A Trainer’s Guide: Easing Back Pain & Joint Stiffness in Older Clients

·23 min·2 clips

Rick Richey explains why a client can wake up with back pain from simply sleeping, a mystery young trainers often can't grasp.

Rick Richey, host of the NASM CPT Podcast, opens the episode by framing the challenge: younger trainers often struggle to understand the random aches and pains that aging clients experience, such as back pain from simply sleeping. He positions himself as an 'aging' trainer at 47, drawing on his own history of martial arts, tumbling, and knee surgeries to build credibility. Richey explains that pain in older clients can stem from 'worn' bodies, not just age, and uses his right knee as a case study—detailing two past surgeries and current bone-on-bone arthritis. He describes how a knee wobble might be pain aversion rather than instability, a key insight for assessment. The episode advocates for extended warmups, with Richey sharing that foam rolling his quads and calves before squats significantly reduces his knee pain. He suggests alternatives like unilateral exercises (e.g., split squats) when bilateral movements hurt. A central theme is empathetic training: Richey stresses that younger trainers must mentally place themselves in clients' shoes, as they've never been old, and advises the mantra 'Do what you can, not what you can't' to prevent flare-ups. He notes that older clients may avoid group classes due to pain, preferring one-on-one sessions where trainers can tailor exercises. The latter half provides a practical spinal mobility routine for stiff backs, starting supine with a 30-second bridge hold focusing on glute engagement and quad stretching, followed by single-leg bridges, dead bugs, heel taps, and window wipers. Richey then covers quadruped exercises like cat-cow and tail wiggles, plus prone cobra pushups and iron crosses, cautioning against certain moves for clients with spinal stenosis. He mentions standing exercises like inchworms and cable rotations for more athletic populations. The episode is solo, educational in tone, and sponsored by NASM One membership.

As heard by us

A practical reminder that older-client training starts with empathy and a more patient warmup.

The NASM-CPT Podcast episode on younger trainers and aging clients handles a familiar coaching challenge with useful restraint: pain does not always come with a neat explanation, yet it can still shape how a client moves.

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Why you'd press play

When a client shows up with an achy back or a cranky knee, you want a warmup that earns its place.

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