We hear a lot about the importance of exercise as we age.
But exercise and strength training are not the same thing.
The more important question for an older adult isn't simply, "Are you exercising?"
It's: Do you have enough leg strength to do the things you need and want to do?
Walking. Getting out of a chair. Getting in and out of the car. Stepping into the shower. Getting out of bed. Moving safely around the home. Relying less on a walker or cane.
These are the everyday things we want older adults to keep doing for themselves. And each one requires leg strength.
This is where functional leg strength becomes important.
Key Takeaway
Strength training isn't simply about exercising more. It requires resistance that challenges the muscles and progressively increases as strength improves. For older adults, targeted leg strength training can help build the strength needed for everyday movements such as walking, standing, and transferring.
What Is Strength Training?
Simply moving a leg does not necessarily make it stronger. To build strength, a muscle needs to work against resistance that challenges it. That resistance can come from weights, adjustable ankle weights, resistance bands, or other forms of resistance.
As the muscle becomes stronger, the resistance needs to increase. This is called progressive resistance, and it is essential for continuing to build strength.
In more formal terms, strength training is the process of improving muscular strength by gradually increasing the ability of a muscle to resist force.
The important parts are resistance and progression.
What Is Functional Leg Strength?
Functional leg strength is the strength needed to perform everyday movements safely and independently.
It isn't about making someone's legs look stronger.
It's about making their life easier.
Functional leg strength helps with:
- Picking your feet up and taking longer, more controlled steps when walking
- Walking with greater stability
- Pushing yourself up from a chair
- Completing transfers with less assistance
- Getting in and out of bed, a car, or a shower
- Reducing reliance on a walker or other mobility device
When these muscles become stronger, everyday movements can become easier.
Strength training becomes functional when we focus on building the specific strength needed for everyday movement.
Why Strengthen Legs While Lying Down?
For many of the older adults we work with, we use adjustable weights while the person is lying flat on their back.
There is a reason for this.
Lying down allows us to work the muscles through a fuller range of motion and target more of the muscles needed for functional movement. It also allows us to focus directly on the muscles we want to strengthen.
When exercises are performed sitting or in other positions, it can be easier to compensate or use different muscles to complete the movement.
Lying down allows us to put the resistance where it is needed and focus on strengthening the muscles more effectively.
And you do not need to get down on the floor.
These exercises can be performed lying flat on a bed or fully reclined in a chair, making them accessible for many older adults.
What Are Some Signs That Leg Strength Is Declining?
Leg weakness often shows up in everyday movement before someone thinks of themselves as "weak."
You may notice:
- Difficulty getting out of a chair
- Shuffling or taking shorter steps
- Needing a walker or cane for stability
- Difficulty getting in or out of a car, bed, or shower
- Needing more help with transfers
- Feeling unsteady or experiencing falls
Families sometimes assume these changes are simply part of getting older.
They don't have to be.
Strength can be improved at any age.
What Does Functional Leg Strength Training Look Like?
The approach is surprisingly simple.
- 10-15 minutes
- Two times per week
- Lying flat on a bed or fully reclined in a chair
- Using adjustable weights
- Increasing the resistance as strength improves
There is no need to get on the floor.
The program focuses on four specific exercises designed to strengthen the muscles important for functional mobility.
In our experience, reaching the ability to lift four pounds during these exercises can be an important milestone. For many clients, this takes approximately 4-6 weeks, although every person is different.
Four pounds may not sound like much.
But when someone has lost significant strength, four pounds can represent a meaningful change in their ability to perform everyday movements.
The longer-term goal may be to continue progressing to 7-10 pounds or more, depending on the individual and their goals. Reaching that level can take several months.
The "That's Easy!" Moment
One of my favorite moments with clients happens after they finish their strengthening exercises.
They have been working against resistance. Their muscles are tired.
Then I remove the weights and ask them to perform the same movement again.
They often look at me and say:
"That's easy!"
That's exactly what I want them to realize.
The movement didn't suddenly change.
They changed.
Their muscles became stronger, so the same movement now requires less effort.
That's what functional strength is about:
Making everyday movement easier.
What Strength Training Really Means
There are a few ideas about strength training that are worth understanding.
Being active and being strong are not always the same thing.
Walking, swimming, biking, water aerobics, and climbing stairs are all valuable activities.
They can improve cardiovascular health, endurance, coordination, and overall fitness.
