# Speed ​​training for elderly

**URL:** <https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/speed-training-for-elderly/19551>\
**Category:** Training Q&A \[Moderated\]\
**Created:** [February 28, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/speed-training-for-elderly/19551 "2026-02-28T17:04:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MaxPower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@MaxPower](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/MaxPower)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/speed-training-for-elderly/19551/1 "2026-02-28T17:04:57Z")

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Elderly people over 70 often fall because they are very slow.

Does it make sense for older people to train for speed?

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**Author:** ![Jordan\_Feigenbaum](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/forum.barbellmedicine.com/jordan_feigenbaum/32/1315_2.png) [@Jordan\_Feigenbaum](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/Jordan_Feigenbaum)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2026, 5:07pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/speed-training-for-elderly/19551/2 "2026-02-28T17:07:39Z")

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They fall because they’ve lost the motor neurons that innervate type 2 muscle fibers, which compromises their reflexes when falling. In other words, it’s not really a speed thing in isolation per se, it’s a force production problem.

Lifting weights would be sufficient for preventing this, though if someone had specific goals regarding high speed movement, dedicated power training would be useful.

We talk about this here:

https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/6slWholSvSGSm2sjoNcT7d?si=992cd3288d4d4cd6&utm_source=oembed