Strength Training Exercises for Seniors

Spending time on fitness basics, such as strength and balance, will go a long way to improve your quality of life as you age. Here's what you can do.

Anyone who regularly spends time in a gym likely has specific goals — to look buff, lose weight, boost mood, or train for an event, to name a few. But most people are concerned about their health.

With age, those motives generally evolve and may include reducing stress, keeping mentally alert, and staying sexually active. You might also be concerned about back pain or find yourself recovering from a fall.

“The consumer is usually interested in looking good and being fit when they’re younger. As they get a little older, they’re looking to feel a little bit better, not get so tired and winded at work or chasing after the kids. Eventually we want to be healthier and be more functional,” said Neal Pire, FACSM, an exercise physiologist based in Oradell, New Jersey.

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As you age, muscle mass declines, which is technically called sarcopenia. Although you may not find it difficult to carry groceries now, don’t wait until you’re older to start working on your strength, which in turn affects your balance.

 “It’s unfortunate that so many of us wait to work on balance, for example, until we’re already challenged,” Pire said.

The stronger you are the better you are able to control your movement, which translates into better balance. That in turn means fewer falls and injuries. More than one in four Americans aged 65 or older fall each year.

You can avoid falls if you start strength training now.

If you haven’t been active for a while, or if your exercise routine has been limited to walking or other activities that don’t involve strength conditioning, Pire recommends a program that you steadily make more challenging as you get stronger. Make sure you talk to your doctor before starting any exercise program.

Chair squat

Start with a basic squat. Find a sturdy chair. Stand with your back to the chair, feet hip-width apart as if you are going to sit down. Squat back and lightly tap the seat of the chair with your glutes and come back up. You’ll lean forward slightly during the movement, but keep your back straight, your head up, and your abs engaged.

As you build strength and confidence, you can practice the squat without a chair and achieve a fuller range of motion.

“It’s a bilateral (using both limbs in unison) movement that you’re going to use all the time,” Pire said.

Rear lunge

With a rear lunge, you’ll help strengthen your core, which has to be engaged more actively for balance.

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Initially, place your right hand on your chair or a countertop for balance. Engage your core and take a step back with your right foot. You may lean forward slightly, but keep your back straight and your head up, in line with your spine.

Lower yourself, bending at your hips and knees. Come back up. Repeat on the other side.

“The reason I recommend backward instead of forward is because it’s less stressful on the front knee, so it makes it a little easier to do,” Pire said.

If you have arthritis or another condition in your kneecap or around your knee, this exercise is less likely to irritate that problem.

Short lunge with a reach

Once you’ve mastered those two movements, Pire recommends progressing to a short lunge with a little bit of a reach.

Picture yourself. Your grandson comes running over and you’re going to reach down to about knee level to pick him up. “That little, short lunge with a reach is really a very functional movement because you’re going to do that with your grandkids, or maybe you lunge forward to pick up a bag of groceries,” he says.

Stand next to your chair or a counter with your feet shoulder-width apart. Engage your abs and take a medium step forward with your right leg. Steady yourself if necessary.

Lower yourself slightly, bending at your hips and both knees. Keeping your back straight, extend both arms, exhale, and lean forward, bringing your hands to about knee level. Hold for a moment. Inhale and bring your torso to the upright position.

Push off with your right heel and return to the standing position. Repeat on the other side.

“The whole premise in that progression is to look at what you do in life and try to mimic it so that you’re able to do it more efficiently when you have to,” Pire said.

Make exercising a habit

Pire recommends doing these exercises one after another, starting with 10 repetitions for each. Do more or fewer based on your experience and fatigue level. Listen to your body. If you ever feel pain during exercise, particularly chest or joint pain, stop.

You can do these exercises anywhere with your bodyweight alone. To increase difficulty, you can add weights, soup cans, or bags of groceries, but master the basic movements first and progress from there.

Strength training is just one component of a well-balanced exercise regimen. Aerobic activity and stretching are also important for maintaining optimum physical health.

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