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Increase your strength to improve your health, your appearance, and your performance with Strength Training Past 50.
Strength training offers many benefits for active adults, including enhanced athletic performance, reduced risk of disease, and decreased symptoms of arthritis, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
Whether you are just getting started or have been training your entire life, Strength Training Past 50 has you covered. In the third edition of this best-selling guide, you’ll find these topics:
- 83 exercises for free weights, machines, bands, and balls
- 30 workouts for increasing size, endurance, and strength
- Sport-specific programs for tennis, golf, cycling, running, and more
- Eating plans and nutrition advice for adding lean muscle and losing fat
Strength Training Past 50 will keep you active, healthy, and looking great with workouts and programs designed just for you.
Chapter 1 Benefits of Strength Training
Chapter 2 Assessment for Training Success
Chapter 3 Applying Training Principles
Chapter 4 Strength Training Equipment
Chapter 5 Basic Exercise Techniques
Chapter 6 Machine Exercises
Chapter 7 Dumbbell Exercises
Chapter 8 Alternative Equipment Exercises
Chapter 9 Basic Training Programs
Chapter 10 Advanced Training Programs
Chapter 11 Sport-Specific Training Programs
Chapter 12 Nutrition for Continuous Improvement
Wayne L. Westcott, PhD, directs the exercise science program and fitness research program at Quincy College in Quincy, Massachusetts. He has been a strength training advisor for several national organizations, including the American Council on Exercise, American Senior Fitness Association, YMCA of the USA, President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, International Council on Active Aging, Medical Fitness Association, and United States Navy. He has also served as an editorial advisor for publications such as Physician and Sports Medicine, American College of Sports Medicine’s Health and Fitness Journal, American College of Sports Medicine’s Certified News, Fitness Management, On-Site Fitness, American Fitness Quarterly, Club Industry, Perspective, Prevention, Men’s Health, and Shape.
Westcott is the author of 25 fitness books, including Building Strength and Stamina, Strength Training for Seniors, Fitness Professional’s Guide to Strength Training Older Adults, Strength and Power for Young Athletes, Complete Conditioning for Golf, Youth Strength Training, and Building Strength and Stamina Navy Fitness Edition, all with Human Kinetics.
Dr. Westcott has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Fitness Professionals, the Healthy American Fitness Leader Award from the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the Roberts-Gulick Award from the YMCA Association of Professional Directors, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Governor’s Committee on Physical Fitness and Sports, the NOVA 7 Exercise Program Award from Fitness ManagementMagazine, the Marla Richmond Memorial Education Award from the Medical Fitness Association, and the Faculty of the Year Award from Quincy College.
Thomas R. Baechle, EdD, CSCS,*D (R), NSCA-CPT,*D (R), is a professor and chair of the exercise science department at Creighton University. He is a cofounder and past president of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and for 20 years he was the executive director of the NSCA Certification Commission.
Baechle has received numerous awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the NSCA and the Excellence in Teaching Award from Creighton University. He has more than 35 years of experience competing in and coaching weightlifting and powerlifting and presenting and teaching on these topics. Baechle has authored, coauthored, or edited 15 books, including three editions of Fitness Weight Training, four editions of the popular Weight Training: Steps to Success, and three editions of Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, all published by Human Kinetics.
“Wayne Westcott is a pioneer, leading researcher, and authority on strength training, metabolism, and fitness. He puts it all together in Strength Training Past 50, a must-read for anyone who cares about strength and health!”
Nicholas DiNubile, MD-- Orthopedic Surgeon and Best-Selling Author, Chief Medical Officer, American Council on Exercise (ACE)
“From basic exercise technique to advanced program design, this guide is a must-read for men and women over 50.”
Avery D. Faigenbaum, EdD, FACSM, FNSCA-- Department of Health and Exercise Science, The College of New Jersey, Author of Youth Strength Training
“Readers will find Dr. Westcott’s writing style easy to follow and will enjoy what it feels like to train past 50.”
Peter Ronai, MS, FACSM, RCEP, CSCS-D-- Clinical Associate Professor Exercise Science, Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement, Science Sacred Heart University
“Staying strong and fit after 50 is absolutely achievable—and Drs. Westcott and Baechle provide the winning game plan for doing so!”
Ken Mannie -- Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Michigan State University
13 reasons for engaging in resistance training
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities.
Practical Application
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities. Your muscles are also similar to the shock absorbers and springs in an automobile, and strong muscles help you to feel better because they protect joints from a variety of potentially harmful external forces. Finally, muscles are like the chassis of an automobile because they largely define your appearance. Although excess fat can definitely detract from your appearance, your muscles actually provide your fundamental physique or figure. Consequently, strong muscles make you look better.
If you would like to function better, feel better, and look better, then you should begin a regular resistance training program that progressively strengthens all your major muscle groups. As you will learn in the following chapters, you can attain excellent results from relatively basic and brief programs of strength training using resistance machines in fitness centers or by performing free-weight or body-weight exercises in your home. We present research-based training protocols that are safe, effective, and efficient, with a proven track record of success for people over age 50.
Without regular resistance exercise you will continue to lose muscle and bone, and you will have further reductions in strength and fitness. Aerobic activity such as walking, running, cycling, and dancing are preferable for promoting heart health and cardiorespiratory fitness, but they will not prevent age-related reductions in muscle and bone. Continue to perform regular aerobic activity, but be sure to complement your endurance exercise with sensible strength training.
Likewise, sensible nutrition is essential for general health, and dieting is far and away the fastest way to lose body weight. However, excellent eating habits alone will not prevent the loss of muscle and bone or the continued weakening of your musculoskeletal system. Dieting can be particularly problematic because low-calorie diets decrease both fat weight and lean (muscle) weight. The undesirable muscle loss results in reduction of metabolic rate that makes it most difficult to maintain the lower body weight. In fact, research reveals that 95 percent of dieters regain all of the weight they lost within the year after their diet program (Mann et al. 2007).
However, as you may recall, the older adults in our nutrition and strength training study concurrently lost 9 pounds of fat weight and added 3 pounds of lean (muscle) weight, for a 12-pound improvement in their body composition over a 10-week period (Westcott et al. 2013). Be sure to eat healthy and nutritious foods, with a reasonable reduction in caloric intake if necessary, but do not diet without performing appropriate resistance exercise. Remember that muscle gain is positively associated with increased metabolism and decreased fat.
Ideally, you should adopt a lifestyle that includes sound nutrition (presented in chapter 12), regular aerobic activity, and sensible strength training. All of these complementary activities are essential for optimal health and fitness and especially for enjoying older adult years.
Summary
Most athletes engage in resistance exercise to improve sport performance. These include older athletes who run, cycle, row, swim, ski, golf, play tennis, and engage in other physically challenging activities. However, most people over age 50 are at least as concerned about their general health and fitness as they are about their athletic abilities. This chapter presents 13 medically oriented and research-based reasons for engaging in regular resistance exercise:
- Rebuilding muscle
- Recharging metabolism
- Reducing fat
- Reducing resting blood pressure
- Improving blood lipid profiles
- Enhancing postcoronary performance
- Resisting diabetes
- Increasing bone density
- Decreasing physical discomfort
- Enhancing mental health
- Revitalizing muscle cells
- Reversing physical frailty
- Combating cancer
Men and women of all ages respond favorably to sensible strength training, which has been shown to improve many health and fitness factors associated with quality of life and quantity of years. When you implement one of the strength training programs presented in this book, you take a proactive role in your personal health care. There is no medicine that provides as many physical and mental benefits as regular resistance exercise does.
