The 10 Best Strength Training Exercises for Seniors

In this article, you’ll find 10 of the best strength training exercises for seniors.

After all, age is just a number, and strength is a state of mind. Clichés? Sure, but they are true, at least when it comes to the benefits of lifting weights.

Whether you’re looking to stay active, maintain independence, feel more energized, or build as much muscle as possible, strength training is your golden ticket.

This article reviews the 10 best strength training exercises for seniors, guaranteed to boost your muscle power, add lean muscle, enhance flexibility, and keep your bones sturdy.

It’s never too late to lift your way to a stronger, healthier you!

Click here to jump directly to the exercises!

Strength Training for Seniors

It might sound strange to us today, but strength training for seniors was once frowned upon and often discouraged. That attitude stemmed from several misconceptions and outdated beliefs.

There was a common perception that older people were too fragile for strength training and that it would increase their risk of injury rather than provide health benefits.

Even doctors and healthcare professionals recommended against weight training and strenuous physical activity for seniors, advising them to avoid exertion to prevent heart attacks, falls, or other health issues.

We now know that none of the above was true.

Over time, these attitudes have changed as research has demonstrated the enormous benefits of strength training for older adults—including improved muscle mass, bone density, balance, and overall physical health.

Strength training is now widely recognized as an essential component of healthy aging.

Benefits of Strength Training for Older Adults

Lifting weights is like the secret sauce for seniors, offering a smattering of benefits. Here are some of the top benefits. Most are not exclusive to seniors—strength training does not care about your age. However, most things that lifting improves or prevents become more prevalent with age, making it the best thing you can do to stay youthful and healthy—inside and out—in your golden years.

Muscle Mass Maintenance and Growth

As we age, our muscle mass and strength naturally decline. This process – sarcopenia or age-related muscle loss – can lead to frailty and decreased physical function.

The good news is that strength training helps maintain and even increase muscle mass regardless of age. And it’s never too late to start lifting; older adults (80+ years) gain strength and improve their quality of life if they take up weight training.¹

Resistance training is literally the fountain of youth for your muscles, making everyday activities like lifting groceries, climbing stairs, or getting out of a chair much easier.

Bone Health

Strength training places stress on your bones, stimulating bone growth and increasing bone density.²

For seniors, lifting weights helps prevent osteoporosis, a condition where bones become weak and brittle, reducing the risk of falls and fractures.

Joint Flexibility and Pain Reduction

Regular strength training keeps the muscles around joints strong and flexible, reducing stiffness and pain.

It is particularly beneficial for those with arthritis, as it can help alleviate symptoms and improve joint function.³

Balance and Coordination

Improved muscle strength leads to better balance and coordination, which reduces the risk of falls—a major concern for seniors.⁴

Exercises that target the core and lower body are particularly effective in this regard.

Metabolic Health

Strength training helps regulate blood sugar levels and improves insulin sensitivity, vital in preventing and managing type 2 diabetes.⁵

It also boosts metabolism (you burn more calories for hours after a strength training session, and lean muscle is metabolically active, meaning it burns calories 24/7), aiding in weight management and weight loss.

Cardiovascular Benefits

Most people associate cardio exercise with heart health, but strength training also contributes significantly.⁶

It helps lower blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels, and enhances overall health, including cardiovascular health.

Mental Health and Cognitive Function

Exercise, including strength training, releases endorphins—those wonderful feel-good hormones. Resistance training can help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, boost mood, and improve the mental well-being of older adults with or without mental disorders.⁷

There’s also evidence suggesting that weight training can enhance cognitive function and delay the onset of dementia.⁸

The Best Strength Training Exercises for Seniors

The following exercises are fantastic for building strength and muscle and improving balance and flexibility. They should be in every healthy senior’s fitness toolbox.

1. Squat

Let’s talk about the squat, the king (or queen) of all exercises! It’s a fantastic exercise for everyone looking to build muscle and strength, including seniors who want to stay strong and active.

