Strength Training for Women over 60 | 12 Essential Movements

1. Gait – Walking with balance, posture, and strength

Everyday life:

Walking may seem automatic—until it’s not. Poor gait patterns lead to falls, joint strain, and reduced confidence in public spaces or on uneven terrain. When women stop walking tall, they start to shrink back from life.

Examples:

• Walking uphill or downstairs with control
• Navigating uneven ground or gravel
• Walking backwards, sideways, or while carrying something
• Standing tall in a busy crowd or store

Strengthen:

Training gait helps preserve your balance, reaction time, posture, and lower body resilience. It also improves how efficiently your brain and body communicate—so you walk with purpose, not hesitation.

Train with:

• Leg band forward/back & side-to-side steps
• High leg lift (over a towel or low object) side and forward/back steps
• Balance drills, make sure you're near a chair, table, wall (preferably corner) incase you lose balance and fall, so you're safe doing this.
• ALSO: Loaded carries like a kettlebell in one or each hand (ensure your posture is upright and vertically aligned). If doing single hand loaded carries ensure you don't lean to the either side. (see carry below)

2. Carrying – Grip, shoulder, and core endurance

Everyday life:

Losing the ability to carry a weight—especially asymmetrically (two things at same time of different weight)—is one of the earliest signs of physical decline. Without grip and trunk control, we become reliant on others for basic tasks.

Examples:

• Carrying grocery bags
• Holding a grandchild on your hip
• Carrying the suitcase/bags on a travel adventure
• Carrying soup pots, watering cans, wood on a winters day

Strengthen:

Training carries improves grip strength (a key longevity marker), shoulder stability, and whole-body coordination. This is a foundational skill to maintain independence and confidence.

Train with:

• Farmer’s carries with dumbbells, kettlebells, or water jugs. ie. carrying something in each hand.
• Front carries with household items
• Suitcase carries (one-sided load to train the core)
• Suitcase carry and baby carry at same time, using a weighted medicine as the baby carry.
• Suitcase carry and waiters carry, using a kettlebell or dumbbell as the waiters carry. Note: care needs to be taken with waiters carry to not have a heavy weight, endurance is the key not how much weight.
• NOTE: The object of carries is core endurance not weight, so seek to go longer as you progress. eg. we take a 8-10kg kettlebell on our 30min dog walks, swapping hands as we go, or sometimes a bell in each hand.

3. Crawling – Core stability and shoulder strength

Everyday life:

If you fall, can you crawl to safety? If you’re playing on the floor, can you move around confidently? Crawling reflects how well your body coordinates itself when you’re close to the ground—often when it matters most.

Examples:

• Getting up from a fall
• Playing on the floor with grandkids
• Navigating low areas or reaching under furniture

Strengthen:

Crawling builds cross-body coordination, shoulder control, and deep core strength. It also teaches body awareness, which reduces injury risk and helps you rebound faster if you do fall.

Train with:

• Bear crawls (standard (like a baby knees and hands) or elevated)
• Elevated crawling with support
• Lizard crawl, getting down low like in a plank
• Crab crawls
• Crawling variations (forward, backward, sideways)

4. Squatting – Lower body strength for sit/stand function

Everyday life:

When squatting becomes difficult, everyday life becomes harder. Women lose confidence using public toilets, fear sitting into low chairs, and stop doing the things they love. Stiff knees and weak legs don’t get better by avoiding squats—they get worse.

Examples:

• Using the toilet
• Getting in and out of a car
• Lowering to reach a drawer or pick up a dropped item
• Sitting and standing without hands

Strengthen:

Squat training improves leg strength, joint mobility, pelvic floor function, and confidence with daily transitions. With consistent practice, knees often move better—not worse.

Train with:

• Sit-to-stand squats from a chair (Good for those with significant  mobility and muscle weakness)
• Goblet squats with kettlebell or dumbbell
• Banded squats to support joint alignment
• Broom assisted squats (Good for those with significant  mobility and muscle weakness)
• Wall squats, either both or single leg
• Wide or sumo squats
• Squat variations, there are many, too many to list.

5. Lifting Bent Over (Deadlift) – Hip and back safety

Everyday life:

This is where many back injuries happen—picking something up the wrong way. Whether it’s lifting a child or pulling weeds, poor technique leads to chronic pain or dangerous slips.

Examples:

• Picking up a grandchild, box, or heavy pot
• Reaching down for laundry or pet food
• Moving garden tools or pot plants

Strengthen:

Deadlift training develops safe hinge mechanics, core bracing, and posterior chain strength (glutes, hamstrings, and lower back)—essential for protecting your spine and making everyday bending effortless.

Train with:

• Dumbbell or kettlebell deadlifts
• Wide-leg deadlifts for stiff knees or hips
• Single leg deadlifts, assisted (wall or broom) and unassisted. These incorporate the added dimension of balance

6. Lifting Overhead (Press) – Shoulder mobility and strength

Everyday life:

When you can’t reach overhead, you start needing help for everything from putting away groceries to storing a suitcase. That sense of limitation adds up—and fast.

