4 Simple Exercises to Get Stronger, Feel Better, and Have More Energy in 2025

[@spencer316]

I don’t know where this gym is but I love it! People of all walks of life and family friendly so kids get to grow up seeing fitness as a part of life. Keep up the great work! We need more of this. 👏🏼

[@TestifySC]

We’re in Omaha, NE, and thanks very much for the kind words!

[@MrGrigs681]

This video made me almost jealous of the people just starting out as I remember how quickly those gains came back then. I was that 1 out of 5 for 15 years or so. While I still train just as much and just as hard, the goal is not to gain strength now but instead to hold as much of it as I can for as long as I can.

[@TestifySC]

Those early gains do indeed come quickly . . . it’s like naps and little kids - we appreciate them much more later :-)

[@Harry_16710]

"This is not how you're going to get hurt, it's how you're going to get strong." Preach it, Phil! 💪

[@TestifySC]

Absolutely, and thanks!

[@agreat8745]

Thanks Coach, I'm an American, not an American't. I'm 1 out of 5 at 55 years of age, and have been doing a 5x5 routine for over a year now. I started with the bar (45#) for squats and presses, and the bar plus two 10's (65#) for rows and deadlift. I started super light so that I could build the discipline and consistency while slowly adding weight. I just did my PR's a little over a year later. Bench 275 Squat 375 Deadlift 425 Nothing has helped my back and my hips as much as lifting 5x5... NOTHING. As a fellow Cornhusker your crew has been very inspirational to me... especially the older lads and ladies. I really appreciate you guys. Thanks for the help Coach. God Bless Testify Gym.

[@TestifySC]

This is the kind of story we love to hear! Way to be a “1 out of 5“ and stick with it - discipline and consistency are the name of the game as you mentioned. That is great progress!

[@matthewstrauts5427]

Excellent work!!

[@SeniorGymBro-Tom]

I appreciate your videos, Film Makers! “No Siri, it’s Phil Meggers, not Film Makers!” All joking aside, I turned 65 two months ago, and I do these lifts 3 days a week, along with some other lifts. I got back into weightlifting 3 years ago. Today I’m Much stronger and feel Much better, than I did when I started. Your channel has helped me So much since I found it a year ago. Thank you Phil!👍💪

[@TestifySC]

That's fantastic, Tom (and Siri has actually made that mistake for me as well) - way to stick with it, and a happy belated birthday to you! Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad our videos have been helpful for you.

[@SeniorGymBro-Tom]

@ Thanks Phil! I’m also a survivor of colorectal cancer and melanoma in the last 8 years. I’m blessed to be cancer free right now.

[@TestifySC]

You're welcome, and that's wonderful news!

[@Love-ql7rd]

I LOVE this!!!

[@TestifySC]

Thanks very much!

[@Musicman-y7v]

One thing about squats, you don't need weights and a bar. You just do weightless squats. You set a goal of total squats and do as many as you can push yourself to do in the first set and then do as more sets that it's take to reach your goal. My goal every week is 200. Im almost at 3 sets to there. My legs which i neglected most of my life even though I was working out everything else are getting big . I lift weights on my patio but don't have a squat rack and don't plan on getting one. Most people in the US couldn't even do one regulation weightless squat because of obesity.

[@david-pb4bi]

At age 72 just do nothing more than the 5x5 bench press have been doing that for about twenty years now feel great for it.

[@roberthoward3299]

As I am older now, one thing I should have practiced when I started lifting was form. No weight for a long while, just form (except maybe just the bar at most.) I agree with strength training for all ages, if you can safely perform it. But form is critical and could make a small problem worse if the individuals form is off. Again, this is from three decades of training experience.

[@406dn7]

I was curious which four movements you would choose. There should also be some sort of pull. The pull I do is weighted pull ups. It's been 9 years since my barbell journey began. My birthday next spring will number 74. Every gym in the country should be packed full with people strength training.

[@TestifySC]

That's fantastic to hear, and an early happy birthday to you! At first, the pull is the deadlift - and I didn't go into further detail as the video was already getting long enough and was designed to help and encourage people to get started - but chins or pulldowns are introduced early on as well.

[@matthewstrauts5427]

Still baffled in how many do not know this is the most effective way to get in better shape and more importantly, vastly improve the quality of your life!! I think things are changing though because anyone that gives this a try wonders why the hell they were wasting so much time on other movements getting very little results.

[@TestifySC]

That's the hope (i.e., that things are changing), and that's one of the reasons we named our gym "Testify" - it's hard not to tell others about it when you've seen it change your or others' lives!

[@oldnatty61]

It's not though?

[@BYLRPhil]

Yeah, it is.

