There are several glaring signs you may be losing muscle mass as you age. You might find yourself walking slower, feeling unbalanced, or having difficulty getting out of a chair or climbing stairs. Opening jars may become more challenging, and carrying shopping bags can feel like a true struggle. All of these instances are your body’s way of telling you it’s time to focus on rebuilding muscle strength. Doing so can help you perform everyday activities with ease.
To get you on the right track, below are four daily exercises that can help you build and maintain muscle after 65.
“These exercises are practical for daily use specifically because they avoid the eccentric component that traditional weight training relies on to build strength. Eccentric loading, the lengthening phase of a lift, is largely responsible for the muscle damage and soreness that require 48 to 72 hours of recovery before training the same muscle group again. Without that component, exercises like these can be performed more frequently because they don’t create the same recovery demand,” explains Matt Kasee, MS, CSCS, founder of Trilogy Fitness System.
That said, these daily moves aren’t necessarily “working faster” than classic weight training. Muscle is built via progressive overload, and according to Kasee, eccentric loading is essential in that process.
“Daily exercises like these are best understood as a way to stay consistent and keep muscles engaged between or alongside real strength-training sessions, not a substitute for the adaptation that comes from progressively harder resistance work,” Kasee stresses.
Band Pull-Aparts
- Begin by standing tall.
- Hold the resistance band ahead of you with arms fully extended at shoulder height.
- Pull the band apart, stretching your arms laterally while keeping them fully straight.
- Use control to return to the start position.
RELATED: 5 Short Workouts That Keep You Stronger Than Most 30-Year-Olds After 50
Glute Bridges
- Begin by lying flat on your back with bent knees and feet hip-width apart on the mat.
- Place your arms at your sides with your palms pressing into the surface.
- Press through your heels to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from head to heels.
- Squeeze your buttocks, holding at the top for 3 to 5 seconds.
- Lower your hips back to the start position.
RELATED: Over 45? If You Can Hold These 3 Positions, You’re Stronger Than Most
Standing March
- Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees soft. Make sure your spine is long and your arms are crossed high in a “genie” position.
- Then, lift one knee up toward your chest.
- Lower it.
- Lift the other knee up toward your chest.
- Continue to march in place.
RELATED: 5 Strength Moves That Rebuild Muscle After 45 (No Equipment Needed)
Pallof Press
- Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and your left side beside an anchored resistance band (which should be at about chest height).
- Hold the band in both hands, and push the band straight out from your sternum.
- Hold the band out for 5 seconds while bracing against the resistance.
- Use control to bring it back to the start position.
- Repeat on the other side.
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