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As people age, one of the significant challenges they face is sarcopenia, a condition marked by the gradual decline of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function. This is particularly prevalent in individuals over the age of 60. As time goes by, the natural drop in physical activity, increased periods of sitting, and a reduction in regular exercise contribute to this condition. Consequently, older adults often find themselves grappling with weakened arms and legs, making everyday movements more difficult.
The Muscle Loss Problem You’re Facing After 60
Standing exercises play a pivotal role in maintaining functionality as they closely simulate the body’s natural movements. While gym machines provide valuable exercises, they typically focus on isolating a single muscle group while the rest of the body remains stationary. In contrast, standing exercises involve multiple muscle groups, which is especially beneficial as we age. Engaging in these exercises primarily activates the legs, glutes, back, and core. For seniors, these exercises offer a feasible pathway to advancing fitness levels without the necessity for heavy machinery.
Why Standing Exercises Work Better for You
Incorporating standing exercises into a fitness routine can thus offer older adults a practical and effective way to enhance strength and mobility, aligning with the body’s natural movement patterns.
Standing Weighted Squats
Why it works
Squats target large muscle groups including the quads, glutes, hamstrings and core. Working large muscle groups also helps to stimulate protein synthesis, boost metabolism, and improve strength in the lower body. These factors are all critical as we age, especially as we reach the age of 60.
Step-by-step instructions
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, with your toes turned slightly outward
- Hold a dumbbell close to your chest with your elbows tucked in
- Push your hips back slightly and bend down into a squat
- Engage your core and keep your chest tall
- Bend as far as comfortable, then slowly raise back up to the starting position
- For beginners, start without the weight
- Aim for 10-12 reps and 2-3 sets
Avoid these common mistakes
Common mistakes include fast and uncontrolled movements, dropping your chest, or bending your knees inward. All of these mistakes can lead to stress on your joints and an ineffective workout.
Standing Overhead Presses
Why it works
Overhead presses strengthen your shoulders, triceps, upper back and core. They are effective for maintaining a strong posture and functional movements such as lifting, carrying, and reaching overhead. These workouts also test balance and stability.
Step-by-step instructions
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart with dumbbells in both hands
- Bring your arms up to shoulder height
- Engage your core and glutes for stability
- Press the weights directly overhead, bringing your elbows to your ears
- Exhale as you press up
- Hold at the top
- Slowly lower back to shoulder height as you inhale
- Aim for 10-12 reps and 2-3 sets
Avoid these common mistakes
Common mistakes include arching your back while pressing overhead, which can put strain on your lower back and means you are not properly engaging your core, pressing the weights too fast, which reduces muscle activation and increases risk of injury, and using too heavy of a weight to maintain proper form.
Split-Stance Lunges with Dumbbells or Bodyweight
Why it works
Lunges are a great exercise to strengthen quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves. They also challenge balance and stability, key for functional exercises as we age.
Step-by-step instructions
- Stand upright, either holding dumbbells or without
- Bring your feet about hip-width apart
- Step one foot backwards
- Lower your back knee toward the floor and slightly bend your front knee
- Pause at the bottom
- Push back into the starting position
- Alternate sides, completing 10-12 reps with 2-3 sets
Avoid these common mistakes
Common mistakes include bringing your front knee too far forward, ahead of your toes, and not maintaining a straight torso. Leaning too far one way can add strain to the knees and joints, increasing risk of injury.
Standing Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows
Why it works
This exercise focuses on the upper back, shoulders, and arms. Without daily movements, these areas can get weak very quickly, especially as we age. When done standing, these exercises also engage the core for stability and balance.
Step-by-step instructions
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart with a dumbbell in one hand
- Bend forward by hinging at the hips
- Engage your core
- Pull the dumbbell up toward your waist, bringing your elbow back, rather than flaring it out
- Pause at the top
- Straighten your arm out
- Aim for 10-12 reps on each side
Avoid these common mistakes
Common mistakes include rounding the back or rotating the torso, mistakes that can reduce effectiveness of the exercise and increase risk for injury. Avoid using momentum to swing the weight up—aim for slow and controlled movements.
How Often You Should Do These Exercises
For those just beginning or returning to their fitness journey, aim for 2 days a week of strength sessions. As we age, it’s always important to consult with physicians to approve workouts and ensure that you are not at risk for injury. For those who are more active, 3 days a week can provide significant benefits in building and retaining muscle. On days where you are not strength training, it’s still important to incorporate mobility and flexibility work to support overall cardiovascular health and maintain functionality.
The Results You Can Expect
After 6-8 weeks of consistent strength training paired with an adequate diet and recovery periods, you can expect noticeable improvements in strength, endurance, and muscle tone in your legs, core, and arms. Functional movements should be easier, including standing from a chair, climbing stairs, carrying groceries and lifting objects overhead.
