When I do a Google search for articles regarding strength training for women over 50, I find a preponderance of ludicrous information.
Don’t do this – ineffective movement for strength
What I find is a whole slew of exercises that will not result in much increased strength.
Most of them are simply movements that ultimately can’t be loaded with heavy weight, and/or have a short range of motion. This means they are ineffective for strength training. See the example to the right.
If you are completely untrained, or haven’t trained in years, yes, you will get a little bit stronger with these exercises.
But, you won’t build lasting strength that will keep you strong and functional into your advanced years.
My guess is that the people who write these articles have no experience actually training women to get strong.
Or, they simply believe that most women are not interested in gaining significant strength, but more interested in body shape.
Lastly, they may just believe that women are too fragile to engage in real strength training.
The truth of the matter is that strength training and improved body shape go hand in hand. If you train for strength, you WILL improve your body.
The importance of strength training for women over 50
Women are particularly vulnerable to two conditions that will lead to a lower quality of life as they age… sarcopenia and osteoporosis.
Sarcopenia is the natural loss of muscle mass over time. This occurs because the body becomes less efficient at turning protein into muscle.
Osteoporosis is the condition where the bones become more brittle.
Strength training with proper programming is the best way to offset both conditions and even turn the tables.
Yes, women CAN build muscle and strengthen your bones after age 50.
And, women are NOT too fragile to engage in serious strength training after 50.
Need proof? Check out this video of a 100 year old woman who can deadlift 165 pounds. AND, she didn’t start training until she was 91!
Extreme example? Absolutely.
But, so what?
Programming for strength after 50
The fact is, women should train for strength just like men.
If you are new to training, you start light, and gradually increase reps and weight on the dumbbell or barbell.
The key is to train exercises that will actually make you stronger over time.
That is the process for getting stronger, whether you are a woman or a man, 20 years old, 50 years old or 80 years old.
And, just to tell you that the example I gave you is somewhat extreme, I have personally witnessed a 72 year old woman completing an overhead barbell press with 65 pounds, and she may have weighed all of 120 pounds.
There are plenty of older women like this working out at gyms around the country. They understand the importance of strength training for quality of life.
The best exercises for increasing strength after 50
The deadlift is a great exercise for strength training
The best exercises for increasing strength, whether you are 20, 50 or 80 are the squat, deadlift, bench press and overhead press.
All of these exercises are best done with a barbell. However, they can all be modified depending upon your current physical condition and experience.
For instance, the squat is often taught to older and overweight trainees without any sort of weight.
As they develop proficiency for the movement pattern, and demonstrate improved strength, they may incorporate a dumbbell or kettlebell.
Then, if they begin working with enough weight, they can progress to the unweighted barbell.
If you have any particular physical issues that prevent you from doing one or more of these exercises, don’t worry! There are plenty of other exercises that can be employed to get good results.
These four exercises are simply the most efficient at building total body strength, since they incorporate multiple joints and muscle groups, mimic natural human movement, and can eventually be loaded with the most weight.
Final thoughts
A while back, I took my wife to a strength training gym in Baltimore so both of us could get some coaching on these lifts.
The reason I wanted to sell her on the idea is that my mother has lost a lot of mobility in the last several years due to a bad back and knee. She is 85, and virtually unable to take a step without pain now.
My wife is 59 and quite petite. She agreed to go, and since then, I’ve been coaching her in our garage gym.
While the only lift of the four main lifts she performs is the deadlift, she does other strength exercises to help with her goals such as the horse stance, Bulgarian split squats, incline presses with dumbbells, leg extensions, leg curls, and lat pulldowns.
That is how the process can work for you as well.
So, if you’ve been reluctant to do some serious strength training, I encourage you to start now… you’ll thank me when you are 80 and still able to pick up a grandchild or great grandchild!
Now, get to work!
