Training guide
Strong legs come from four kinds of move: a squat, a single-leg move such as step-ups or lunges, a hinge such as bridges or Romanian deadlifts, and calf raises, 2 or 3 times a week. Start where you are, from standing up out of a chair to a barbell squat, and add reps, then weight.
Strength training builds leg strength at any age: in trials, people in their late 80s more than doubled theirs in 10 weeks, and machines, free weights and body weight worked about equally well. This guide covers the leg muscles, the leg strengthening exercises with doses, how often and how heavy, home or gym, after 60 and with sore knees, balance and falls, how to test your legs, and a 12-week plan.
A squat (from sit-to-stands to the barbell), a single-leg move (step-ups, split squats, lunges), a hinge (bridges, Romanian deadlifts) and calf raises, plus one-leg balance. Squats alone didn't grow the hamstrings in a trial, so the hinge earns its place.
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Two or 3 sets of 8 to 12 per move, stopping 2 or 3 reps short of failure and adding reps, then weight, as our plans' notes say. WHO and the NHS ask for strength work on 2 or more days a week, and heavier loads, a full range and 2 to 3 sets built the most strength in the 2026 review by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
In older adults, strength training had a large effect on strength and a moderate to large effect on getting out of a chair. Adults over 50 gained about 25 to 33% on leg exercises, and frail nursing home residents aged about 87 gained 113% in 10 weeks.
They built similar strength and muscle in pooled trials, and progressive bodyweight squats matched barbell squats in a small trial. Use what you have and can progress.
Exercise cut falls by about a quarter, and programmes mixing balance and strength by about a third; strength training alone had an uncertain effect. The world falls guidelines ask for balance and functional exercise 3 or more times a week for at least 12 weeks.
Reviews of how squats load the knee found no evidence they harm healthy knees, though they disagree on the best depth, and knees past your toes is normal. With sore knees, our knee guide's rule sets the depth and load.
The quadriceps at the front of the thigh straighten the knee, the hamstrings at the back bend it and straighten the hip, the glutes straighten the hip and keep the pelvis level, the inner thigh muscles draw the leg in, and the calves push you up and forward. Our quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteus maximus pages have the anatomy.
A squat trains the front of the thigh, the glutes and the inner thighs; in a 10-week trial, full squats didn't grow the hamstrings. A hinge or a curl covers the back of the thigh, a single-leg move trains each side on its own and your balance, and calf raises cover the calves.
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This guide is about strength for everyday life, walking, stairs, sport and ageing. Strength builds with fewer weekly sets than size and grows most with heavier loads. Our bigger legs guide covers size.
Long thighs or stiff ankles mean more forward lean or more knee travel in a squat, which is normal, as our knee guide says. If you're heavier, body-weight moves are already a real load, so sit-to-stands and step-ups are a good start. Adults over 50 gained lean mass from strength training across 49 studies, a little less at older ages.
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Trials in older adults dominate; there are fewer in healthy middle-aged adults. Most training trials ran 8 to 12 weeks.
In the ACSM's 2026 overview of 137 reviews, with more than 30,000 people, strength training improved strength, muscle size, power, walking speed, balance and everyday function against no exercise. Strength rose most with heavier loads, a full range of movement, 2 to 3 sets and 2 or more sessions a week, and machines and free weights didn't differ.
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WHO asks adults for muscle-strengthening activity working all the major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week, and older adults for varied activity that emphasises balance and strength on 3 or more days, to prevent falls. The NHS asks adults 65 and over for activities that improve strength, balance and flexibility on at least 2 days a week, done to the point where you need a short rest before repeating them.
In a Cochrane review of 121 trials, progressive strength training had a large effect on strength and a moderate to large effect on getting out of a chair, with smaller gains in walking speed. Across 47 studies of adults over 50, strength rose by 29% on the leg press and 33% on knee extensions. In 100 frail nursing home residents averaging 87, strength rose by 113% in 10 weeks against 3% without training, and in 10 residents aged about 90, by 174% in 8 weeks.
In 1,635 inactive people aged 70 to 89, a programme of walking, strength and flexibility work cut the share who lost the ability to walk 400 metres over 2.6 years from 35.5% to 30.1%.
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Across 25 trials in healthy older adults, the largest strength gains came with 2 sessions a week, 2 to 3 sets per exercise and 7 to 9 reps a set at a fairly heavy load. The trials were of low quality, so treat that as a guide.
