How to start strength training at 60: a home plan for your first weeks

To start strength training at 60, do six simple moves with a chair, a wall and a kitchen counter, one set of 8 to 10 slow reps each, two days a week with a rest day between, and add a little only when the last reps stop feeling hard. Add two minutes of balance practice at the counter to every session. Start easier than you think you need to: the first two weeks are for learning the moves and finding out how your knees, back and muscles feel the next morning.

This guide gives you a 30-second test to find your starting point, the six moves with an easier and a harder version of each, your first two weeks in a table, how to progress after that, swaps for knees and back that complain, balance work, how to get up from the floor, and the mistakes that make people stop.

Is 60 too late to start strength training?

No. Muscles respond to strength training at every adult age that has been studied. In a well-known 1990 study in JAMA, ten frail nursing-home residents with an average age of 90 trained their legs three times a week; after 8 weeks, the nine who finished had more than doubled their leg strength on average (an average gain of 174%), and their walking speed in a heel-to-toe test improved too [Fiatarone, 1990]. That was a small study of very frail people, so don't read it as a promise, but it shows how much room there is to improve when muscles are asked to work.

A larger review pulled together trials of adults aged 50 and over and found that resistance training improved strength across them, with bigger gains from harder training [Peterson, 2010]. Meanwhile, without training, muscle mass and strength drift down with age, and faster from around 60 onwards [Volpi, 2004]. Starting at 60 means you start working against that drift now, from a better place than you'll be in at 70.

If you're a little younger, the guide on how to start strength training at 50 uses a faster ramp. This one goes slower at the start, builds balance into every session, and gives a chair or counter version of every move.

How much strength training do the guidelines recommend at 60?

The US Physical Activity Guidelines ask adults for muscle-strengthening activity that works all the major muscle groups on at least 2 days a week, plus 150 minutes a week of moderate activity such as brisk walking. The CDC's page for adults 65 and over adds one thing to those two: activities that improve balance [CDC]. The World Health Organization's 2020 guidelines go a step further for people 65 and over: varied activity that focuses on balance and strength, at moderate or harder effort, on 3 or more days a week, to help prevent falls [WHO, 2020].

The National Institute on Aging groups the exercise older adults need into three kinds: aerobic (walking, dancing), muscle-strengthening (lifting weights, using a resistance band, or lifting your own body weight) and balance [NIA]. The plan below puts strength and balance in the same 20 to 25 minutes, so two sessions a week cover both, and a third session in week 2 gets you to the WHO's three days. Walking on the other days covers the aerobic part.

Before you start: a doctor's word and a safe room

If you have a heart, lung or blood pressure condition, diabetes, osteoporosis, a joint replacement or recent surgery, or you get chest pain or dizziness when active, ask your doctor which moves suit you before you begin; most people with these conditions can still train, often with a few changes.

Then set up the room. It takes five minutes and removes most of the risk:

• A sturdy chair without wheels or arms that fold, pushed back against a wall so it can't slide. A standard dining chair seat is about 17 inches high, which is what the chair test below assumes.
• A kitchen counter or a heavy table to hold for heel raises, side leg raises and balance work.
• A clear wall about an arm's length of free space wide, for wall push-ups.
• Clear floor: no loose rugs, cables or pets underfoot.
• Flat shoes with grip, or bare feet on a non-slip floor. Not socks on wood.
• Two full water bottles for your first weights, and a notebook for what you did.

Find your starting point: the 30-second chair stand

This is a test the CDC uses in its fall-prevention program, and it makes a good first page in your notebook [CDC STEADI]. Sit in the middle of the chair, feet flat and hip-width apart, arms crossed over your chest. When a timer starts, stand all the way up and sit all the way down as many times as you can in 30 seconds, at a steady pace you can control. Count the full stands.

The CDC form lists fewer than 12 stands as below average for women aged 60 to 64, and fewer than 11 for women aged 65 to 69. If you need your hands to get up at all, the form scores it 0. Neither number is a verdict; it tells you where to begin:

Repeat the test every 4 weeks on a strength day before the session, and write it down. More stands than last time is a sign of real, everyday strength.

The six moves to learn first

Together these work the legs, hips, chest, shoulders, upper back, calves and the muscles that steady you on one leg. Every one can be done standing or sitting, so you don't have to get down on the floor until you want to.

