Chasing Grandkids All Summer? Here's What Actually Makes That Easier
Fitness
I hear a version of this a lot from clients in their 50s and 60s: I can keep up with my grandkids fine, I just don't bounce back the next day like I used to.
That's actually a really useful thing to notice. It's not a sign you're falling apart — it's a sign of exactly what needs to get stronger.
It's Not About Being "Too Old" for This
Let's get one thing out of the way first: needing recovery time after a day of chasing a 6-year-old around a pool doesn't mean your body's failing you. It means specific things — usually strength, stamina, or joint capacity — haven't been trained in a while.
That's fixable. It's not a decline you just have to accept.
What actually changes as we get older
Muscle mass naturally declines without resistance training to counter it
Joints get stiffer without regular mobility work
Cardiovascular capacity drops if it's not being challenged
Recovery takes longer without consistent training to build resilience
None of that is permanent. All of it responds to training — at any age we work with.
The Specific Demands of Keeping Up With Kids
This is the part people don't think about until they're in the middle of it. Keeping up with grandkids isn't one type of effort — it's several, all at once, without warning.
What a day with the grandkids actually asks of your body
Getting up and down off the floor — repeatedly, often without a great setup, because a kid just handed you a toy or fell down
Short bursts of speed — chasing someone who just took off running
Carrying uneven loads — a kid on one hip, a bag in the other hand
Sustained low-level activity for hours — very different demand than one hard workout and done
Most general fitness routines don't train for this combination. That's usually the gap.
What Actually Helps — Beyond "Just Stay Active"
"Stay active" is true but not particularly useful advice on its own. Here's what actually moves the needle for this specific demand.
Build real strength, not just cardio
Strength training — real resistance work, not just walking — is what lets you get up off the floor easily, carry a kid without your back complaining, and generally have more in the tank by hour three of a pool day.
Train getting up and down off the ground
Sounds simple, but it's one of the most functionally important things you can practice. Floor-to-standing transitions, get-ups, and similar movements build the specific strength and confidence for exactly this scenario.
Work on short bursts of effort, not just steady cardio
You don't need to train like a sprinter. But building some tolerance for quick, short efforts — instead of only steady walks — better matches what actually happens when a kid takes off toward the street.
How We Actually Build This With Clients
At HBR, this is exactly the kind of thing we program for once we know it matters to someone — not generic "senior fitness," but specifically built around what their life actually demands.
We'll also use our InBody scanner with a lot of clients in this stage, mainly because it's a much clearer way to track real strength and muscle changes over time than just going by how you feel day to day. It's a good way to actually see the progress instead of guessing at it.
The Real Point Here
You don't need to accept feeling wiped out for two days after one afternoon with the grandkids. That's not just "getting older" — it's a specific, trainable gap, and it closes faster than most people expect once it's actually being trained for.
If keeping up this summer has felt harder than it should, that's worth addressing directly instead of just pushing through it.
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