You might be shocked to learn (I know I was) that we start losing muscle in our thirties! Yes, thirties. We can lose as much as 4-5 pounds of muscle each decade. And that muscle loss accelerates after 50. No wonder activities requiring strength get more difficult once we get into our sixties and over.

Now comes the good news. We can slow the loss and regain some of that lost muscle at ANY age. Yippeee!

Strength training is hugely important to active aging for lots of reasons. Doing those simple things like taking your groceries from store to car to home, climbing stairs, doing yard work—you get where I’m going. Even if you are at the stage of life where it can be a challenge just to move about the house, strength training can make it easier for you to get up and down off a chair, in and out of the car and enjoy simple activities you might have given up.

I always come back to fall prevention and muscle weakness is one of the key contributors to falls in older adults. So, let’s get to work!

We build muscle when we challenge our muscles to do more than they normally do. We do this by increasing their work through adding weight to a movement or repeating a movement multiple times.

What is really exciting to know is that recent research shows that strength training has far more benefit to overall health than was once thought. Weight training improves cholesterol level, blood sugar levels and even cardiovascular performance.

To get stronger, you need to do some strength training twice a week with at least one day of rest between your training days. Do the exercises 10-15 times (or less to start if you can’t get to 10 right away), rest for a minute and do a second set.

It is important to do the exercises correctly, so you get the benefit without the possibility of any injury. It is said that “when you’re a hammer everything looks like a nail” and I’m a personal trainer so, of course, I think it is wise to get some education on just what is the safe way to do exercises, but until then, here are a couple of things you can do to strengthen your legs.

First, notice if you use your arms to help push yourself up when you get up from the couch or a chair. If you do, STOP IT. Start using those legs to lift your weight.

Here is a simple but really effective exercise—Chair Rise. Sit toward the front of a sturdy chair with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor and shoulder-width apart. Rest your hands lightly on the seat on either side of you, keeping your back and neck straight, and chest slightly forward. Breathe in slowly, lean forward and feel your weight on the front of your feet. Shift that weight evenly across the feet and feel it press into your heels as you contract your buttocks (gluts). Breathe out and slowly stand up using your hands as little as possible. Pause for a full breath in and out. Breathe in as you SLOWLY sit down.

Do not let yourself collapse back down into the chair. Rather, control your lowering as much as possible. Breathe Out. Repeat 10-15 times. If you can’t do that many, do what you can and work up to that number. Rest for a minute and repeat. Now you’re making muscle!

Connie is the Wellness director at Gem of the Hills.