The squat
For people over the age of 60, leg strength becomes of utmost importance every year.
If we don’t train the legs, they will eventually become weak due to age-related muscle loss. Eventually, we’ll lose mobility and our ability to live independently.
There are numerous exercises you can perform to train your legs to improve strength and muscle mass.
With this article, I’ll discuss the best leg strengthening exercises for seniors.
The barbell squat is the best leg strengthening exercise for seniors
Before I dive into why the squat is the best exercise for seniors to train their legs, I want to make it clear that if you are looking for “easy” exercises, you’ve come to the wrong place.
Competing in the sport of aging is not easy. In fact, it is the most difficult sport of all, because we face major headwinds as we age.
The bottom line is this… the older we get, the harder we must work to maintain our independence just in case we live to an advanced age.
Ok, with that out of the way, here is why the barbell squat is the best exercise for building strong legs.
First, it trains the most muscle mass of any exercise across the greatest range of motion.
Now, in regard to the barbell squat, I am referring to the low-bar version of the barbell squat.
Second best leg exercise for seniors
The second best exercise to strengthen the legs is the leg press. This exercise trains a bunch of muscle mass and you can push more weight with this exercise than the squat.
It is the second best exercise simply because it doesn’t train the back or the core like the squat does. As a result, it is an inferior exercise overall.
However, for some people who can’t squat, the leg press is a great place to start, and it is often used as an exercise to prepare seniors to squat eventually.
A great leg exercise for seniors – Bulgarian Split Squat
If you don’t have access to a gym, the Bulgarian Split Squat is an outstanding exercise because it can be done with little to no weight and you still work the legs and hips considerably.
As you get stronger with this exercise, you can load it with considerable weight with dumbbells, and even with a barbell if you get very strong.
Also, if your range of motion is somewhat limited initially, it can improve with training.
Lastly, this is also an excellent exercise for training for improved balance, since you are training one leg at a time.
The Horse Stance
The horse stance is an exercise you learn when you train a martial art.
This exercise trains the legs by holding the position for as long as possible.
Since it can also be loaded with weight through the use of dumbbells, it trains the legs for both strength and muscle endurance.
Final Thoughts
You now have the four best leg strengthening exercises for seniors.
The first two exercises can eventually be trained with the most weight and are typically trained with fewer reps.
The Bulgarian Split Squat is best trained in a higher rep range of six to twelve reps, while the horse stance is a static hold exercise.
If you can incorporate at least two of these exercises into your routine, you will be ahead of the game.
For all of these exercises, I highly recommend the use of lifting shoes to provide more stability.
The shoes I recommend are these Nordic shoes.
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