The Importance of Strength Training for All Ages: Eric Levitan

What is the importance of strength and resistance training? Why do people fall more as they get older? How is Eric Levitan improving the quality of life of people as they age? What is sarcopenia? What are the benefits of working out in small groups?

Eric Levitan is passionate about improving lives, driving innovation and nurturing start-ups – the perfect combination for creating Vivo. From personal experience, he recognized that fitness videos and online streaming classes, while convenient, weren’t effective for inspiring behavioral change: They lacked individualized attention and didn’t inspire accountability. Vivo has reinvented the concept of virtual fitness with live, interactive small-group classes and ongoing live, one-on-one progress assessments.

Eric discusses how he came to start Vivo, the importance of strength and resistance training for anybody at any age, the benefit of working out in small groups, and more.


“Our muscle mass and our strength really act as that gatekeeper for so much of what happens to us as we age.”

“If we can challenge our muscles on a regular basis, it doesn’t matter what age we are, we could be 25 we could be 95, it’s never too late to rebuild muscle mass, to regain strength and function and to maintain your quality of life, to maintain your independence.”

“Everybody knows that exercise is good for you but I think the large narrative is around walking and cardiovascular health. We’re largely ignoring the importance of resistance training or strength training.”

“A lot of falls happen not necessarily because we lose our balance but because we’re walking and something distracts us.”


“It’s never too late. Know what’s possible. Aging does not need to equate to decline.”