What If We've Been Thinking About Aging All Wrong?
Getting older doesn't mean we have to stop getting stronger. Too often, weakness and increasing dependence are treated as an inevitable part of aging. We see it differently. Leg strength can be built at any age, and stronger legs give older adults more options for staying independent.
Why Is Leg Strength So Important?
Leg strength may be one of the most overlooked keys to staying independent.
Maybe you've noticed small changes: a little more difficulty getting out of a chair, using the arms more to stand, or relying on a walker more often. Families don't always recognize these as signs of declining leg strength until everyday activities become harder. By then, strength may already have been lost.
Leg strength supports the strength and control needed for the things that make everyday independence possible: standing, walking, getting up and down stairs, getting in and out of a car, and maintaining balance.
Walking is important. It supports cardiovascular health, endurance, and overall activity. But walking alone doesn't provide the resistance needed to build the leg strength behind many everyday movements. The missing piece is often the strength behind the walk.
Here's where we may be thinking about aging all wrong.
We often assume that getting older means becoming weaker, and strength does decline with age. What we often overlook is that we can actively work to build and maintain it. Strength takes consistent work and enough resistance to challenge the muscles. And once strength is built, it has to keep being challenged to maintain it.
As we get older, that becomes even more important. There is less room for strength loss, and illness, a hospital stay, or a period of less movement can take strength away quickly.
Strength can be built at any age and with any diagnosis, including in our 70s, 80s, and 90s.
And when leg strength declines, balance and mobility can decline with it. That's often when a walker becomes more necessary and everyday activities start requiring more help.
Stronger legs give your parent more options.
Build Your StrengthBank®
What if your parent had a reserve of strength to draw from?
Think of strength like a bank account. The more strength you build, the more you have in reserve when you need it. A hospital stay, illness, injury, or even a stretch of less activity can make a significant withdrawal from that reserve. When strength is already low, that loss can make everyday activities harder and leave a person needing more help.
That's why ongoing strength training matters. The goal isn't simply to get stronger and stop. It's to keep building and challenging that strength so there is more in the bank to draw from when life gets in the way.
That's the idea behind StrengthBank®. Tandem helps older adults build and maintain a reserve of strength: not just enough to get through today, but enough to give them more options for tomorrow.
Build and Maintain Your Strength. The more strength in the bank, the more options your parent has to keep moving independently.
Read the full story behind StrengthBank® →
Functional Strength Training That Meets Them Where They Are
One-on-one. Built around what they need to do.
Tandem Strength & Balance® uses progressive, functional strength training to help older adults build the leg strength they need for everyday life. Our physical therapists identify where strength is limiting function and design the training around what your parent needs to do, not simply a list of exercises.
The exercises don't stay the same forever. As strength and abilities change, the training changes too. Resistance increases, exercises vary, and new challenges are introduced to keep progress moving forward.
And sometimes the biggest challenge isn't the exercise. It's getting your parent to want to do it. That's where the relationship matters.
Your parent works with the same physical therapist, visit after visit. Their therapist gets to know what they can do, what is challenging, what motivates them, and when they're ready to be pushed a little further. They also understand why they're doing each exercise and how it connects to something they want to be able to do.
It doesn't have to feel like exercise to make a difference. It has to have a purpose.
The goal is simple: build the strength needed for better function and greater independence.
Questions families ask about staying strong
My parent was given home exercises. Why are they still getting weaker?
Home exercise programs are designed to be safe and manageable for your parent to do independently. That often means the exercises use little or no resistance, so they may help with movement but aren't providing enough challenge to actually strengthen the legs.
Strength building requires resistance that challenges the muscles, and the level of resistance needs to increase as the muscles get stronger. Doing the same exercises every day can become repetitive. Changing exercises, increasing resistance, and adding new challenges keeps the muscles working and gives your parent a reason to stay engaged with their training.
With Tandem, the physical therapist adjusts the exercises, resistance, and challenge as your parent progresses.
Strength takes consistent work, and it takes time.
My parent was told to walk every day. Isn't that enough?
Walking is great for heart health, endurance, and staying active. But walking alone doesn't provide enough resistance to build the leg strength needed to walk safely and independently.
Strong legs help your parent walk with greater stability, confidence, and less reliance on a walker or cane. When leg strength declines, simply walking more may not address the underlying weakness. The legs may need to become stronger to support safer, more independent walking.
How do we know if the exercises are actually working?
During our free evaluation, we assess your parent's leg strength, identify limitations, explain how they are affecting function, and outline what progress we would expect to see as strength improves.
Progress is layered, and functional changes can take time. Leg strength is a key foundation for function, so we look for changes in strength first, such as increasing resistance, needing less assistance with balance exercises, or moving with greater control and speed. Those gains can then begin to show up in function, such as standing from a chair more easily or moving with greater confidence.
Your physical therapist communicates with your family each month about these changes and what we're working toward next. We encourage families to ask questions, share what they're noticing, and be part of the process.
What if my parent doesn't like to exercise?
Many older adults have misconceptions about what exercise needs to look like or worry that it will be too difficult. We meet your parent where they are and build from there.
The relationship matters too. Your parent works with the same physical therapist, who gets to know them and helps them understand why they are doing each exercise and how it connects to something they want or need to do functionally.
When exercise has a purpose and feels achievable, it can become something your parent understands and wants to participate in.
Where Tandem works
Tandem Strength & Balance® serves all seven Twin Cities metro counties. Each area has its own page with local detail.
Counties
Cities - Tandem Strength & Balance® works with aging adults in all cities throughout the seven-county metro area
Let's talk about what your family is facing
A free in-home consultation with Nicole, Tandem's owner and a physical therapist. She'll see how your parent is doing, listen to what's become harder, and tell you honestly if Tandem can help.
No pressure. Just an honest conversation about what comes next.
Prefer to talk now? Call (952) 746-3222
Monday to Friday 7:30- 4pm