Barbell Exercises for the Elderly

Select a lightweight training bar. Some of the lightest bars come in 5-pound or 17-pound sizes, though many bars weigh 44 pounds or more. If you're just getting started, talk with a trainer at your gym to help you select an appropriate bar -- you're going to need them as a spotter anyway. The trainer can help you select a good size for the various barbell exercises you are going to do -- there's a very good chance that you'll lift different weights for the different exercises. As you do these exercises, try them with just the bar first, and then add weight as you become more confident and gain strength.

Warm up your muscles before strength training by walking, cycling or doing some other light exercise for about five minutes, or until you've broken a light sweat.

Lie down on a bench press bench with the selected bench press bar in the rack at the head of the bench. Position your feet firmly on the floor and lie with your eyes just under the bar. Plant your shoulder blades on the bench, and then place your hands on the bar in an overhand fashion, about shoulder-width apart. Lift the bar off the rack -- making sure to have a spotter behind you in case you falter -- and press your arms straight up and out from your chest. Lower the bar to your chest, pause for a half-second at the bottom, and then press the bar back to the arms-straight position. Repeat this movement for as many repetitions as you can, but aim for 5 to 10 repetitions. If you can't do that many, do what you can and aim to slowly increase the number of repetitions over time.

Stand in front of a barbell that is positioned on the floor to start the deadlift. Center yourself in the middle of the bar and stand with your feet a bit less than shoulder-width apart, and just under the bar. Bend over and hold the bar in an overhand position, and then bend your knees until your shins touch the bar. Lift the bar upward as you raise your chest, keeping the bar close to your body as you lift upward. Your knees should be slightly bent and not locked. Stop when you are standing upright, and resist the urge to lean backward. Make sure you have your spotter on hand in case you need to drop the weight. Lower the bar back down to the ground and repeat the exercise for five repetitions, or as many as you can do.

Position the barbell on the squat bar to prepare to do the squat exercise. The height of the bar in its rack should be about mid-chest high. Crouch under the squat bar and touch the soft area above your shoulder blades to the squat bar, with your feet just under the bar and about shoulder-width apart. Grab the undersides of the bar with both hands, with your hands a few inches wider than shoulder-width apart. At this point your knees should be bent and you should be in a semi-squat position. Hold tightly to the bar and then stand up to move the bar off the rack. Step backward with one leg, and then backward with the opposite leg so that you are away from the squat rack. Step your feet a bit further out than shoulder-width, engage the abdomen and bend your knees, keeping your lower back straight. Lower yourself until your hip joint is lower than your knee joint, and then stand back up. Repeat this movement for 5 repetitions, or as many as you can do. Again, be sure to have a spotter.