David, 63 · Hydropower consultant · Buddhanagar
24 weeks: from a fall on the stairs to the Langtang Valley at 63
David slipped on his stairs one winter morning and didn’t trust his legs after it. In 24 weeks with a trainer, his sit-to-stand score went from 11 to 17 and his single-leg balance from 9 seconds to 34. In October he walked the Langtang Valley with his son.
- Trainer: Suraj Lama
- Personal training plan
- 24 weeks
BeforeWeek 1AfterWeek 24Before and after
From a fall on the stairs to Langtang
At 63 he held the rail on every step. Six months later he walked the Langtang Valley with his son.
- Started
- 13 April 2026
- Length
- 24 weeks
- Trainer
- Suraj Lama
- Plan
- Personal training
Measured from April 2026 to September 2026, 24 weeks
- Sit to stand
- 1117
- Chair, 30 seconds, no hands
- Single-leg balance
- 9 sec34 sec
- Left leg, eyes open
- Trap-bar deadlift
- 30 kg70 kg
- 5 clean reps
- Sessions
- 069 of 72
- With Suraj, 10 AM
Before
Where David started
David has lived in Kathmandu for 12 years, advising investors in hydropower projects. Last winter he slipped on the stairs at home. Nothing broke, but for weeks he held the rail on every step.
He walked most days and had trekked all over Nepal in his fifties. Now his knees ached on the way down Champadevi, and his doctor told him to build strength in his legs before he tried anything bigger.
The turning point
The free session
He came at 10 AM, when the gym is quiet. Suraj counted how many times he could stand up from a chair in 30 seconds without his hands: 11. He could balance on his left leg for 9 seconds.
Then Suraj asked what he wanted to be able to do in six months. David said he wanted to walk the Langtang Valley with his son in October. The plan was written backwards from that date.
The plan
The plan Suraj wrote
Strength first, balance in every session, and the trek as the deadline.
- Three sessions a week with Suraj at 10 AM, 50 minutes each.
- Weeks 1 to 8: getting up from the floor, box squats and trap-bar lifts.
- Balance work at the end of every session, standing on one leg and then on a cushion.
- From week 12: step-ups carrying a pack, building to 8 kg.
- A Sunday walk in the hills around the valley, longer each month.
- Sauna after the Friday session, once his doctor had said yes to it.
- More protein at breakfast, set by Ritu: eggs and dahi most days.
How it went
Week by week
Week 1
Up from the floor
The first thing he learned was getting down to the floor and back up without a hand on anything. It took three weeks.
Week 6
Pressing overhead
Dumbbell presses for shoulders that had stiffened from years at a desk, and 50 kg on the trap bar.
Week 12
The bench, and a pack
He started step-ups carrying a pack, and bench pressed for the first time in 30 years, with a trainer at the bar.
Week 18
Phulchowki without a rest
His Sunday walk reached the top of Phulchowki without a stop. He came in on Monday for stretching instead of lifting.
Week 24
Final tests
17 stands in 30 seconds, 34 seconds on one leg, and 70 kg on the trap bar for five. Two weeks later he left for Langtang.
The result
What changed in 24 weeks
In 24 weeks David’s sit-to-stand score went from 11 to 17, his balance on his left leg from 9 seconds to 34, and his trap-bar deadlift from 30 kg to 70 kg. He missed 3 of 72 sessions.
In October he walked the Langtang Valley to Kyanjin Gompa with his son, using poles on the descents, and says his knees held up better than they had in five years.
“I didn’t join to look better. I joined so I wouldn’t be afraid of my own stairs.”
At 63 the goal isn’t a number on the bar. It’s getting up off the floor without thinking about it. Leg strength is the cheapest insurance there is.
Suraj Lama, head trainer
What it cost
NPR 15,000 a month, on the Personal training plan
Today’s price, as of 28 October 2026. Gym + classes, with your own trainer for 12 sessions a month.
Who a plan like this suits
A good fit if
- You are over 55 and want your strength and balance back.
- You have a goal with a date: a trek, a wedding, a trip.
- You prefer the quiet late-morning hours.
Not a fit if
- You have a heart or joint condition your doctor hasn’t cleared for exercise. See them first.
- You are recovering from surgery and need a physiotherapist, not a trainer, for now.
