How do you adapt strength training smartly as you get older?
Strength training demonstrably works for older adults, and you can adapt it smartly with two sessions per week at 70 to 79 percent of your maximum, two to three sets per exercise, combined with balance exercises and a little extra protein.
Muscle strength increases substantially with strength training, even at an older age. The gains are greatest in the legs and arms. Muscle size grows more slowly than strength, but it does improve measurably. Strength training therefore works on several fronts at once: you get stronger, your muscles grow a little, and your ability to manage daily life improves.
For most older adults, an intensity of 70 to 79 percent of the maximum weight you can lift once works best for building strength. That is more demanding than many people assume. Two sessions per week is the most effective frequency for strength gains; three sessions per week is more favourable for muscle growth. Two to three sets per exercise are already enough: beyond that point, more sets add little.
You also do not need to train for hours. Even a low amount of training clearly improves everyday functioning: getting up from a chair becomes easier, walking becomes smoother. Those who specifically want to make their leg muscles stronger will probably need a somewhat higher amount of training. But if you are just starting out or returning after a break, something is always better than nothing.
Add balance exercises to your strength programme. Participants aged 60 to 74 who did so improved their balance and leg strength more than people who focused on strength alone. That is practically relevant, because fall prevention depends on both. The programme was also safe: more than nine in ten participants completed it without injuries.
Extra protein on top of strength training produces on average around 0.7 kg of additional muscle mass and 13.5 kg more strength on the leg press. That effect applies to both younger and older adults, although the research does not split out results exclusively for older people. In terms of long-term health gains: people who did strength training died early less often, but this is a pattern observed in population studies, not proof that strength training is the cause. The optimum appears to be around sixty minutes per week.
This answer draws on several combined analyses of dozens of studies, supplemented by two individual studies and an overview of overviews. The evidence for muscle strength gains in older adults is strong and consistent. The evidence for the optimal dose (intensity, volume, frequency) is somewhat less certain, because comparing different training protocols is harder than comparing training versus no training. The link with death rates comes from population studies and does not demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship. The protein analysis does not fully distinguish between younger and older participants, which makes its applicability to older adults slightly less certain.