Why I built Able Years
My dad is in his 60s. Some of my favorite times with him are the active ones — the lake in summer, the trips we’ve taken to Hawaii, the volleyball games. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized those moments aren’t guaranteed. I want more of them.
I started paying attention to other people his age. So many couldn’t do those things anymore. Their mobility had slipped. The years were still coming, but the able years were getting shorter.
The research told me it didn’t have to be that way. Strength, balance, and mobility can be rebuilt at any age. Fiatarone’s landmark NEJM study at Tufts showed 174% strength gains in adults averaging 90 years old. The problem isn’t getting older — it’s that almost nobody trains the right things, in the right way, for this demographic.
So I went looking for the most established methodology in the country built specifically for it. That’s how I connected with Robert Linkul and TrainingTheOlderAdult.com (TOA).
Robert is an NSCA Fellow — one of the highest credentials in strength and conditioning — and he’s spent over 20 years specializing in adults 60+. Through TOA, he teaches coaches across the country this exact methodology.
Able Years is built in direct partnership with Robert and TOA — not a license, not a one-time consultation. Robert is actively involved in our program design, our coach training, and our ongoing quality standards. Our coaches are trained in the TOA methodology before they ever lead a class here.
Together — Robert, TOA, and our coaching team — we built Able Years to give Spokane’s parents and grandparents what most fitness businesses don’t offer: programming built on over 30 years of clinical research, coaches who specialize in this age group, and small group classes that build community alongside the physical work.
Our mission is simple: more able years for Spokane’s parents and grandparents. Not just more years on the calendar — more years where you can play with your grandkids, garden in your yard, take the trips you’ve been planning, and stay in your own home as long as you want.
Spokane is home. This is where we’re starting. I’ll keep building until we’ve helped every parent and grandparent in this city stay strong, capable, and independent for as long as possible.
That’s the promise.
— Nick Smiian, Founder