Adapted from Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current Sports Medicine Reports 11(4): 209-216, 2012, courtesy of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Strengthen chest and arms with incline press
Chest Exercise. Incline Press: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps. Beginning Position: Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
Chest Exercise
Incline Press
Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps
Beginning Position
- Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
- Sit with head, shoulders, and back against seat pad.
- Grasp handles with fingers and thumbs, palms facing away.
Upward Movement Phase
- Push hands upward slowly until arms are fully extended.
- Keep wrists straight.
- Exhale throughout pushing movement.
Downward Movement Phase
- Return handles slowly to starting position.
- Inhale throughout lowering movement.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Wall squats strengthen quads, glutes, and hamstrings
Leg Exercise. Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells. Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals. Beginning Position: Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
Leg Exercise
Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells
Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals
Beginning Position
- Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
- Position dumbbells with palms facing outside surfaces of thighs and elbows straight.
- Place exercise ball between back and wall with feet far enough from wall so that knees are directly over the feet in down position.
Downward Movement Phase
- Keep head up, eyes fixed straight ahead, shoulders back, torso erect, and weight on entire foot throughout exercise.
- Squat slowly until thighs are parallel to floor, rolling ball between the back and wall as you descend.
- Inhale throughout downward movement.
Upward Movement Phase
- Begin upward movement by slowly straightening knees and hips, rolling ball between the back and wall as you ascend.
- Exhale throughout upward movement phase.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Brief workout trains all major muscle groups
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups.
Free-Weight Training
Program 9.3: Brief Workout
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups. The four free-weight exercises are linear actions (straight movements) that address the most important muscles of the legs, chest, upper back, shoulders, and arms. The two body-weight exercises are rotary actions that target the major muscles of the core. As in our other sample training programs, you will alternate pushing and pulling exercises to enhance the efficiency of your workouts.
You should be able to complete the brief workout in 12 to 15 minutes if you perform one set of each exercise. The workout should take about twice as long (24 to 30 minutes) if you perform a preliminary warm-up set or add a second set of each exercise. If you prefer dumbbell training, you may substitute dumbbells for the squat, bench press, and seated press exercises. You may also use kettlebells in the squat and one-arm row. Follow the recommended exercise sequence as closely as possible. The table presents the program 9.3 exercises and general training guidelines for resistance, repetitions, sets, repetition speed, and recovery time.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
13 reasons for engaging in resistance training
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities.
Practical Application
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities. Your muscles are also similar to the shock absorbers and springs in an automobile, and strong muscles help you to feel better because they protect joints from a variety of potentially harmful external forces. Finally, muscles are like the chassis of an automobile because they largely define your appearance. Although excess fat can definitely detract from your appearance, your muscles actually provide your fundamental physique or figure. Consequently, strong muscles make you look better.
If you would like to function better, feel better, and look better, then you should begin a regular resistance training program that progressively strengthens all your major muscle groups. As you will learn in the following chapters, you can attain excellent results from relatively basic and brief programs of strength training using resistance machines in fitness centers or by performing free-weight or body-weight exercises in your home. We present research-based training protocols that are safe, effective, and efficient, with a proven track record of success for people over age 50.
Without regular resistance exercise you will continue to lose muscle and bone, and you will have further reductions in strength and fitness. Aerobic activity such as walking, running, cycling, and dancing are preferable for promoting heart health and cardiorespiratory fitness, but they will not prevent age-related reductions in muscle and bone. Continue to perform regular aerobic activity, but be sure to complement your endurance exercise with sensible strength training.
Likewise, sensible nutrition is essential for general health, and dieting is far and away the fastest way to lose body weight. However, excellent eating habits alone will not prevent the loss of muscle and bone or the continued weakening of your musculoskeletal system. Dieting can be particularly problematic because low-calorie diets decrease both fat weight and lean (muscle) weight. The undesirable muscle loss results in reduction of metabolic rate that makes it most difficult to maintain the lower body weight. In fact, research reveals that 95 percent of dieters regain all of the weight they lost within the year after their diet program (Mann et al. 2007).
However, as you may recall, the older adults in our nutrition and strength training study concurrently lost 9 pounds of fat weight and added 3 pounds of lean (muscle) weight, for a 12-pound improvement in their body composition over a 10-week period (Westcott et al. 2013). Be sure to eat healthy and nutritious foods, with a reasonable reduction in caloric intake if necessary, but do not diet without performing appropriate resistance exercise. Remember that muscle gain is positively associated with increased metabolism and decreased fat.
Ideally, you should adopt a lifestyle that includes sound nutrition (presented in chapter 12), regular aerobic activity, and sensible strength training. All of these complementary activities are essential for optimal health and fitness and especially for enjoying older adult years.
Summary
Most athletes engage in resistance exercise to improve sport performance. These include older athletes who run, cycle, row, swim, ski, golf, play tennis, and engage in other physically challenging activities. However, most people over age 50 are at least as concerned about their general health and fitness as they are about their athletic abilities. This chapter presents 13 medically oriented and research-based reasons for engaging in regular resistance exercise:
- Rebuilding muscle
- Recharging metabolism
- Reducing fat
- Reducing resting blood pressure
- Improving blood lipid profiles
- Enhancing postcoronary performance
- Resisting diabetes
- Increasing bone density
- Decreasing physical discomfort
- Enhancing mental health
- Revitalizing muscle cells
- Reversing physical frailty
- Combating cancer
Men and women of all ages respond favorably to sensible strength training, which has been shown to improve many health and fitness factors associated with quality of life and quantity of years. When you implement one of the strength training programs presented in this book, you take a proactive role in your personal health care. There is no medicine that provides as many physical and mental benefits as regular resistance exercise does.
Adapted from Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current Sports Medicine Reports 11(4): 209-216, 2012, courtesy of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Strengthen chest and arms with incline press
Chest Exercise. Incline Press: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps. Beginning Position: Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
Chest Exercise
Incline Press
Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps
Beginning Position
- Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
- Sit with head, shoulders, and back against seat pad.
- Grasp handles with fingers and thumbs, palms facing away.
Upward Movement Phase
- Push hands upward slowly until arms are fully extended.
- Keep wrists straight.
- Exhale throughout pushing movement.
Downward Movement Phase
- Return handles slowly to starting position.
- Inhale throughout lowering movement.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Wall squats strengthen quads, glutes, and hamstrings
Leg Exercise. Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells. Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals. Beginning Position: Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
Leg Exercise
Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells
Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals
Beginning Position
- Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
- Position dumbbells with palms facing outside surfaces of thighs and elbows straight.
- Place exercise ball between back and wall with feet far enough from wall so that knees are directly over the feet in down position.
Downward Movement Phase
- Keep head up, eyes fixed straight ahead, shoulders back, torso erect, and weight on entire foot throughout exercise.
- Squat slowly until thighs are parallel to floor, rolling ball between the back and wall as you descend.
- Inhale throughout downward movement.
Upward Movement Phase
- Begin upward movement by slowly straightening knees and hips, rolling ball between the back and wall as you ascend.
- Exhale throughout upward movement phase.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Brief workout trains all major muscle groups
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups.
Free-Weight Training
Program 9.3: Brief Workout
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups. The four free-weight exercises are linear actions (straight movements) that address the most important muscles of the legs, chest, upper back, shoulders, and arms. The two body-weight exercises are rotary actions that target the major muscles of the core. As in our other sample training programs, you will alternate pushing and pulling exercises to enhance the efficiency of your workouts.
You should be able to complete the brief workout in 12 to 15 minutes if you perform one set of each exercise. The workout should take about twice as long (24 to 30 minutes) if you perform a preliminary warm-up set or add a second set of each exercise. If you prefer dumbbell training, you may substitute dumbbells for the squat, bench press, and seated press exercises. You may also use kettlebells in the squat and one-arm row. Follow the recommended exercise sequence as closely as possible. The table presents the program 9.3 exercises and general training guidelines for resistance, repetitions, sets, repetition speed, and recovery time.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
13 reasons for engaging in resistance training
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities.