1. Sit-to-stand. Sit near the front of the chair, feet a little behind your knees. Lean your chest forward, push through your whole foot to stand tall, then sit back down slowly, counting 3. Easier: a higher seat, or hands on your thighs. Harder: a lower seat, or hold a bottle at your chest.
2. Wall push-up. Hands on the wall at shoulder height, a bit wider than your shoulders, feet a step back. Keep your body straight, bend your elbows to bring your chest towards the wall, push back. Easier: stand closer to the wall. Harder: hands on the kitchen counter instead of the wall.
3. Supported row. One hand on the chair back, a bottle in the other. Hinge forward with a long back, pull your elbow back past your ribs, lower slowly. Both sides. Easier: no bottle, squeeze your shoulder blade back. Harder: a heavier bottle or a 5 lb dumbbell.
4. Heel raise. Stand facing the counter, fingertips on it. Rise up onto the balls of your feet, pause, lower slowly over 3 seconds. Easier: both hands on the counter, small lift. Harder: one fingertip only, then one foot at a time.
5. Side leg raise. Stand side-on to the counter, holding it. Keep your body tall and lift the outside leg out to the side a few inches, toes pointing forward. Lower slowly. Both sides. Easier: a smaller lift. Harder: a 2-second pause at the top.
6. Bridge. Lie on your back (on the floor, or on a firm bed) with knees bent, feet flat. Squeeze your bottom and lift your hips until there's a line from knees to shoulders. Lower slowly. Easier: standing hip extension: hold the counter, take one straight leg back a few inches. Harder: hold the top for 3 seconds.

Move slowly: about 2 seconds up and 3 seconds down. Slow reps keep you in control, protect your joints, and make light weights do more work. Breathe out as you push or stand up and breathe in as you lower; don't hold your breath, which can push your blood pressure up.

Your first two weeks of strength training at 60

Week 1 has two sessions, for example Monday and Thursday. Week 2 has two or three, for example Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with at least one rest day between strength days. Walk on the days in between if you can.

Rest about a minute between moves, and longer if you're out of breath. If week 1 left you sore for more than two days, repeat week 1 before moving on. There's no prize for getting through the table fast; the point is to still be training in month three.

One session, written out

1. Warm-up, 5 minutes. March in place for a minute holding the counter if you like. Then 10 slow shoulder rolls, 10 arm swings forward and back, 10 small half-squats towards the chair, and 10 heel raises.
2. Strength, 12 to 15 minutes. The six moves in the order of the table: sit-to-stand, wall push-up, row, heel raise, side leg raise, bridge. Legs and upper body take turns, so each part rests while the other works.
3. Balance, 3 minutes. At the counter (the balance section below).
4. Cool-down, 2 minutes. A calf stretch against the wall and a gentle chest stretch in a doorway, about 30 seconds each side, without bouncing.

Write down three things: the reps you did, what you held, and one word for how it felt. Next session, look at it before you start.

How to progress after the first two weeks

From week 3, keep two or three sessions a week and make one thing harder at a time, in this order:

1. More reps, up to 12 per set.
2. More sets, up to 2 or 3 per move.
3. A harder version from the list of moves: a lower chair, hands on the counter for push-ups, one fingertip on the counter for heel raises.
4. More weight: heavier bottles, then a pair of light dumbbells (a pair of 3 or 5 lb dumbbells is a light first pair for rows; legs are usually ready for more weight sooner than arms).

The rule for when to move up: when you can do 2 more reps than the top of your range on your last set, two sessions in a row, take the next step. By weeks 7 to 8, the last rep of each set should leave about 2 or 3 more in you, no more. The NIA's version of the same idea is that once you can do 2 sets of 10 to 15 reps easily, increase the weight at your next session. Expect your reps to drop back when you take a step up; build them again.

After that, a fuller plan helps: the 12-week workout plan for women over 50 adds a second workout and longer balance work, and most of it suits a 60-year-old who has done these first eight weeks.

Knee and back friendly swaps

Muscle ache a day or two after training is normal and fades. Joint pain is a signal to change the move, not to stop exercising. A rule physical therapists use: some discomfort while you train is acceptable if it stays mild (about 3 out of 10 or less), settles within a couple of hours, and isn't worse the next morning [Thomeé, 1997]. Above that, use the swap.

More swaps, with whole workouts built around them: knee friendly exercises for legs and back friendly exercises. Stop and get checked if a joint swells, locks or gives way, if pain wakes you at night, or if you feel chest pain, faintness or sudden breathlessness while exercising.

Balance: two minutes that belong in every session

Balance training is part of the guidelines from 65 for a reason. A Cochrane review of trials in older people living at home found that exercise programs reduced the rate of falls by 23% compared with no exercise, and programs built mainly on balance and functional exercise reduced it by 24% [Sherrington, Cochrane, 2019]. At 60 you're starting it early, which is the best time.

Stand facing the kitchen counter, both hands resting on it. Work through these positions, holding each for the time in your plan. When you can hold one for 30 seconds steadily, use one hand, then fingertips, then hover your hands just above the counter. Only move to the next position when the hands-off version is easy.

