Hip strengthening along with quadricep strengthening exercises are incredibly important if you’re a senior (older adult) who wants to stay independent at home and stay functional through your entire lifespan.
In this article I’m going to show you a few different exercises that you can do, how many sets and reps to start with, and what type of weight (if any) you should use.
Once you’ve gone through this article you’ll probably want to check this one out I created, too, as it shows upper-body workouts that would be good for you. Additionally, click on this link if you are in need of some new workout equipment.
Hip Strengthening Exercises For Older Adults
I’m going to go through these 7 in the order from least challenging to most challenging. Feel free to test all of them as you feel able.
Remember, no blog post is going to replace a physical therapist or personal trainer if you don’t know what you’re doing. So, know when you need help or not. In any case, let’s get started!
Three sets of ten repetitions is just an easy way to remember how many to do and it doesn’t overcomplicate things.
When you are first starting an exercise program I recommend making it fairly easy so that you won’t be that sore the next day or two days after. The reason I train my clients this way is that people are more likely to stick with a program that doesn’t make them super sore and feel weak all the time.
Over time it’s fine to push the intensity and lift progressively heavier weight, but, as I’ve shared in other articles about lifting heavy weight for seniors, it’s best to start light, learn the form, build confidence, and then increase.
How to Try These
There are numerous possible ways to implement these.
Here’s my recommendation for most people:
- Choose two exercises
- Do three sets of ten of each
- Wait a day and see how you feel
- Try another two
- Rinse and repeat
Over time you should be able to complete most of these exercises for the full three sets of ten and you might even add a fourth set to make it more challenging.
Personally, I will do four or five sets of exercises for a movement I’m really trying to improve.
Supine straight leg raises
For this exercise, try to keep your back flat on the ground and keep your knee straight when lifting the leg. Start with three sets of ten repetitions.
Supine Double Leg Glute Bridge
For this exercise, you’ll bend both of your knees and place your feet flat on the ground while lying on your back. This can be done on your bed, the floor, or any other flat, stable surface. Lift your hips and perform three sets of ten repetitions.
Sidelying clamshell
For this exercise, you’ll be lying on your side. If you are doing it correctly you’ll feel a burn on the side of your hip or right around the hip. This it the gluteus medius muscle and glute max. If you feel it in the front of your thigh then you need to bring your knees up higher to your chest. Three sets of ten repetitions are fine for this as well.
Sidelying Straight Leg Raise
This exercise works the same muscle groups as the clamshell but is a bit more difficult as the lever arm is longer. Lever arm is just a fancy physics term meaning that the weight is farther away from the joint that you’re working on (really the muscles you are working on at a particular joint).
Sit to stand (box squat)
Okay, now we’ve made it to the good stuff! These are where real strength comes from. This is functional strength. If you can do three sets of 10 of these from a 17” chair you’re at a good starting point.
If you cannot do that, you’ve got some work to do. I like to get all of my client 65+ to be able to stand for 5-10 reps from a seated position of 14-15” or lower as this tells me that they will have no problem getting up from any height. This requires sufficient quadriceps strength to accomplish.
Quad strength significantly diminishes as we get older, yet, is one of the most important muscles to help you keep your balance and recover if you trip.
Deadlift
Another great hip and lower body strengthener. This exercise works your glutes, hamstrings, quads, back, grip strength, and more.
It’s a full-body movement that really packs a punch and is my personal favorite.
Lunge
I know what you may be thinking…
“Lunges? Me, I’m 73 years old!”
I have many clients 75+ doing lunges. Their knees are fine; and you know what? Their quads are ridiculously strong and they can get up and down off the floor no problem.
If you can’t squat, or deadlift, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to lunge.
But, by working through from the beginning of this list, this exercise should become doable over the course of a few months to years, depending on what your functional status is when you start.
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