By: Emily Ing and Igor Klibanov

You’re a senior who wants to improve your strength and have more energy. Maybe your doctor told you that you need to get stronger, or you decided it on your own. You’ve noticed that things have gotten tougher as you got older:

  • Climbing stairs
  • Walking around
  • Carrying groceries
  • Playing with your grandkids
  • Gardening
  • Activities around the house

…and others.

Plus, one of the greatest fears of seniors is falling down (possibly fracturing or breaking a bone), and not being able to get back up.

You don’t want to have to be dependent on your family or on caregivers. Good for you.

The fact that you searched for leg exercises for seniors shows that you’re not just going to let time take its course. You’re going to fight the decline in strength with well… strength training.

Leg strength exercises for seniors
Original source: here.

Now you’re probably reading this and thinking “Yeah, this is what I’m looking for. This guy really gets me. But who knows if what he has to say is truly useful. Who is this guy anyways?” 

Well, my skeptical friend, to answer your question, I’m Igor 🙂 

I’m a personal trainer and published author. Here’s a bit more about me:

… and others

So this isn’t just theory, but something my team and I do every day with people just like you.

Before we dive into the article if you want to see whether we can help you or not, just fill out the application form on our home page. After you fill it out, we’ll get on a quick, 10-15 minute zoom call (or email, if that’s your preference) to answer your questions, and understand more about your situation. No pressure, no obligation.

You’ve waited long enough, let’s get into the actual article.

Finding the Best Exercise for you

Just like any other aspect of fitness, there is no “best” exercise for gaining leg strength. Yes, there are good leg exercises for seniors, but calling one the best just isn’t possible because everyone’s goals and situations are different. 

Don’t let that make you think that once you find the best strength exercise for you, it’s the only thing that will help you reach your goals. In fact, exercises are only the 4th most important variable of an exercise program. And you may be wondering, if exercises are 4th what could possibly be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd? If you want to find out, check out my article on the most important factor in an exercise program. 

I’ll give you the most important part of a fitness program though: progression. What’s progression you ask? Well if you do 3 sets of 10 squats everyday, you’ll get really good at doing 3 sets of 10 and only 3 sets of 10. But eventually you should increase the number of squats, sets or even of weight. So when you get good at 3 sets of 10, start doing 3 sets of 11…12…13… or if you started with no weight, add 5 pounds. Just try to make something ever so slightly hard either every workout, or every other workout.

Progression, and progressively getting more difficult is the most important part of a fitness program. To find out what the 2nd and 3rd most important variables are, make sure to check out my article.

So how do you find the best leg strength exercise for you? Yes, you could do trial and error but that’s going to take a lot of extra time that could be spent working towards your goals with the right exercise. 

To put it simply, think about what the purpose of leg strength is for you. What are the daily activities that you’d like to benefit from strength training? As said before there is no universal “best” leg strength exercise. There is only the “best” for you. 

For example, if your purpose for wanting to improve your leg strength is to climb stairs. Well, the best way to work those muscles is to well… climb stairs. It’s that simple.  Or if your purpose is to get up off the ground in case of a fall, then one of the best exercises for you may be lunges. 

Let me ask you a question. Which do you think is better: working on 3-5 exercises and getting really good at them or working on 15+ leg exercises and being so-so at them? Take a guess. 

Initially it may seem that the more the merrier, so 15 so-so exercises would be better, right? Well the reality is that it’s better to pick 3-5 exercises, stick to them and get really good at them. And while you’re working on the exercises it’s important to continually make them harder by adding more weight, sets or reps. 

It’s all about making small progress and taking those small steps. Adding a rep or two every time you work out or maybe adding 5 pounds and bringing it down two or three reps. Because if you just keep doing the same thing every single time, you’ll make a little bit of progress, build a little bit of strength, make it a little closer to your goal… then stop. The progress will just stop, it’ll plateau because it’s no longer a challenge for your muscles. 

