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Exercises

Strength training for men over 60: lifts for strength, balance and grip

Published October 29, 2026

Strength training for men over 60 should cover five jobs: squatting (goblet squat, leg press), stepping (step-up), lifting from the floor (kettlebell or trap bar deadlift), pushing (incline push-up, chest press machine, neutral-grip shoulder press) and pulling (chest-supported row, lat pulldown), plus farmer's and suitcase carries for grip and balance. Train two or three non-consecutive days a week, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps on five or six exercises, stopping 2 to 3 reps short of failure. Add weight in small steps whenever every set reaches the top of the rep range.

  1. Goblet Squat Quads, Glutes
  2. Leg Press Quads, Glutes
  3. Step-Up Quads, Glutes
  4. Kettlebell Deadlift Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower Back
  5. Chest-Supported Row Upper Back, Lats
  6. Machine Chest Press Chest
  7. Farmer's Walk Forearms, Traps, Shoulders

Squats and step-ups

Thigh strength is what keeps getting out of a low seat and climbing stairs easy. Train one two-leg squat and one stepping move each week.

Thighs and glutes, squat

Goblet Squat

Quads, Glutes

Holding one dumbbell at your chest and sitting back to a bench makes the squat easy to learn and easy to load. Lower the bench over the months as your depth improves.

How to do it

  1. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell vertically against your chest.
  2. Sit down between your knees, elbows inside them at the bottom.
  3. Stand up tall.

Cues

  • Elbows nudge the knees out at the bottom.
  • Chest stays up behind the weight.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the weight pull you forward.

Swap for: Bodyweight Squat, Barbell Back Squat

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Thighs and glutes, machine

Leg Press

Quads, Glutes

The leg press trains the legs heavily with your back supported and no balance demands, so it is often the lift where men over 60 can push hardest.

How to do it

  1. Sit in the machine with your whole back against the pad and your feet hip-width on the platform.
  2. Release the safety handles and bend your knees, bringing the platform toward you under control.
  3. Lower until your knees are bent to about 90 degrees or a little deeper, without your lower back curling off the pad.
  4. Press the platform away until your legs are nearly straight, and repeat.

Cues

  • Lower back stays on the pad
  • Whole foot pushes
  • Stop just short of locking out

Common mistakes

  • Going so deep that your hips roll up off the seat: stop where your back stays flat.
  • Snapping the knees straight at the top: keep a soft bend.

Swap for: 45-Degree Leg Press, Hack Squat, Barbell Back Squat

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Thighs and glutes, one leg

Step-Up

Quads, Glutes

Stepping up onto a box with dumbbells trains each leg for stairs and curbs. Start on a 6 to 8 inch step and raise it before adding weight.

How to do it

  1. Stand facing the bench with two dumbbells.
  2. Place one whole foot on the bench.
  3. Lean forward a little and push through the top foot to stand up on the bench.
  4. Bring the other foot up only to touch, then lower it back to the floor.
  5. Finish all reps on one leg before switching.

Cues

  • Whole foot on the bench
  • Push through the top heel
  • Lower slowly, do not drop

Common mistakes

  • Pushing off the floor with the back foot: that halves the work. Keep the trailing foot light.
  • Using a bench so high that your knee is far above your hip: you will rock instead of step.

Swap for: Barbell Step-Up

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Lifting from the floor

The deadlift pattern is how you pick up a bag of soil or a suitcase. A single kettlebell is the place to learn it, and the trap bar is where it goes when you get strong.

Glutes, hamstrings and back, hinge

Kettlebell Deadlift

Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower Back

One kettlebell between your feet teaches the hip hinge with a load you control easily, so your back learns to stay flat before the weights get heavy.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, the bell in one hand at your side and that arm straight.
  2. Push your hips back and bend your knees a little, letting the bell travel down beside your leg until it nearly reaches the floor, back flat.
  3. Keep your shoulders level and your chest facing forward as the bell lowers.
  4. Stand up by driving through your feet and squeezing your glutes. Finish the set, then switch hands. With two bells, hold one at each side.

Cues

  • Hips back, chest up
  • Bell close to your leg
  • Stand tall at the top

Common mistakes

  • Squatting straight down so the knees do all the work: lead with the hips.
  • Letting your back round to reach lower: stop the bell where your back is still flat.

Swap for: Kettlebell Good Morning, Kettlebell Swing, Kettlebell Row

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Glutes, legs and back, heavy hinge

Trap Bar Deadlift

Quads, Glutes

Once the kettlebell is too light, the trap bar lets you lift much heavier with an upright torso. It suits men who have lifted before and want a true heavy lift.

How to do it

  1. Step inside the trap bar with the handles beside your feet.
  2. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and grip the handles.
  3. Flatten your back, take the slack out, and stand up by pushing the floor away.
  4. Lower under control. Each warm-up set adds weight toward your working sets.

Cues

  • Push the floor away
  • Flat back
  • Slack out before you pull

Common mistakes

  • Yanking the bar off the floor: pull the slack out first.
  • Rounding the back as the weight climbs: hold the ramp until the setup is solid.