The squat is a compound exercise that primarily targets the quadriceps, adductors, and glutes. It also works your core and lower back, so it’s almost like a full-body workout in and of itself.

The squat is a superb choice for building lower body muscle and strength. Due to its functional nature (meaning it mirrors everyday movements like sitting down and standing up), it helps with mobility and daily activities like walking, standing, and climbing stairs. Squatting regularly also boosts hip and ankle flexibility and improves balance and coordination.

The barbell squat is the go-to option for most squatting needs, but there are plenty of other variants to spice things up.

• Bodyweight Squat: Perfect for beginners, it involves squatting down and standing up without any added weight.
• Chair Squat: This is a safe variation for seniors with balance issues. You sit down on a chair and stand up, which helps you control the movement.
• Goblet Squat: Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell close to your chest. Doing so makes it easier to squat deep.
• Front Squat: Placing the barbell on the front of your shoulders emphasizes your quads more than the regular back squat.
• Dumbbell Squat: Hold a pair of dumbbells in your hands. Great for home workouts.

How to Squat

1. Place the bar on your upper back with your shoulders blades squeezed together. Inhale and brace your core slightly, and unrack the bar.
2. Take two steps back, and adjust your foot position.
3. Squat as deep as possible with proper form.
4. With control, stop and reverse the movement, extending your hips and legs again.
5. Exhale on the way up or exchange air in the top position.
6. Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.

2. Leg Press

The leg press is a lower-body exercise where you push a weighted platform away from your body using your legs. It primarily targets the quadriceps, adductors, and glutes, with the hamstrings chiming in more or less depending on foot placement.

It is one of the best strength exercises for training your lower body without free weights. Unlike the squat, the leg press allows you to lie down in a comfy contraption, which can be helpful if you have balance or mobility issues or feel intimidated by the thought of getting in under a heavy barbell.

How to Do Leg Presses

1. Adjust the machine so that you only need to extend your legs slightly to be able to release the weights. Adjust the safety pins so that they catch the weight if you are unable to lift it.
2. Place your feet on the sled, about shoulder width apart.
3. Inhale and lower the weight towards you by bending your legs.
4. Lower the weight as deep as possible without rounding your back, and while keeping your glutes on the seat.
5. Press the weight back up again as you exhale.
6. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

3. Deadlift

The deadlift is a compound exercise that targets many major muscle groups, including the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lower back, traps, and forearms. It involves lifting a barbell (or any suitable object) from the ground to hip level. You lift something up, and you put it down – that’s a deadlift. And guess what? It’s not just for the young whippersnappers; it’s also fantastic for healthy seniors looking to build muscle and strength.

Deadlifts mimic real-life movements, making you stronger for everyday tasks. From lifting grocery bags to picking up your toddler, you’ll be a superhero in your daily life without the need for a cape (unless you really want one).

If the regular barbell deadlift feels daunting, you can do trap bar deadlifts (also called hex bar deadlifts). A trap bar is a hexagon-shaped bar with handles on the sides, allowing you to stand inside and grip the handles.

It’s a fantastic alternative to traditional deadlifts. It is kinder to your lower back because of the position of the weight (more aligned with your center of gravity). And, if you have mobility issues or are still working on your flexibility, the hex bar allows for a more upright torso position, making the movement feel more natural and comfortable.

You can also deadlift with dumbbells instead of a barbell. Dumbbell deadlifts offer more flexibility and ease of use in a home environment.

