When you walk into Randall Sharpe’s S.P.A.R.T.C. gym, located in Aberdeen and decidedly non-descript in nature, you might expect to see tough guys. The gym, outfitted with Muay Thai heavy bags, weight equipment, and a handful of cardio machines tucked into a corner, is a place where men come to build themselves into…well… warriors. They’re the kind of people who work out with intense focus, never chatting amongst themselves, taking phone calls, or hanging out at a water cooler. They’re instead laser-focused on one thing: building strength. But this doesn’t mean they’re lifting heavy weights, per se. They’re doing pull-ups, chin-ups, and push-ups. They’re fighting, hitting bags, and stretching. They’re not working out to look good; they’re working out because their jobs and their lives depend on their bodies being in top working condition.
So it’s both surprising and unsurprising to find Lydia Gill, 76, preparing to push a weighted sled across the floor of this very gym, beneath an American flag, the only audible noise the heavy metal music coming from a speaker across the room.
Lydia is focused, intent, and working out as if her life depends on it because in many ways it does. Six years ago, at the age of 70, she came to Sharpe to see if he could help her strengthen her body in the face of osteoporosis. Realizing the disease could seriously impact Lydia’s quality of life, she wasn’t about to go down without a fight, and Randall Sharpe, a Certified Personal Trainer, was the man recommended to help strengthen her body and mitigate the harm of progressive bone loss.
Six years later, Lydia reports, “When I’m at the grocery store, and the bag lady asks if I need help out with my groceries, I say… well… no.” At 76, Lydia can now do exercises today she couldn’t do five years ago. She does squats, lunges, and lifts weights. She walks over, around, and on top of a balance beam, focusing on stability and posture throughout the entire workout. As she lowers herself into a squat and stands back up, she says, “I don’t need to use my hands to push off anymore when I stand up. I just stand up.”
Lydia isn’t Randall’s only client, of course. Sharpe works primarily with people 50 years and over who are training for the game of life. Sharpe, who trends #trainforlife on social media, says, “I do mean that. Train for life. I’m not training college athletes. I’m training people to live.” But what does #trainforlife really mean to an everyday person, an ‘average Joe’ who is getting in and out of a car each day, picking up bags of groceries or lifting grandkids into a swing?
For another of Sharpe’s clients, Larry Allen, training for life using functional fitness means no longer being in pain. At 71, Allen feels stronger and better than he has in years. “I spent years driving to DC and back for work. Years. After all that driving and sitting, my hips and everything just totally locked up in a cocked position. Between Katie (a massage therapist who often recommends clients to Sharpe and vice versa) and Randy, there is a huge difference. I can do things now that I couldn’t do last October. I can walk better and move better. I play golf a lot. I’m starting to see a lot better motion in golf and see distance. But mainly, I don’t hurt like I used to.”
Allen, who is 71, comes to see Sharpe several times a week and notes that if he were left to his own devices, he’d likely not workout much on his own. Sharpe, however, keeps them all coming back. As Allen says, “Randy makes it fun, and I enjoy feeling the changes going on.” Sharpe uses wit and humor throughout the workout, but he’s never unfocused or sloppy. Every movement his client makes catches his eye, and though he might joke or cut up with clients, he’s constantly encouraging them to tweak their posture or form to ensure proper alignment and use of the entire body as a unit rather than separate parts. As Sharpe says, “The body is a unit and we work the whole unit.”
Sharpe gives cues throughout the workout as much to ensure proper physical form as he does to keep clients’ cognitive abilities sharp and engaged. Improving cognition is a large piece of the puzzle for Sharpe. “If the mind isn’t sharp, we’re going to have a hard time keeping the body sharp.” With this in mind, Sharpe’s workouts always include a cognitive element. Clients must remember which arm or leg to use during each rotation or set of exercises, and they’re often asked to repeat instructions or verbally work through a set as they physically move through it, engaging both body and brain in time. Lydia repeats, for example, the set of exercises Sharpe has laid out for her as she moves through them, “Pull up, step back, squat, tip-toes, step forward, trust fall….”
She keeps going, moving through the workout, which Sharpe has created to become increasingly difficult both physically and mentally over the course of the half-hour.
During his workout, Allen turns and looks at Sharpe before picking up a ball, saying, “I’m trying to figure out which arm.” Sharpe nods and lets Allen work through it before moving on.
Sharpe’s focus on training for life is part of his training as a Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES), which means he’s certified to help correct muscle imbalances to improve performance, posture, and overall functioning of the entire body. For Sharpe, a former Competitive Mixed Martial Artist who suffered an injury himself, this is key. He works in concert with physical therapists, massage therapists, and other health professionals to provide clients with a multi-faceted approach to keeping their bodies, minds, and spirits in optimum health for each client’s unique life. Sharpe notes, “I’m not their doctor. I’m not their neuro-PT. But if you work with those people and work together, you can get answers.”
For Sharpe’s client Krista Snively, this means making her workouts more diverse and simply working with a trainer who can help her feel less alone in some of her own physical challenges. Snively says, “The biggest benefit with me was the first session when we walked, and he let me know I wasn’t the only person with the issues I have.”
For Sharpe, it’s all about a positive attitude, building strength for daily life, and the connection he has with his clients. He says, “If you can form a relationship with someone, you can train them.” That relationship is key to not just Sharpe’s success, but more importantly, to the success of his clients. Lydia Gill turns to me just before pushing the weighted sled and says, “Randy and I decided my 70’s were going to be my best decade yet.”
With that, she lowers her gaze, steps forward, and gets back to work. Seventy-six never felt so good.
Randall Sharpe can be reached at spartcnc@yahoo.com. SPARTC’s website is www.spartc.net.
What is Functional Fitness?
According to WebMD, “Functional fitness exercises train your muscles to work together and prepare them for daily tasks by simulating common movements you might do at home, at work, or in sports. While using various muscles in the upper and lower body at the same time, functional exercises also emphasize core stability.”
Functional fitness often focuses on bodyweight exercises but might also include the use of props including weights (kettle balls, weighted balls, dumbbells), ropes, TRX bands, and other equipment. This form of fitness engages the entire body and often uses exercises that require the body to move through different planes of motion, focusing on balance and posture to keep the body in alignment. Overall strength and stability are the focus of functional fitness, and trainers often work with clients who’ve completed rounds of physical therapy in conjunction with an injury. Finally, functional fitness trainers focus on each individual’s circumstances and situation. Workouts are tailored to accommodate the specific needs of the client, which change and shift over time. Improving the quality of life-based on each person’s abilities, goals and lifestyle is the primary intention behind the functional fitness movement.