Over 60? Exercises For Strength, Heart, and Health
Over 60? Exercises For Strength, Heart, and Health
Aging is unavoidable, but you can maintain your strength, coordination, heart health, and mobility at any age by engaging in regular exercise. After all, your body can remain active regardless of your age.
“While building cardiovascular fitness and muscle is important, moving well should always come first,” Jennifer Rizzuto, a freelance fitness journalist and a certified personal trainer, wrote for Fit&Well. “Without proper mobility and muscle activation in key muscle groups, you’re more likely to run into issues like tightness and potential injuries, especially if you’re new to exercise.”
According to Ollie Thompson, personal trainer and founder of Welltolead, a performance-focused health coaching company, cardiovascular exercise —activities that raise your heart rate for a sustained period—should also be among your top priorities.
“Cardiovascular exercise is, of course, essential for heart health, but it also plays a critical role in mitochondrial function, reducing the risk of major diseases and cancers, supporting brain health, enhancing energy production, improving sleep quality and managing stress,” Thompson told The Independent.
Physical therapists and personal trainers recommend strength training for individuals over 50 because it helps maintain muscle, protects bone density, improves balance, boosts energy, and enhances overall daily functioning. The experts recommend doing strength training that mirrors everyday activities, such as carrying groceries, climbing stairs, or getting up from a chair.
Some exercises that mimic daily activities include:
1. Suitcase Carry
The Suitcase Carry involves holding a weight in one hand, as you would when carrying a suitcase or groceries. This exercise is designed to strengthen the core, grip, and shoulder strength while also improving balance and posture.
How to do a Suitcase Carry:
• Stand tall with feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in one hand.
• Brace your core (by tightening the muscles in your abdomen, lower back, and pelvis) and keep your shoulders level.
• Walk forward with steady, controlled steps.
• Maintain an upright posture, avoiding any leaning to one side.
• Switch hands and repeat.
You can also do a suitcase carry by walking backwards or marching.
Recommended sets and reps: 3 sets of 20-30 steps per side.
2. Step-ups
Step-ups improve leg strength, stability, and coordination and mimic climbing stairs or stepping onto curbs.
How to do Step-ups:
• Stand in front of a sturdy step or box, feet hip-width apart.
• Place one foot on the step and drive through your heel to lift yourself up
• Bring the other foot up to meet the first, standing tall at the top.
• Step down with control, leading with the same foot.
• Repeat on the other side.
Recommended sets and reps: 3 sets of 10 reps per leg.
3. Kettlebell deadlift
This exercise targets the legs, glutes, core, and back muscles, which are essential for maintaining good posture and balance and picking up objects or standing up from a chair.
How to do a Kettlebell Deadlift:
• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with a kettlebell between your feet.
• Push your hips back and bend your knees slightly to reach for the kettlebell.
• Grip the handle firmly and brace your core.
• Drive through your heels, stand up tall, and squeeze your glutes at the top.
• Lower the kettlebell with control by pushing your hips back.
Recommended sets and reps: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Exercising For Longevity
Thompson believes strength training helps “us stay vibrant, physically independent and disease-free in our final decades.” Thompson offers what he considers among the best exercises for longevity that work the upper and lower body:
1. The Farmer’s Carry
The Farmer’s Carry requires weights in both hands. A weak grip may indicate muscle loss, reduced neuromuscular function, and decreased metabolism. The Farmer’s Carry tests grip strength and boosts lung and heart health.
To do a Farmer’s Carry:
Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand with your arms by your side and your palms facing inwards.
Maintaining an upright torso and tight core, walk with the weights.
2. Bulgarian Split Squat
Thompson says this exercise is “excellent for building strength and stability at the hip, knee, and foot, helping to correct severe muscular imbalances while also incorporating a balance component.”
To Do A Bulgarian Split Squat:
• Stand one step in front of a bench or sturdy surface that’s around knee height. Face away from this surface.
• Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in your left hand with your arm by your side, palm facing your body.
• Keeping your right leg long and your hips square, place the top of your left foot on the bench behind you.
• Lower your left knee until it’s just above the ground, keeping your chest up as you do this, then drive through your right foot to return to the starting position.
Exercises Targeting Balance, Coordination, and Overall Health
Rizzuto said she learned a great deal from a five-exercise routine by Jeff Cavaliere, a physical therapist and strength coach. The exercises are:
• Door frame face pull
• Dead arm hang
• Hip drop
• Glute bridge to reach over
• Divebomber push-up
Cavaliere said in his YouTube video that these exercises address common issues in the lower back, knees, ankles, and shoulders. For example, the Door Frame Face Pull helps reinforce good posture and shoulder health without the need for equipment.
How to do a Door Frame Face Pull
• Put your feet on the inside of a doorway and the back of your hands up on the door jamb.
• Lean your body back to simulate your arms being out in front of your body.
• Push into your hands.
Cavaliere said that doing a Face Pull correctly involves leaning with your hands, not with your elbows.
Other exercises:
1. Lunges
Lunges test lower body strength, balance, and coordination, which can help prevent injuries and improve overall movement quality.
How to do a Lunge:
• Stand tall with feet hip-width apart.
• Step forward with one leg, lowering until both knees are at 90-degree angles.
• Push off the front foot to return to the starting position.
• Repeat on the other side.
Workout Recommendation: 3 sets of 12 reps per leg.
2. Box Jumps
Box jumps test your explosiveness, coordination, and balance.
How to do a Box Jump:
• Stand in front of a sturdy box or platform that’s about knee height.
• Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and engage your core.
• Lower into a quarter squat, then explode upward, swinging your arms for momentum.
• Land softly with both feet on the box, and absorb the impact by bending your knees.
Stand tall at the top before stepping down one foot at a time.
Do 3 sets of 6-8 reps.
There are also traditional exercises, such as push-ups and chin-ups, that are effective in improving strength, endurance, and core stability. Whatever strength training you choose to do, personal trainers, including Thompson, recommend doing it regularly.
“Consistent resistance training enhances metabolic function by improving insulin sensitivity, supports cardiovascular health by reducing blood pressure and inflammation, helps maintain hormonal balance to combat age-related declines, preserves bone density to reduce fracture risk, and strengthens the immune system to help fight off disease,” Thompson told The Independent.
This site offers information designed for educational purposes only. You should not rely on any information on this site as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or as a substitute for, professional counseling care, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional.
