‘I’m a strength coach – at 63, these are the 3 workouts I do every week to build life-long strength’

For women over 50, building and maintaining strength doesn’t require spending hours in the gym or following an overly elaborate or fussy programme. Instead, the key is finding a plan you can stick to and progress easily so you can keep things challenging.

Bodyweight exercises are a great place to start and investing in some dumbbells can also help you create a really solid strength training routine – as 63-year-old fat loss coach and fitness content creator Karen Trasatti recently demonstrated on Instagram.

According to Trasatti, what matters most after 50 is ‘lifting weights consistently, challenging your muscles and eating enough protein to support muscle growth.’

Giving us an insight into how she trains to build muscle, Karen explained that she typically rotates three dumbbell-only workouts a week, each featuring four to six simple movements requiring just one or two dumbbells, and a combination of compound and isolation movements to engage muscles effectively.

‘This is exactly how I train to stay lean, build muscle and feel stronger every year – not every day,’ she explained in a post on Instagram.

Why strength training is so beneficial for women over 50

Age-related muscle loss, known scientifically as sarcopenia, can begin as early as the age of 30 (when loss sits at around 3-8% per decade), but it speeds up significantly when we enter our 60s.

As well as increasing fall risk and general frailty, sarcopenia is a significant risk factor for osteoporosis; a health condition (affecting women significantly more than men) that weakens bones, making them fragile and more likely to break.

Strength training, then, can significantly slow sarcopenia, and in some cases even help reverse osteoporosis.

Trasatti’s 3 weekly workouts1. Full-body

Do 2-3 sets

1. Goblet squat x 12 reps
2. Dumbbell chest press x 10-12 reps
3. Bent-over row x 10-12 reps
4. Romanian deadlift x 10-12 reps
5. Shoulder press x 10 reps
6. Plank x 30-45 seconds

2. Upper body

Do 2-3 sets

1. Dumbbell chest press x 10-12 reps
2. Single-arm bent-over row x 10 each side
3. Shoulder press x 10 reps
4. Lateral raise x 12 reps
5. Bicep curl x 12 reps
6. Overhead tricep extension x 12 reps

3. Lower body

Do 2-3 sets

1. Goblet squat x 12 reps
2. Romanian deadlift x 12 reps
3. Reverse lunge x 10 each leg
4. Step-up x 10 each leg
5. Glute bridge x 15 reps

How to do the movements1. Goblet squat

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your toes turned slightly out.
• Hold a dumbbell vertically in front of your chest, keeping your elbows tucked close to your body.
• Brace your core, keep your chest lifted and lower into a squat by pushing your hips back and bending your knees. Keep your weight evenly distributed through your heels and midfoot.
• Lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor, or slightly below, keeping your knees tracking in line with your toes.
• Pause briefly, then drive through your heels to stand, extending your hips and knees while maintaining the front rack position.

2. Dumbbell chest press

• Lie flat on your back or on a bench with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground.
• With a dumbbell in each hand, extend your arms directly over your shoulders, palms facing toward your feet.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together and slowly bend your elbows, lowering your weights out to the side, parallel with your shoulders, until your elbows form 90-degree angles.
• Slowly drive the dumbbells back up to start, squeezing your shoulder blades the entire time.

3. Bent-over row

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hinge at your hips, keeping your knees slightly bent and the dumbbells hanging below you.
• Brace your core and keep your spine neutral.
• Pull the dumbbells towards your waist, driving your elbows back.
• Pause for one to two seconds, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top.
• Extend your arms to return to the starting position.



• Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding a pair of dumbbells in front of you, keeping them close to your thighs.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together to keep your back straight, and create a slight bend at the knee. Brace your core.
• Inhale, and hinge at the hips by focusing on sending your hips and bum back. Keep your bodyweight evenly distributed throughout your feet. Lower yourself until you feel a solid stretch in your hamstrings while maintaining a flat back and neutral spine. Keep the dumbbells close to your legs the entire time.
• Squeeze your glutes to drive back to the starting position. Lock out your hips, but don’t lean back or overextend.

5. Shoulder press

• Start with your dumbbells on your shoulders, elbows bent at 90 degrees and palms facing forward.
• Take a breath and brace your core.
• Press your dumbbells directly overhead until your elbows lock out.
• Avoid arching your back throughout the rep.
• Lower under control.

6. Plank

• Start on your hands and knees, with your hands directly beneath your shoulders.
• Step your feet back one at a time until your body forms a straight line from your head to your heels. Widen your stance for more stability or bring your feet closer together to increase the challenge.
• Brace your core, squeeze your quads and glutes and avoid letting your hips sag or lift too high.

7. Single-arm bent-over row

• Place your right hand and right knee on a bench, keeping your back flat and spine neutral. Brace your core and avoid rotating your torso.
• Step your left foot out to the side and hold a dumbbell in your left hand.
• Pull the dumbbell towards your hip, driving your elbow up and back while keeping it close to your body.
• Pause briefly and squeeze your upper-back and lat muscles at the top.
• Lower the weight slowly and with control until your arm is fully extended.

8. Lateral raise

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart with a dumbbell in each hand.
• Keep your shoulders relaxed and a slight bend in your knees.
• Lift the dumbbells out to your sides to shoulder height with a gentle bend in each elbow.
• Ensure your back is neutral, tailbone is tucked and your shoulders are away from your ears.
• Gradually lower the dumbbells to the starting position.

9. Bicep curl

• Start with a dumbbell in each hand with straight arms, palms facing forward. Keeping a slight bend in your knees, engage your glutes and core.
• Bend your arms, lifting the weights to chest height in a slow, controlled movement.
• Keep your shoulders relaxed and down, and your head, neck and spine neutral.
• Lower your weights back down to your thighs by straightening your arms.

10. Overhead tricep extension

• Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding two dumbbells in your hands. Bring the weight overhead, extending your arms straight so the dumbbells are above your head.
• Keeping everything from your shoulders to elbows still, slowly bend your elbows, lowering the weights behind your head until your arms are just lower than 90 degrees. Your elbows should point forward, not out to the side.
• Pause briefly, and raise your arms back to straight.
  

11. Reverse lunge

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
• Step your right foot back about one-and-a-half times your normal stride length, landing on the ball of your foot with your heel lifted.
• Lower your back knee until it gently taps the floor, creating a 90º angle at your front knee.
• Push through the heel and midfoot of your front foot to return to standing, bringing your right foot back in line with your left. Repeat on the opposite side.

12. Step-up

• Stand in front of a knee-height (or higher) box or bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your arms by your sides and palms facing your body.
• Place one foot on the box and drive through your heel to lift your body up, straightening your front leg. Keep your core engaged and your chest upright.
• Bring your other foot onto the box so you’re standing tall.
• Pause briefly, then step back down with the same leg you stepped up with, lowering with control. Bring the other foot down to return to the starting position.

13. Glute bridge

• Lie on your back with your feet flat and knees bent. Brace your core and squeeze your glutes.
• Drive through your feet and lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Keep your ribs down and avoid arching your lower back at the top.
• Pause briefly, then lower your hips slowly back to the floor.

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Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women’s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis.  She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner’s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity.  A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She’s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.