We know weight training prevents muscle loss after 40, but what 3 moves should you start with?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Lifting weights is one of the best anti-aging activities you can do for a strong, mobile body and improved longevity. However, there are so many strength exercises out there, where do you start as a weightlifting beginner? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. I’m a personal trainer, and these are the three moves I’d teach first.

I’m going to cue these exercises using a barbell, but you can swap for dumbbells or kettlebells if you prefer. Teaching points differ depending on the weights you use, so I’ll show you how to perform each exercise with barbells (and guide you to weighted alternatives).

1. Deadlift

The deadlift strengthens the muscles and reinforces the movement patterns of bending down to pick up something heavy off the ground. It focuses primarily on building your posterior chain, including your back, glutes and hamstrings, but it also works your hips and core muscles and tests grip and forearm strength.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart under a barbell with the widest parts of your feet under the bar
Distribute your weight evenly through your feet
Softly bend your knees, hinge forward at your hips and push your butt back to grip the barbell in both hands just outside of your shins (overhand grip)
Keep your back flat and core engaged
Draw your shoulder blades back and down, and squeeze your shoulder blades together to help engage your back
Sit your butt down and keep your chest lifted
Look ahead. Exhale as you drive through your feet to stand, keeping the bar in contact with your legs
Squeeze your glutes as you fully extend your hips and knees
Hinge forward at your hips and track the bar down your thighs to lower it to the ground again. Just above knee height, re-bend your knees and lower your butt to touch the barbell down, also lifting your chest
Reset, repeat. 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps.

Deadlifts are about as functional an exercise as comes, and they work a whole network of muscles and joints. You can progressively build to heavier weights as you get stronger, and the core and grip strength you develop along the way can contribute to activities like carrying heavy loads (groceries) or lifting something off the ground.

This weightlifting exercise can also develop maximal strength and power. According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), full-body engagement places stress on your musculoskeletal system and provides a foundation for more advanced Olympic lifts like snatches and cleans, if that’s something you may be interested in.

Avoid throwing the weight, overextending the hips at the top (leaning back), or throwing the weight down. Before you lift, ensure your hips don’t sit higher than your shoulders; softly bend your knees and keep your chest proud. Although your arms help you lift, you shouldn’t rely on them to do the work, so drive with your core and push down through your legs.

How to deadlift with proper form and alternatives to try

2. Bench press

an illo of a man doing a bench press — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

I firmly believe that anyone who can should work on their upper-body strength and pushing power. This move targets your triceps, shoulders, core and pectoral muscles in your chest, and will help you with any pressing motion, like opening a heavy door or pushing a pram.

Use a barbell to follow the steps below, or check out the video for the dumbbell bench press. Barbells range in weight between 10kg (33 lbs) and 20kg (roughly 44lbs), so if you need to build up, use dumbbells or kettlebells first. Then, follow the steps below. Think push-up, but on your back and with a bar!

Rack your barbell with the bar over your eyeline and grip the bar overhand, shoulder-width apart, with a soft bend in your elbows
Lie on your bench with your feet flat on the floor or the bench, your back and hips supported
To start with, support your lower back on the bench. Over time, a small mid-upper arch is fine if your core is properly engaged, but avoid flaring your ribs and arching your lower back. Think about keeping a neutral spine
Retract your shoulder blades by pushing them back and down
Unrack the barbell and position the bar over your chest
Bend your elbows, then lower the bar toward your chest
Pause at the bottom, then, as you exhale, squeeze your chest and shoulders and push the barbell up, with the weight over your chest
Repeat for 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps.

Alongside your pectoralis major, triceps and anterior deltoids (fronts of the shoulders), the serratus anterior also sees some action. However, the muscles worked in a bench press will vary depending on the type you perform.

A study published in the Journal of Sports Sciences assessed muscle activation during a bench press using dumbbells, barbells, and a Smith machine. During the higher stability exercise (dumbbell press), activation was lower in the triceps and higher in the biceps.

How to bench press (and alternatives)
How to dumbbell bench press

3. Squat

Squats strengthen and build your lower body, especially the quads, hamstrings and glutes, and recruit your core muscles for power and stability. There are lots of squat variations to choose from, which emphasize different major muscle groups slightly differently.

To keep it simple today, let's focus on the basic front squat, which recruits a little more of your upper body, quads and helps develop shoulder mobility. To emphasize more of the back body, load the bar across the backs of your shoulders to perform a back squat (read: front squat vs back squat: how to perform each one in detail).

Squats form a major part of strength training, powerlifting and HIIT workouts, so they are considered the bread and butter of training and will help you perform your regular daily activities, like walking, climbing, running and gardening.

Stand with your feet hip or shoulder-width apart
Point your toes slightly outward at 45 degrees, or forward-facing if that’s more comfortable
Engage your core and stand tall
Bend your knees and send your hips backward as if to sit on a chair. Keep your back straight and chest lifted
Push your knees out to track over your middle toes and keep the weight distributed through your big and little toes and heels
Avoid hunching or rounding your spine
Lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor (or lower), then push through your feet to stand
3-4 sets of 8-10 reps.

Once this feels comfortable, position a bar across your chest and shoulders using an underhand grip. Draw your elbows forward to create a shelf for the barbell and relax your shoulders away from your ears.

Squat mistakes are common, but they're often down to mobility issues or skipping some basic technique cues. I asked personal trainers for 3 moves they give clients who struggle to squat, if that sounds familiar and you'd like to give them a try first.

Think about sitting back and down rather than trying to move vertically. Avoid letting your knees cave in, and focus on lifting your chest, sending your gaze forward.

How to squat (and types to try)

Bottom line: Lifting weights for longevity

a woman lifting a heavy dumbbell — (Image credit: gilaxia)

Strength training is accessible if you take this one piece of advice: You don’t have to be lifting heavy weights to benefit. If barbells aren't your favorite, you don't have to use them! Dumbbells, kettlebells, bodyweight, resistance bands ... everything has a place.

To begin with, and to ensure you lift the right amount of load for your body, focus on working at about a 7-8/10 difficulty. That means the last few reps of each set feel difficult to finish. If you can lift 5 (or more) reps above your given reps, think about adding load.

Over time, you may want to calculate your one-rep max, which is the maximum you can lift for one rep. Then, you can work out between 65-85% of your maximum ability to work with in the future.

And no, you don't need to train every day. Even a couple of workouts per week can provide plenty of benefits; a study published in Biology suggests just 90 minutes of training per week could lower biological age by as much as four years.

To keep it really simple, try these three exercises as a circuit with the given sets and reps above, resting between 30 and 60 seconds between sets.

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Sam Hopes is a level 3 qualified trainer, a level 2 Reiki practitioner and fitness editor at Tom's Guide. She is also currently undertaking her Yoga For Athletes training course.

Sam has written for various fitness brands and websites over the years and has experience across brands at Future, such as Live Science, Fit&Well, Coach, and T3.

Having coached at fitness studios like F45 and Virgin Active and personal trained, Sam now primarily teaches outdoor bootcamps, bodyweight, calisthenics and kettlebells.

She also coaches mobility and flexibility classes several times a week and believes that true strength comes from a holistic approach to training your body.

Sam has completed two mixed doubles Hyrox competitions in London and the Netherlands and finished her first doubles attempt in 1:11.

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