How to Deadlift

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with your toes pointing slightly outward. The barbell should be over the middle of your feet, close to your shins.
2. Bend at the hips and knees to reach the bar. Grip the barbell slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. You can use an overhand grip (both palms facing you) or a mixed grip (one palm facing you and the other facing away).
3. Keep your back straight and chest up. Engage your core and ensure your shoulders are slightly in front of the bar. Your hips should be higher than your knees but lower than your shoulders.
4. Pull the bar close to your body, with a straight back, until you are standing straight. Keep the bar close to your body, and your arms straight throughout the lift. The bar should travel in a straight line vertically.
5. Reverse the motion by hinging at the hips and bending the knees. Lower the bar to the starting position in a controlled manner, maintaining a straight back.
6. Reset your position if necessary.
7. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

4. Lunges

Along with squats and deadlifts, lunges are some of the most functional movements you can do. They primarily train the quadriceps, glutes, and adductors—the same muscles you use to walk, climb stairs, and pick things up from the floor.

In addition, they work a ton of other muscles all over your body, including your core. Whether you’re using just your body weight, holding a pair of dumbbells in your hands, or going all-out with a barbell, the lunge is a fantastic exercise for building strength, balance, and coordination.

Lunges force each leg to work independently (unilateral training), which helps improve your balance and stability. They also promote joint stability and flexibility, especially in the hips, knees, and ankles.

How to Do Lunges

1. Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart, holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing inwards or with a barbell on your shoulders. Or, it you’re doing bodyweight lunges, simply hold your arms comfortable at your sides.
2. Lower your body towards the ground by bending your front knee and lowering your back knee until it almost touches the floor.
3. Return to a standing position by pushing yourself up with your front leg.
4. Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions, switch legs, and perform the exercise on the other side.

5. Bench Press

The bench press often gets crowned as the “king of upper body exercises,” and for good reasons. It’s one of the best ways to build upper body strength. When you get stronger in the bench press, it translates into increased power for other exercises and pushing movements.

The bench press boosts your functional strength in day-to-day life, from pushing a shopping cart to shoving open a heavy door. It’s also a go-to for building impressive pecs. If you want a muscular chest and shoulders, the bench press won’t let you down.

Another advantage of the bench press is its versatility. You can perform it with different equipment, including barbells, dumbbells, or machines, allowing you to choose the option that feels the most comfortable and enjoyable.

The barbell bench press might be the standard variant, but dumbbells allow for a greater range of motion and can help improve stability and balance. Machine bench presses, on the other hand, provide more support and can be a good starting point if you are new to the exercise.

6. Overhead Press

The overhead press is one of the best strength training exercise for the upper body. It involves lifting a weight—often a barbell or a pair of dumbbells—from shoulder height to straight arms overhead. It primarily targets the deltoids, triceps, and upper chest muscles while engaging the core and stabilizing muscles throughout the body.

You can do overhead presses standing or seated, with each variation offering distinct advantages. The seated overhead press provides more stability and is excellent for building muscle. On the other hand, the standing overhead press engages more stabilizing muscles. It promotes better balance and coordination, which are crucial for seniors.

Shoulder health is super-important as we get older, and shoulder injuries and discomfort can significantly impact daily life. The overhead press is particularly effective in improving shoulder stability and functionality.

7. Lat Pulldown

The lat pulldown is a compound exercise that primarily targets the latissimus dorsi muscles, the broad back muscles that play a key role in shoulder movement and posture. It also works the biceps, rear deltoids, and other muscles, including the rotator cuffs.

Lat pulldowns are very effective for building and maintaining muscle mass and strength in the pulling muscles of the upper body. They improve physical appearance, boost functional strength, and make daily activities easier to perform.

They can also help improve posture and joint health by maintaining and enhancing the range of motion in your shoulders. In short, they are an excellent addition to your exercise routine for strength, muscle mass, and functional fitness.

