The milestone of turning 50 brings unique physical challenges for men. Muscle mass declines, metabolism slows, joints become less flexible, and testosterone levels decrease. These changes affect everything from energy levels to everyday functionality.
But here’s the empowering truth: with the right exercise program, men over 50 can build strength, enhance mobility, and improve their quality of life. The key is choosing movements that respect your body’s changing needs while still providing the challenge.
“Functional movement becomes critical as we age. The best advice I can give men over 50 years of age is to stay mobile and continue strength training multiple times a week. Like a car, we want to warm up the body thoroughly the older it gets,” says Nico Gonzalez, Balanced Body Educator and Global Movement Trainer & Educator, certified through ACE (the American Council on Exercise) for Personal Training and through NCPT for Pilates.
Building a Complete Fitness Strategy After 50
For this article, we’ve gathered expert advice from two fitness professionals. You’ll find functional movement exercises from Nico Gonzalez alongside traditional strength training recommendations from Tyler Read, Certified personal trainer and founder of PTPioneer.
“A well-rounded fitness routine after 50 should focus on building strength, maintaining flexibility, enhancing balance, and supporting joint health—all while minimizing injury risk. When paired with proper nutrition and adequate recovery, these exercises become powerful tools to combat age-related decline,” says Read.
“As with any new exercise routine, it’s always a smart idea to check in with a certified fitness or medical professional to see what movements receive the green light for you to safely perform at your age and stage of life. Exercising should not be a painful experience, so if you ever experience any sort of pain, you should immediately stop and reevaluate again with a professional,” he adds.
Keep reading to learn all about the best exercises for men to stay fit after 50. Perform three sets of eight to 12 repetitions per exercise one to two times per week.
The 12 Best Exercises for Men to Stay Fit After 50
Flat Back Bridge
“The flat back bridge is a great exercise that targets the glutes, hamstrings, and core while promoting spinal stability,” says Gonzalez.
- Lie on your back on a mat with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Your arms should rest alongside your body, palms facing down.
- Ensure your spine is in a neutral position. You should have a natural curve in your lower back while maintaining contact with the mat.
- Before moving, engage your abdominal muscles by pulling your navel towards your spine.
- Inhale to prepare, and as you exhale, press through your feet and lift your hips towards the ceiling. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your knees at the top of the bridge.
- As you lift, focus on maintaining a flat back rather than arching it. Keep your ribs drawn in and your pelvis neutral.
- Inhale as you slowly lower your hips back to the mat, articulating the spine down one vertebra at a time.
BOSU Dead Bug to Stand
“The BOSU dead bug is a fantastic exercise for core stability and coordination,” explains Gonzalez. Here’s how to perform it correctly:
- Start by placing the BOSU balance trainer with the flat side down on the floor.
- Lie on your back on the BOSU, with your shoulders and head supported by the dome. Your feet should be flat on the ground, hip-width apart.
- Bring your legs up so that your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle and your thighs are perpendicular to the floor. Your shins should be parallel to the ground.
- Extend your arms straight up towards the ceiling, keeping your elbows locked.
- Tighten your abdominal muscles to stabilize your spine and avoid arching your lower back.
- Slowly lower your right arm and left leg toward the floor simultaneously while keeping your lower back pressed against the BOSU. Return to the starting position and repeat with the left arm and right leg.
- Rock forward into a deep squat and stand up. Squat down and rock back onto your low back to start again.
“What I love about this exercise is that I categorize it as a full body movement. The stand to squat phase focused on hamstrings, gluteals, and quadriceps. The balancing portion fires the rectus abdominals, internal/external obliques and the traverse abdominals.”
Core Leg Lifts Side to Side
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Gonzalez recommends these steps:
- Start seated on the floor, leaning back with your hands on floor for support.
- Lift your legs straight up as high as you can hold.
- Lower both legs over to the right, lift back to center, and lower both legs over to the left. Focus on maintaining a steady upper body as the hips and legs move.
- Perform 10 repetitions on each side.
“This is a tough exercise as you are supporting yourself with the upper body as you move the lower body. It engages triceps, deltoids, hip flexors and all the ab muscles including rectus abdominals, internal/external obliques and the traverse abdominals.”
