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It’s never too late to lift weights: Older bodies can still build muscle

The new study of resistance exercise and the elderly found that even people in their 80s and 90s — who had never lifted weights before — showed significant gains

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November 29, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. EST
The new study of resistance exercise and the elderly found that even people in their 80s and 90s — who had never lifted weights before — showed significant gains. (Washington Post Illustration/iStock)
5 min

Contrary to popular wisdom among many gym-goers and even some scientists, healthy people in their 60s, 70s and beyond can safely start lifting weights and rapidly build substantial muscle mass, strength and mobility.

A new study of resistance exercise and the elderly found that even people in their 80s and 90s — who hadn’t weight trained before — showed significant gains after starting a supervised program of lifting weights three times a week.