Why Intensity Isn’t A Bad Word

Many people believe that intense exercise means sweating buckets, lifting heavy weights, and pushing your body to its absolute limit. For many older adults, the word “intensity” can feel intimidating—even a little scary.

​I hear it all the time from new clients walking through our doors at HouseFit. They’ll say things like, “I’m too old for intense exercise,” or “My body just can’t handle that anymore.”

As a geriatric physical therapist who works with aging adults every day, I’ve found that this belief couldn’t be further from the truth. Because here’s the reality: Intensity is relative.

What feels intense for one person may feel easy for another, and that’s exactly how it’s supposed to work. For one individual, intense exercise may mean walking briskly for 10 minutes with a weighted vest. For another, it might mean walking for 2 minutes with assistance from another person.

Intensity isn’t about comparison. It’s about challenging your body at the right level for you. Finding the level that is demanding for you, but achievable, so that your body begins to build balance, strength and endurance over time.

Research strongly supports the idea that older adults benefit from exercising at the appropriate level of intensity. Studies have shown that adults who perform moderate to higher intensity exercise can improve strength by up to 30–50% in just a few months of consistent training. Additionally, regular strength and balance training can reduce the risk of falls by nearly 30%.

Those are powerful numbers. But the key word in all of this is appropriate. I remember working with a client in her early 70s who came to us after a fall had shaken her confidence. She told me, “I’m afraid if I push myself too hard, I’ll hurt myself again.”

Instead of avoiding intensity altogether, we simply redefined what it meant for her. Her “intense” exercise started with something very simple—standing from a chair ten times in a row without stopping. At first, it felt difficult. Her legs felt weak and she needed rest afterward.

But within a few weeks, that same exercise felt easier. Soon she was adding resistance, practicing balance work, and walking farther than she had in years. The key was starting at a level where she was successful, but then continuing to progress the activity as her body became stronger.

This is exactly where many traditional fitness programs miss the mark. They often assume you can’t handle more intense exercises and stop challenging your body further. They assume because of your age that it’s not safe for you to lift heavier, get your heart rate up higher, or perform high level balance challenges.

As a result, you don’t get the results you are looking for, you fail to reach your goals. At HouseFit, this is what we specialize in. We help people find the right intensity for their body, whether they are recovering from an injury, living with Parkinson’s, dealing with arthritis, or simply trying to maintain their independence as they age.

What matters most is having a trained professional who knows how to safely guide you to the level of challenge your body needs to improve—without pushing you into something unsafe. Because the truth is, avoiding intensity completely can actually work against you. Muscles, bones, and even the brain need a certain level of challenge to maintain strength, balance, and mobility.

The goal isn’t to push until you break. The goal is to push just enough to grow stronger. If you’ve been avoiding exercise because you’re unsure how hard you should be working—or you’re worried that exercise might be too intense for you, we can help.

​Written By: Dr. Beth Templin