Practical Application
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities. Your muscles are also similar to the shock absorbers and springs in an automobile, and strong muscles help you to feel better because they protect joints from a variety of potentially harmful external forces. Finally, muscles are like the chassis of an automobile because they largely define your appearance. Although excess fat can definitely detract from your appearance, your muscles actually provide your fundamental physique or figure. Consequently, strong muscles make you look better.
If you would like to function better, feel better, and look better, then you should begin a regular resistance training program that progressively strengthens all your major muscle groups. As you will learn in the following chapters, you can attain excellent results from relatively basic and brief programs of strength training using resistance machines in fitness centers or by performing free-weight or body-weight exercises in your home. We present research-based training protocols that are safe, effective, and efficient, with a proven track record of success for people over age 50.
Without regular resistance exercise you will continue to lose muscle and bone, and you will have further reductions in strength and fitness. Aerobic activity such as walking, running, cycling, and dancing are preferable for promoting heart health and cardiorespiratory fitness, but they will not prevent age-related reductions in muscle and bone. Continue to perform regular aerobic activity, but be sure to complement your endurance exercise with sensible strength training.
Likewise, sensible nutrition is essential for general health, and dieting is far and away the fastest way to lose body weight. However, excellent eating habits alone will not prevent the loss of muscle and bone or the continued weakening of your musculoskeletal system. Dieting can be particularly problematic because low-calorie diets decrease both fat weight and lean (muscle) weight. The undesirable muscle loss results in reduction of metabolic rate that makes it most difficult to maintain the lower body weight. In fact, research reveals that 95 percent of dieters regain all of the weight they lost within the year after their diet program (Mann et al. 2007).
However, as you may recall, the older adults in our nutrition and strength training study concurrently lost 9 pounds of fat weight and added 3 pounds of lean (muscle) weight, for a 12-pound improvement in their body composition over a 10-week period (Westcott et al. 2013). Be sure to eat healthy and nutritious foods, with a reasonable reduction in caloric intake if necessary, but do not diet without performing appropriate resistance exercise. Remember that muscle gain is positively associated with increased metabolism and decreased fat.
Ideally, you should adopt a lifestyle that includes sound nutrition (presented in chapter 12), regular aerobic activity, and sensible strength training. All of these complementary activities are essential for optimal health and fitness and especially for enjoying older adult years.
Summary
Most athletes engage in resistance exercise to improve sport performance. These include older athletes who run, cycle, row, swim, ski, golf, play tennis, and engage in other physically challenging activities. However, most people over age 50 are at least as concerned about their general health and fitness as they are about their athletic abilities. This chapter presents 13 medically oriented and research-based reasons for engaging in regular resistance exercise:
- Rebuilding muscle
- Recharging metabolism
- Reducing fat
- Reducing resting blood pressure
- Improving blood lipid profiles
- Enhancing postcoronary performance
- Resisting diabetes
- Increasing bone density
- Decreasing physical discomfort
- Enhancing mental health
- Revitalizing muscle cells
- Reversing physical frailty
- Combating cancer
Men and women of all ages respond favorably to sensible strength training, which has been shown to improve many health and fitness factors associated with quality of life and quantity of years. When you implement one of the strength training programs presented in this book, you take a proactive role in your personal health care. There is no medicine that provides as many physical and mental benefits as regular resistance exercise does.
Adapted from Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current Sports Medicine Reports 11(4): 209-216, 2012, courtesy of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Strengthen chest and arms with incline press
Chest Exercise. Incline Press: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps. Beginning Position: Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
Chest Exercise
Incline Press
Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps
Beginning Position
- Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
- Sit with head, shoulders, and back against seat pad.
- Grasp handles with fingers and thumbs, palms facing away.
Upward Movement Phase
- Push hands upward slowly until arms are fully extended.
- Keep wrists straight.
- Exhale throughout pushing movement.
Downward Movement Phase
- Return handles slowly to starting position.
- Inhale throughout lowering movement.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Wall squats strengthen quads, glutes, and hamstrings
Leg Exercise. Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells. Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals. Beginning Position: Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
Leg Exercise
Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells
Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals
Beginning Position
- Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
- Position dumbbells with palms facing outside surfaces of thighs and elbows straight.
- Place exercise ball between back and wall with feet far enough from wall so that knees are directly over the feet in down position.
Downward Movement Phase
- Keep head up, eyes fixed straight ahead, shoulders back, torso erect, and weight on entire foot throughout exercise.
- Squat slowly until thighs are parallel to floor, rolling ball between the back and wall as you descend.
- Inhale throughout downward movement.
Upward Movement Phase
- Begin upward movement by slowly straightening knees and hips, rolling ball between the back and wall as you ascend.
- Exhale throughout upward movement phase.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Brief workout trains all major muscle groups
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups.
Free-Weight Training
Program 9.3: Brief Workout
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups. The four free-weight exercises are linear actions (straight movements) that address the most important muscles of the legs, chest, upper back, shoulders, and arms. The two body-weight exercises are rotary actions that target the major muscles of the core. As in our other sample training programs, you will alternate pushing and pulling exercises to enhance the efficiency of your workouts.
You should be able to complete the brief workout in 12 to 15 minutes if you perform one set of each exercise. The workout should take about twice as long (24 to 30 minutes) if you perform a preliminary warm-up set or add a second set of each exercise. If you prefer dumbbell training, you may substitute dumbbells for the squat, bench press, and seated press exercises. You may also use kettlebells in the squat and one-arm row. Follow the recommended exercise sequence as closely as possible. The table presents the program 9.3 exercises and general training guidelines for resistance, repetitions, sets, repetition speed, and recovery time.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
13 reasons for engaging in resistance training
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities.
Practical Application
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities. Your muscles are also similar to the shock absorbers and springs in an automobile, and strong muscles help you to feel better because they protect joints from a variety of potentially harmful external forces. Finally, muscles are like the chassis of an automobile because they largely define your appearance. Although excess fat can definitely detract from your appearance, your muscles actually provide your fundamental physique or figure. Consequently, strong muscles make you look better.
If you would like to function better, feel better, and look better, then you should begin a regular resistance training program that progressively strengthens all your major muscle groups. As you will learn in the following chapters, you can attain excellent results from relatively basic and brief programs of strength training using resistance machines in fitness centers or by performing free-weight or body-weight exercises in your home. We present research-based training protocols that are safe, effective, and efficient, with a proven track record of success for people over age 50.
Without regular resistance exercise you will continue to lose muscle and bone, and you will have further reductions in strength and fitness. Aerobic activity such as walking, running, cycling, and dancing are preferable for promoting heart health and cardiorespiratory fitness, but they will not prevent age-related reductions in muscle and bone. Continue to perform regular aerobic activity, but be sure to complement your endurance exercise with sensible strength training.
Likewise, sensible nutrition is essential for general health, and dieting is far and away the fastest way to lose body weight. However, excellent eating habits alone will not prevent the loss of muscle and bone or the continued weakening of your musculoskeletal system. Dieting can be particularly problematic because low-calorie diets decrease both fat weight and lean (muscle) weight. The undesirable muscle loss results in reduction of metabolic rate that makes it most difficult to maintain the lower body weight. In fact, research reveals that 95 percent of dieters regain all of the weight they lost within the year after their diet program (Mann et al. 2007).