There’s a saying that goes “most people underestimate what they can do in a month, and underestimate what they can do in a year.” In a month you may expect to see incredible improvements, and that might be the case at the beginning when you first start. But over time, it might seem that the improvements just aren’t as apparent anymore. So most people then just give up, they think that all their hard work and time is just going to waste. 

But that isn’t true! If you continue doing the same thing day after day with no plans of making it more challenging, then sure, the hard work might be going to waste. But with small challenges added every once in a while, you may not be able to see progress right away, though by the end of the year, you’ll notice a difference. 

Think of it like this, if you make 1 small change to your exercises, to make them just the slightest bit more challenging every week, by the end of the year, that will be 52 small changes since the beginning of the year. Which is a lot. A bunch of small changes compounded over a year will be a big difference.

For the 3-5 exercises you pick, pick 1-2 for the front of the thighs (quads/quadriceps), 1-2 for the back of the thighs (hamstring muscles), and 1 for the lower legs (calf muscles).

Best Leg Strength Exercises for Seniors

Here’s what you’ve been waiting for! The long-awaited list of the “best” leg exercises for older adults. Here are 5 of the best exercises for building lower body strength in older adults:

  • Stationary lunges
    • Targeted muscles: quadriceps (front of the thighs), hamstrings (backs of the thighs), and glutes (those are the hip muscles/butt muscles).
    • With this one, if you notice a significant strength discrepancy between sides, just do this on one leg for 2-8 weeks, until the strength catches up with the opposite leg.
    • You can choose to either do all of your repetitions on one side, or you can switch sides (switching is easier than doing them all on one side).
    • Additionally these can give you better balance
  • One-legged deadlifts
    • Targeted muscles: hamstrings, glutes and lower back
    • One of the best “real-world” exercises for developing hip strength
    • They also help develop hip flexibility
  • Squats
    • Targeted muscles: quadriceps and glutes. To a lesser extent, the hamstrings
    • If you can’t go down all the way at first, don’t worry. Your range of motion will improve.
    • Also note that the feet don’t necessarily have to be shoulder width apart. Play with different stance width, and see what’s most comfortable for you.
    • People often make the mistake of trying to keep the upper body upright. It doesn’t have to be upright. It just has to be straight.
  • Deadlifts
    • Targeted muscles: hamstrings, glutes and lower back.
    • As with squats, the standing position doesn’t have to be feet shoulder width apart. Adjust stance width to see what’s most comfortable for you.
  • Calf raises
    • Targeted muscles: calves (gastrocnemius and soleus)
    • A lot of people do these incorrectly by bouncing up and down. You want to slowly lower your heels into the bottom position. This will also improve your ankle flexibility.
    • Calf raises also make it easier for you to go up and down the stairs.

And I can hear what you’re thinking: do any of these engage the abdominal muscles? Yes, they do engage them, but as I discuss in another article, “engaging” does not mean “strengthening.”

The other thing you might be thinking is “I have joint pain in my ____________ (fill in the blank with the relevant joints from the lower body). How do I modify it?” Great question. I wrote an entire article on that, called “joint-friendly strength training.” Of course, you may also want to see a physical therapist for additional therapy.

Conclusion

In the end, just remember this: there are no universal “best” leg exercises for seniors that are the secret to gaining thigh strength overnight. Everything comes with progress and personalization.

Identify your own goals and choose the right leg exercises to achieve those goals. And remember, that you can accomplish a lot more than you think in just a year’s time. Adding small changes to the 3-5 leg exercises that are best for you will continually challenge your muscles and keep you from plateauing in progress. 

“Most people underestimate what they can do in a month, and underestimate what they can do in a year.” Remember that, because 1 small change every week can lead to 52 changes in a year.

If you want to see whether we can help you or not, just fill out the application form on our home page. After you fill it out, we’ll get on a quick, 10-15 minute zoom call (or email, if that’s your preference) to answer your questions, and understand more about your situation. No pressure, no obligation.