Strength training serves a different purpose: progressively challenging the muscles so they become stronger.
[Learn more: Why Walking Doesn't Keep You Walking]
Movement is not the same as strengthening.
A person can move their legs repeatedly without providing enough resistance to make the muscles stronger.
Strength training requires a challenge to the muscle.
Then, as the muscle adapts, the challenge needs to increase.
That's how strength is built.
Strength is not permanent.
Once strength improves, it needs to be maintained.
When resistance training stops, the body adapts to the reduced demand.
Strength needs to be built, maintained, and continually challenged.
You don't have to start strong.
Strength training can be adapted to where a person is today.
Someone who walks independently may start with more resistance.
Someone who needs a walker or assistance getting out of a chair may start with much less.
The goal isn't to start strong. The goal is to get stronger.
How Long Does It Take to Get Stronger?
One of the biggest misconceptions we see is that strength should return quickly.
It doesn't.
Building meaningful strength takes time and consistency.
In our experience, functional changes may begin to become noticeable after several weeks of consistent strengthening. Reaching approximately four pounds of resistance may take 4-6 weeks, although every person is different.
Strength gains continue with consistent training and appropriate progression. For some older adults, progressing to 7-10 pounds or more may take several months.
The timeline depends on where someone starts, their health, how consistently they train, and how appropriately the program progresses.
Strength is built over time - not overnight.
Why Strength Matters More Than People Realize
Strength affects much more than the ability to lift a weight.
It affects what a person can do throughout the day.
It can influence whether getting out of a chair feels easy or difficult. Whether walking across the room feels confident or exhausting. Whether someone can get in and out of the car independently. Whether they continue participating in the activities they enjoy.
Over time, those seemingly small differences can have a significant impact on independence.
Strength gives people more options.
That's why strength is much more than a fitness goal.
Strength is a tool for maintaining independence.
Strength Is Not a Short-Term Project
Strength shouldn't be something that is built during a short period of therapy and then forgotten.
Strength is a lifelong investment.
You don't become strong and then finish.
You maintain it.
You challenge it.
You rebuild it when illness, hospitalization, injury, or inactivity causes you to lose it.
This is an important distinction because strength training is sometimes treated as simply another exercise recommendation rather than an ongoing part of maintaining function.
For older adults, strength is something worth protecting for the long term.
At Tandem Strength & Balance, this is at the center of what we do. We focus on building the specific strength needed to make everyday movements easier, safer, and more independent.
Strength That Carries You Forward
The goal of strength training isn't to lift the heaviest weight or become an athlete.
It's to make everyday life easier.
To stand up from your chair without thinking about it.
To walk across the room with confidence.
To get in and out of the car.
To step into the shower.
To keep going to lunch with friends.
To remain in your own home.
To keep making choices about how you want to live.
That's functional leg strength.
And that's why we believe:
Strength isn't permanent - but it can be rebuilt, maintained, and protected.
Don't Just Ask, "Are They Exercising?"
If you are a family member, caregiver, or healthcare professional working with an older adult, consider asking a different question:
"Are they getting stronger?"
Someone can be active every day and still need more strength to walk safely, get out of a chair, or maintain independence.
And building functional leg strength can be difficult to do without the right guidance. The exercises need to challenge the muscles, be performed correctly, and progress as strength improves.
Finding someone who understands functional leg strength - and knows how to build it intentionally - can make a meaningful difference.
At Tandem Strength & Balance, this is what we do every day. We help older adults build and maintain the specific leg strength needed for everyday life.
Don't just help someone stay active. Help them get stronger.
Get Strong. Stay Strong.
Research References
1. Radaelli R, Rech A, Molinari T, et al. Effects of Resistance Training Volume on Physical Function, Lean Body Mass and Lower-Body Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis of 151 Randomised Trials. Sports Medicine. 2025;55(1):167-192. This review included 151 randomized trials and 6,306 older adults and found that resistance training improved physical function and lower-body strength. (SURFconext)
2. Nagata CA, Garcia PA, Hamu TCDS, et al. Are dose-response relationships of resistance training reliable to improve functional performance in frail and pre-frail older adults? A systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regression of randomized controlled trials. Ageing Research Reviews. 2023;91:102079. This review included 10 randomized trials involving 1,303 adults age 65 and older and found improvements in sit-to-stand performance and overall physical performance following resistance training. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)