Building and maintaining strength as you age is vitally important when it comes to your daily functional fitness. According to HelpGuide.org, building strength is especially important to maintaining balance and improving bone density, reducing the likelihood of fractures as you age. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that individuals over 65 years of age perform eight to 10 strength building exercises, with at least 10 to 15 repetitions of each exercise, two to three times a week to prevent muscle and bone loss while benefiting functional health.
Step 1
Work with your physician or health care professional to determine whether you have any chronic illnesses that would prevent you from performing certain exercises. Ask your doctor to clear you for a strength-training program.
Step 2
Schedule approximately 30 minutes, three days a week that you can dedicate to strength training. Plan on allowing at least one full day of rest between these programs to allow your body to rest.
Step 3
Choose your exercise location. You may want to work out in the comfort of your home, or you might want to join a fitness center or a physical therapy clinic. Choose the location that you will feel most comfortable with, while also feeling bound to follow through on your exercise plan.
Step 4
Perform eight to 10 strength training exercises using your body weight, lightweight dumbbells, soup cans or exercise bands. Choices of exercises include chair squats, wall push-ups, biceps curls, seated rows, shoulder shrugs, step-ups, abdominal twists, triceps extensions, assisted lunges and shoulder extensions.
Step 5
Increase the difficulty of the exercise over time. Add weight or increase the range of motion -to continue challenging yourself. You want the last one or two repetitions of each exercise to feel difficult to complete. For instance, if you started with wall push-ups, but over time they became easier to perform, try graduating to modified, kneeling push-ups on the ground.
Step 6
Commit to consistency in your exercise routine, and allow yourself to choose activities that you enjoy doing. For instance, if you prefer combining your exercise routine with a social environment, try joining an aquatic exercise class that incorporates strength-building moves.
Tips and Warnings
- Consider working with a personal trainer or physical therapist your first few sessions. He can teach you the proper exercise technique, and you can ask any questions you might have. Ask your insurance carrier if it covers the cost of gym memberships or exercise classes.
- Always obtain clearance from your doctor before starting a new fitness routine.
Things You'll Need
- Light dumbbells
- 12-oz. soup cans
- Exercise bands
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