Strength training for seniors: a 20-minute workout

As we age, staying active is critical to maintaining health. Regular exercise can help improve muscle mass, manage symptoms of illness or pain, support independent living, and reduce your chances of developing cardiovascular or neurodegenerative diseases.1

Strength training for seniors should include full-body exercises to work all major muscle groups. Below is a workout you can do at home or at a fitness center with little to no equipment needed. You’ll notice several of the exercises help improve or maintain functional stability and balance so your daily activities remain accessible as you age.

Safety and Precautions

Check with your healthcare provider before you begin this or any exercise program. Your doctor provider may suggest modifications for your well-being.

Next, you’ll want to find a space where you can comfortably complete the exercises. Be sure you can fully extend your arms and move around without hitting furniture or walls. Remove any small area rugs that might slip or cause you to trip. If you have a yoga mat, you can use it for floor exercises.

Lastly, remember to work within your ability. There’s no need to overexert yourself, especially when first starting. It is normal to feel your body working and you should expect some level of challenge, but you should not feel pain.

Strength Training Workout Overview

Total Time: 25 minutes (5-minute warm-up, 15 minutes strength training, 5-minute cool-down)

Level: Beginner to intermediate

Equipment Needed: Dumbbells or handheld weights (3 to 5 pounds to start, 8 to 10 pounds as you get stronger). If you don’t have weights, use household items such as water bottles or soup cans.

What to Expect: If you are a beginner, do the exercises with no weight at all when you’re first starting out. Just focus on learning the exercises with good form. Once you feel comfortable with each move, add dumbbells (or another form of resistance) to the exercises that require them.

Warm-Up: 5 Minutes

It is crucial to warm up. Warming up dilates your blood vessels, which helps supply oxygen to your muscles. A warm-up also slowly raises your heart rate to minimize stress on your heart.2

Go through the following four warm-up moves for about 1 minute each. Try not to rest between each movement, but take a few seconds if you need it.

Jog in Place: 1 Minute

If low-impact movement serves you better, march with high knees in place for 1 minute.

Punching: 1 Minute

Punching is a great way to warm up the upper body and get the blood pumping.

Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder distance and bend your knees slightly. Tighten the core to keep your center still. Punch out one arm at a time at a steady pace.

Knee Thrusters: 1 Minute

Start standing with feet wider than shoulder distance apart and turn both feet in one direction, allowing the hips to follow like you’re in a shallow lunge. The front knee is a 90-degree angle and the back heel is lifted. Arms are in a guard position in front of the chest.

Drive the back knee up to hip height toward the hands and pull your hands toward the thigh. Return your foot to the floor and repeat.

Basic Squat: 1 Minute

Finish your warm-up with the basic squat. Try to get your glutes to drop as low as possible to keep your hip flexors mobile.

Stand tall with your feet hip-distance apart. Your hips, knees, and toes should all be facing forward. Bend your knees and extend your buttocks backward as if you are going to sit back in a chair. Make sure your knees track over your toes and keep your weight in your heels. Rise back up.

The Workout: 15 Minutes

Go through the following exercises for the recommended number of repetitions. Rest 1 minute between each exercise.

Squat Curl Knee Lift

Targets: Biceps, glutes, quads

1. Start in a squat position, weight back on heels and arms long next to your side holding dumbbells.
2. Squeeze your glutes to press up and lift your right knee as you curl the weights to your shoulders.
3. Slowly lower the weights back down and return to a squat position. Repeat with the left knee.

Reps: 8 to 12 per side

Safety Tip

Try to keep the back straight and the chest open as you sit into each squat repetition. Keep the elbows close to the ribcage as you curl.

Shoulder Overhead Press

Targets: Shoulders

1. Start with feet hip-distance apart. Bring elbows out to the side creating a goal post position with arms, dumbbells are at the side of the head, and abdominals are tight.
2. Press dumbbells slowly up until arms are straight. Slowly return to starting position with control. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

To work harder and improve balance, stand on one foot while performing half the reps, then switch to the other foot.

Reps: 8 to 12

Safety Tip

Lift the weights directly over the shoulders. Try not to allow the arms to float back, as this may cause the back to arch. If you have a hard time maintaining good posture during this move, perform it in a seated position.

Renegade Arm Row

Targets: Triceps, back, shoulders

1. Start with legs together and sit back into slight squat engaging abdominals. Arms are in front of the body holding dumbbells at hip height with palms facing the ceiling.
2. Draw elbows back past hips gently hugging the side body so you feel lats and triceps engage and return forward with control.

Reps: 8 to 12

Safety Tip

Try to keep a neutral spine throughout this move. Try not to curve through the spine or arch the back. Keep your focus on the floor a few feet in front of your toes.