100 Atlanta Coffees, 012: Eric Levitan
Strength training only gets more important as we age
Founder and CEO, Vivo (small-group digital fitness platform for adults 55 and older)
Met at Kula Coffee in the Atlanta Technology Village
As a refresher, I’m grabbing coffee with 100 good people in Atlanta who are working to make their communities better, whether through business, government, nonprofit work, the arts, or spirituality.
A commitment to whole-life wellness
Eric Levitan’s commitment to wellness is evident. He has 17- and 20-year-old daughters, and we spent the first part of our conversation discussing mental health among teenagers and the implications of social media on developing a healthy sense of self.
In his day job Eric is focused on helping older adults maintain and increase their physical vitality as they age. He’s the founder and CEO of Vivo, a small-group digital fitness platform for adults age 55 and older focused on strength training to build muscle functionality.
Eric taught me about ‘sarcopenia’, a relatively fancy sounding medical term for the progressive loss of muscle mass that all humans experience as we age. The term is derived from the Greek words ‘sarx’ (flesh) and ‘penia’ (loss), literally meaning ‘poverty of the flesh.’
The bad news about sarcopenia is that it’s an inevitable part of the aging process, with a more rapid decline after age 50. By the time people reach age 80, they have typically lost nearly half of their muscle mass.
The stakes are high: 40% of women over age 65 who fall and break a hip are dead within 12 months (whoa). We have to do everything we can to prevent that initial fall!
The good news is that the effects of aging on muscle loss can be delayed and, in many cases, reversed, by resistance training like weight lifting and adequate protein intake. A sedentary adult will see gains in muscle mass over a 6-8 week training regimen with nearly unanimous effectiveness.
It’s not too late to get started!
Why Vivo?
Vivo’s model is a live small group class, typically with 8 participants and one instructor.
The need for Vivo struck Eric during the early stages of the pandemic as he and his dad were trying to be accountability partners on a regular fitness routine.
Eric perceived a lack of a compelling forum for seniors to exercise regularly. Personal training is expensive. Recorded video classes and even livestreams are too generic and don’t offer the ability to get tailored feedback on form and modifications. They also lack the element of community engagement that can lead to behavioral change.
For many, there’s a hurdle to doing something in-person like a Silver Sneakers class or going to the gym. Moreover, the pandemic has significantly increased the willingness of older generations to embrace technology. Vivo can be a sweet spot. Participants can get to know fellow classmates and instructors over time, building community and accountability along with healthy habits.
Early results are promising, despite this being a tough space to build a business
Despite the tough market conditions faced by digital fitness platforms in the last two years (just ask Peloton stockholders), Vivo is making strong early gains.
Literally 100% of Vivo’s participants who have used the platform regularly have gotten stronger. The numbers speak for themselves. Strength training works, and Vivo seems to have built a platform that makes it accessible and enjoyable.
Eric is building the business fully remote with a headquarters out of Atlanta Tech Village, and he’s clear-eyed about the challenges that lie ahead. Vivo’s ability to show stickiness with repeat users will be crucial, as will their ability to attract channel partners who will make the platform available to their members.
Eric has already lined up a series of partnerships that point to the ability for future expansion. I learned about ‘Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes’ (or OLLIs), a network of programs housed within universities that promote lifelong learning, intellectual stimulation, and social engagement among the senior population. There are over a hundred OLLIs, including at the University of Georgia and Emory, and they need their members to be healthy and well to fulfill their missions.
Vivo is also participating in a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) that is seeking to demonstrate the impact of the Vivo program for seniors with pre-diabetes. Strength training has been shown to lessen the impact of diabetes, which could unlock funding streams that help Vivo scale.
Building a business is never easy, but Eric clearly finds this work highly enjoyable and gratifying. I tip my cap to him as he’s helping people maintain mobility, quality of life, and independence.
My Reflections & Questions for Discussion:
I had a conversation recently with a veteran of the Marine Corps in his 60s who is working to get back in running shape after letting fitness go in the years following his service. He said he believes our bodies are gifts from God, and that by not taking care of his he was “losing one of his temples of worship.”
Regardless of whether you view if from a spiritual or purely practical lens, it’s in our best interests to do what’s in our power to help us thrive and increase our windows of vital years. I’ve yet to read a single account of anyone regretting staying in good enough shape to be mobile and play with grandkids as they reach their 70s, 80s, and beyond.
I’m also inspired by the reality that anyone can see muscle gains, regardless of their starting point. Grace in action for me is that the next day, the next moment, the next breath present us another chance to move into a higher expression of ourselves.
Starting a physical fitness program to nurture the gift of our bodies is just one route we can take to shifting habits towards a better way.
Questions for Discussion:
What small (or big) steps could you take today to honor the gift of your body?
For those in the 55+ demographic - what barriers do you face when it comes to exercise and fitness? Would a program like Vivo be appealing? Why or why not?
If you’re enjoying these, I’d love to hear from you via a comment or please share with someone else who’d like to read.
About Kula Coffee:
Kula Coffee is the coffee shop in the lobby of Atlanta Tech Village, meaning it’s fueled some of the most inspired conversations on the path to building our startup ecosystem.
The coffee is good, the natural light is inviting, and the people are super friendly. I highly recommend it.
About 100 Atlanta Coffees:
I decided to publish 100 of these coffees and my reflections as a way to shine a light on some of the good souls, and local spots, in our city.
Eric and I were introduced by a mutual friend when I was on the job hunt. If you’re looking, Vivo is expanding!
I’ve missed you my boy. Glad to see you’re still at it. At 71 I’m in the middle of Vivo’s target demographic. I love the sound of it. I’m such an affiliative person, I run on the fuel of connection to others. At the same time, I have all manner of inhibitions and insecurities that will ever keep me from showing up at the Y or a Planet Fitness. At thirty I didn’t want to see myself in comparison to other guys. At 71 the thought of exercising with 30 year olds is unimaginable. Even other 70 somethings would intimidate me but the scale of the Vivo group would allow personality to be at play. Laughter among friends goes a long way toward making pain palatable. I know the stats about frequency of falls and their impact on morbidity and mortality. That knowledge is not a motivator for me, because it’s too easy to live on hope that I’ll be one of the lucky ones that manages to stay upright. That said, balance training along with strength training, a blend of yoga practice with weight lifting, would seem like an ideal combo for seniors. Yoga also introduced the concept of body work as a spiritual discipline which truly does appeal to me and which in the past I’ve found highly motivating.