Building muscle after 50 isn't simply about filling out a t-shirt. As we age, strength becomes increasingly tied to the things that matter most: getting up off the floor, carrying shopping without tweaking your back, not falling over...
The good news is you don't need an endless list of exercises to stay fit. According to fitness coach Bryan Mataya, who specialises in helping busy professionals over 50, focusing on a handful of fundamental movement patterns is a far better investment.
'Your body doesn't care how many different exercises you do,' he writes on Instagram. 'It adapts to movements you perform consistently with good form and progressive overload.'
Here are the 10 exercises he recommends.
The Exercises Every Man Over 50 Should Be Doing
1. Overhead Press
How to do it:
You can use a dumbbell, barbell, or even a machine variation. With dumbbells, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height. Brace your core and press the weights overhead until your arms are fully extended. Lower under control.
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Why it works:
The overhead press strengthens your shoulders, triceps and upper back while improving shoulder stability – something that becomes increasingly important as we age.
2. Farmer's Carry
How to do it:
Pick up a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand. Stand tall with your shoulders back and walk slowly for a set distance or time without leaning to either side.
Why it works:
Few exercises offer more bang for your buck. Farmer's carries build grip strength, challenge your core and improve posture while mimicking the everyday task of carrying heavy shopping bags.
3. Goblet Squat
How to do it:
Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell against your chest. Push your hips back and squat until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor before driving back up.
Why it works:
Goblet squats strengthen the legs while reinforcing good squat mechanics and improving hip and ankle mobility.
4. Romanian Deadlift
How to do it:
You can use dumbbells or a barbell. With dumbbells, hold the weights in front of your thighs. Keeping a slight bend in your knees, hinge at your hips and lower the weights down your legs until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Stand back up by driving your hips forwards.
Why it works:
This exercise targets the glutes and hamstrings – the muscles that power walking, climbing stairs and lifting objects safely.
5. Incline Dumbbell Press
How to do it:
Lie on an incline bench holding two dumbbells above your chest. Lower them until your elbows reach roughly 90 degrees before pressing back up.
Why it works:
Mataya recommends the incline press because it builds upper-body strength while placing less stress on the shoulders than some flat pressing variations.
6. Chest-Supported Row
How to do it:
Lie face down on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand. Pull the weights towards your ribs, squeezing your shoulder blades together before lowering slowly.
Why it works:
Rows strengthen the upper back and help counteract the rounded posture many of us develop after years spent sitting at a desk.
7. Walking Lunge
How to do it:
Step forwards into a lunge until both knees are bent to roughly 90 degrees. Drive through your front foot to bring your back leg forwards into the next rep.
Why it works:
Walking lunges build leg strength while challenging your balance and coordination—qualities that naturally decline with age if left untrained.
8. Pull-Up (or Lat Pulldown)
How to do it:
Either pull yourself up to a bar until your chin clears it, or perform the same movement on a lat pulldown machine if you're still building strength.
Why it works:
Both exercises strengthen the lats and upper back, helping you maintain pulling strength for everyday tasks.
9. Step-Up
How to do it:
Step onto a sturdy bench or box with one foot before bringing the other foot up. Step back down under control and repeat before switching sides.
Why it works:
Step-ups improve leg strength, knee function and single-leg stability while directly mimicking the movement of climbing stairs.
10. Plank
How to do it:
Support yourself on your forearms and toes while keeping your body in a straight line from head to heels. Brace your core and hold.
Why it works:
Planks develop core endurance, helping stabilise the spine during everyday movement and lifting.
The Bottom Line
There's nothing revolutionary about Mataya's list – and that's precisely the point.
Rather than chasing the latest fitness trend, he focuses on movements that transfer directly to everyday life: squatting, carrying, pushing, pulling, hingeing and balancing.
As Mataya puts it: 'Train to be strong at 70, not just look good at 50.'
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