However, as you may recall, the older adults in our nutrition and strength training study concurrently lost 9 pounds of fat weight and added 3 pounds of lean (muscle) weight, for a 12-pound improvement in their body composition over a 10-week period (Westcott et al. 2013). Be sure to eat healthy and nutritious foods, with a reasonable reduction in caloric intake if necessary, but do not diet without performing appropriate resistance exercise. Remember that muscle gain is positively associated with increased metabolism and decreased fat.
Ideally, you should adopt a lifestyle that includes sound nutrition (presented in chapter 12), regular aerobic activity, and sensible strength training. All of these complementary activities are essential for optimal health and fitness and especially for enjoying older adult years.
Summary
Most athletes engage in resistance exercise to improve sport performance. These include older athletes who run, cycle, row, swim, ski, golf, play tennis, and engage in other physically challenging activities. However, most people over age 50 are at least as concerned about their general health and fitness as they are about their athletic abilities. This chapter presents 13 medically oriented and research-based reasons for engaging in regular resistance exercise:
- Rebuilding muscle
- Recharging metabolism
- Reducing fat
- Reducing resting blood pressure
- Improving blood lipid profiles
- Enhancing postcoronary performance
- Resisting diabetes
- Increasing bone density
- Decreasing physical discomfort
- Enhancing mental health
- Revitalizing muscle cells
- Reversing physical frailty
- Combating cancer
Men and women of all ages respond favorably to sensible strength training, which has been shown to improve many health and fitness factors associated with quality of life and quantity of years. When you implement one of the strength training programs presented in this book, you take a proactive role in your personal health care. There is no medicine that provides as many physical and mental benefits as regular resistance exercise does.
Adapted from Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current Sports Medicine Reports 11(4): 209-216, 2012, courtesy of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Strengthen chest and arms with incline press
Chest Exercise. Incline Press: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps. Beginning Position: Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
Chest Exercise
Incline Press
Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps
Beginning Position
- Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
- Sit with head, shoulders, and back against seat pad.
- Grasp handles with fingers and thumbs, palms facing away.
Upward Movement Phase
- Push hands upward slowly until arms are fully extended.
- Keep wrists straight.
- Exhale throughout pushing movement.
Downward Movement Phase
- Return handles slowly to starting position.
- Inhale throughout lowering movement.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Wall squats strengthen quads, glutes, and hamstrings
Leg Exercise. Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells. Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals. Beginning Position: Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
Leg Exercise
Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells
Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals
Beginning Position
- Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
- Position dumbbells with palms facing outside surfaces of thighs and elbows straight.
- Place exercise ball between back and wall with feet far enough from wall so that knees are directly over the feet in down position.
Downward Movement Phase
- Keep head up, eyes fixed straight ahead, shoulders back, torso erect, and weight on entire foot throughout exercise.
- Squat slowly until thighs are parallel to floor, rolling ball between the back and wall as you descend.
- Inhale throughout downward movement.
Upward Movement Phase
- Begin upward movement by slowly straightening knees and hips, rolling ball between the back and wall as you ascend.
- Exhale throughout upward movement phase.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Brief workout trains all major muscle groups
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups.
Free-Weight Training
Program 9.3: Brief Workout
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups. The four free-weight exercises are linear actions (straight movements) that address the most important muscles of the legs, chest, upper back, shoulders, and arms. The two body-weight exercises are rotary actions that target the major muscles of the core. As in our other sample training programs, you will alternate pushing and pulling exercises to enhance the efficiency of your workouts.
You should be able to complete the brief workout in 12 to 15 minutes if you perform one set of each exercise. The workout should take about twice as long (24 to 30 minutes) if you perform a preliminary warm-up set or add a second set of each exercise. If you prefer dumbbell training, you may substitute dumbbells for the squat, bench press, and seated press exercises. You may also use kettlebells in the squat and one-arm row. Follow the recommended exercise sequence as closely as possible. The table presents the program 9.3 exercises and general training guidelines for resistance, repetitions, sets, repetition speed, and recovery time.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
13 reasons for engaging in resistance training
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities.
Practical Application
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities. Your muscles are also similar to the shock absorbers and springs in an automobile, and strong muscles help you to feel better because they protect joints from a variety of potentially harmful external forces. Finally, muscles are like the chassis of an automobile because they largely define your appearance. Although excess fat can definitely detract from your appearance, your muscles actually provide your fundamental physique or figure. Consequently, strong muscles make you look better.
If you would like to function better, feel better, and look better, then you should begin a regular resistance training program that progressively strengthens all your major muscle groups. As you will learn in the following chapters, you can attain excellent results from relatively basic and brief programs of strength training using resistance machines in fitness centers or by performing free-weight or body-weight exercises in your home. We present research-based training protocols that are safe, effective, and efficient, with a proven track record of success for people over age 50.
Without regular resistance exercise you will continue to lose muscle and bone, and you will have further reductions in strength and fitness. Aerobic activity such as walking, running, cycling, and dancing are preferable for promoting heart health and cardiorespiratory fitness, but they will not prevent age-related reductions in muscle and bone. Continue to perform regular aerobic activity, but be sure to complement your endurance exercise with sensible strength training.
Likewise, sensible nutrition is essential for general health, and dieting is far and away the fastest way to lose body weight. However, excellent eating habits alone will not prevent the loss of muscle and bone or the continued weakening of your musculoskeletal system. Dieting can be particularly problematic because low-calorie diets decrease both fat weight and lean (muscle) weight. The undesirable muscle loss results in reduction of metabolic rate that makes it most difficult to maintain the lower body weight. In fact, research reveals that 95 percent of dieters regain all of the weight they lost within the year after their diet program (Mann et al. 2007).
However, as you may recall, the older adults in our nutrition and strength training study concurrently lost 9 pounds of fat weight and added 3 pounds of lean (muscle) weight, for a 12-pound improvement in their body composition over a 10-week period (Westcott et al. 2013). Be sure to eat healthy and nutritious foods, with a reasonable reduction in caloric intake if necessary, but do not diet without performing appropriate resistance exercise. Remember that muscle gain is positively associated with increased metabolism and decreased fat.
Ideally, you should adopt a lifestyle that includes sound nutrition (presented in chapter 12), regular aerobic activity, and sensible strength training. All of these complementary activities are essential for optimal health and fitness and especially for enjoying older adult years.
Summary
Most athletes engage in resistance exercise to improve sport performance. These include older athletes who run, cycle, row, swim, ski, golf, play tennis, and engage in other physically challenging activities. However, most people over age 50 are at least as concerned about their general health and fitness as they are about their athletic abilities. This chapter presents 13 medically oriented and research-based reasons for engaging in regular resistance exercise:
- Rebuilding muscle
- Recharging metabolism
- Reducing fat
- Reducing resting blood pressure
- Improving blood lipid profiles
- Enhancing postcoronary performance
- Resisting diabetes
- Increasing bone density
- Decreasing physical discomfort
- Enhancing mental health
- Revitalizing muscle cells
- Reversing physical frailty
- Combating cancer
Men and women of all ages respond favorably to sensible strength training, which has been shown to improve many health and fitness factors associated with quality of life and quantity of years. When you implement one of the strength training programs presented in this book, you take a proactive role in your personal health care. There is no medicine that provides as many physical and mental benefits as regular resistance exercise does.
Adapted from Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current Sports Medicine Reports 11(4): 209-216, 2012, courtesy of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Strengthen chest and arms with incline press
Chest Exercise. Incline Press: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps. Beginning Position: Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
Chest Exercise
Incline Press
Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps
Beginning Position
- Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
- Sit with head, shoulders, and back against seat pad.
- Grasp handles with fingers and thumbs, palms facing away.
Upward Movement Phase
- Push hands upward slowly until arms are fully extended.
