Updated June 24, 2025 at 7:06 PM EDT
Aging is not always conducive to staying in shape. According to the federal National Institute on Aging, around 30% of people over the age of 70 have trouble walking, getting out of a chair, or climbing stairs. This can make simple daily tasks difficult, increase the chance of falling and limit the independence of older people.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults get at least two and a half hours of moderate exercise each week, including strength training.
Many gyms and trainers across the country are offering an option called slow strength training — which consists of short very intense workouts, with several days of recovery in between.
"The muscles, because we've worked them so intensely, they need a much longer recovery period." said Melinda Hughes, owner of The Strength Shoppe in Los Angeles. "So the recovery period from this workout is five to seven days."
Slow strength training involves moving the weight very slowly, eliminating momentum and engaging the muscle consistently through the full range of motion.
Seventy-four-year-old Gilda Haas has been doing slow strength training for around six months. She and her husband are raising a 10-year-old.
"Where I hope to be is, if I fall down, I won't break my hip. That's my goal," said Haas. "And also that I can keep up with a ten-year-old or a 15-year-old when I'm in my eighties, that would be great."
Haas said she wants to be resilient for those who depend on her.
The machines used for this kind of training are often used in medical facilities for osteopathic and muscle rehabilitation. Clients are closely supervised by a trainer and lift until their muscles can't move anymore, commonly called "lifting until failure."
"Once that happens, we know to say that's where the client stops, then we hold for an extra 10 seconds," said Arjen van Eijmeren, co-owner and trainer at the Strength Shoppe.
Eighty-seven-year-old Fred Fregin and his wife come to the studio weekly to work out together. The retired veterinarian says balance and strength are critical at his age.
"One of the reasons that I injured my knee was because I didn't have good balance," he said. "I didn't have the strength that I had needed. So this has really helped dramatically."
Hughes says that lifting until "failure" also has psychological effects.
"Going to muscle failure can be emotionally confronting because it's physical stress, but it's not something that we're used to doing."
She says anger, laughter and tears aren't uncommon during these workouts.
"As an instructor, it's very important to have the skill of being able to take someone there where they feel safe going there," she said.
The gym doesn't allow any music or other distractions because they want the focus to be on the trainers' instructions. The quiet environment is part of the appeal for many clients, as is the convenience of exercising just 20 minutes once a week.
"There are improvements in muscle strength when you do this kind of slow resistance program," said Roger Fielding, a professor of nutrition and medicine at Tufts University who specializes in research on aging. "Whether those improvements are better or less than they are with a more conventional resistance training program, I just don't think we have enough information to know."
He emphasizes that aerobic exercise, like walking or playing tennis, combined with weight or resistance training is necessary to get the full benefits of working out. But he says that being active is what matters most, and that any exercise that is safe, enjoyable and gets you moving is good exercise.
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