Established research has proven that people lose roughly 3 to 8 percent of their muscle mass each decade after age 30—and after age 65, it increases to between 6 and 15 percent. This is especially problematic when it comes to weak leg muscles, which can affect balance, fall response, and one's ability to perform basic, everyday tasks. On the bright side, new research suggests that "a very short burst of exercise" performed a few times weekly in the home can significantly improve leg strength in older adults.
RELATED: If You're Over 65, This Simple Balance Test Can Predict Your Fall Risk.
Stair climbing can improve muscle strength in those over 65.
A recent study published in The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (JSCR) enlisted 46 healthy adults in Belgium between the ages of 65 and 80 to perform stair-climbing exercises and leg-press machine exercises.
"The study showed that both the machine workout and climbing two flights of stairs a few times twice a week for 12 weeks led to gains in muscle power and functionality," reports The Washington Post.
The result is notable because it makes strength training more accessible to people in this age group. "You don’t need a fancy gym," Evelien Van Roie, an assistant professor at Hasselt University and the study’s lead author, told WaPo.
RELATED: If You're Getting Older, Eating This Fruit Can Prevent Muscle Loss, New Study Finds.
What do these stair-climbing exercises look like?
For the 12-week study, all participants went to a university lab gym for 35 minutes twice a week. They performed a warmup routine that consisted of 10 minutes on a stationary bike followed by upper-body machine exercises (a chest press and a low row), explains WaPo. From there, half moved to the leg-press machine, and half moved to the stairs.
The stair group performed their exercises in three progressive stages:
- Weeks 1-4: Four slow sets of step-ups on a box about a foot high, alternating two sets per leg
- Starting week 5: Four fast sets of climbing up two flights of six stairs, resting for 45 seconds on a landing in between, and then going back down (no handrails were used).
- Final weeks: Previous workout while wearing a weighted vest.
- Improved muscle strength
- Improved walking speed
- Improved time to stand up from a chair
"It does not need to be an hour of exercise," Van Roie told WaPo, describing it as "a very short burst of exercise."
She explained that if you want to tackle this stair-climbing plan at home, it's important to start slow: "If you immediately start with performing very fast movements, you risk being injured."
This can be different for everyone, so it might mean climbing the stairs using the handrail for balance, practicing on a step-up, or simply doing sit-to-stand exercises. If you've worked up to the final stage, you could even use a backpack filled with water bottles in place of a weighted vest.
Ultimately, Van Roie emphasized the importance of first building strength and then working on speed for adults over 65: "If you’re not able to move fast, even if you’re strong, you will still fall down. This is something we really need to train."
