If you think turning 70 means slowing down, you need to follow Carrie Sisson on Instagram. Sisson, a 70-year-old fitness coach, started taking strength training seriously in her 30s, and at 70, she is stronger than ever.
Below, we dive into Sisson’s go-to exercises for building strength in your lower body — something that is essential for daily functional fitness, as well as improving your overall balance and stability. None of the exercises involve lifting a barbell onto your back, so they are great for anyone who suffers from back pain.
As a reminder, what works for Sisson might not be right for you and your body. If you’re a complete beginner, or you’re returning to strength training following an injury or surgery, it’s always best to seek personalized advice from a qualified professional.
6 exercises to build strong legs, according to a 70-year-old fitness coach
“Back squats are only one of many ways to build strong legs!” says Sisson in her Instagram caption. “Whether your back is bothering you, you’re working around an injury, or they just don’t feel good for your body, there are plenty of other options.
“These are 6 of my favorite exercises to keep training your quads, glutes, and hamstrings without putting a bar on your back! You don’t have to force an exercise that doesn’t feel right just because it’s popular. There are so many ways to train your legs and still make great progress.”
For all these exercises, you’ll need a weight of some sort. You can check out the best adjustable dumbbells for working out at home here.
1. Bar Romanian Deadlift
This exercise is great at targeting the muscles on the back of your body. Holding the bar or two dumbbells, hinge forward at your hips, keeping your back straight, and lower the weights down the front of your shins. Pause at the top, before pushing through your feet and rising back to your starting position.
This exercise “teaches your hamstrings to lengthen under load”, explains Sisson.
2. Split squats
For this exercise, hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand a few feet away from a bench. Place your back foot on the bench, and slowly perform a lunge, dropping your back knee down towards the floor, and lowering until you have a 90-degree bend in your front leg. Push through your front foot to rise back to your starting position.
During this exercise you’re doing “single leg work that builds quad strength, hip stability, and balance while exposing imbalances between sides”, Sisson adds.
3. Hip thrusts
For this exercise, you’ll need a block or box to lie on. If you don’t have this, you can do hip thrusts lying on your back on the floor. Place a bar or two dumbbells against your hips and squeeze your glutes to raise your hips to the ceiling. Pause at the top of the movement, before slowly lowering yourself back to your starting position. Remember to keep your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart, and to keep your knees at a 90-degree angle as you lift.
“The load goes through your hips, not your spine, so you can go heavy and actually feel your glutes doing the work,” says Sisson.
4. Leg press
You’ll need to have access to a gym to do this exercise. If you’re working out at home, a good replacement would be a goblet squat, holding a heavy dumbbell with two hands in front of your torso instead of on your back.
If you are in the gym, place both feet hip-width apart on the leg press and push the plate away, extending your legs but not locking out your knees, before reversing the movement. The right weight should feel heavy, but not impossible by the final few reps.
Sisson adds to her Instagram caption why this is one of her go-to exercises, saying, “full lower body loading, zero spinal compression, and one of the safest ways to push heavy leg volume.”
5. Step ups
For this exercise, you’ll need a bench or box of some kind that can safely support your weight. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, place one foot on the box in front of you. Push through the heel of the foot on the step, and lift your body until your hip and knee are fully straight. Place the other foot on the step, then reverse the movement, stepping down. Complete all your reps on one side before switching to the other.
Sisson says this is a “functional, unilateral movement that targets your quads and glutes in a way bilateral exercises simply can’t.”
6. Cable kickbacks
If you’re not in the gym, you can do this exercise using one of the best resistance bands, fixed around something sturdy. Remember to do this exercise with good form you’ll want to hinge your torso forwards slightly, engaging your core, and drive the heel of your working leg back behind you, squeezing your glute at the top of the movement.
This is an “isolation finisher that zeroes in on the glute-hamstring tie-in and builds shape from the bottom up!” says Sisson.
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