Despite what many people think, the science says otherwise. Recent data shows older adults can get stronger using almost any resistance training approach – as long as the fundamentals are in place. A 2025 network meta-analysis pulled together data from 102 studies involving 4,754 adults around age 70. It compared different resistance training modalities and found something surprising.

A new study in pre- and post-menopausal women (aged 40-60 years) found 2 weeks of inactivity (<1,500 steps per day) was enough to drop strength by about 9% (and muscle mass by 2%). But here comes the good news. Not only did 12 weeks of resistance training restore these deficits, it further improved strength and muscle mass ABOVE starting levels.

Eleven male middle-distance runners were tested on an instrumented treadmill to characterize the contributions of functional muscle groups to running at six wide-ranging speeds (10-30 km/h). These results reinforce the importance of the plantar flexors for running at $18 km/h, as they made the largest contribution of any muscle group, not just during stance, but also to whole stride positive and negative work (45%-35%), despite their relatively modest size.