1. Feet together, side by side and touching.
2. Half step: the heel of one foot beside the big toe of the other. Swap feet.
3. Heel to toe: one foot directly in front of the other, as if on a line. Swap feet.
4. One leg: lift one foot an inch off the floor. Swap legs.

Later, add a heel-to-toe walk along the counter, 10 steps forward and back. Keep your eyes on a point ahead, not on your feet.

How to get up from the floor

Many people over 60 avoid floor exercises because getting up feels unsure. Practising it is worth a minute a session once the first two weeks feel easy. Next to a sturdy chair: roll onto your side, push up onto your hands and knees (a folded towel under your knees helps), bring the chair in front of you, put your hands on the seat, bring one foot forward so it's flat on the floor, and push up through that leg to stand, then turn and sit. Go down the same way in reverse. If kneeling isn't possible for you, keep doing bridges on the bed and leave the floor out.

Mistakes that make people stop

• Doing too much in week 1. Being sore for days after the first session is the most common reason people give up early. One set is enough to start.
• Staying too easy for too long. If you could do 20 reps every time, your muscles aren't being asked to change. From week 3 the last reps should feel like work.
• Walking only. Walking is good for your heart and mood; it doesn't replace work for your arms, upper back and hips.
• Skipping balance because it looks too simple. It's the part the guidelines single out from 65, and it takes two minutes.
• Changing the moves every week. Repeating the same six is how you can see progress in your notebook.
• Training through sharp pain. Swap the move (table above) and keep the rest of the session.
• Holding your breath on the hard part. Breathe out as you push or stand.

What to expect in the first two months

Nobody can promise what your body will do by a date, and this guide doesn't. What people usually notice first is ordinary: standing up from a low sofa takes less effort, the stairs with shopping feel easier, and the moves that felt awkward in week 1 feel natural by week 4. Early strength gains come quickly because your nerves and muscles learn to work together; changes in muscle size take longer. The honest measure is your notebook: more chair stands in 30 seconds, more reps, a harder version or a heavier bottle than in week 1.

If you'd like your weeks laid out for you, the free 2-minute home strength quiz asks about your knees, back, balance, goal and time and builds a plan from your answers, with the swaps already picked. You can also read how our home strength plan for women over 40 works and what it costs before you decide anything. For the same ground written for women in their 40s, see strength training for women over 40 as a beginner.

Questions people ask

How many days a week should I strength train at 60?

Two days a week, not back to back, is the US guideline minimum and a good start. The WHO suggests 3 or more days of balance and strength work from 65, so moving to three short sessions once two feel easy is a good next step. For 2-, 3- and 4-day weeks written out, see how often women over 40 should strength train.

Can a woman build muscle after 60?

Yes. Trials in older adults, including people in their 90s, show strength and muscle respond to training that gets gradually harder. It also needs enough protein through the day; if you have kidney disease or follow a special diet, ask your doctor or a registered dietitian how much suits you.

Should I start with weights or body weight?

Body weight for most moves, and water bottles for rows. Move to light dumbbells when 12 slow reps with bottles feel easy, and keep raising the weight in small steps after that.

How long should each session be?

About 20 minutes in week 1 and 25 minutes after that, warm-up and balance included. Short sessions done twice a week, every week, count for more than long ones you skip.

Is it safe to strength train with arthritis?

Strength training is part of the usual exercise advice for arthritis. Use the pain rule above, pick the swaps that suit your joints, and ask your doctor or a physical therapist if one joint is painful most days.

What if I miss a week or two?

Start again with one fewer set than you were doing, for one session, then carry on. A missed week costs little; stopping for good costs the most.

More plain guides on getting stronger at home: all our home strength guides.

Sources: US Department of Health and Human Services, Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition, 2018. CDC, Physical activity guidelines for older adults. World Health Organization, Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour, 2020. National Institute on Aging, types of exercise for older adults, and its Go4Life strength exercise advice. CDC STEADI, 30-second chair stand assessment, norms from Rikli and Jones, 1999. Fiatarone M. et al., "High-intensity strength training in nonagenarians", JAMA, 1990. Peterson M. et al., "Resistance exercise for muscular strength in older adults: a meta-analysis", Ageing Research Reviews, 2010. Volpi E. et al., "Muscle tissue changes with aging", Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care, 2004. Sherrington C. et al., "Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community", Cochrane, 2019. Thomeé R., "A comprehensive treatment approach for patellofemoral pain syndrome in young women" (the pain monitoring model), Physical Therapy, 1997. This guide is about exercise habits and is not medical advice; follow your doctor's or physical therapist's advice where it differs.