How to Start Strength Training When You Haven’t Exercised in Years

The simple answer is to begin with something that seems less than desirable. Carry out a rapid health check, then do two brief sessions each week at a level of effort which feels almost too easy during the first two weeks. It is normal to experience some muscle soreness a day or two afterwards. Gradually increase the intensity over a period of six weeks. The greatest risk isn’t injury; it’s giving up, so anticipate the interruptions before they occur.

First: it isn’t too late.

If you’re concerned that you’ve left it too long, then consider the most well-known study in this area: frail residents of nursing homes who were, on average, 90 years of age nearly tripled their leg strength after eight weeks of training (Fiatarone et al., 1990). Your muscles have not forgotten how to react; they are just waiting for you to ask them.

Step 1: Do the five-minute screen

Fill in the PAR-Q+, a free Canadian questionnaire. If you answer “no” to all seven opening questions, HealthLink BC says you can start, as long as you begin slowly and build up gradually. A “yes” means a more detailed online screen or a talk with your doctor first (HealthLink BC). A “yes” rarely means “don’t exercise”. It usually means “exercise with a few adjustments”.

Step 2: Start at “almost too easy”

When you’ve been away for a number of years your muscles readapt swiftly but it takes tendons, joints and confidence a bit longer. The NSCA recommends that beginners do between 10 and 15 repetitions using a lighter weight and states that training to failure is not necessary for older adults if they want to become stronger (Fragala et al., 2019).

Simply put, during the first two weeks, whenever you feel that you could still manage five or more decent repetitions, stop that set. At this stage you aren’t working hard at all; instead, you’re teaching your body the correct movements and proving to yourself that you can turn up for them.

A six-week re-entry plan

The approach that I would take is to move step by step towards the two sessions per week pattern which the trials carried out on older adults found to be the most effective (Borde et al., 2015).

At the sixth week you are carrying out the entire programme mentioned in Strength Training for Women Over 50: Where Do I Start?.

What soreness is normal, and what isn’t

Muscle soreness that follows a new kind of activity typically sets in 12 to 24 hours later and is most severe between 24 and 72 hours after the exercise (as stated in the DOMS information sheet). It is to be expected to feel a dull ache when you use or press the muscle, particularly in the first and second weeks. This soreness generally gets better as your body gets used to the activity.

The real risk is stopping.

A survey was carried out among older adults who had taken part in and then left a seniors’ strength training programme, and the main reasons for their withdrawal were injury, illness and going on holiday; approximately one in ten mentioned that they had not received enough support (Burton et al., 2017). Although the survey was small, involving 56 people, the pattern is valid in that life events interfere and over 65% were keen to return to the program.

From the very beginning, allow for the possibility of interruptions. The Canada movement guidelines state that benefits are obtained by progressing towards the targets, even before reaching them (CSEP). A brief session is better than skipping one altogether.

Shall you need a trainer?

It’s not necessary to have one in order to become stronger. Yet as this is a website aimed at trainers, here is some honest evidence. A meta-analysis of 11 studies involving adults aged 65 and over showed that supervised programmes led to greater improvements in strength, power and dynamic balance than unsupervised programs, even though attendance was the same (Lacroix et al., 2017). The most probable explanations are better technique and training at the correct intensity.

The fact that this approach doesn’t work doesn’t mean that training by yourself is of no value; rather, it indicates that it’s a worthwhile investment if you can afford it to carry out a few supervised sessions in order to learn the movements and establish the correct starting weights.

How I’d apply this: a 58-year-old who travels and doesn’t want fitness to be her job

She is 58, has not exercised properly for years, travels every few weeks, and is nervous regarding the possibility of getting injured. This is how I would get her started.

Before she starts, she should book the two sessions each week in her calendar, on the same days and at the same time, just as one would book a dentist’s appointment. It is when deciding which days to train on that the majority of restarts fail.

Make week one as embarrassing as possible in terms of ease. Spend twenty minutes on four movements and end each set with a good amount of reserve. The objective of week one is just to want to carry on into week two.

It’s important to have your technique checked early on by carrying out two or three supervised sessions, either in person or via video call, in order to learn the six movements and to select her band and dumbbell weights; afterwards she will be able to carry out most of the sessions by herself.

Arrange the plan for the first trip before that trip takes place; her first trip is likely to occur in the third or fourth week. She will do two sessions of the 15-minute version of her current week’s session while she is away. Although travel halts progress it does not wipe it out.

Apply the re-entry rule: if she misses more than two weeks due to illness or travel, then when she returns she goes one stage back in the plan for her first week back, with no guilt involved, no need to start from scratch, merely a step back to rebuild.

For the first six weeks count the sessions not the results; completing twelve sessions is a success and strength comes as a result of attending.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. 1Acıbadem International Medical Board. Delayed onset muscle soreness explained by medical evidence (medically reviewed patient page), July 2026. acibademinternational.com
2. 2Borde R, Hortobágyi T, Granacher U. Dose–response relationships of resistance training in healthy old adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2015;45(12):1693–1720. PubMed
3. 3Burton E et al. Why do seniors leave resistance training programs? Clin Interv Aging. 2017;12:585–592. PMC
4. 4Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults aged 65 years and older: An Integration of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep (PDF). csepguidelines.ca
5. 5Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) information sheet, hosted by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. PDF
6. 6Fiatarone MA et al. High-intensity strength training in nonagenarians: effects on skeletal muscle. JAMA. 1990;263(22):3029–3034. PubMed
7. 7Fragala MS et al. Resistance training for older adults: position statement from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. J Strength Cond Res. 2019;33(8):2019–2052. Journal
8. 8HealthLink BC. PAR-Q+ and ePARmed-X+. healthlinkbc.ca
9. 9Lacroix A et al. Effects of supervised vs. unsupervised training programs on balance and muscle strength in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2017;47(11):2341–2361. PubMed