How to Do Lat Pulldowns

1. Sit on the lat pulldown machine and adjust the thigh pad to fit snugly against your thighs.
2. Reach up and grasp the wide bar attachment with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you), slightly wider than shoulder-width. Ensure your grip is secure and comfortable.
3. Keep your feet flat on the floor and sit with your back straight and chest up.
4. Take a deep breath and engage your core strength to maintain a stable torso throughout the exercise.
5. Begin the movement by pulling the bar down towards your upper chest while keeping your elbows pointed to the sides. Imagine bringing your shoulder blades together as you pull down.
6. Continue pulling until the bar is below your chin or touches your upper chest. Resist the urge to lean back and turn it into a full-body heave-ho.
7. Squeeze your lats in the contracted position, slowly release the tension, and allow the bar to rise until your arms are fully extended. Maintain control and proper form throughout the entire range of motion.
8. Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

8. Seated Row

The seated row is a great back exercise for seniors. It allows you to use heavier weights to build muscle and strength without the balance and coordination requirements of free weight exercises.

In addition to the muscles of the back, including the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, and trapezius, it also works the biceps, forearms, and core muscles.

You can do seated rows in a cable machine or a dedicated seated row machine.

The cable seated row allows for a greater range of motion and variability; you can adjust the grip, handle type, and angle of pull to target the muscles slightly differently. It also requires more core engagement and stabilization.

The machine seated row provides a fixed range of motion for even more stability. It is user-friendly and, with its preset positions, can be particularly helpful for those who are new to strength training.

Whatever variant you opt for, you’re doing a fantastic exercise that builds muscle and functional strength regardless of age or fitness level.

9. Farmers’ Walk

The farmer’s walk is a mighty move wrapped in simplicity. It’s perfect for seniors who want to stay strong, stable, and ready to take on whatever the day throws their way—even if it’s just carrying in the groceries. It involves holding a weight in each hand and walking a set distance or time—simple but highly effective!

A farmer’s walk is a full-body workout in itself. It works multiple muscle groups, including the legs, core, back, shoulders, and arms. It also strengthens your hands and forearms, improving grip strength, which tends to decline with age.

Walking with weights also challenges your core to maintain stability and balance, increases your heart rate, and improves cardiovascular fitness. All in all, it’s a great way to build strength and muscular endurance throughout your body.

How to Farmer’s Walk

1. Choose a pair of dumbbells, kettlebells, or specifically designed farmer’s walk handles. Place the weights on the ground on either side of your feet, which should be about hip-width apart.
2. Bend at the hips and knees, pushing your buttocks back while keeping a straight back, to lower yourself down to the weights. Your chest should be up, and your gaze forward.
3. Grip the handles of the weights firmly with each hand. Your grip should be centered to balance the weight evenly. Engage your core, then lift the weights by straightening your legs and hips. Avoid rounding your back as you stand up. You should now be standing upright, weights at your sides, with your arms fully extended.
4. Start walking forward using short, quick steps. Keep your back straight, shoulders back, and look forward. Your core should be tight to stabilize your body, and your movements controlled to prevent the weights from swinging.
5. Throughout the walk, maintain an upright posture. Avoid leaning forward or backward. Keep your chest up and shoulders slightly back to counterbalance the weight.
6. If you need to turn around or navigate corners, do so carefully to maintain balance and avoid twisting your spine. Make wide turns to manage the weights safely.
7. Once you’ve reached your designated distance or if your grip begins to fail, carefully lower the weights back to the ground by bending at the hips and knees, maintaining a straight back.
8. Rest, then repeat the walk for the desired number of sets and distance.

10. Plank

The plank is one of the core exercises for a strong core. 🥁 This static exercise, requiring no equipment and minimal space, is both hugely popular and incredibly effective for building strength and stability in the core muscles, primarily the abdominals and obliques.

Having a strong core is crucial for everyone, but maybe even more so for older adults. With a strong core, everyday activities like bending, reaching, and walking become easier. Not to mention how essential it is in the gym, where the core can quickly become a weak link in many compound movements that require balance and stability.

A common mistake is to allow the hips to drop or the back to arch, which can place undue stress on the lower back. Maintain proper form to avoid these pitfalls and make sure the exercise remains effective. No sagging hips or butt in the air.

If you find doing the plank with straight legs too challenging, start with a modified version by keeping your knees on the floor (kneeling plank). As you gain strength, you can transition to the full plank.