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In 108 trials of 23,407 people (average age 76), exercise cut the rate of falls by 23% (high certainty), balance and functional exercise by 24%, and programmes mixing balance, functional and strength work by about a third; strength training alone had an uncertain effect. The world falls guidelines recommend balance-challenging and functional exercise, such as sit-to-stands and stepping, 3 or more times a week, made harder over at least 12 weeks.
In 233 women aged 80 and over, a home strength and balance programme cut falls by about a third, and across 7 trials it cut the rate of falls by 32%. But only about a third of people were still exercising 3 times a week after a year.
In 5 studies of 28,036 people, those slowest at rising from a chair had about twice the death rate of the fastest, allowing for age, sex and body size. In 2,002 adults aged 51 to 80, each point on a test of sitting down on the floor and getting up again went with 21% better survival. These are links, not proof that training the tests adds years.
Across 13 studies of 1,016 adults, free weights and machines built the same strength and muscle, with each making people better at its own test. Trials in 38 trained men and 46 young adults agreed. In 13 sedentary young women, a 10-level bodyweight squat programme built strength and muscle like barbell squats over 6 weeks, a tiny trial.
Across 28 studies, muscle grew with light, moderate or heavy loads when sets were hard, but strength rose most with heavier loads.
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Across 21 trials of 4,053 people, unsupervised home strength training raised leg strength and sit-to-stand power by a small amount, without changing falls or walking speed. Across 17 trials, home programmes raised strength in healthy older adults, more when strength training was the focus.
The evidence is reviews of knee forces, not outcome trials. One found deep squats don't raise the risk of injury to the knee's passive tissues, the other found the parallel squat wasn't harmful to healthy knees but preferred it to deep squats. Full squats built more full-squat strength (31.8% against 11.3%) than half squats in 17 men.
Weaker thigh muscles went with painful knee arthritis later in 46,819 people (a link, from low-quality evidence), and exercise eased knee arthritis pain by about 13 points out of 100. Squatting, kneeling and lifting all day at work went with knee arthritis, but that isn't training; we found no study linking squat training with arthritis.
Recreational runners had less hip and knee arthritis (3.5%) than people who didn't run (10.2%), in studies that can't prove cause.
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Two or 3 sessions a week, not on back-to-back days, as our knee guide says. If you're older and want to prevent falls, balance and strength work on 3 or more days a week.
Two or 3 sets of 8 to 15 per move (our knee guide's editorial starting point). For older adults, our older adults guide suggests a weight you can lift 8 to 12 times, building up to 3 sets, from the UK osteoporosis consensus. In your first two weeks, do 2 sets and stop every set with 3 or 4 reps to spare.
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Stop squats, split squats and hinges 2 or 3 reps short of failure, which our guides call 2 or 3 RIR (reps in reserve: how many more reps you could have done). The last set of leg extensions, curls and calf raises can go to 0 to 2, as our plans' notes say.
Two to 3 minutes between heavy squat sets of 5 to 8, 90 seconds to 2 minutes for other squats, presses and single-leg work, and 60 to 90 seconds for small moves, as our plans' notes say.
Add reps until every set reaches the top of its range, then add the smallest weight step. With body weight, add reps, then slow the lowering, then move to the harder version, as our plans' notes say.
Strength rose within 8 to 10 weeks in trials, and falls programmes ran at least 12 weeks, then kept going. Treat 12 weeks as a first block, as our knee guide does.
Pain from 0 to 2 out of 10 is fine, and up to 5 is acceptable if your knee is back to its usual level by the next morning; for tendon pain just below or above the kneecap, keep it to 3 or less. Sharp, catching or giving-way pain, or new swelling, means stop. That's our knee guides' rule.
During the exercise, pain up to about 5 out of 10 is acceptable. It should settle within an hour or so, and your hip should be no worse that night or the next morning. If it is, do less next time (fewer repetitions, a smaller range, a lighter load), not nothing.
Pain you'd call mild to moderate, no more than about 5 out of 10, that settles within an hour or so, with your back no worse the next morning, is acceptable; if it is worse, do less next time (fewer reps, a smaller range, a lighter load), not nothing. Stop or shrink any movement that sends pain, pins and needles or numbness further down your leg. That's our back pain guides' rule.
