Strength training in your 50s: where to start

The belief that joints wear out like tyres, and that loading them accelerates the process, is the single most costly misunderstanding we deal with. Cartilage and bone are living tissue: they respond to being used and deteriorate when they are not.

Starting small feels satisfying

The most common mistake is beginning at the level you managed twenty years ago, feeling sore for a week, and concluding that strength training is not for you. Begin at a level that feels almost too easy, and let the first two weeks be about establishing the habit and the technique.

What to prioritise

Always prioritise functional training, it does not have to be complicated.

• Partial squats are most similar to sit to stand. Sit-to-stands are necessary to get up from the toilet seat. Get up from sofa or lowering yourself to the floor. We can slowly progress to full squats

• Deadlifts they sound deadly and dangerous for some they are quite technical. So if you’re not comfortable with doing deadlifts, you can start with a simple exercise called Jefferson curls which helps you pick objects straight from the floor. This is not only improves mobility of the low back and the hamstring, but it also helps to build durability in the spine. Eventually learn its cousin the deadlift and become stronger than ever.

• Overhead shoulder press, lifting up, heavy objects and placing it overhead is difficult for most people. That’s where overhead shoulder press comes in and helps people above 50 regain confidence in lifting a baby or a child above their head.

• Another exercise which helps lift things up from the waist and towards your chest is a very simple standing bicep curl, it can be done with a barbell as well as a dumbbell.

Start with these and slowly add more the protocol doesn’t have to be balanced but needs to be easy and practical enough to perform.

How to progress

Add a little each week — a repetition, a small increase in weight, a slightly deeper range — and only when the current level is comfortable. A modest amount done consistently for a year beats an ambitious plan abandoned in March. How often you train is worth agreeing with your physiotherapist, who can set it against your starting point and everything else you already do in a week.

Aches versus warnings

Muscle soreness a day or two after a new exercise is normal and settles. Sharp pain during a movement, joint swelling afterwards, or pain that worsens session on session is not, and is worth having looked at before you push through it.

If you have an existing joint problem, heart condition or a long gap since you last trained, start with an assessment rather than a programme off the internet.