Squats are most important strength exercise for people over 60, fitness trainers say

When it comes to exercise and longevity, what’s the first type of physical activity that comes to mind?

For most people, it’s some sort of cardio-based exercise, like walking, jogging or biking. While it’s 100 percent true that cardio activities can add years to your life, strength training also plays a role, especially if you’re 60 or older.

As we age, muscle mass and bone density decrease naturally. Muscle loss begins in middle age, with muscle mass decreasing by about 1 percent each year after age 30, a percentage that increases significantly with age. Bone density also starts to decrease in our 30s, accelerating with age.

Regular strength training is a key to preserving muscle and bone mass. Like cardio exercise, it’s linked to longevity. There’s one strength training move in particular that personal trainers recommend doing regularly, especially if you’re 60 or older.

Functional movement

We talked to three personal trainers, and they all said doing squats regularly is an especially beneficial strength training move when it comes to healthy aging and longevity. Personal trainer Noelle McKenzie, the CEO and co-founder of Leading Edge personal trainers, says squats are an ideal way to build lower-body strength.

“Squats are effective for building lower body muscle because they’re a compound (movement), which means they work several different muscle groups at once, including hamstrings, glutes, quads, calves and core,” she says.

Baltazar Villanueva, a personal trainer and nutrition coach at Relentless Spirit Personal Training & Nutrition, points out that squats are a functional movement, which means it’s something we do in everyday life.

“Sitting down or standing up from a chair, for example, requires mobility and functional strength. Being able to do this without holding onto something like a table or armrests shows lower body power, which squats directly improve,” he says, explaining how doing squats regularly can make activities we do regularly easier.

Villanueva explains that squats work the quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings — three major muscle groups.

“These three big muscle groups are what make squats one of the most effective movements you can do. They give you the biggest ‘bang for your buck’ when it comes to improving strength, mobility and aesthetics,” he says. “Not only are squats essential for functional movement, but they are also one of the best exercises for building bigger, stronger legs and glutes.”

Supporting healthy aging

Why is lower-body strength so important in terms of healthy aging? Here’s what the personal trainers said:

Squats make bones stronger: We naturally lose bone density as we age. But doing squats regularly can help prevent that. Personal trainer Renee Moten explains that weight-bearing exercises, like squats, involve muscles that are attached to the skeletal system by tendons.

“This puts stress on the bones, which helps stimulate them to build more bone tissue, increasing their density and strength,” she says.

Villanueva echoes this, explaining that time under tension during squats stimulates the body to reinforce bone structure, especially when combined with proper nutrition.

“When the body experiences added resistance, it responds by getting stronger. But this process works best when paired with proper nutrition. Adequate protein, fiber, iron and calcium intake are all crucial to strengthening bones and preventing diseases like osteoporosis,” he says.

McKenzie explains that squats put stress on the bones of the legs, hips and spine. This, she says, stimulates adaptations, signaling the body to build stronger, denser bones to meet the demands of the exercise.

“This works especially well when you train progressive overload, where you gradually increase the load, reps or sets of squats you’re doing over time,” she adds.

Squats improve balance: Our sense of balance starts to naturally decline as we age, with about 30 percent of adults over age 65 experiencing balance problems at some point. All three personal trainers say regularly doing squats can help protect against this, which is key for avoiding falls that can be detrimental to health.

“Stronger muscles are necessary to react to sudden shifts in weight, such as those from tripping or uneven surfaces,” Moten says, explaining how strong lower-body muscles can help protect against falling.

She adds that squats also strengthen the core, which is key for stability.

Villanueva also says that core strength is important for balance. “(The core) is what engages when you slip on ice and catch yourself before hitting the ground. Together, lower body strength and core stability keep you upright and safe,” he says.

Squats make your heart stronger: It’s not just the core and lower body that get stronger when you do squats; your heart does too. When you strengthen your heart, you’re actively protecting against cardiovascular disease and adding years to your life. Moten explains that squats require a lot of effort. This means the heart has to work harder to pump blood and oxygen to the largest muscles in your legs.

“Higher reps with shorter rest periods push the body into more of a cardiovascular zone, while heavier loads and fewer reps build strength and muscle density,” Villanueva says.

Either way, your body is majorly benefiting.

Proper form

Convinced squats deserve a place in your routine? First, it’s important to know how to do them safely.

If you’re over 60, Moten doesn’t recommend doing unsupported squats, which are squats without any external support that force you to rely on your own body strength. Instead, she recommends a supported squat, done by holding on to a stable object, such as a wall, table or chair.

Moten says it’s also important to maintain proper form when doing a squat. Otherwise, you could end up with knee or hip pain. To properly do a squat:

— Stand with your feet hip-width distance apart and your toes angled slightly outward. Keep your chest up and look straight in front of you.

— Draw your belly button in toward the spine and squeeze your glutes. Take a deep breath, bend your knees and drive your hips back behind you to sit down into the squat.

— Exhale and straighten the legs while driving through the hips to return your body to the starting position and repeat. Adding weights can make squats harder, increasing the benefits.

— If you’re doing unsupported, bodyweight squats, McKenzie says they can be done daily. If you’re using weights, she recommends starting with one session per week, gradually making your way up to two to three weekly sessions.

Regularly doing squats results in better balance, more lower-body and core strength and a stronger heart. Not only can it increase lifespan, but it ensures your later years are strong ones.