Lifting for the Long Haul: How Strength Training Evolves Across Decades of Life
Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic
Release Date: 04/21/2026
You’re Not Too Busy to Train: How to Make Exercise a Priority
Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic
You know training matters. You may even want to train. But work, family, travel, fatigue, and everything else competing for your attention keep pushing it out of the week. In this episode of Beast Over Burden, Niki Sims and Andrew Jackson examine one of the most common reasons people stop exercising: “I don’t have time.” Sometimes life really does make training difficult. But often, being too busy means training has not been given a clear place among your other priorities. Niki and Andrew discuss how to examine that honestly without pretending your responsibilities do not matter. They...
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Strength Training After Joint Replacement: Getting Strong Again at 72 with Beth Dickson
Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic
After two knee replacements, a hip replacement, and years of chronic pain, Beth is getting strong again at 72. A lifelong athlete, coach, and gym owner, Beth has spent decades swimming, running, competing in triathlons, playing racquetball, coaching others, and finding new ways to stay active. But aging, osteoarthritis, major surgeries, and long periods away from consistent strength training forced her to rethink what training should look like now. Beth joins Niki Sims and her son, Andrew Jackson, to talk about returning to strength training after joint replacement, rebuilding confidence under...
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Best Home Gym Equipment for Strength Training
Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic
What home gym equipment is actually worth buying after the basics? In this Beast Over Burden legacy episode, Niki Sims and Matt Reynolds talk through strength training gear that solves real problems in a home gym, garage gym, or serious training setup. They discuss useful equipment beyond the barbell, rack, bench, plates, belt, and shoes, including monolift attachments, deadlift jacks, adjustable dumbbells, specialty bars, adjustable benches, dip stations, slingshots, bench blocks, pulley systems, bands, chains, leg curl and leg extension machines, wrist wraps, wrist straps, knee sleeves, and...
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Why Muscle Matters as You Age with Dan Rossi
Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic
Dr. Dan Rossi joins Beast Over Burden to talk about strength training, aging, injury, confidence, and why muscle mass matters beyond the gym. As a hospitalist and internal medicine doctor, Dan sees older patients at some of the hardest points in life. That perspective has changed how he thinks about training. Strength is not just about chasing numbers, looking athletic, or reliving old football PRs. It is about building a foundation for the decades ahead. Dan shares how he returned to focused barbell training in his 40s, worked around a demanding seven-days-on, seven-days-off hospital...
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Training Through Back Pain: How to Keep Going Without Forcing It
Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic
Training through back pain does not mean forcing your old numbers or pretending nothing hurts. In this Beast Over Burden episode, Niki Sims and Andrew Jackson discuss Niki’s long process of training through and around back pain. Niki shares how her mindset shifted from trying to get back to heavy barbell lifting as fast as possible to focusing on training consistently, building muscle, and finding movements that felt productive. That shift changed everything. Instead of measuring progress only by old PRs, Niki learned to use more exercises, modify movements, manage recovery, and train hard...
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Strength Training After 40: Hunting, Family & Getting Stronger with Beau Baggett
Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic
Strength training after 40 should help you do more than lift weights in the gym. It should help you stay capable, active, and strong for the life you actually want to live. Beau Baggett joins Niki Sims and Andrew Jackson to talk about building strength for backcountry hunting, family life, and long-term health. After years of running marathons and focusing on endurance, Beau realized he had the cardiovascular fitness to move through the mountains but not the strength to pack out heavy loads during hunting trips. That realization led him to Barbell Logic, where his training evolved from linear...
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Strength Training After a Stroke: Melissa’s Story
Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic
Melissa McGregor’s strength training journey began years after suffering a stroke while 10 weeks pregnant. In this Beast Over Burden episode, Niki Sims and Andrew Jackson are joined by Barbell Logic coach Joel Rasmussen and client Melissa McGregor to talk about stroke recovery, adaptive strength training, coaching, and rebuilding physical confidence. Melissa shares what it was like to regain the ability to move, lift, cycle, ski, and do the physical things that mattered to her and her family. Joel explains how he coached her through proprioception challenges, drop foot, balance issues,...
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Powerlifting After a Heart Attack: Michael Gaudet’s World Championship Comeback
Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic
Michael Gaudet joins Beast Over Burden to share his remarkable story of powerlifting after a heart attack, living with type 1 diabetes for 50 years, and becoming a world champion at 62. Michael has lived many athletic lives: wrestler, competitive cyclist, sports car racer, mountaineering instructor, and competitive powerlifter. After surviving a 100% LAD “widowmaker” blockage in 2023, he returned to heavy training, competed at World Cup Masters, earned a spot on the U.S. team, and won a world championship in Seoul. Niki, Andrew, and Michael discuss strength training after 60, training with...
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How to Build Physical Freedom Through Strength Training
Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic
Physical freedom does not come from constantly starting over. In this Beast Over Burden episode, Niki Sims and Andrew Jackson discuss what it really takes to build physical freedom through strength training. They explain why freedom in training is not just doing whatever you want in the gym. It comes from building muscle, developing skill, gaining training experience, and learning how to adjust when life gets messy. Niki and Andrew talk about why the first 18–24 months of structured strength training are so important. During that time, lifters build muscle, learn the basic lifts, create...
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Getting Stronger with Age: PRs, Purpose & Training for the Long Haul with Eric Dahl
Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic
Eric Dahl joins Niki Sims and Andrew Jackson on Beast Over Burden to share how he continues getting stronger with age, setting major PRs in his mid-40s while balancing work, family, coaching, and recovery. Eric has been part of the Barbell Logic family since 2017 and has built an impressive strength resume, including a 507-pound bench press and a 628-pound deadlift at 46 years old. But this conversation is about more than big lifts. Eric shares how strength training became his version of a midlife crisis, why hard training provides purpose, and how he has learned to adjust recovery,...
info_outlineWhat does strength training actually look like after 10, 20, or even 30+ years?
In this kickoff episode of our new series, Lifting for the Long Haul, hosts Niki Sims and Andrew Jackson introduce a collection of real stories from Barbell Logic clients and coaches who have committed to training across decades—not just chasing short-term results.
This series is about more than PRs. It’s about what happens when strength becomes part of your life—through career changes, injuries, aging, family responsibilities, and everything in between. You’ll hear how lifters in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond have adapted their training, stayed consistent, and continued to get stronger in ways that actually matter.
From evolving programming and long-term coach relationships to navigating setbacks and shifting goals, Lifting for the Long Haul explores what it really takes to train for life—not just the next workout.
You’ll also hear how priorities change over time. Early on, it might be about adding weight to the bar. But for many, the focus shifts toward quality of life—being active with your spouse, keeping up with your kids or grandkids, and maintaining independence as you age .
If you’ve ever wondered how to keep lifting as life gets more complex—or how to make strength training something you can sustain for decades—this series is for you.
Start thinking long-term. Play the long game. This is Lifting for the Long Haul.