- Keep wrists straight.
- Exhale throughout pushing movement.
Downward Movement Phase
- Return handles slowly to starting position.
- Inhale throughout lowering movement.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Wall squats strengthen quads, glutes, and hamstrings
Leg Exercise. Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells. Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals. Beginning Position: Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
Leg Exercise
Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells
Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals
Beginning Position
- Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
- Position dumbbells with palms facing outside surfaces of thighs and elbows straight.
- Place exercise ball between back and wall with feet far enough from wall so that knees are directly over the feet in down position.
Downward Movement Phase
- Keep head up, eyes fixed straight ahead, shoulders back, torso erect, and weight on entire foot throughout exercise.
- Squat slowly until thighs are parallel to floor, rolling ball between the back and wall as you descend.
- Inhale throughout downward movement.
Upward Movement Phase
- Begin upward movement by slowly straightening knees and hips, rolling ball between the back and wall as you ascend.
- Exhale throughout upward movement phase.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Brief workout trains all major muscle groups
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups.
Free-Weight Training
Program 9.3: Brief Workout
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups. The four free-weight exercises are linear actions (straight movements) that address the most important muscles of the legs, chest, upper back, shoulders, and arms. The two body-weight exercises are rotary actions that target the major muscles of the core. As in our other sample training programs, you will alternate pushing and pulling exercises to enhance the efficiency of your workouts.
You should be able to complete the brief workout in 12 to 15 minutes if you perform one set of each exercise. The workout should take about twice as long (24 to 30 minutes) if you perform a preliminary warm-up set or add a second set of each exercise. If you prefer dumbbell training, you may substitute dumbbells for the squat, bench press, and seated press exercises. You may also use kettlebells in the squat and one-arm row. Follow the recommended exercise sequence as closely as possible. The table presents the program 9.3 exercises and general training guidelines for resistance, repetitions, sets, repetition speed, and recovery time.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
13 reasons for engaging in resistance training
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities.
Practical Application
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities. Your muscles are also similar to the shock absorbers and springs in an automobile, and strong muscles help you to feel better because they protect joints from a variety of potentially harmful external forces. Finally, muscles are like the chassis of an automobile because they largely define your appearance. Although excess fat can definitely detract from your appearance, your muscles actually provide your fundamental physique or figure. Consequently, strong muscles make you look better.
If you would like to function better, feel better, and look better, then you should begin a regular resistance training program that progressively strengthens all your major muscle groups. As you will learn in the following chapters, you can attain excellent results from relatively basic and brief programs of strength training using resistance machines in fitness centers or by performing free-weight or body-weight exercises in your home. We present research-based training protocols that are safe, effective, and efficient, with a proven track record of success for people over age 50.
Without regular resistance exercise you will continue to lose muscle and bone, and you will have further reductions in strength and fitness. Aerobic activity such as walking, running, cycling, and dancing are preferable for promoting heart health and cardiorespiratory fitness, but they will not prevent age-related reductions in muscle and bone. Continue to perform regular aerobic activity, but be sure to complement your endurance exercise with sensible strength training.
Likewise, sensible nutrition is essential for general health, and dieting is far and away the fastest way to lose body weight. However, excellent eating habits alone will not prevent the loss of muscle and bone or the continued weakening of your musculoskeletal system. Dieting can be particularly problematic because low-calorie diets decrease both fat weight and lean (muscle) weight. The undesirable muscle loss results in reduction of metabolic rate that makes it most difficult to maintain the lower body weight. In fact, research reveals that 95 percent of dieters regain all of the weight they lost within the year after their diet program (Mann et al. 2007).
However, as you may recall, the older adults in our nutrition and strength training study concurrently lost 9 pounds of fat weight and added 3 pounds of lean (muscle) weight, for a 12-pound improvement in their body composition over a 10-week period (Westcott et al. 2013). Be sure to eat healthy and nutritious foods, with a reasonable reduction in caloric intake if necessary, but do not diet without performing appropriate resistance exercise. Remember that muscle gain is positively associated with increased metabolism and decreased fat.
Ideally, you should adopt a lifestyle that includes sound nutrition (presented in chapter 12), regular aerobic activity, and sensible strength training. All of these complementary activities are essential for optimal health and fitness and especially for enjoying older adult years.
Summary
Most athletes engage in resistance exercise to improve sport performance. These include older athletes who run, cycle, row, swim, ski, golf, play tennis, and engage in other physically challenging activities. However, most people over age 50 are at least as concerned about their general health and fitness as they are about their athletic abilities. This chapter presents 13 medically oriented and research-based reasons for engaging in regular resistance exercise:
- Rebuilding muscle
- Recharging metabolism
- Reducing fat
- Reducing resting blood pressure
- Improving blood lipid profiles
- Enhancing postcoronary performance
- Resisting diabetes
- Increasing bone density
- Decreasing physical discomfort
- Enhancing mental health
- Revitalizing muscle cells
- Reversing physical frailty
- Combating cancer
Men and women of all ages respond favorably to sensible strength training, which has been shown to improve many health and fitness factors associated with quality of life and quantity of years. When you implement one of the strength training programs presented in this book, you take a proactive role in your personal health care. There is no medicine that provides as many physical and mental benefits as regular resistance exercise does.
Adapted from Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current Sports Medicine Reports 11(4): 209-216, 2012, courtesy of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Strengthen chest and arms with incline press
Chest Exercise. Incline Press: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps. Beginning Position: Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
Chest Exercise
Incline Press
Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps
Beginning Position
- Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
- Sit with head, shoulders, and back against seat pad.
- Grasp handles with fingers and thumbs, palms facing away.
Upward Movement Phase
- Push hands upward slowly until arms are fully extended.
- Keep wrists straight.
- Exhale throughout pushing movement.
Downward Movement Phase
- Return handles slowly to starting position.
- Inhale throughout lowering movement.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Wall squats strengthen quads, glutes, and hamstrings
Leg Exercise. Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells. Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals. Beginning Position: Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
Leg Exercise
Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells
Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals
Beginning Position
- Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
- Position dumbbells with palms facing outside surfaces of thighs and elbows straight.
- Place exercise ball between back and wall with feet far enough from wall so that knees are directly over the feet in down position.
Downward Movement Phase
- Keep head up, eyes fixed straight ahead, shoulders back, torso erect, and weight on entire foot throughout exercise.
- Squat slowly until thighs are parallel to floor, rolling ball between the back and wall as you descend.
- Inhale throughout downward movement.
Upward Movement Phase
- Begin upward movement by slowly straightening knees and hips, rolling ball between the back and wall as you ascend.
- Exhale throughout upward movement phase.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Brief workout trains all major muscle groups
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups.
Free-Weight Training
Program 9.3: Brief Workout
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups. The four free-weight exercises are linear actions (straight movements) that address the most important muscles of the legs, chest, upper back, shoulders, and arms. The two body-weight exercises are rotary actions that target the major muscles of the core. As in our other sample training programs, you will alternate pushing and pulling exercises to enhance the efficiency of your workouts.
You should be able to complete the brief workout in 12 to 15 minutes if you perform one set of each exercise. The workout should take about twice as long (24 to 30 minutes) if you perform a preliminary warm-up set or add a second set of each exercise. If you prefer dumbbell training, you may substitute dumbbells for the squat, bench press, and seated press exercises. You may also use kettlebells in the squat and one-arm row. Follow the recommended exercise sequence as closely as possible. The table presents the program 9.3 exercises and general training guidelines for resistance, repetitions, sets, repetition speed, and recovery time.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
13 reasons for engaging in resistance training
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities.
