It is hard to say if there is a universal programme of resistance training (RT) that is applicable to all senior citizens. A well-designed training programme should be able to meet individual health and physical fitness. With the different individual characteristics such as health status, physical ability, and age, or athletic and performance goals, as well as underlying diseases common to senior citizens such as hypertension, chest pain, diabetes, pulmonary disease, chronic renal failure, peripheral vascular disease, and arthritis, RT prescription needs to be individualised based on the health, fitness status or simply their preference. It is a good idea to consult a gym trainer, physiotherapist or even doctor if detailed assessments and assignment of suitable programme are required.

Warm-up and Cool-down Exercise

Before going to the gym to try out your RT, general principles of exercise should be remembered. Warm-up exercise is the essential first step before any kind of exercise, as it helps maximise safety during strength training or RT. It also helps prepare the mind and body for primary physical activity. The principle consists of gradual aerobic activity and flexibility exercise, which aims at slowly increasing the heart rate, oxygen consumption, elasticity of the active muscles and heat produced by the active muscle groups.

Cool-down exercise, on the other hand, slowly decreases heart rate and overall metabolism after any kind of exercise. It should be also followed after the RT. It can also decrease the pain after exercise, and the likelihood of post-exercise fainting. It could be in the form of low-level aerobic exercise to ensure adequate circulation to the skeletal muscle, heart, and brain by minimising sudden pooling in the vein.

Repetition, Set, Repetition Maximum

In order to better understand RT, we should know several terms: repetition, set and repetition maximum.

Repetition is defined as the number of times a specific load can be lifted. It usually consists of two phases of exercise: weight lifting and weight releasing. Set is defined as a group of repetition performed continuously without stopping. Sets typically range from 1 to 15 repetitions per set, and can be performed at a given load with proper lifting technique.

Repetition Maximum (RM) is defined as the maximum number of repetitions one can perform at a time at a given load, with proper lifting technique. For example, if one RM is the heaviest load one can lift, given maximum effort, 10 RM would be the heaviest load one could lift for 10 consecutive exercise repetitions.

Appropriate and Adequate Exercise

Incidentally, more multi-joint exercises are recommended as opposed to single-joint movements. According to American College of Sports Medicine guideline, very light or light intensity is ideal for older persons or previously sedentary adults taking up an exercise regimen. It is recommended that 8 to 10 types of exercise be performed on at least two non-consecutive days per week, using major muscle groups. Examples of major muscle group include chest muscle, back muscle, shoulders muscle, quadriceps and hamstrings. While 2 to 4 sets of each type of exercise will help adults improve strength and power, more often than not, one set may be sufficient for most senior citizens to attain the benefit, particularly senior citizens who are new to RT, in my opinion. In order to maximise strength development, a load, which allows 10 to 15 repetitions, should be used for each type of exercise. The level of the effort used for the exercise should be moderate to high. Sometimes you may want to include a small amount of challenging exercise to elicit certain degree of hard effort.

Still, senior citizens are advised to seek advice from a professional trainer prior to commencement of RT, especially those who are beginners to RT. At the end of the day, regular exercise not only improves muscle strength and helps combat against sarcopenia, it is also associated with improvement in mental well-being and a lower incidence of depression. After a serial session of RT, your body shape will definitely improve and so will your self-esteem correspondingly. Learn not to be indifferent to ageing, but to appreciate the beauty of ageing. 


Dr Liu Kin-wah
Specialist in Geriatric Medicine