THE SECRET TO Building Muscle After 50

Maintaining strength isn't just about keeping your metabolism firing - it'll improve your endurance, posture, flexibility, and bone health too.

- KORIN MILLER

Turning the big 5-0? It's prime time to double down on physical fitness. That's because exercising more, with a focus on muscle strengthening, is a key to remaining active as you get older. "Muscle mass naturally declines as you age," says Albert Matheny, R.D., C.S.C.S., cofounder of Soho Strength Lab, "but if you build muscle and continue to train as you age to retain it, you will be more resilient" and better able to avoid (or heal from!) injury.

If you already have a solid cardio routine in place, good for you - keep it up, but add regular weight work into the mix to further strengthen those muscles. "Muscle strength plays a crucial role in stability, injury prevention, and healthy weight and metabolism," says NASM-certified personal trainer Chrysten Crockett, and studies show that it can also support good balance to reduce the risk of falls. It's never too late to add another good-for-you activity to your life. "Midlife is a great time to challenge yourself and pick up new healthy habits," says Crockett.

Visit prevention.​com/workouts for specific routines, and incorporate these get-strong tips as you go.

Start with BODY-WEIGHT exercises

For these, no weights are needed your body is what provides the resistance. Exercises like push-ups, squats, calf raises, lunges, burpees, planks, and pull-ups all help build and maintain muscle mass. "As you progress, you can try adding resistance bands or light weights to increase the challenge and promote additional muscular development," says Doug Sklar, a certified personal trainer and founder of New York City fitness-training studio PhilanthroFit. For example, Matheny suggests, start by doing three sets of leg lunges, 12 to 15 reps on each leg; over time, lower the reps to 10 and add five-pound weights or resistance bands.

Choose the right EQUIPMENT