Experiencing changes in your body is a normal course of life. After age 30, your body loses muscle and strength, a process called sarcopenia. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but the damage doesn’t stop at 30…sarcopenia can progress to 3% to 8% every 10 years! Why should you worry? Well, muscle loss can make simple daily activities like getting up, walking, and running errands a major challenge. The best way to avoid sarcopenia is to include strength training into your exercise routine. That’s why we spoke to experts and have five essential elements bodybuilding exercises has build muscle as you get older.

“(The workouts below) are all aimed at helping you preserve the type of muscle you are most likely to lose as you age and the type of muscle that will have the most impact on your actual quality of life,” explains Dominique AngelinoCPT with International Personal Trainer Academy (IPTA). “Different exercises target different muscle groups to help maintain full-body function over the years. Selected exercises also involve varying movement patterns so your workouts promote retention and increased bone density in various important areas of your body.”

If you don’t currently have the mobility to perform the full range of motion of any of these exercises, Angelino assures you it’s okay. Just perform as much of the range of motion as you can safely do. “As your mobility increases over time, it will be easier to perform the full range of motion,” he encourages.

The strength training exercises below will help you build and maintain muscle so you can lead an active, healthy lifestyle.

Squat with dumbbell and goblet

“Including some type of squatting exercise in your strength training workout is effective because it directly supports the muscles that help you perform important daily functions, like sitting and standing,” says Angelino. “This makes it a very convenient way to focus your time and energy.”

How to do it:

1. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-distance apart while holding a dumbbell at chest height.
2. Lower yourself into a squat position until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
3. Press both feet to rise.
4. Perform 3 sets of 6 to 8 repetitions.

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Dumbbell Sumo Deadlift

A deadlift may seem intimidating at first, but it can have a significant impact on your ability to maintain muscle and bone density as you age.

“It’s a very quick exercise,” Angelino tells us. “It also helps you effectively target your lower back muscles, strengthening them in a way that limits back pain and injuries common in old age. That being said, the deadlift is a difficult exercise to perform when This is why I would recommend focusing on the Sumo Deadlift version of the exercise rather than the conventional version. It’s a little easier to get the shape right and you have a little more leeway (in terms of) how far you can deviate. the ideal shape without causing injury.”

How to do it:

1. Stand straight behind a barbell with your feet wider than shoulder distance and pointed slightly outward, in line with your knees.
2. Keeping your back straight, squat down and grip the bar with your arms fully extended.
3. Press on your feet to stand up straight.
4. Once standing, lower the bar toward the floor while keeping your back flat.
5. Let the bar rest on the floor before your next repetition.
6. Perform 3 sets of 6 to 8 repetitions.

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Assisted/unassisted traction

The great thing about this exercise is that most people have the strength to perform an assisted pull-up, given that you have access to an assisted pull-up machine.

“The way the machine works is that the weight you use acts as a counterweight to your own weight,” says Angelino. “So if you weigh 200 pounds and select a weight of 100 pounds on the weight stack, you will only lift 100 pounds while you perform the pull-up instead of your total body weight of 200 pounds… This allows you to work up to to finally be able to perform a normal pull-up without assistance.

How to do it:

1. Place your feet or knees on the assisted traction device. If you see a cushion, you will probably need to position your knees on it; if you see a bar, you will probably need to place your feet on it.
2. Place your hands slightly outside shoulder-width apart, palms facing the body.
3. Lower your body until your arms are fully extended.
4. Bend your arms to raise your body.
5. Perform 3 sets of 6 to 8 repetitions.

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Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press

“This exercise directly addresses a common challenge that people who experience significant muscle loss experience later in life: difficulty raising their hands above their head,” says Angelino. “Losing strength this way can really interfere with your quality of life, making it difficult to use high shelves. This exercise protects you against that.”6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

How to do it:

1. Stand up straight, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height.
2. Press the weights overhead until your arms are fully extended.
3. Lower the dumbbells to the starting position.
4. Perform 3 sets of 6 to 8 repetitions.

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Plank

Low core strength is a common cause of back pain and can increase your risk of falling.

“The plank is great for increasing the strength of your transverse abdominals, which play an important role in stabilizing your torso and can atrophy after years of underuse,” says Angelino. “The range of this exercise is quite wide because you can only maintain the exercise for as long as your current level of strength and weight allows.”

How to do it:

1. Place your hands on the floor shoulder-width apart and your legs extended behind you to assume a high plank.
2. Hold this position.
3. Perform 4 sets of 30 to 60 seconds.

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Alexa Mellardo