Practical Application
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities. Your muscles are also similar to the shock absorbers and springs in an automobile, and strong muscles help you to feel better because they protect joints from a variety of potentially harmful external forces. Finally, muscles are like the chassis of an automobile because they largely define your appearance. Although excess fat can definitely detract from your appearance, your muscles actually provide your fundamental physique or figure. Consequently, strong muscles make you look better.
If you would like to function better, feel better, and look better, then you should begin a regular resistance training program that progressively strengthens all your major muscle groups. As you will learn in the following chapters, you can attain excellent results from relatively basic and brief programs of strength training using resistance machines in fitness centers or by performing free-weight or body-weight exercises in your home. We present research-based training protocols that are safe, effective, and efficient, with a proven track record of success for people over age 50.
Without regular resistance exercise you will continue to lose muscle and bone, and you will have further reductions in strength and fitness. Aerobic activity such as walking, running, cycling, and dancing are preferable for promoting heart health and cardiorespiratory fitness, but they will not prevent age-related reductions in muscle and bone. Continue to perform regular aerobic activity, but be sure to complement your endurance exercise with sensible strength training.
Likewise, sensible nutrition is essential for general health, and dieting is far and away the fastest way to lose body weight. However, excellent eating habits alone will not prevent the loss of muscle and bone or the continued weakening of your musculoskeletal system. Dieting can be particularly problematic because low-calorie diets decrease both fat weight and lean (muscle) weight. The undesirable muscle loss results in reduction of metabolic rate that makes it most difficult to maintain the lower body weight. In fact, research reveals that 95 percent of dieters regain all of the weight they lost within the year after their diet program (Mann et al. 2007).
However, as you may recall, the older adults in our nutrition and strength training study concurrently lost 9 pounds of fat weight and added 3 pounds of lean (muscle) weight, for a 12-pound improvement in their body composition over a 10-week period (Westcott et al. 2013). Be sure to eat healthy and nutritious foods, with a reasonable reduction in caloric intake if necessary, but do not diet without performing appropriate resistance exercise. Remember that muscle gain is positively associated with increased metabolism and decreased fat.
Ideally, you should adopt a lifestyle that includes sound nutrition (presented in chapter 12), regular aerobic activity, and sensible strength training. All of these complementary activities are essential for optimal health and fitness and especially for enjoying older adult years.
Summary
Most athletes engage in resistance exercise to improve sport performance. These include older athletes who run, cycle, row, swim, ski, golf, play tennis, and engage in other physically challenging activities. However, most people over age 50 are at least as concerned about their general health and fitness as they are about their athletic abilities. This chapter presents 13 medically oriented and research-based reasons for engaging in regular resistance exercise:
- Rebuilding muscle
- Recharging metabolism
- Reducing fat
- Reducing resting blood pressure
- Improving blood lipid profiles
- Enhancing postcoronary performance
- Resisting diabetes
- Increasing bone density
- Decreasing physical discomfort
- Enhancing mental health
- Revitalizing muscle cells
- Reversing physical frailty
- Combating cancer
Men and women of all ages respond favorably to sensible strength training, which has been shown to improve many health and fitness factors associated with quality of life and quantity of years. When you implement one of the strength training programs presented in this book, you take a proactive role in your personal health care. There is no medicine that provides as many physical and mental benefits as regular resistance exercise does.
Adapted from Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current Sports Medicine Reports 11(4): 209-216, 2012, courtesy of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Strengthen chest and arms with incline press
Chest Exercise. Incline Press: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps. Beginning Position: Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
Chest Exercise
Incline Press
Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps
Beginning Position
- Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
- Sit with head, shoulders, and back against seat pad.
- Grasp handles with fingers and thumbs, palms facing away.
Upward Movement Phase
- Push hands upward slowly until arms are fully extended.
- Keep wrists straight.
- Exhale throughout pushing movement.
Downward Movement Phase
- Return handles slowly to starting position.
- Inhale throughout lowering movement.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Wall squats strengthen quads, glutes, and hamstrings
Leg Exercise. Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells. Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals. Beginning Position: Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
Leg Exercise
Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells
Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals
Beginning Position
- Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
- Position dumbbells with palms facing outside surfaces of thighs and elbows straight.
- Place exercise ball between back and wall with feet far enough from wall so that knees are directly over the feet in down position.
Downward Movement Phase
- Keep head up, eyes fixed straight ahead, shoulders back, torso erect, and weight on entire foot throughout exercise.
- Squat slowly until thighs are parallel to floor, rolling ball between the back and wall as you descend.
- Inhale throughout downward movement.
Upward Movement Phase
- Begin upward movement by slowly straightening knees and hips, rolling ball between the back and wall as you ascend.
- Exhale throughout upward movement phase.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Brief workout trains all major muscle groups
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups.
Free-Weight Training
Program 9.3: Brief Workout
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups. The four free-weight exercises are linear actions (straight movements) that address the most important muscles of the legs, chest, upper back, shoulders, and arms. The two body-weight exercises are rotary actions that target the major muscles of the core. As in our other sample training programs, you will alternate pushing and pulling exercises to enhance the efficiency of your workouts.
You should be able to complete the brief workout in 12 to 15 minutes if you perform one set of each exercise. The workout should take about twice as long (24 to 30 minutes) if you perform a preliminary warm-up set or add a second set of each exercise. If you prefer dumbbell training, you may substitute dumbbells for the squat, bench press, and seated press exercises. You may also use kettlebells in the squat and one-arm row. Follow the recommended exercise sequence as closely as possible. The table presents the program 9.3 exercises and general training guidelines for resistance, repetitions, sets, repetition speed, and recovery time.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
13 reasons for engaging in resistance training
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities.
Practical Application
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities. Your muscles are also similar to the shock absorbers and springs in an automobile, and strong muscles help you to feel better because they protect joints from a variety of potentially harmful external forces. Finally, muscles are like the chassis of an automobile because they largely define your appearance. Although excess fat can definitely detract from your appearance, your muscles actually provide your fundamental physique or figure. Consequently, strong muscles make you look better.
If you would like to function better, feel better, and look better, then you should begin a regular resistance training program that progressively strengthens all your major muscle groups. As you will learn in the following chapters, you can attain excellent results from relatively basic and brief programs of strength training using resistance machines in fitness centers or by performing free-weight or body-weight exercises in your home. We present research-based training protocols that are safe, effective, and efficient, with a proven track record of success for people over age 50.
Without regular resistance exercise you will continue to lose muscle and bone, and you will have further reductions in strength and fitness. Aerobic activity such as walking, running, cycling, and dancing are preferable for promoting heart health and cardiorespiratory fitness, but they will not prevent age-related reductions in muscle and bone. Continue to perform regular aerobic activity, but be sure to complement your endurance exercise with sensible strength training.
Likewise, sensible nutrition is essential for general health, and dieting is far and away the fastest way to lose body weight. However, excellent eating habits alone will not prevent the loss of muscle and bone or the continued weakening of your musculoskeletal system. Dieting can be particularly problematic because low-calorie diets decrease both fat weight and lean (muscle) weight. The undesirable muscle loss results in reduction of metabolic rate that makes it most difficult to maintain the lower body weight. In fact, research reveals that 95 percent of dieters regain all of the weight they lost within the year after their diet program (Mann et al. 2007).
However, as you may recall, the older adults in our nutrition and strength training study concurrently lost 9 pounds of fat weight and added 3 pounds of lean (muscle) weight, for a 12-pound improvement in their body composition over a 10-week period (Westcott et al. 2013). Be sure to eat healthy and nutritious foods, with a reasonable reduction in caloric intake if necessary, but do not diet without performing appropriate resistance exercise. Remember that muscle gain is positively associated with increased metabolism and decreased fat.