Swap for: Barbell Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift

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Push-ups and presses

Pushing keeps you able to get up off the floor and lift things overhead. Start on an incline or a machine and progress from there.

Chest and triceps, incline push-up

Incline Push-Up

Chest

With your hands on a bench or counter, the push-up fits your current strength, and lowering the surface makes it harder. It is the home pushing exercise in the dumbbell plan.

How to do it

  1. Put your hands on a bench, box or counter, a little wider than shoulder width.
  2. Walk your feet back until your body is a straight line from head to heels.
  3. Lower your chest to the edge, elbows angled about 45 degrees from your sides.
  4. Press back up until your arms are straight.

Cues

  • Body like a plank
  • Elbows at about 45 degrees
  • Higher surface, easier rep

Common mistakes

  • Hips sagging toward the floor: squeeze your glutes and brace as if you were about to be poked in the stomach.
  • Flaring the elbows straight out: tuck them back at about 45 degrees.

Swap for: Kneeling Push-Up, Close-Grip Push-Up, Bench Dip

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Chest and triceps, machine

Machine Chest Press

Chest

The chest press machine lets you press in a fixed path with a backrest, which makes pushing hard simple to control. Set the seat so the handles line up with mid-chest.

How to do it

  1. Raise or lower the seat until the handles line up with the middle of your chest, then sit with your back on the pad.
  2. Take the handles with straight wrists and your shoulder blades pressed back.
  3. Push forward until your arms are nearly straight.
  4. Return slowly until your hands are level with your chest, then press again.

Cues

  • Handles at mid-chest
  • Back stays on the pad
  • Slow on the way back

Common mistakes

  • Seat too high, so your shoulders take over: lower it until the handles meet your mid-chest.
  • Stopping the handles short of your chest: let them come all the way back each rep.

Swap for: Incline Push-Up, Flat Dumbbell Press, Incline Dumbbell Press

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Shoulders and triceps, overhead

Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Shoulders

Pressing with palms facing in is the shoulder-friendly way to keep overhead strength for lifting a carry-on into a bin. Sit with your back supported.

How to do it

  1. Sit against an upright bench with a dumbbell at each shoulder, palms turned in.
  2. Keep your elbows pointing slightly forward rather than straight out to the side.
  3. Press up to straight elbows.
  4. Lower under control to the starting point beside your shoulders.

Cues

  • Palms in
  • Elbows forward
  • Stack wrists over elbows

Common mistakes

  • Letting the dumbbells drift wide at the top: keep them right above your shoulders.
  • Rushing the bottom: the hardest part of the rep is the first few inches out of it.

Swap for: Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Machine Shoulder Press, Landmine Press

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Rows and pulldowns

Pulling builds the upper back that keeps you standing tall and balances out a lifetime of sitting and reaching forward.

Upper back, supported row

Chest-Supported Row

Upper Back, Lats

With your chest on the pad, you can row hard without loading your lower back, which makes this the back exercise most older lifters can push hardest.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so the handles are at chest height and rest your chest on the pad.
  2. Pull the handles back until your elbows pass your torso.
  3. Let the handles return until your arms are straight and your shoulders reach forward.

Cues

  • Chest stays on the pad
  • Squeeze, then reach

Common mistakes

  • Lifting your chest off the pad to move more weight: the pad is there so your back can rest.

Swap for: Machine Row, Seated Cable Row, Incline Dumbbell Row

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Lats and biceps, vertical pull

Lat Pulldown

Lats

The pulldown builds the large back muscles and grip at whatever weight you set. It is the pulling half of the gym plan.

How to do it

  1. Set the thigh pad so your legs are locked under it, then stand up and take the bar a little wider than your shoulders, palms forward.
  2. Sit down with your arms fully stretched overhead and lean back only slightly.
  3. Pull the bar to your upper chest by driving your elbows down toward your hips.
  4. Let the bar rise until your arms are straight and your shoulders lift toward your ears, then pull again.

Cues

  • Elbows to your back pockets
  • Bar to the top of the chest
  • Let the stack lift you at the top

Common mistakes

  • Leaning far back and rowing the bar to your stomach: stay nearly upright so it remains a vertical pull.
  • Stopping with the arms still bent at the top: the stretch overhead is half of what makes the pulldown work.

Swap for: Assisted Pull-Up, Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown, Band Bent-Over Row

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Carries for grip and balance

Carrying weight while walking trains grip, trunk and balance in one exercise. A one-sided carry adds a real balance challenge.

Grip and trunk, two-handed carry

Farmer's Walk

Forearms, Traps, Shoulders

Grip strength fades with age unless you train it, and the farmer's walk is the simplest way to do that. Walk tall for 30 to 45 seconds.

How to do it

  1. Pick up two heavy dumbbells with your back flat.
  2. Stand tall with your ribs down and walk with short, quick steps.
  3. Set the weights down with a flat back when the time or distance is up.