Our editorial order, the shape of our knee strengthening, lower body and strength and balance workouts, with doses from our plans' notes, our knee guide and our older adults guide. Our squat, split squat and Romanian deadlift guides teach each move.
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The movement on the figure: Dumbbell goblet squat
Sit-to-stands at 3 sets of 8 to 12, bodyweight squats at 3 sets of 10 to 20, goblet squats at 3 or 4 sets of 8 to 12 and the leg press at 3 sets of 8 to 12 (our knee guide and squat guide). The NHS's sit-to-stand starts at 5 repetitions.
3D demoSit to stand, pushing on the thighsBeginner · A bench or box
3D demoSit to stand from a chairBeginner · A bench or box
3D demoWall sitBeginner · A wall
3D demoBodyweight squatBeginner · No equipment
3D demoDumbbell goblet squatIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoLeg pressBeginner · Strength machine
3D demoBarbell back squatAdvanced · A barbellLow step-ups, then step-ups and split squats at 2 or 3 sets of 8 to 12 each leg; reverse lunges at 3 sets of 8 to 12 each leg; Bulgarian split squats at 3 sets of 6 to 10 each leg (our knee, older adults and bigger legs guides).
3D demoLow step-upBeginner · A step
3D demoStep-upBeginner · A step
3D demoSplit squatIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoReverse lungeIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoWalking lungeIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoRear-foot-elevated split squat (Bulgarian split squat)Intermediate · A bench or box
3D demoPatrick step-downIntermediate · A stepBridges at 3 sets of 10 to 15, Romanian deadlifts at 3 sets of 8 to 10, lowering for about 3 seconds, slider curls at 3 sets of 6 to 12 and leg curls at 3 sets of 10 to 15 (our hip, bigger legs and knee guides). Nordic curls come later.
3D demoGlute bridgeBeginner · No equipment
3D demoHip-hinge practiceBeginner · No equipment
3D demoDumbbell Romanian deadliftIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoSingle-leg Romanian deadliftAdvanced · A dumbbell
3D demoSlider hamstring curlIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoMachine leg curlBeginner · Strength machine
3D demoNordic curlAdvanced · An anchor pointCalf raises holding a support, then one leg at a time; one-leg stands of 30 seconds next to a counter. Getting down to the floor and back up: the move page's dose is 5 to 8 slow cycles down and up, changing the leading leg.
3D demoSlow calf raiseBeginner · A wall
3D demoSingle-leg calf raise from a stepIntermediate · A step + A wall
3D demoSeated knee extension (chair)Beginner · A bench or box + Something with weight
3D demoLeg extensionBeginner · Strength machine
3D demoSingle-leg standBeginner · A wall
3D demoTandem stance and heel-to-toe walkBeginner · A wall
3D demoGet up and down from the floorBeginner · No equipment
3D demoStair climbingIntermediate · A stepFree weights and machines built the same strength, and progressive bodyweight squats matched barbell squats in a small trial. Sit-to-stands, squats, split squats, step-ups, bridges and calf raises need only a chair, a step and a wall.
Heavier loads build more strength, so when a move gets easy, make it harder: one leg instead of two, slower lowering, a loaded backpack or dumbbells. Our lower body workout at home and dumbbell leg workouts are built this way.
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The leg press, leg extension and leg curl let you set the load and range, and our machine leg workout and gym workout for seniors use them.
People in their late 80s and 90s more than doubled their leg strength in 8 to 10 weeks of supervised training, and strength training had a large effect across 121 trials of older adults.
Sit-to-stands, knee straightening in a chair, step-ups and calf raises at a counter. The NHS's strength exercises start at 5 repetitions, at least twice a week, and our older adults guide builds sit-to-stands up to 10.
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Programmes mixing balance and strength cut falls by about a third, and WHO asks adults over 65 for balance and strength work on 3 or more days a week. The NHS falls page lists strength and balance training among the things that help.
Home programmes work, but gains were smaller without supervision. If you have frailty, have fallen recently or have had a spinal fracture, start with a class or a physiotherapist, as our older adults guide suggests.
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Count how many times you can stand up and sit down in 30 seconds with your arms crossed; our chair stand test page has the steps and scores by age. Slow chair rising went with higher death rates in large studies, as a link.
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Our sitting-rising test page scores how you sit down on the floor and get up again. Retest every 4 to 6 weeks the same way (our suggestion).
