strength training program for seniors?

AigreDoux

My mom is 65, and was just diagnosed with arthritis in her knees. She is mildly overweight, probably about 160 lbs and 5'5", but her orthopedic surgeon said that the best thing for her to do was to strengthen her muscles rather than focus on losing weight. She walks a couple miles a few times a week and is relatively active with gardening, etc, but has never done any type of strength work.

She would kill me if I told her to go out and join a gym and start squatting and deadlifting.

Any suggestions of good books/programs for a senior who is intimidated by weights but needs some strength work? Looking at Fitness Blender videos and getting her a set of dumbbells, but other ideas welcome too!

rileyes

New Rules of Lifting for Women (or Life). Useful info. And Strong Curves has a bodyweight program as well as more advanced lifting. I'd get her on MFP too so she can follow the threads and gravitate toward a group.

melki081

Hey man for a senior with arthritis problems first you have to get the approval from her physical professional for her to start a resistance training , however i ll recommend for example first since arthritis is a disease that affect mobility before any physical activity she has to do a good static stretch then some warm up and then move to lift weights , for the resistance training i would recommend exercises sitting or standing position then also be aware that her ROM (room of
Motion) it wont be the same as a normal person so while performing the movement she has to
Be careful. Also
Do not exceed more than 30 to 1 hour of resistance training and also circuit training are better for her i hope this can be helpful but remember first consult with her physician.

AigreDoux

Does New Rules of Lifting for Life use barbell exercises? I think she will balk at the suggestion of a barbell, for now, so sort of thinking dumbbells may be the best entry point.

Grimmerick

Any chance you can get her to exercise in a pool, You can get a great workout in a pool with less stress on bad or older joints especially if she is overweight even if only a little, that coupled with being older and having arthritis can really be hard on the body.

dlm7507

A few years ago I weighed 276, was way out of shape and over 60. Concerned about giving myself a heart attack or stroke I started with this. It was a good place to start. She has assessments for various issues that are common for senior citizens. Each exercise has four different "levels" to accommodate those issues safely. It has alternating strength and cardio routines and good instruction for the movements. Working out to a video became too campy for me over time but it got me going.

realcalm

At 65 she is presumably on Medicare; depending on her supplementary insurance, she may be eligible for free silver sneakers programs. (Or she could just join a gym that offers silver sneakers. ) silver sneakers classic is a 45 minute gentle workout combining cardio, strength, and stretching. My gym also has chair-yoga and Zumba for seniors. It is a program I cannot recommend too highly.

SonyaCele

maybe get her involved in pilates and/or yoga and that will get her off in the right direction. Silver sneakers is awesome too, and a great social outlet.

middlehaitch

Hi @AigreDoux, I am 62 and didn't start exercising until my mid 50's. I hated the thought of it but knew I had to do something, I also hated feeling sweaty.
My SO was trying to get me into swimming one day and I saw an Aqua fit class in progress. It looked like fun. I went to the very next class, then 3 classes a week over the year I lost weight (30lbs). It is great for people with arthritis as there is virtually no impact. It is great for strengthening muscles, posture, balance and cardio- and it is usually very friendly and sociable.
With a doctor's clearance I would highly recommend it as your mum's first step to fitness.
I eventually built up to- aerobics, Pilates, belly dancing (great for the core), Zumba ( I wouldn't recommend even the Zumba gold until she has more leg strength as the footwork can be quite complex even though slower low impact).

HasFit beginners weight lifting programme, and Nerdfitness beginners bodyweight programme are ones she could do at home. They would probably suit her needs- she just needs to start slow and build over time adjusting the exercise to her abilities to begin with.

Cheers, h.

ETA-

Bodyweight, break it down to doable sets with simplified moves and make being able to complete the programme the goal.
https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

Hand weight routine. Again start in slow and aim at complying the full 15 min in 15 min. I wrote all the moves down and just worked at my pace to begin with so by the time the 15 min were up I had just done the first set. I eventually picked up with practice.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U0bhE67HuDY

Oh as a quick side note make sure your mum is getting plenty of protein. Research is showing that older people need more protein than younger to help with muscle retention even when not exercising. h

ninerbuff

There are lots of body weight only exercises she can do. Many can be seen on youtube. Modify them to suit her current fitness level. For her, just doing one exercise for each body part for 2 sets should be plenty to start.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition