5 Exercises to Get Stronger After 50
If you’ve been feeling weaker as you’ve gotten older, I promise you’re not alone.
You may be asking yourself “What should I actually be doing to get stronger?”
The good news is you don’t need complicated or intense workouts. You just need to focus on the right movements and stay consistent with them.
Why Exercise Selection Matters After 50
It’s great to start strength training after 50, but the exercises you choose to do are very important.
As you get older, the goal isn’t to do the hardest workout possible. It’s choosing movements that are safe, effective, and actually help you in your daily life.
Safety should always be a priority, especially if you’re new to exercise or returning after a long break. Choose exercises that challenge you without pushing you beyond what you can currently control.
You can do exercises using your own bodyweight as resistance, which can be done in your own home. Or you can go to the gym using machines or free weights to do your workout.
You may feel scared you’re going to hurt yourself, so it’s best that you start slowly working your way up until you feel comfortable and confident doing the movements.
Lastly, keep things very simple. There’s no reason to overcomplicate things just for the sake of it. Even just working out twice a week, 30 minutes each can have amazing benefits.
If you want to build strength as you age, keep it simple, focus on consistency, and slowly build up overtime.
5 Exercises to Get Stronger After 50
You don’t need a complicated workout routine to start getting stronger and seeing results. Some of the most effective exercises are movements that mimic similar things you already do in everyday life.
Here are 5 exercises I like to use to help people build strength, improve movement quality, and feel more confident in their everyday activities.
1. Sit-to-Stand
These are one of the first exercises I like to use because they directly relate to something you do everyday- getting up from a chair.
They help build strength in your legs and hips while teaching you to control your body as you stand up and sit back down. This can make everyday movements like getting out of the car or getting off the couch feel easier.
If you’re just getting started, you can use a higher chair or use your hands for a little assistance. As you get stronger, you can gradually make the movement more challenging.
2. Step Ups
These are another great exercise for building lower-body strength because they closely resemble walking upstairs.
While working your legs, they also challenge your balance and coordination. This can be very useful if stairs have started to feel more difficult or you don’t feel as steady when stepping up or down.
You don’t need a tall step to get started. A low step is enough, and you can hold onto a railing or a stable surface for support if needed. As your strength and confidence improve, you can gradually increase the challenge.
3. Pull Movement (Rows)
Pull movements, such as rows, are a simple way to strengthen your upper back and shoulders. This can be very helpful if you spend a lot of time sitting during the day.
Rows can be performed with a resistance band, cable machine, or dumbbells depending on your experience and what equipment you have available.
You don’t need to lift heavy weights to benefit from this exercise. The goal is to gradually build strength while maintaining good control throughout the movement.
4. Push Movement (Modified Push-Ups)
Push movements, such as modified push-ups or a shoulder press variation, help strengthen your chest, shoulders, and arms.
These muscles are involved in everyday activities like pushing to open a door, moving objects around your home, or getting yourself up from certain positions.
You can modify the push-up depending on your current strength. A wall push-up may be a good starting point for you if you’re not ready for a traditional push-up. While a shoulder press can be performed with light dumbbells, cable machine, or resistance bands.
Start with the variation you can perform safely and with good control, and build gradually from there.
5. Balance Work
Strength isn’t the only part of staying active as you age. You also need to be able to control your body while standing and moving.
Simple balance exercises can help improve your stability, coordination, and confidence. For example, you can practice standing on one leg while holding onto a stable surface for support.
Balance exercises should be challenging enough to make you work, but never put yourself in a situation where you’re afraid you might fall. As your balance improves, you can gradually reduce the amount of support you use or increase the difficulty.
If balance is something you’re struggling with, I wrote more about it here: How to improve Balance after 50 (And Reduce Your Risk of Falls)
How to Start
You don’t need to completely change your lifestyle overnight to start getting stronger.
If you want to see results, what matters in the long-term is consistency. Depending on your schedule and lifestyle, that’s going to look different for everyone.
If you can commit to one workout per week, start there. If you can consistently do three, that’s great too. For most of my clients I’ve noticed twice per week is the sweet spot where they can stay consistent and see noticeable results.
Also, you don’t need to spend several hours in the gym for results. Even 45-60 minutes for your workouts is more than enough.
What’s important is the quality of the workout, so like I mentioned earlier- choosing the right exercises that will give you the most bang for your buck.
As you get more comfortable with the exercises, you can slowly build over time.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
As I just mentioned in the last section about slowly building overtime. Probably the most common mistake I see when people start strength training is they do too much too quickly.
Why is that a problem? You risk injuring yourself when you haven’t learned the proper technique or how to control the exercise properly. And if you get injured it’s only going to set you back and probably demotivate you.
Another thing I see is thinking you need to feel sore to feel like it was a good workout. What this could probably lead to is you chasing sensation. Feeling more sore doesn’t necessarily mean you had a more effective workout.
It’s easy to start chasing soreness because it makes you feel like you accomplished something. But your goal shouldn’t be to make yourself as sore as possible. Your goal should be to gradually become stronger and move better.
Choosing the right exercises with proper technique and control needs to be #1. With the right program and proper execution, staying consistent is what will lead to long-term results for you.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to be perfect to see the results you want. You don’t need anything fancy or extreme.
You just need to meet yourself where you’re at and start there.
Keep it simple. Stay consistent. Small improvements add up faster than you think.
I see this with my clients all the time. Movements that once felt difficult start to feel easier. They become more confident getting up from the chair, walking upstairs, carrying things, and moving through their everyday lives.
If you’re not sure how to start or want guidance doing this safely, I work with people in the North Hollywood area to help them build strength and confidence step by step.
You can reach out to me [HERE] and we can talk about your goals, where you’re starting from, and build a routine that makes sense for you.
