TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. — You have to "keep moving to keep moving."
That’s the mentality of 72-year-old Janette Spencer-Davis and why she makes it a point to go to Temple Terrace Training nearly every day.
“I have a granddaughter, she’s two years old. I can pick her up, I can carry her, I can throw her in the air. That means the world to me,” Spencer-Davis said.
Everyone who steps foot in trainer Micah Morgan’s gym has a reason why.
“It’s been life-changing,” Sandy King, 72, said. “Not so much on the scale, but size, clothes size. I’m working for the little red dress with the back out.”
Morgan has developed a class that specializes in people aged 50 and older. He opened his original gym, MMFitness, in 2013. But in January, he felt the need to focus on a different type of personal training with a client close to his heart—his mom.
“The reason why I opened up this gym is a personal one: my mother,” Morgan said. “She was always intimidated with the age, always intimidated with all the weights we would lift. Even just being lost in the crowd. I really wanted a safe place for her to train. So I dedicated this gym for her and her friends, and for people who also have those fears of strength training.”
Morgan, who played defensive back for the South Florida football team in 2007, focuses on exercises that help daily functions — that means squats, shoulder exercises, and hip mobility.
“I kind of know what I am doing with the older demographic,” Morgan said. “Specifically, how to get stronger, build muscle, and have more energy to enjoy playing with your grandkids, and to live strong and independent.”
“It makes a difference in my life. I am able to do things that I see other people my age, and even those much younger than I am, struggle to do. This is mental and physical. I’m encouraged by what I can do. It makes me want to do more,” Spencer-Davis added.
Morgan holds a 50-and-older class at Temple Terrace Training Monday through Thursday.
“I’m better than I thought I’d be,” King said. “I got more strength than I thought I had. It’s helped me tremendously.”