Cues

  • Ribs down
  • Crush the handles
  • Quick steps

Common mistakes

  • Letting the shoulders round forward.
  • Walking so slowly the dumbbells start to swing.

Swap for: Dumbbell Suitcase Carry, Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry

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Obliques and balance, one-handed carry

Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

Abs, Quads

Carrying a dumbbell in one hand pulls you sideways, so your trunk and hips have to keep you upright. It is balance training with a weight in your hand.

How to do it

  1. Pick up one heavy dumbbell and stand tall with it at your side.
  2. Walk with short, steady steps without leaning toward or away from it.
  3. Set it down, switch hands and walk back.

Cues

  • Shoulders level
  • Tall walk
  • Grip hard

Common mistakes

  • Leaning away from the weight to balance it.
  • Picking a dumbbell so light that nothing has to work.

Swap for: Farmer's Walk, Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Two gym days, machines first

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets28 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentLeg Press, Chest Press, Lat Pulldown, Kettlebells +1

You are starting strength training in your 60s, or returning after a long break, and you have access to a gym.

Two full-body sessions with mostly machines give every muscle 6 sets a week, enough to get stronger from a low start, with a backrest and fixed path on most lifts. Each session has 14 sets and takes about 45 minutes.

Full body
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Leg Press2 warm-up sets first 3 × 10–12 3 2 min
Machine Chest Press 3 × 8–12 3 90 s
Lat Pulldown 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Kettlebell Deadlift1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–12 3 90 s
Farmer's WalkSeconds of walking. 2 × 30–45 2 90 s
How to run it
Lift on two non-consecutive days, for example Monday and Thursday. Begin with 5 minutes on a bike or treadmill.
How to progress
Move the pin up one step when every set reaches the top of the range at 2 or 3 reps in reserve. For the first four weeks, stay at 3 reps in reserve while you learn the machines.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

At home with dumbbells and a sturdy step

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets39 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Flat Bench, Kettlebells

You prefer to train at home and have a few pairs of dumbbells, a kettlebell, and a step or low box.

Three shorter sessions of 13 sets give each muscle about 6 to 9 sets a week, and keeping each session to 30 minutes makes three days a week realistic. Step-ups and carries train balance alongside strength.

Full body at home
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Goblet Squat1 warm-up set firstTo a bench. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Incline Push-Up 3 × 8–12 2 75 s
Step-UpPer leg. 2 × 8–10 2 75 s
Kettlebell Deadlift 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Dumbbell Suitcase CarrySeconds per side. 2 × 20–40 2 1 min
How to run it
Spread the three sessions across the week with a rest day after each. Keep a chair or counter next to the step for balance.
How to progress
When every set reaches the top of the range with 2 reps left, move up one dumbbell. Raise the step height before adding weight to step-ups.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Fit, and you have lifted before

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets36 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentTrap Bar, Dumbbells, Seated Row Machine, Flat Bench +2

You trained for years, are in good health, and want a plan that still builds strength with heavier loads.

Three sessions with the trap bar as the main lift let you train heavy in the 5 to 8 rep range at 2 reps in reserve, with the other lifts at moderate reps. Each muscle gets about 9 sets a week. Sessions take about 50 minutes.

A: Trap bar and press
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Trap Bar Deadlift3 warm-up sets first 3 × 5–8 2 3 min
Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Shoulder Press1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–10 2 90 s
Chest-Supported Row 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Step-UpPer leg. 2 × 8–10 2 75 s
Farmer's WalkSeconds of walking. 2 × 30–45 2 90 s

Open A: Trap bar and press in the session builder

B: Squat and pull
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Goblet Squat2 warm-up sets first 3 × 8–12 2 2 min
Machine Chest Press 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Lat Pulldown 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Dumbbell Suitcase CarrySeconds per side. 2 × 30–40 2 1 min

Open B: Squat and pull in the session builder

How to run it
Rotate A and B on three days with a day off between each. Take a lighter week with half the sets every six weeks.
How to progress
On the trap bar, add 5 pounds at a time when every set reaches 8 reps at 2 reps in reserve. On dumbbells and machines, move up one step at the top of the range.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How many days a week should a 60 year old man lift weights?

Two or three non-consecutive days. Two days is enough to get stronger when you are starting out; three suits men who recover well and want faster progress.

What is a good weight for a 60 year old man to bench press?

There is no single right number. Use a weight you can press for 8 to 12 reps with 2 or 3 left, and judge progress by adding reps or weight over the months, not by a fixed standard.

Can a man over 60 build muscle?

Yes. Muscle responds to strength training at 60 and well beyond. Progress is slower than in your 20s, but men who start in their 60s still gain noticeable strength in a few months.

Should men over 60 lift heavy weights?

Heavy for you, yes: weights where the last couple of reps are hard. Lifters with experience can use the trap bar for sets of 5 to 8; newer lifters stay at 8 to 12 reps.

What is the 3-3-3 rule for weight training?

It usually refers to three exercises, three sets, three times a week. Men over 60 do well with five exercises per session instead, so each session covers squat, hinge, push, pull and carry.