As you age, it can become more challenging to keep your body in top form. There are several reasons why this can occur: Your body begins to lose collagen, which provides structure and support. Sun exposure and aging can also contribute to the loss of elastin, which helps your skin bounce back after it stretches out. Muscle mass and bone density naturally decline with age, and gravity is not your best friend.

The bright side is you can do something about it with the right workout in place. We learned four home exercises to help strengthen and define your arms after 60.

“These exercises aren’t necessarily more effective than gym machines. Machines can be excellent tools for building strength,” explains Matt Kasee, MS, CSCS, founder of Trilogy Fitness System. “The advantage of these exercises is that they’re accessible, easy to modify, and train the body through movements that carry over into everyday life. A wall pushup can become a counter pushup and eventually progress to a lower one as someone gets stronger. A resistance band or a pair of dumbbells can be made progressively more challenging without requiring a gym. These movements also ask multiple muscles to work together and, depending on the exercise, require more stabilization and control than a machine that guides you through a fixed path.”

For those over 60, the most ideal workout regimen isn’t one with fancy equipment; it’s one you’re able to perform safely, consistently, and progressively. Whether that’s at home or at the gym doesn’t matter as much as continuing to challenge your muscles enough to build and maintain strength.

Counter Pushups

1. Place your hands on a counter, shoulder-width apart.
2. Walk your legs back so you’re at a straight incline from your head to your heels.
3. Keep your legs together and rise onto the balls of your feet. Engage your core and keep your gaze forward.
4. Bend your elbows to lower your body until your chest lines up with your elbows.
5. Return back to straight arms.

RELATED: 5 Arm-Firming Exercises That Smooth Bat Wings in 30 Days After 50

Dumbbell Rows

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and a dumbbell or water bottle in each hand in front of you.
2. Hinge at the hips until your torso is parallel to the ground.
3. Maintain a flat back and soft knees.
4. Allow the weights to lower with your arms completely extended.
5. Row the weights up toward your torso.
6. Lower to the start position with control.

RELATED: 5 Chair Exercises That Smooth Sagging Arms Faster Than a Gym Session After 50

Bicep Curls

1. Begin seated on a sturdy chair, holding a dumbbell or water bottle in each hand at your sides with a supinated grip.
2. Keep your elbows pinned to your hips as you curl the weights up toward your shoulders.
3. Squeeze your biceps at the top of the movement.
4. Use control to lower the weights back to the start position.

RELATED: 6 Best Standing Exercises for Toning Arms After 50

Standing Overhead Tricep Extension

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell or water bottle with both hands.
2. Lift the weight overhead.
3. Keep your elbows close to your ears as you slowly lower the dumbbell toward the back of your head, feeling the stretch in your triceps.
4. Use control to press the weight back overhead.

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