Train Power to Age Well
Power detrains first, so train it deliberately as you get older
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 86%
Cressey defines power as strength with a time component — how quickly you can apply force — and distinguishes it from the slow grind of a heavy powerlift. The key insight is that power detrains fastest: strength and aerobic capacity stick around and can be maintained by an intermediate trainee with as little as one session a month, but power starts to detrain in as little as five to seven days, so it must be trained frequently. This matters most with age, because power is the quality that lets you avoid falls, and a hip fracture from a fall is, for many older people, effectively a death sentence given the mobility loss and cognitive decline that follow. His prescription is to remain athletic into old age using relatively low-impact power tools — med-ball throws and kettlebell swings (a deadlift executed quickly) — and activities with speed and changes of direction, rather than only lifting heavy or only doing cardio.
Origin
Cressey draws on training science showing power's rapid detraining and on personal experience — his father's fatal decline after a fall — to argue for training power specifically as a longevity and fall-prevention tool.
Core principles
- 01Power is strength with a time component — how fast you can apply force
- 02Power detrains fastest, in as little as 5-7 days, while strength and aerobic capacity persist
- 03Because it fades first, power must be challenged frequently to be kept
- 04Preserved power protects against falls, which for older adults can be a death sentence
How to run it
- 1
Separate power from strength
Recognize power as fast force application, a distinct quality from maximal strength, and program it on purpose.
Pro tip Most athletes you admire on TV are demonstrating power — running fast, jumping high — not just strength.
- 2
Train it frequently
Because power detrains in as little as 5-7 days, touch it regularly rather than assuming it persists like strength.
Pro tip Strength and aerobic capacity can hold on a much lower frequency; power cannot.
Watch out Neglecting power for a week or two already begins eroding it.
- 3
Use low-impact power tools
Throw med balls and do kettlebell swings, and keep doing speed- and direction-change activities into older age.
Pro tip A kettlebell swing is just a deadlift done quickly — a low-impact way to train power without sprinting or jumping.
Watch out Match the loading to readiness; higher-velocity work needs a base first.
In the wild
Cressey points to his 99-year-old grandmother, who still golfs with two new hips and a new knee, as an example of low-impact power training keeping someone athletic and mobile into extreme old age.
→ She stays functional and mobile, embodying 'if you don't use it you lose it.'
Common mistakes
Assuming power lasts like strength
Power detrains in 5-7 days, so treating it like strength (trainable monthly) means losing it entirely.
Only lifting heavy or only doing cardio
Ignoring fast, athletic movement leaves out the exact quality that prevents the falls that end mobility in older age.
Is it for you?
Best for
Aging trainees and anyone programming for long-term healthspan and fall prevention.
Not ideal for
Someone not yet cleared for higher-velocity loading or with an acute lower-limb injury.
From the transcript
“on the power side of things it seems like they it starts to detrain in as little as five to seven days so it's very…”
“think of power as your strength with a Time component it's how quickly we can apply force”
From the episode
#675: Eric Cressey, Cressey Sports Performance — Tactical Deep Dive on Back Pain, Movement Diagnosis, Training Principles, Developing Mobility, Building Power, Fascial Manipulation, and Rules for Athletes