ranges improves joint health, resilience, and confidence. It also often means you don’t need to lift maximal weights to get a strong training effect.

Second, use intelligent training techniques that allow you to get more benefit from less load. Things like pauses, tempo control, and slower reps reduce ego lifting and increase tissue tolerance. This is particularly valuable for people managing old injuries, back pain, knee pain, or shoulder issues — all things we regularly treat in our Brighton and Hove clinic.

The aim is longevity, not surviving one impressive session.

3. Progress Thoughtfully

When you’re younger, you can often add weight based on how you feel that day. Had a lot of coffee? Great — you hit a PB.

As you get older, tissues still adapt and get stronger, but they need more consistent and deliberate progression.

Thoughtful progression means:

• Tracking roughly what you lift and how it feels

• Progressing gradually, not impulsively

• Respecting tissue healing and recovery times

Progressive overload still matters — but pushing too fast is one of the most common reasons people end up back in pain or needing physiotherapy.

This is where a combined physio and strength approach works best. At Life is Movement, we help people progress enough to improve, but not so fast that it breaks them.

Your North Star: Why Are You Training?

This might be the most important piece of all.

When I was younger, training was about aesthetics and performance. These days, it’s about being able to fully engage with life — playing with my kids, getting on the floor and back up again, climbing, running, moving freely and confidently.

That reason matters.

Because on the days you’re tired, a bit sore, or short on motivation, your why is what keeps you consistent. It becomes your North Star.

Whether your goal is staying active with your children, keeping up with hobbies, preventing recurring back pain, or feeling confident in your body as you age — your training should serve that purpose.

Strength Training and Physiotherapy in Brighton and Hove

At Life is Movement, we specialise in bridging the gap between physiotherapy and real-world training. That means:

• Helping you recover from injury

• Building strength and resilience

• Integrating rehab into normal gym-style exercise

• Supporting long-term health, not short-term fixes

If you’re in Brighton or Hove and want to keep training without constantly worrying about pain or injury, we’d love to help.

You don’t need to stop lifting — you just need to train smarter.

If you’d like support with injury, strength training, or long-term physical health, you can book an appointment with a physiotherapist at Life is Movement toda