Examples:

• Reaching for pantry shelves
• Lifting an overnight bag into the car
• Placing items into overhead compartments
• Throwing and catching with grandkids

Strengthen:

Overhead training builds shoulder integrity, thoracic mobility, and upper body coordination. It can also reduce that rounded “hunched” posture by encouraging proper alignment.

Train with:

• Overhead presses with bands or dumbbells
• Front raises for anterior shoulder strength
• Upright rows with dumbbells

7. Lunging – One-leg strength and balance

Everyday life:

When we lose the ability to lunge, we lose confidence stepping over things, walking on uneven ground, or moving quickly when we need to react. Without single-leg strength, the body compensates—and that’s where injury risk climbs.

Examples:

• Stepping over a fallen branch or a curb
• Hiking or bushwalking (hello, snakes!)
• Climbing stairs or stepping up onto a ledge
• Reaching across garden beds or around furniture

Strengthen:

Lunging trains balance, leg strength, and directional control. It gives you the confidence to move forward, backward, and sideways—on your terms. Even if your knees don’t like traditional lunges, we train with variations that meet your body where it’s at.

Train with:

• Un-assisted lunge walks both forwards and reverse. Variations could include carrying dumbbell or kettlebell in one hand or in both hands
• Assisted reverse lunges using a wall, broomstick, or chair
• Tap-back lunges for gentle progression
• Side lunges or short stance lunges to reduce joint stress. Great to incorporate these with a leg band
• Step ups on stairs

8. Pulling – Posture and upper back strength

Everyday life:

A weak back leads to that “rounded forward” look—hello, kyphosis. Poor pulling strength makes it hard to open doors, manage garden tools, or even keep good posture at your desk.

Examples:

• Pulling a heavy log from wood pile
• Starting a lawnmower or pulling out weeds
• Rowing a kayak or stand up paddle-board
• Pulling something behind you

Strengthen:

Pulling movements activate the upper back, lats, and posterior shoulders—the muscles that keep you upright, pain-free, and confident. They help balance out years of computer or caregiving posture.

Train with:

• Resistance band upright rows (anchored under foot)
• Dumbbell or kettlebell rows
• TRX pull ups
• Resistance band standing rows (door-anchored)

9. Pushing – Upper body and chest power

Everyday life:

If you’ve ever struggled to push open a heavy store door or stroller, you’ve felt this one. As we age, upper body pushing strength can fade fast—unless we train it.

Examples:

• Pushing a stroller (or a double one for twins!)
• Repositioning furniture
• Closing heavy sliding doors
• Getting up from the floor or pushing off a chair
• Pushing wheelbarrow when gardening

Strengthen:

Pushing builds chest, shoulders, triceps, and core control. It’s also a huge confidence booster—knowing you’re strong enough to handle whatever’s in front of you.

Train with:

• Wall push-ups and incline push-ups
• Chair push-ups with controlled form
• Resistance band chest presses
• Lying single or double arm press (benchpress)

10. Twisting – Core rotation and control

Everyday life:

When you can’t reach overhead, you start needing help for everything from putting away groceries to storing a suitcase. That sense of limitation adds up—and fast.

Examples:

• Reaching for a seatbelt
• Playing with grandchild or putting into a car seat
• Putting down heavy items in awkward position
• Putting away groceries, laundry, or bags

Strengthen:

Twisting movements train your obliques, core stabilizers, and spinal rotation—which are essential for healthy movement and fall prevention. It also keeps your torso mobile for things like driving, sports, or just everyday flow.

Train with:

• Banded rotations (low or high anchor)
• Weighted side-to-side movements
• Seated or standing torso twists

11. Rolling – Core mobility and floor transitions

Everyday life:

Rolling may sound simple—but the ability to move side to side smoothly (especially in bed or on the floor) is key to aging comfortably. If you’ve ever struggled to roll over in bed, you know how frustrating this can become.

Examples:

• Getting out of bed
• Reaching under furniture
• Playing on the floor with a grandchild
• Moving after a fall or injury

Strengthen:

Rolling builds core control, midline mobility, and functional movement patterns that protect your spine and keep you adaptable.

Train with:

• Full-body side rolls (bent, straight or raised legs)
• Weighted rolling patterns
• Log rolls and knee-drop drills with or without a pillow under the head

12. Getting Down and Up from the Floor

Everyday life:

This movement is non-negotiable. It’s one of the clearest indicators of whether someone can maintain independence—or will need help. It’s also where many women lose confidence long before they lose the ability.

Examples:

• After a fall, in a public space or at home
• Playing on the floor with children
• Doing housework, gardening, or stretching
• Navigating emergencies when no one is around

Strengthen:

Floor transitions train full-body coordination, core and upper body strength, and mental confidence. We teach multiple progressions so you always have a way forward—no matter where you're starting.

Train with:

• Crawl out drills
• Sit-to-kneel transitions
• Hands-free chair-to-stand drills
• Get up plank holds, on hands and toes
• NOTE: Every strength movement exercise mentioned to this point will help with this crucial lifeskill to maintain.