Ideally, you should adopt a lifestyle that includes sound nutrition (presented in chapter 12), regular aerobic activity, and sensible strength training. All of these complementary activities are essential for optimal health and fitness and especially for enjoying older adult years.
Summary
Most athletes engage in resistance exercise to improve sport performance. These include older athletes who run, cycle, row, swim, ski, golf, play tennis, and engage in other physically challenging activities. However, most people over age 50 are at least as concerned about their general health and fitness as they are about their athletic abilities. This chapter presents 13 medically oriented and research-based reasons for engaging in regular resistance exercise:
- Rebuilding muscle
- Recharging metabolism
- Reducing fat
- Reducing resting blood pressure
- Improving blood lipid profiles
- Enhancing postcoronary performance
- Resisting diabetes
- Increasing bone density
- Decreasing physical discomfort
- Enhancing mental health
- Revitalizing muscle cells
- Reversing physical frailty
- Combating cancer
Men and women of all ages respond favorably to sensible strength training, which has been shown to improve many health and fitness factors associated with quality of life and quantity of years. When you implement one of the strength training programs presented in this book, you take a proactive role in your personal health care. There is no medicine that provides as many physical and mental benefits as regular resistance exercise does.
Adapted from Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current Sports Medicine Reports 11(4): 209-216, 2012, courtesy of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Strengthen chest and arms with incline press
Chest Exercise. Incline Press: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps. Beginning Position: Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
Chest Exercise
Incline Press
Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps
Beginning Position
- Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
- Sit with head, shoulders, and back against seat pad.
- Grasp handles with fingers and thumbs, palms facing away.
Upward Movement Phase
- Push hands upward slowly until arms are fully extended.
- Keep wrists straight.
- Exhale throughout pushing movement.
Downward Movement Phase
- Return handles slowly to starting position.
- Inhale throughout lowering movement.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Wall squats strengthen quads, glutes, and hamstrings
Leg Exercise. Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells. Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals. Beginning Position: Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
Leg Exercise
Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells
Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals
Beginning Position
- Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
- Position dumbbells with palms facing outside surfaces of thighs and elbows straight.
- Place exercise ball between back and wall with feet far enough from wall so that knees are directly over the feet in down position.
Downward Movement Phase
- Keep head up, eyes fixed straight ahead, shoulders back, torso erect, and weight on entire foot throughout exercise.
- Squat slowly until thighs are parallel to floor, rolling ball between the back and wall as you descend.
- Inhale throughout downward movement.
Upward Movement Phase
- Begin upward movement by slowly straightening knees and hips, rolling ball between the back and wall as you ascend.
- Exhale throughout upward movement phase.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Brief workout trains all major muscle groups
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups.
Free-Weight Training
Program 9.3: Brief Workout
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups. The four free-weight exercises are linear actions (straight movements) that address the most important muscles of the legs, chest, upper back, shoulders, and arms. The two body-weight exercises are rotary actions that target the major muscles of the core. As in our other sample training programs, you will alternate pushing and pulling exercises to enhance the efficiency of your workouts.
You should be able to complete the brief workout in 12 to 15 minutes if you perform one set of each exercise. The workout should take about twice as long (24 to 30 minutes) if you perform a preliminary warm-up set or add a second set of each exercise. If you prefer dumbbell training, you may substitute dumbbells for the squat, bench press, and seated press exercises. You may also use kettlebells in the squat and one-arm row. Follow the recommended exercise sequence as closely as possible. The table presents the program 9.3 exercises and general training guidelines for resistance, repetitions, sets, repetition speed, and recovery time.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
13 reasons for engaging in resistance training
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities.
Practical Application
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities. Your muscles are also similar to the shock absorbers and springs in an automobile, and strong muscles help you to feel better because they protect joints from a variety of potentially harmful external forces. Finally, muscles are like the chassis of an automobile because they largely define your appearance. Although excess fat can definitely detract from your appearance, your muscles actually provide your fundamental physique or figure. Consequently, strong muscles make you look better.
If you would like to function better, feel better, and look better, then you should begin a regular resistance training program that progressively strengthens all your major muscle groups. As you will learn in the following chapters, you can attain excellent results from relatively basic and brief programs of strength training using resistance machines in fitness centers or by performing free-weight or body-weight exercises in your home. We present research-based training protocols that are safe, effective, and efficient, with a proven track record of success for people over age 50.
Without regular resistance exercise you will continue to lose muscle and bone, and you will have further reductions in strength and fitness. Aerobic activity such as walking, running, cycling, and dancing are preferable for promoting heart health and cardiorespiratory fitness, but they will not prevent age-related reductions in muscle and bone. Continue to perform regular aerobic activity, but be sure to complement your endurance exercise with sensible strength training.
Likewise, sensible nutrition is essential for general health, and dieting is far and away the fastest way to lose body weight. However, excellent eating habits alone will not prevent the loss of muscle and bone or the continued weakening of your musculoskeletal system. Dieting can be particularly problematic because low-calorie diets decrease both fat weight and lean (muscle) weight. The undesirable muscle loss results in reduction of metabolic rate that makes it most difficult to maintain the lower body weight. In fact, research reveals that 95 percent of dieters regain all of the weight they lost within the year after their diet program (Mann et al. 2007).
However, as you may recall, the older adults in our nutrition and strength training study concurrently lost 9 pounds of fat weight and added 3 pounds of lean (muscle) weight, for a 12-pound improvement in their body composition over a 10-week period (Westcott et al. 2013). Be sure to eat healthy and nutritious foods, with a reasonable reduction in caloric intake if necessary, but do not diet without performing appropriate resistance exercise. Remember that muscle gain is positively associated with increased metabolism and decreased fat.
Ideally, you should adopt a lifestyle that includes sound nutrition (presented in chapter 12), regular aerobic activity, and sensible strength training. All of these complementary activities are essential for optimal health and fitness and especially for enjoying older adult years.
Summary
Most athletes engage in resistance exercise to improve sport performance. These include older athletes who run, cycle, row, swim, ski, golf, play tennis, and engage in other physically challenging activities. However, most people over age 50 are at least as concerned about their general health and fitness as they are about their athletic abilities. This chapter presents 13 medically oriented and research-based reasons for engaging in regular resistance exercise:
- Rebuilding muscle
- Recharging metabolism
- Reducing fat
- Reducing resting blood pressure
- Improving blood lipid profiles
- Enhancing postcoronary performance
- Resisting diabetes
- Increasing bone density
- Decreasing physical discomfort
- Enhancing mental health
- Revitalizing muscle cells
- Reversing physical frailty
- Combating cancer
Men and women of all ages respond favorably to sensible strength training, which has been shown to improve many health and fitness factors associated with quality of life and quantity of years. When you implement one of the strength training programs presented in this book, you take a proactive role in your personal health care. There is no medicine that provides as many physical and mental benefits as regular resistance exercise does.
Adapted from Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current Sports Medicine Reports 11(4): 209-216, 2012, courtesy of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Strengthen chest and arms with incline press
Chest Exercise. Incline Press: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps. Beginning Position: Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
Chest Exercise
Incline Press
Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps
Beginning Position
- Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
- Sit with head, shoulders, and back against seat pad.
- Grasp handles with fingers and thumbs, palms facing away.
Upward Movement Phase
- Push hands upward slowly until arms are fully extended.
- Keep wrists straight.
- Exhale throughout pushing movement.
Downward Movement Phase
- Return handles slowly to starting position.
- Inhale throughout lowering movement.
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Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Wall squats strengthen quads, glutes, and hamstrings
Leg Exercise. Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells. Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals. Beginning Position: Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
Leg Exercise
Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells
Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals
Beginning Position
- Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
- Position dumbbells with palms facing outside surfaces of thighs and elbows straight.