Want to increase the overall stability of your body? The plank is a fantastic addition to your fitness toolkit. Give it a try, and watch your core strength soar.

How to Do the Plank

1. Stand on your elbows and feet.
2. Brace your abs and try to form and hold a straight line from your head to feet.
3. Hold the position for the intended length of time or as long as you can.

Getting Started with Strength Training

It is beyond the scope of this article to be a complete guide to strength training for seniors. However, we have excellent resources that will take you from a strength training newbie to a seasoned gym-goer:

>> Building Muscle After 50: The Essential Guide

This is the most comprehensive and accurate guide to strength training after 50. It’s also accurate if you’re 60, 70, or beyond.

>> Strength Training for Beginners: The Ultimate Guide

This guide walks you through the basics of strength training in an easy-to-understand way and is suitable for any age.

Do You Need to Consult a Doctor Before Taking Up Strength Training?

Almost all training programs and guides recommend consulting your doctor before starting an exercise routine.

But do you really have to?

Probably not. Not if you feel healthy.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) updated its recommendations for exercise preparticipation health screening in 2015.⁹ The primary goal of these changes was to reduce unnecessary barriers to physical activity, which had been created by the previous guidelines that often required people to get medical clearance before beginning an exercise program.

The new guidelines recommend that only those with known cardiovascular, metabolic, or renal diseases and those who exhibit symptoms suggestive of these conditions consult a doctor before starting an exercise program.

The ACSM’s new recommendations aim to reduce unnecessary medical evaluations and barriers to physical activity. They recognize that the benefits of exercise far outweigh the risks for most people.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt to get medical clearance, but if you are generally healthy, you likely don’t need to.

Learn How to Perform Exercises Properly

That being said, it is important that you learn how to perform the exercises with correct form.

If you need help with how to do an exercise, consult a personal trainer or an online resourcs like StrengthLog’s extensive exercise library. And, if you use our workout tracker, you always have video and text guidance on how to perform every exercise with good form at hand.

In addition, you’ll find dozens of training programs and workouts, including two dedicated strength training programs for seniors:

• Training Program for Seniors
• Home Training Program for Seniors

You can also track your training, which is very important to progress and get the best results from your efforts.

Download StrengthLog for free with the links below:

Final Words

Strength training for seniors is like finding the fountain of youth but with fewer mosquitoes and more dumbbells. It’s also not just about lifting weights; it’s about lifting your quality of life.

The 10 exercises we’ve covered can help enhance your strength, balance, and overall well-being, making everyday tasks easier and more enjoyable.

Again, it’s never too late to start building muscle and boosting your health. Remember, age is just a number, but strength? That’s the true measure of living life to the fullest.

References

1. Sports Medicine, Volume 50, pages 1983–1999, (2020). Effects of Resistance Training on Muscle Size and Strength in Very Elderly Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
2. Endocrinol Metab (Seoul). 2018 Dec; 33(4): 435–444. Effects of Resistance Exercise on Bone Health.
3. Clin Geriatr Med. 2010 Aug; 26(3): 445–459. Strength training in older adults: The benefits for osteoarthritis.
4. Life (Basel). 2020 Nov; 10(11): 284. Effects of Resistance Exercise on Balance Ability: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
5. Biomed Res Int. 2013; 2013: 805217. Resistance Training for Diabetes Prevention and Therapy: Experimental Findings and Molecular Mechanisms.
6. Circulation, Volume 149, Number 3 (2023). Resistance Exercise Training in Individuals With and Without Cardiovascular Disease: 2023 Update: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.
7. Psychiatry Research, Volume 333,, March 2024. Can resistance training improve mental health outcomes in older adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
8. Front Neurosci. 2023; 17: 1131214. The effects of resistance exercise on cognitive function, amyloidogenesis, and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease.
9. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2015 Nov;47(11):2473-9. Updating ACSM’s Recommendations for Exercise Preparticipation Health Screening.