Strength training has been my jam since my early 20s when all I had to do was look at a dumbbell to add size. Now, in my 50s, not so much. Is it similar to listening to the classic rock station on the radio while driving, only to hear your favorite song from a ‘few’ years ago is classic rock?
How does that happen?
That’s how I feel about strength training. Time has flown, and now I’m a walking classic rock station whenever I’m training—except for one thing. My body, being older, makes it harder to ‘tune in’ to my favorite music exercise. We all need to squat, hinge, push, and pull in the gym no matter what, but the variations may change with the passing years.
I admire those older lifters who can still get after it with those big barbell lifts, but that’s not me. A combination of age, injuries, and desire has put a stop to that, and that’s why I recommend these five exercises.
Here, we’ll understand why aging makes strength training challenging. Learn five exercises to keep you strong and buff to keep you stronger for longer.
5 Things That Make Strength Training Harder
Aging brings uphill battles, including opening the pickle jar for hamburgers. Here’s what the older adult faces and how strength training can help.
Battle Against Muscle Loss
Starting in our mid-30s, we can expect to lose about 3% to 5% of muscle mass each decade—a condition known as sarcopenia. This natural decline doesn’t mean throwing in the towel but redefining your training approach. Strength training can help counteract muscle loss and build new muscle, but you must get after it. (1)
Hormonal Hustle
Hormones like testosterone and growth hormone play pivotal roles in muscle growth and recovery. As we age, these hormone levels taper off, putting the brakes on our body’s muscle-building machinery. This means focusing on compound exercises targeting multiple muscle groups and eating enough nutrient-rich diet to stimulate hormone production and maintain our strength. (2)
The Knife Needs Sharpening
The mind-body connection is vital for coordination, especially during complex movements. However, neuromuscular efficiency tends to dip as we age, affecting our balance, coordination, and strength. Integrating exercises that enhance cognitive function and muscle memory will help combat this.
Touch Your Toes
As we age, our tendons and ligaments lose some elasticity, making us feel stiffer and sometimes limiting our range of motion and mobility. This doesn’t just impact our flexibility; it also increases injury risk during workouts. Regular stretching routines and mobility exercises (like the couple below) will balance the scales in your favor.
Harder To Get Out Of Bed
As the candles on the birthday cake increase, so does the time it takes to recover from workouts. This slower recovery is frustrating, but it’s also an opportunity to focus on quality over quantity and dial in the things that help us recover faster—things like good sleep, active off days, and fueling your body right after a workout.
5 Essential Strength Training Exercises
Goblet Squat
Barbell squats are the GOAT, but my old shoulders and banged-up back can’t handle them. However, goblet squats still train the squat pattern, although not as heavy. This squat variation strengthens the legs while enhancing hip mobility. Furthermore, holding the weight anteriorly helps maintain a good posture and is friendly on an old back.
Benefits: The anterior position puts less compressive load on the spine, strengthens your core, and allows you to get into an excellent squat position.
Sets and Reps: Once good form is established, I like to go heavy, doing 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 15 reps near the beginning of your workout.
Trap Bar Deadlift
Traditional barbell deadlifts are also great but not ideal for everyone, especially those with back and hip mobility issues. Trap bar deadlifts improve total body strength while keeping the low back monster at bay because the weight is more aligned with the center of gravity, putting less stress on the lower back.
Benefit: Builds total body strength from head to toe while building grip strength.
Sets and Reps: TBD is best performed at the beginning of your workout for lower reps. I like 3 to 5 sets of between 3 to 6 reps.
Unilateral Dumbbell Floor Press
Push-ups, dumbbells, and barbell bench presses are fantastic exercises, but I love the floor press because of its reduced range of motion and complete focus on the upper body. The stability of being on the floor combined with the ROM allows you to strengthen your chest, triceps, and shoulders in a shoulder-friendly manner.
Benefits: Safely builds upper body strength from the floor while giving your core all it can handle.
Sets and Reps: 3 sets of 6 to 15 reps on both sides instead of your regular dumbbell or barbell bench press.
Gripedo Wrist Roller
The Gripedo wrist roller resembles something else, but this is a family blog, so I’ll let you draw your conclusions. It’s a modern take on the old-school wrist roller that attaches to a barbell and acts like a wrist roller—using continuous tension to build your forearm muscle and grip strength. Some might say big deal, but there is a correlation between grip strength and having one foot in the grave. Grip strength is that important, and this is a brutal but good way to build it.
Benefits: The Gripedo focuses on the back and front of your forearms and builds grip strength without being limited by your shoulder strength.
Sets and Reps: 3 sets of rolling up and down once at the end of your workout.
Turkish Get-Up
The Turkish Get Up is a full-body exercise that challenges balance, coordination, and muscular endurance. It involves getting up from the floor to standing and engaging multiple muscle groups. Although getting up and down from the ground with the TGU is convoluted, it builds total body strength, joint strength, and mobility. Plus, it improves your ability to get up and down from the floor, an essential factor for staying alive.
Benefits: The TGU enhances coordination, balance, and strength, which are directly applicable to daily tasks, from lifting heavy stuff to getting up from the floor.
Sets and Reps: Start with body weight and focus on building good form, doing 2 to 3 sets of 5-8 reps per side.
Wrapping Up
Growing older isn’t for sissies, but that doesn’t mean you have to go quietly into the night. Maintaining and continually building strength will make you like what you see in the mirror while enhancing the quality of your life. Doing one or more of these exercises will make this happen.
References
- Larsson L, Degens ET. AL Sarcopenia: Aging-Related Loss of Muscle Mass and Function. Physiol Rev. 2019 Jan 1;99(1):427-511. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00061.2017. PMID: 30427277; PMCID: PMC6442923.
- Volpi E, Nazemi R, Fujita S. Muscle tissue changes with aging. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2004 Jul;7(4):405-10. doi: 10.1097/01.mco.0000134362.76653.b2. PMID: 15192443; PMCID: PMC2804956.
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