Strength Training for Women Over 60 Years Old

Phase 1 Workouts for Older Women

In the first phase of weight training for women over 60, the goal is to build a solid foundation: improving the structural integrity of the body, working on movement patterns and technique, and improving muscle memory. Exercises in phase 1 should be low intensity, using just your own body weight or light weights/resistance bands.

Sample exercises include:

  • Body-weight squats
  • Lunges — side, forward, back
  • Knee pushups
  • Resistance band rows
  • Plank
  • Side plank
  • Shoulder press
  • Single-leg balance with movement
  • Lateral side-step with resistance band
  • Bicycle crunches
  • Hamstring bridge

These exercises should be performed for one to three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.

This first phase could last one month or one year, depending on where you started. Do two to three full-body workouts per week targeting all the major muscle groups — chest, back, arms, shoulders core and legs. When you feel stronger and confident with these basic moves, you can move on to more challenging exercises using more weight and intensity.

Increasing Exercise Intensity

When you've built a solid foundation, begin to increase the challenge by adding more complex movements and more weight. High-intensity exercise, both strength training and cardio, is effective for increasing the production of natural anabolic hormones (testosterone, growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1) that have anti-aging benefits.

You can still include exercises from phase 1, but increase the weight or the reps, perform the moves with more intensity and vary your lifting patterns, using a slow 2 count for the eccentric (lengthening) and concentric (contracting) phases of movement, or a 2 count for the eccentric phase and a 1 count for the concentric phase. There are many methods of varying a workout to keep things interesting and to keep challenging your muscles in new ways.

Circuit training is a powerful tool to increase the intensity of your workout and increase cardiovascular output at the same time that you build strength. To circuit train, perform one set of each exercise in your workout and then move to the next exercise without resting. Perform one to four rounds, with a brief rest between rounds.

Adding more complex exercises to your routine builds more strength and also improves coordination, range of motion, balance and other parameters of well-rounded physical fitness. Some examples of exercises to add in this stage include:

  • Weighted squat
  • Bench press
  • Squat jumps
  • Lunge jumps
  • Deadlifts
  • Single-leg deadlifts
  • Bentover rows
  • Step-ups
  • Kettlebell swings

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