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What matters is that your knees follow your toes rather than caving in, as our squat guide explains. The NHS's own mini squat tells you to aim your knees over your big toe.
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Change the depth and the load within our knee pain rule rather than dropping the move; the leg press and step-ups let you control the range. Exercise eases knee arthritis pain modestly, and our knee strengthening guide has the full plan.
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Our hip strengthening guide has the side-hip and single-leg work, and our hip arthritis guide the stages.
Our editorial plan, built from existing workouts, the phases of our plans (learn, build, a lighter week) and the falls guidelines' advice to keep going for at least 12 weeks.
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The movement on the figure: Sit to stand from a chair
The beginner and home lower body workouts and the dumbbell leg workouts suit home; the leg day, lower body gym and machine workouts suit a gym; the seniors' sessions add balance. The knee strengthening and low-impact leg workouts suit sore knees.
Learn to squat, hinge and lunge: a 25-minute beginner lower body workout with bridges, clamshells and calf raises.
25 minBeginner11 movesA wall, A bench or boxA lower body workout at home: split squats, slider hamstring curls, single-leg bridges, step-ups, band walks and calf raises, with dumbbell options.
30 minIntermediate12 movesA wall, A stepLegs and glutes with dumbbells: goblet squats, Romanian deadlifts, step-ups, split squats and calf raises.
35 minIntermediate10 movesA wall, A dumbbellDumbbell leg workout B: Bulgarian split squats, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, slider curls, single-leg bridges, calf raises and suitcase carries.
45 minIntermediate12 movesA bench or box, A dumbbellA gym leg day: back squats, leg press, leg curls, Bulgarian split squats, leg extensions and calf raises.
55 minIntermediate9 movesA wall, A barbellA gym lower body workout for legs and glutes: trap bar deadlifts, hip thrusts, reverse lunges, leg curls, hip abduction, calf raises and core.
50 minIntermediate13 movesOther / check instructions, A barbellA 45-minute leg day on machines only: the leg press, then leg extensions and seated leg curls for the muscles it misses, hip abduction and calf presses.
45 minBeginner10 movesCardio machine, Strength machineA 25-minute session for knees that don't currently hurt: thigh and hamstring strength, single-leg control, then an optional full-range block with knees over toes.
25 minBeginner14 movesA bench or box, A wallA gentle leg strength routine with no jumping: sit-to-stands, step-ups, wall sits, bridges and calf raises.
20 minBeginner7 movesA bench or box, A stepA 40-minute strength and balance session for over-65s, built from the Otago home programme and NHS exercises, using a chair, a counter and a step.
40 minBeginner18 movesA bench or box, Something with weightA 20-minute seated workout for older adults who cannot stand for long: marching, leg and arm strength, posture, and sit-to-stands that lead back to standing.
20 minBeginner11 movesA bench or box, Something with weightA 50-minute gym session for older adults and sarcopenia: 7 machines for the legs, chest and back from the UK prescription, then a short balance finish.
50 minBeginner12 movesCardio machine, A bench or boxBalance practice in 10 minutes: tandem stance, single-leg stands, marches, heel walks, tree pose and floor transfers.
10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A bench or boxA 30-minute step-up workout at home or in the gym: step-ups, split squats, step-downs and calf raises on one step, with the height set to your level.
30 minBeginner9 movesA wall, A stepA 25-minute practice session for the squat: find your depth on a chair, groove the bodyweight squat with pauses, then load it with a slow goblet squat.
25 minBeginner8 movesA wall, A bench or boxA 25-minute session from the split squat to the walking lunge: ankle and balance prep, slow split squats, reverse lunges, then walking lunges.
25 minBeginner11 movesA wall, A bench or boxTwo full-body sessions meet the strength guideline; the seniors' plan builds strength and balance through the week; the squat challenge builds bodyweight squats.
Two full-body strength sessions a week: the minimum that meets health guidelines, with every set, rep and rest, and an 8-week progression.
2 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekThree full-body home workouts a week with dumbbells or no equipment at all, plus walks and an 8-week plan to keep progressing.
3 training days35 minBeginner2 days a weekYour first four weeks: two, then three short strength sessions a week at home plus walks, building gently to a full routine.
2 training days20 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week exercise plan for over-65s: strength and balance three times a week, short balance sessions and daily walks, based on falls-prevention trials.