Twisted Knee Hovers
Gonzalez outlines this exercise:
- Start kneeling with your hands under your chest and knees under your hips on the floor.
- Work on keeping your back in a neutral position as you hover your knees off the floor.
- Twist your hips and knees to the right, return to center, then twist your hips and knees to the left, return to center.
- Bonus: As you twist, lift one arm towards the ceiling for more of a balance challenge.
- Perform 10 repetitions on each side.
“Any exercise that involves getting on the floor and hovering is amazing for the full body, engaging pectorals, deltoids, serratus along with the abs, rectus abdominals, internal/external obliques and the traverse abdominals.”
Squats
“I recommend squats for virtually every client capable of performing them. You don’t have to use a barbell squat, either. Choose a squat method that challenges you but remains doable. This can mean doing box squats with just your body weight, adding a kettlebell to perform a goblet squat, or going heavier with barbell squats,” says Read.
“Regardless of which squat variation you choose, keep your knees in line with your toes, avoid letting your torso fall forward, and aim to get your thighs parallel to the floor.”
Pull-ups
“Keeping your upper body strong and maintaining the range of motion in your shoulders is vital for overall fitness and day-to-day strength. Choose overhand, neutral, or reverse grip pull-ups. If you cannot perform pull-ups with your body weight, you can perform negative pull-ups by jumping to the top of the bar and slowly lowering yourself,” explains Read.
Pushups
“Pushups are a great exercise for several reasons. First off, they work your chest and shoulder muscles in a coordinated and functional way. And second, the core stability required to avoid letting your hips sag to the ground means you get the added benefits of core training in the same exercise,” says Read.
“You can make pushups easier by placing your hands on an elevated surface. Conversely, you can increase the difficulty by elevating your feet or moving your hands closer together.”
Deadlift
“Some variation of a deadlift is a must when it comes to staying fit. Standard barbell deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts are both popular options. You can also use dumbbells or kettlebells as your resistance,” Read advises.
“To perform a standard deadlift, begin with your knees and hips bent and your chest at a 40 to a 45-degree angle relative to the floor. Drive through the floor with both feet to lift the weight until your hips and knees are locked out.
For Romanian deadlifts, begin with a slight bend in the knees, then hinge forward at the waist to reach the barbell. Romanian deadlift variations hit the hamstrings and glutes more, while standard deadlifts shift more load to the quads.”
Overhead Press
“Overhead pressing is a must for maintaining upper body strength and mobility. Everything from reaching for tools to screwing in lightbulbs requires you to be able to reach overhead and exert some force,” says Read.
“You can use barbells, dumbbells, or kettlebells to overhead press. When pressing, do not allow your shoulders to shrug, and always press the weight to full lockout.”
Rows
“Rows are movements that involve horizontal pulling and hit the major muscle groups in your upper back and biceps. My favorite rowing exercise is the bent-over single-arm dumbbell row. You can perform the same lift with a kettlebell. Additionally, you can perform bent-over barbell rows to hit both sides at once,” Read explains.
“Regardless of your rowing exercise choice, avoid letting your shoulders shrug, and focus on ‘squeezing’ your shoulder blades together as you finish the row.”
Lunges
“Lunges are an excellent functional exercise for your lower body. They mimic the standard gait and help improve balance, coordination, and athleticism alongside strength and muscle building. I prefer dumbbell lunges with the dumbbells held at your side. You can perform kettlebell lunges as well, or even rack a barbell across your upper back,” says Read.
“When lunging, take a deep step forward, and then lower your back knee toward the ground as you bend your front leg. Push through the floor to either step back to the starting position if lunging in place, or take your next step with the opposite leg if performing walking lunges.”
Standing Rotations
“Incorporating some form of rotational core exercise is important to keep your core strong and your spine healthy as you age. I like standing cable rotations if the equipment is available. However, Russian twists, medicine ball twists, or resistance band rotations are also great options,” Read recommends.
“Whichever twist variation you choose, do not round your spine when rotating. Begin in a neutral spine position, and rotate through your hips and torso to perform each rotation. Repeat on both sides.”