[@oldnatty61]

@@BYLRPhil Well everything is driven by goal. If we're talking health, fitness, longevity. Which this video suggests it's not. It's on one side of the strength an conditioning spectrum. A one trick pony. Much like walking which is on the other end. Health, fitness, longevity, and looking good in a bathing suite exists in the middle. Look at the work of Dr. Leonard Schwartz and Steve Reeves, after he retired from bodybuilding.

[@matthewstrauts5427]

@@oldnatty61really?

[@BG-pd6os]

Excellent, getting older can be tough, (I'm 61). Most people are heavier with fat than they were at age 30 , 40, 50. So here's the scenario you are getting fatter and losing muscle mass ! Its like putting a smaller engine in your truck and putting a heavier load in the back. There is plenty you can do and the 5X5 routine is key!

[@TestifySC]

The engine/truck analogy is a great one!

[@BG-pd6os]

@@TestifySC Well I work at a Chevrolet Dealership, Thank you!

[@TestifySC]

Perfect, and you're welcome!

[@jtimmer1969]

What a great looking GYM. All the right equipment.

[@TestifySC]

Thanks very much! We love it, but I grant that we may be a bit biased.

[@miketracy9256]

THAT IS A GOOD LIST BUTT WHY TWO PRESSES? HOW ABOUT PULLUPS OR ROWS?

[@TestifySC]

Thanks for you question, Mike, and here's part of a response I posted earlier: "At first, the pull is the deadlift - and I didn't go into further detail as the video was already getting long enough and was designed to help and encourage people to get started - but chins or pulldowns are introduced early on as well."

[@skandalbanker]

It makes me sad, watching people in the gym, doing their "training" seated at fancy machines and cables, doing 5 sets of 16, trying to isolate inner pecs and lateral quads, all those wanna be bodybuilders. Wrist curls and upright rows ...They are missing out so much, they aren't training, it;s not even a sport, that they are doing. Damn, they don't even sweat. I'm 58, and i'm among the strongest dudes in my gym, i just do these barbell movements as described here, been doing starting strength for a couple of years (with some modifications later in the process, of course) and i totally agree with what Phil is saying. BUT you have to do these movements properly, if you don't have acess to such a wonderful gym like this, it's mandatory to have your form checked by an expert.

[@TestifySC]

Way to stick with it, and thanks very much for the kind words!

[@billbaggans1799]

Like I said PA isn't a real gym. People seem to think the machines are park benches. Do a set, check phone, send text, scroll, repeat.

[@oldnatty61]

This must be a Rippetoe/Sullivan programmed gym. I've never seen any of you folkes in shape. Just one end of the spectrum. True fitness is in the middle.

[@matthewstrauts5427]

Whatever bro .. 😂😂

[@jacklauren9359]

@@matthewstrauts5427serious question though, can these people swim bike or run for days or not? I get it being strong is important but also being cardiovascular fit is also important. I reckon these people gassed up after 1000 steps on the stairs. Having both is the best for any population. This is just bias and marketing stuff.

[@skriabinfly]

4:48 "Starting Strength Affiliate Gym" - visible in the window. So, you are correct about the Rippetoe connection.

[@matthewstrauts5427]

@ my answer to this used to be long and drawn out but have narrowed it down to "I have done hard core cardio with half marathons, intense treadmill etc. I also have done strength training. Have you done both for extended period"?

[@oldnatty61]

@@matthewstrauts5427 3:01 marathon. 500 pound squat. Different times in my life. The answer is neither. First, programing should be driven by a person's goal. Both of these events are on opposite ends of the strength and conditioning continuum and are stand alone goals. Health, fitness, longevity is a stand alone goal. Neither pure endurance or strength training deliver it. Each deliver some aspects. For Health fitness, and longevity one needs to goto the middle of the spectrum and do a more blended program. There are 101 ways to do this. Example staying w/ the Starting Strength theme. Do a circuit of squat, pull-up, dead, bench. Adjust weight, reps, rest, and number of rounds to the person's current fitness level. Perform between 2 x's a week to 3x's in 2 weeks. Whatever a person can recover from. On the other days do 30 to 60 mns. of lower intensity cardio. The goal is to build up to 5 to 10 rounds w/out rest. As the trainee starts adding rounds, increasing the weight, and decreasing the rest the routine will begin delivering an adaptation signal to the body that says: increase aerobic and anaerobic capacity, build muscle, give the muscles greater work capacity, use fat for fuel and spare muscle. Another cool thing is these type workouts can and should be done in a very short period of time. 10-15 mns. This is the secret to being super lean, super fit, and functional at any age.

[@thecastle09]

Problem is people are lazy and think that walking is enough. Smh

[@billbaggans1799]

All good assuming there is a gym in the area you live . PF doesn't count.

[@thecastle09]

It does if youre a beginner

[@Winterascent]

I think most people know PF Changs isn't a gym.