I always concerned myself with breaking parallel with 500 on a squat and never thought how a little more strength makes a MASSIVE difference for a person who is 70 with regard to independence/mobility/quality of life.
For you as a 70yo it won't be life-changing, because you've established the foundation now. I suppose if you really tried you could fuck it all up with enough years of sitting around drinking beer, but that's unlikely.
But for someone who's been previously sedentary, just deadlifting bodyweight and being able to walk 3-4 miles in an hour - totally changes their life. Like I trained one guy,
Shubroto. He comes along at 67yo, never lifted before, some significant health issues. Anyway, clearance from his cardiologists and all and off we go. A few months go by and he squats 40kg, presses 20kg, deadlifts 60kg.
"How are you feeling with it all?"
"Great! Each Sunday I play with my grandchildren. I used to fear picking them up, that something in my chest or back would pop. I no longer feel that fear - and more importantly, I don't see that fear in my son's eyes, he just says, "pick them up, dad.""
So we helped an old man have a better family day.
Compare: we had
this young guy Matt come, in 18 months he squatted 230, benched 135, deadlifted 250kg. Pretty good. Thing is, though: when he started he already squatted 165. Now, I'd like to think he progressed more quickly with us than he would have on his own, he had some fun competing and so on. More importantly, he got all this progress without even a minor injury along the way - and that's not usual, as oggsmash will know - if you push close to your personal limits for long enough, something will pop. But he didn't, and I believe that's to your credit.
But... he already squatted 165. Matt was going to be okay. But Shubroto? Without us, he's one of those blokes on a walking frame in his mid-70s.
Helping someone have a better day with their family vs someone pulling a quarter-tonne. Both are worthy things, but... well... First 50%.
And that really doesn't take a huge amount of dedication or time. Ideally, you do it when you're younger. It's muscular superannuation. The earlier you can lay it down and start seeing the interest compound on it, the better.
I said to a couple in their 60s tonight: "Either you lift weights now, or one of you will be lifting the other as their carer ten years from now. It's up to you whether you do it here or somewhere else, but you have to do it somewhere."
This shit's really important. If more people did it, we'd have a much smaller Medicare bill, that's for sure. Make time, boys and girls. Talk to a friend, eat 3 cups of vegies and go for a 30-60' brisk walk every day, squat to your chair for 3 lots of 10 times. Anything else is a bonus.