Strength Training for Older Adults

Regular physical activity is one of the best things you can do for your health in older age. Exercise—including strength training—can help prevent or delay health issues that often arise later in life.

What is strength training?

Strength training is exercise that makes your muscles contract against a resisting force. This force can be your own body weight, a resistance band, or a free weight (like a dumbbell). Over time, your muscles adapt to this resistance and grow stronger.

Health benefits of strength training

Lean muscle mass naturally diminishes as you age, but strength training helps preserve and can even increase your muscle mass. Strength training can also help:

• Reduce your risk of falling by improving overall muscle strength
• Increase bone density and reduce the risk of fractures and osteoporosis 
• Reduce symptoms of chronic conditions like arthritis, back pain, heart disease, depression, and diabetes
• Manage your weight
• Sharpen your thinking skills
• Maintain your independence as you age by increasing your ability to perform everyday activities

How many times per week should you strength train?

For adults aged 65 and older, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 2 days per week of strength training. 

Additionally, the CDC also recommends 150 minutes per week of cardio exercise—such as walking, biking, or even raking leaves—as well as performing activities that improve your balance, such as standing on one foot.

Check with your doctor before beginning a new fitness routine. If a health condition makes it difficult to meet the recommendations, try to be as active as your abilities allow. Some exercise is still better than no exercise.

Getting started with strength training

The goal is to challenge your muscles—but not overdo it. Choose a few exercises from the examples at the bottom of this article, then follow these steps to get started:

1. Perform the exercise without added weight – Work up to performing the exercise, with good form, for 8 to 12 repetitions (for example, 8 to 12 bodyweight squats).
2. Add some weight – When you’re ready to add weight, add a resistance band, dumbbell, or household item (soup cans, plastic water bottles, bags of rice, laundry detergent jugs, etc.). Choose a weight that tires your muscles by the end of 8 to 12 repetitions, but is still doable with good form. You may need to use different weights for different exercises.
3. Repeat – Each 8–12 repetitions is called a "set." Take a short rest after completing your first set, then repeat. Aim to do 1 to 3 sets per exercise.
4. Gradually increase the weight over time – Once you can do 8 to 12 reps for 1 to 3 sets confidently, move to a heavier resistance band, dumbbell, or household object.

Other tips   

• Pay attention to your breathing – Exhale as the muscle is contracting (for example, when you’re lifting or pushing), and inhale as the muscle is relaxing. 
• Listen to your body – If performing an exercise causes pain, stop the exercise. Decrease the weight, or try again in a few days.
• Avoid exercising the same muscles groups two days in a row – Soreness can be normal, especially when starting a new exercise routine. But recovery may take longer as you get older, so take at least one day of rest between strength training sessions.

Example exercises

Work all your major muscle groups each week by choosing exercises from each of these categories.

Lower body exercises:

• Squats, or standing up from sitting
• Lunges
• Step ups (on a stair step or sturdy stool)
• Calf raises

Upper body exercises

• Wall pushups
• Seated rows (either in a chair or sitting on the floor)
• Overhead presses
• Arm raises
• Bicep curls

Abdomen

• Dead bugs 
• Sit ups
• Planks (for an easier variation, start with your hands on an elevated surface, like a stair step or a chair against the wall)