3 training days40 minBeginner3 days a weekA free 30-day squat challenge with a chair track and a single-leg track: 3 short sessions a week, optional practice days and a before-and-after test.
3 training days15 minBeginner2 days a weekA 12-week strength plan for runners: two sessions a week of heavy lifts, single-leg work, calf raises and hops, fitted around your runs.
2 training days45 minBeginnerFollow your surgical team's limits. Our knee replacement, hip replacement and ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury guides cover the stages.
With osteoporosis or a past spinal fracture, avoid repeated or loaded deep rounding of the back, and bend from the hips. The osteoporosis guide covers impact and lifting.
If you have no spinal fractures, build up to about 50 moderate impacts on most days, such as heel drops, jogging on the spot or small jumps, and add strength training. Walking is weight-bearing but low impact, and on its own it does not raise bone density. Swimming and cycling are not weight-bearing.
Swap moves done lying on your back, such as bridges, for standing or side-lying ones in later pregnancy (our suggestion, following the NHS advice our plans give), and follow our pregnancy guide before heavy squats or leg presses.
Wall sits raise blood pressure while you hold them, so breathe normally and never hold your breath. Ask your GP first if your blood pressure is 160/100 or higher and untreated, or if you have heart disease, and skip them with Marfan syndrome, vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or aortic disease.
Start supervised: our older adults guide covers falls services and supervised classes, and our exercise after a stroke guide covers leg strength after a stroke.
Go to A&E (accident and emergency) if you've injured your knee and it has changed shape, it becomes very swollen very quickly, you felt a pop or snap, you can see bone sticking out, or it's bleeding heavily. Don't drive yourself: ask someone to take you, or call 999 if the pain means you can't move your leg to get there.
Get advice from NHS 111 now: you cannot move the knee or put any weight on it, or it is very painful, badly swollen or has changed shape.
Get advice from NHS 111 now: the knee locks, gives way or clicks painfully. Painless clicking is normal.
Get advice from NHS 111 now: a hot, red or swollen knee with sudden severe pain, a very high temperature, or feeling hot, cold or shivery. This can be a joint infection.
You hurt your knee and cannot take 4 steps, or you are 55 or over and have injured it: get it checked the same day for a broken bone.
A pop or tearing feeling at the front of the knee after a fall, a jump, a landing or a heavy squat, then you can't straighten the knee or lift the straight leg, there's a dent above or below the kneecap, or the kneecap sits higher or lower than on the other side. Go to A&E or an urgent treatment centre, or get help from NHS 111, as our knee pain when squatting guide explains. In the US, go to urgent care or the emergency department.
Call 999 or go to A&E for severe hip pain after a fall or injury, if you can't walk or put weight on your leg, or for tingling or loss of feeling in your hip or leg after an injury. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for severe hip pain that started suddenly without a fall, a hip that's swollen and feels hot, skin around it that has changed colour, or hip pain with feeling generally unwell and a high temperature.
Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): throbbing pain in one leg (rarely both), usually the calf or thigh; swelling in one leg (rarely both); red, blue or darkened skin around the painful area, which may be harder to see on brown or black skin; or swollen veins. It could be a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis, DVT), which is more likely while you're moving about much less than usual or after a hospital stay.
Also call 999 for pain and swelling in one leg with breathlessness or chest pain: it can be a blood clot that has reached the lungs.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
See a GP if pain spreading down a leg hasn't improved after a few weeks of home treatment, is getting worse or stops your normal activities. Sciatica on both sides, or weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse, is a 999 call or a trip to A&E.
Chest pain, pressure or tightness that spreads to the arm, neck or jaw, or does not go away when you stop, especially with breathlessness, sweating, feeling sick, or grey or pale skin.
After a fall: a possible injury to the head, neck, back or hip, or not being able to get up.
Dizziness, light-headedness, unusual breathlessness, clamminess or chest tightness that settles when you stop.
Any fall or near-fall, new unsteadiness, or a new fear of falling: ask about a falls assessment.
Knee pain that has not improved within a few weeks of looking after it at home. Many areas offer NHS physiotherapy without a GP referral.
See a GP if hip pain stops you doing normal activities or affects your sleep, is getting worse or keeps coming back, hasn't improved after 2 weeks of treating it at home, or you have hip stiffness for more than 30 minutes after waking up.
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise.
