Workout plan for women over 50

Choosing your starting weightEmerging evidence

Warm up, then pick a weight you think you could lift about 10 to 12 times at most. Do the bottom of the rep range (for 8 to 12, do 8) and ask: how many more could I have done with good form? Two or three more: that is your weight. Five or more: go up one step next set. None or one: go down one step.

For bodyweight moves, choose the version (the easier or harder option on each move's page) where you reach the bottom of the rep range with 2 or 3 reps to spare.

In the first two weeks, stop each set with 3 or 4 reps to spare. Most people misjudge how many reps they have left by about one, and you are still learning the movements.

Sources 1, 2, 3

Progressing week to week: double progressionEmerging evidence

Each exercise has a rep range, such as 8 to 12. Keep the weight the same and add reps, set by set and session by session, while still stopping 1 to 3 reps short of failure.

When every set reaches the top of the range, add the smallest weight step you have (roughly 2 to 10%, smaller jumps for the upper body and small muscles) and go back to the bottom of the range. Adding reps and adding weight both work; this rule uses both.

With body weight, add reps, then slow the lowering, then move to the harder option. If a lift stalls for 2 or 3 sessions, hold the weight, check your sleep and food, and consider a lighter week.

Sources 4, 3, 1

How hard each set should feelStrong evidence

You do not need to train to failure. Stopping 2 or 3 reps short, often written as 2 to 3 reps in reserve (RIR), gives similar results for most people.

Big compound lifts stay at 2 to 3 reps in reserve; the last set of small isolation moves, such as raises and curls, can go to 0 to 2.

Sources 1, 5

Rest between setsEmerging evidence

Heavy compound lifts in sets of 5 to 8 (squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, chin-up): 2 to 3 minutes. Other compound lifts in sets of 8 to 12: about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Isolation moves such as raises, curls, extensions and calf raises: 60 to 90 seconds.

For muscle growth, resting more than about a minute gives a small advantage, with no clear extra gain past about 90 seconds. For strength the evidence on rest is mixed: 1 to 2 minutes is enough for beginners, and trained lifters may do better with longer rests on heavy lifts.

Short on time? Pair two moves that do not compete, such as a press with a row or a leg move with a core move, and rest after the pair. Supersets like this roughly halve session time while keeping the sets.

Sources 6, 7, 1, 8

Lighter weeks (deloads)Mixed evidence

Not compulsory, especially for beginners. Take one every 6 to 8 weeks, or sooner if your performance drops for two sessions in a row and you feel run down or achy: same days, same exercises, about half the sets, and weights that feel easy (4 or more reps in reserve). Then restart at your previous weights.

Deloads are common practice: in a survey of competitive strength and physique athletes they lasted about a week, roughly every 5 to 6 weeks. Direct evidence is thin. In the one trial, a full week off mid-programme did not change muscle growth but slightly reduced strength gains, so a lighter week looks better than a week off if strength matters. Whether recreational lifters benefit has not been tested.

Sources 9, 10, 11

Warm-up and cool-downEmerging evidence

Warm up with 3 to 5 minutes of easy movement, the moves listed at the start of each session, then 1 or 2 lighter sets of the first lift. A short warm-up specific to the exercise is enough.

The cool-down is optional. Its stretches are there for comfort and flexibility; they do not add strength or muscle.

Source 8

Missed days, soreness and when to stop

Missed a session? Do the next one in the order rather than doubling up. Muscle soreness for a day or two after a new exercise is common and fades as you repeat it.

Stop and get medical help for chest pain or pressure, unusual breathlessness, dizziness or fainting. If a joint pain is sharp, gets worse during a set or lingers into the next day, swap to the move's easier option, and see a clinician if it persists.

WHO notes that people without contraindications generally do not need medical clearance before light or moderate activity. If you have a heart, lung or metabolic condition, are pregnant, or have osteoporosis with fractures, ask your clinician first.

Source 12

Strength training protects muscle and boneStrong evidence

Strength training improves strength, muscle size, balance, walking speed and everyday function at any age. Loss of muscle strength with age (sarcopenia) is now defined first by low strength, and resistance training is a key way to prevent and treat it. For bone, the UK osteoporosis consensus recommends progressive strength training.

Sources 1, 13, 14, 15

Women respond well over 50Emerging evidence

In pooled trials of older adults, women gained more lower-body strength than men relative to where they started, while men gained more in absolute strength and size.

Source 16

Bone: what the consensus recommendsStrong evidence

Strengthening exercise on 2 to 3 days a week, working toward weights you can lift 8 to 12 times, up to 3 sets. About 50 moderate impacts, such as heel drops, on most days, unless you have spinal fractures or several low-trauma fractures. Exercises that extend the spine, balance training to reduce falls, and no deep forward bending of the spine.

These are strong recommendations; the specific doses are expert consensus.

Source 15

If you have osteoporosis

Get individual advice from a physiotherapist when you start. Exercise is generally safe, and the consensus says the benefits, in general, outweigh the risks.

It notes reports of spinal fractures linked to end-range, repeated or loaded forward bending, such as sit-ups and some yoga positions with extreme flexion, so this plan has no sit-ups or deep forward folds.

Source 15

Heavier lifting, with supervisionEmerging evidence

In the LIFTMOR trial, postmenopausal women with low bone mass who did 8 months of supervised heavy lifting and impact training (5 sets of 5 at more than 85% of their maximum, twice a week) improved spine and hip bone density and physical function, with one minor adverse event. It was closely supervised, so work up to heavier sets with a coach or physiotherapist.

Source 17

Balance and fallsStrong evidence

WHO asks adults 65 and over for varied activity that emphasises balance and strength on 3 or more days a week to prevent falls, and the osteoporosis consensus recommends strength and balance training to reduce them. Every strength day in this plan ends with balance work, and Thursday is a balance session.

Sources 12, 15

Pelvic floorStrong evidence

Leaking with coughs, sneezes or impact is treatable: pelvic floor training cures or improves stress incontinence in many women. The daily 5-minute session is optional, and recommended if you leak; a pelvic health physiotherapist can check your technique.

Source 18