- Place exercise ball between back and wall with feet far enough from wall so that knees are directly over the feet in down position.
Downward Movement Phase
- Keep head up, eyes fixed straight ahead, shoulders back, torso erect, and weight on entire foot throughout exercise.
- Squat slowly until thighs are parallel to floor, rolling ball between the back and wall as you descend.
- Inhale throughout downward movement.
Upward Movement Phase
- Begin upward movement by slowly straightening knees and hips, rolling ball between the back and wall as you ascend.
- Exhale throughout upward movement phase.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Brief workout trains all major muscle groups
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups.
Free-Weight Training
Program 9.3: Brief Workout
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups. The four free-weight exercises are linear actions (straight movements) that address the most important muscles of the legs, chest, upper back, shoulders, and arms. The two body-weight exercises are rotary actions that target the major muscles of the core. As in our other sample training programs, you will alternate pushing and pulling exercises to enhance the efficiency of your workouts.
You should be able to complete the brief workout in 12 to 15 minutes if you perform one set of each exercise. The workout should take about twice as long (24 to 30 minutes) if you perform a preliminary warm-up set or add a second set of each exercise. If you prefer dumbbell training, you may substitute dumbbells for the squat, bench press, and seated press exercises. You may also use kettlebells in the squat and one-arm row. Follow the recommended exercise sequence as closely as possible. The table presents the program 9.3 exercises and general training guidelines for resistance, repetitions, sets, repetition speed, and recovery time.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
13 reasons for engaging in resistance training
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities.
Practical Application
If we were to compare the muscles of the body to an automobile, they would be analogous to the engine. As noted earlier, your muscles serve as the engines of your body, and strong muscles enable you to function better in all physical activities. Your muscles are also similar to the shock absorbers and springs in an automobile, and strong muscles help you to feel better because they protect joints from a variety of potentially harmful external forces. Finally, muscles are like the chassis of an automobile because they largely define your appearance. Although excess fat can definitely detract from your appearance, your muscles actually provide your fundamental physique or figure. Consequently, strong muscles make you look better.
If you would like to function better, feel better, and look better, then you should begin a regular resistance training program that progressively strengthens all your major muscle groups. As you will learn in the following chapters, you can attain excellent results from relatively basic and brief programs of strength training using resistance machines in fitness centers or by performing free-weight or body-weight exercises in your home. We present research-based training protocols that are safe, effective, and efficient, with a proven track record of success for people over age 50.
Without regular resistance exercise you will continue to lose muscle and bone, and you will have further reductions in strength and fitness. Aerobic activity such as walking, running, cycling, and dancing are preferable for promoting heart health and cardiorespiratory fitness, but they will not prevent age-related reductions in muscle and bone. Continue to perform regular aerobic activity, but be sure to complement your endurance exercise with sensible strength training.
Likewise, sensible nutrition is essential for general health, and dieting is far and away the fastest way to lose body weight. However, excellent eating habits alone will not prevent the loss of muscle and bone or the continued weakening of your musculoskeletal system. Dieting can be particularly problematic because low-calorie diets decrease both fat weight and lean (muscle) weight. The undesirable muscle loss results in reduction of metabolic rate that makes it most difficult to maintain the lower body weight. In fact, research reveals that 95 percent of dieters regain all of the weight they lost within the year after their diet program (Mann et al. 2007).
However, as you may recall, the older adults in our nutrition and strength training study concurrently lost 9 pounds of fat weight and added 3 pounds of lean (muscle) weight, for a 12-pound improvement in their body composition over a 10-week period (Westcott et al. 2013). Be sure to eat healthy and nutritious foods, with a reasonable reduction in caloric intake if necessary, but do not diet without performing appropriate resistance exercise. Remember that muscle gain is positively associated with increased metabolism and decreased fat.
Ideally, you should adopt a lifestyle that includes sound nutrition (presented in chapter 12), regular aerobic activity, and sensible strength training. All of these complementary activities are essential for optimal health and fitness and especially for enjoying older adult years.
Summary
Most athletes engage in resistance exercise to improve sport performance. These include older athletes who run, cycle, row, swim, ski, golf, play tennis, and engage in other physically challenging activities. However, most people over age 50 are at least as concerned about their general health and fitness as they are about their athletic abilities. This chapter presents 13 medically oriented and research-based reasons for engaging in regular resistance exercise:
- Rebuilding muscle
- Recharging metabolism
- Reducing fat
- Reducing resting blood pressure
- Improving blood lipid profiles
- Enhancing postcoronary performance
- Resisting diabetes
- Increasing bone density
- Decreasing physical discomfort
- Enhancing mental health
- Revitalizing muscle cells
- Reversing physical frailty
- Combating cancer
Men and women of all ages respond favorably to sensible strength training, which has been shown to improve many health and fitness factors associated with quality of life and quantity of years. When you implement one of the strength training programs presented in this book, you take a proactive role in your personal health care. There is no medicine that provides as many physical and mental benefits as regular resistance exercise does.
Adapted from Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Current Sports Medicine Reports 11(4): 209-216, 2012, courtesy of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Strengthen chest and arms with incline press
Chest Exercise. Incline Press: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps. Beginning Position: Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
Chest Exercise
Incline Press
Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps
Beginning Position
- Adjust seat so that handles are below chin level.
- Sit with head, shoulders, and back against seat pad.
- Grasp handles with fingers and thumbs, palms facing away.
Upward Movement Phase
- Push hands upward slowly until arms are fully extended.
- Keep wrists straight.
- Exhale throughout pushing movement.
Downward Movement Phase
- Return handles slowly to starting position.
- Inhale throughout lowering movement.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Wall squats strengthen quads, glutes, and hamstrings
Leg Exercise. Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells. Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals. Beginning Position: Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
Leg Exercise
Wall Squat: Exercise Ball With Dumbbells
Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals
Beginning Position
- Grasp dumbbells with elbows extended and stand erect with feet about hip-width apart and parallel to each other.
- Position dumbbells with palms facing outside surfaces of thighs and elbows straight.
- Place exercise ball between back and wall with feet far enough from wall so that knees are directly over the feet in down position.
Downward Movement Phase
- Keep head up, eyes fixed straight ahead, shoulders back, torso erect, and weight on entire foot throughout exercise.
- Squat slowly until thighs are parallel to floor, rolling ball between the back and wall as you descend.
- Inhale throughout downward movement.
Upward Movement Phase
- Begin upward movement by slowly straightening knees and hips, rolling ball between the back and wall as you ascend.
- Exhale throughout upward movement phase.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
Brief workout trains all major muscle groups
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups.
Free-Weight Training
Program 9.3: Brief Workout
Program 9.3 is an abbreviated workout that uses four basic free-weight exercises and two body-weight exercises to train the most important major muscle groups. The four free-weight exercises are linear actions (straight movements) that address the most important muscles of the legs, chest, upper back, shoulders, and arms. The two body-weight exercises are rotary actions that target the major muscles of the core. As in our other sample training programs, you will alternate pushing and pulling exercises to enhance the efficiency of your workouts.
You should be able to complete the brief workout in 12 to 15 minutes if you perform one set of each exercise. The workout should take about twice as long (24 to 30 minutes) if you perform a preliminary warm-up set or add a second set of each exercise. If you prefer dumbbell training, you may substitute dumbbells for the squat, bench press, and seated press exercises. You may also use kettlebells in the squat and one-arm row. Follow the recommended exercise sequence as closely as possible. The table presents the program 9.3 exercises and general training guidelines for resistance, repetitions, sets, repetition speed, and recovery time.
Save
Learn more about Strength Training Past 50, Third Edition.
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