For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; severe difficulty breathing; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining, or comes with numbness or weakness, difficulty speaking or loss of vision. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising. In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care.
Stop straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell, the NHS says, and contact 111 if your symptoms worry you or don't go away.
A dull ache in your muscles for a day or two after something new is normal. Joint pain that's sharp, gets worse during a set or lingers into the next day means switching to the easier option, and seeing a GP or physiotherapist if it carries on (our plans' rule). Our muscle soreness guide has more.
Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before heavy lifting or hard straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled, or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists. After a recent shoulder dislocation or shoulder surgery, follow our shoulder dislocation guide or your surgical team first.
Speak to a GP first if you haven't exercised for some time, or if you have a medical condition or concerns. Get advice first, too, if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, have recently had a heart attack or an operation, or are pregnant or have recently given birth.
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See a GP if you think you have a hernia, a bulge or lump that may get bigger when you strain and smaller when you lie down. Get help from NHS 111 if you have a hernia and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, you feel or are sick, you're vomiting blood or your vomit looks like coffee grounds, you're constipated, you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused. Call 999 or go to A&E for a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of your thigh, in your groin) with very bad tummy pain, sickness, being unable to fart or poo, a high temperature or sudden confusion.
Reviews of the forces found no evidence that squats harm healthy knees, though they disagree on the best depth, and squats are part of the programmes that ease knee arthritis. With a sore knee, change the depth and load rather than dropping them.
Free weights and machines gave the same strength and muscle gains, and progressive bodyweight squats matched barbell squats in a small trial. Machines are a convenience, not a requirement.
The NHS's own mini squat tells you to aim your knees over your big toe, and our squat and knee guides explain why holding them back shifts the load to your hips and back.
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People in their late 80s and 90s more than doubled their strength in 8 to 10 weeks, and strength training had a large effect in 121 trials of older adults.
Walking is good for your heart and legs, but the guidelines ask for strength work as well, and walking alone had an uncertain effect on falls.
Strength training without balance work had an uncertain effect; programmes mixing balance, functional and strength exercise cut falls by about a third.
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There isn't one: a squat or sit-to-stands, a single-leg move like step-ups, a hinge like Romanian deadlifts or bridges, and calf raises cover the main leg muscles. Full squats didn't grow the hamstrings in a trial, so add a hinge.
Sit-to-stands, squats, split squats, step-ups, bridges and calf raises need only a chair, a step and a wall. Make them harder with slower lowering, one leg at a time or a loaded backpack. Free weights, machines and body weight built similar strength in trials.
Start with sit-to-stands, step-ups and calf raises at a counter, 2 or 3 days a week, and add balance work. Adults over 50 gained about 25 to 33% in leg strength in trials, and frail people in their late 80s more than doubled theirs.
The same four patterns, made safe: sit-to-stands, knee straightening in a chair, step-ups, calf raises and one-leg balance with a hand on a counter. Programmes mixing balance and strength cut falls by about a third, and our exercise for older adults guide has a full plan.
Keep knee pain to 0 to 2 out of 10, or up to 5 if your knee settles by the next morning, and change depth and load rather than stopping. Sit-to-stands, step-ups, leg extensions and the leg press let you control the range, and our knee strengthening guide has the plan.
Two or three times a week, with a day between. Guidelines ask for strength work on 2 or more days a week, and for older adults who want to prevent falls, balance and strength work on 3 or more.
Strength rises within weeks: frail nursing home residents gained 113% in 10 weeks. Falls programmes ran at least 12 weeks and worked best when people kept going.
Yes: step-ups, split squats, the leg press, bridges and Romanian deadlifts train the same muscles, and machines and free weights gave similar gains. Squats are fine for healthy knees, though, if you like them.
Practise it, and strengthen your legs: in trials of older adults, strength training improved getting out of a chair by a moderate to large amount. Stand up briskly and sit down slowly, and time yourself with our 30-second chair stand test.
Walking keeps your heart and legs working, but it isn't strength training: guidelines ask for strength work on top. Walking alone had an uncertain effect on falls in trials.
Two short strength sessions a week of squats or split squats, hinges, calf raises and single-leg work, as in our strength training plan for runners. Recreational running itself isn't linked with more knee arthritis.
There's no shortcut beyond training 2 or 3 times a week and adding reps, then weight; strength builds over weeks to months. Heavier loads build more strength than very light ones.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
