Over 50? These 5 Exercises Keep Your Metabolism Fired Up for Life
As you get older, your metabolism naturally declines because of loss of muscle mass, changes in your hormones, and reduced energy production in your cells. After you hit fifty, you will generally lose 3-8% of your muscle mass every decade if you aren't active. Losing this muscle directly affects your metabolism as muscle burns more calories at rest than fat.
Changes in your hormones play a big part as well. Your testosterone and growth hormone levels both decline,e which reduces the body's ability to hold on to muscle and efficiently process nutrients. Women experience additional metabolic changes when going through menopause as their estrogen levels drop.
Exercise fights back against these age-related changes in a few ways. Strength training on a regular basis preserves and builds muscle – directly boosting your resting metabolic rate (RMR). Resistance training also helps improve your insulin sensitivity, which helps your body process carbs more effectively. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) enhances mitochondrial function – your cells' energy factories – improving how efficiently your body converts food to energy.
Proper exercise has benefits that go further than just burning calories during workouts – training hard creates an "afterburn effect," meaning your body uses additional energy for recovery for hours after you finish exercising. This post-exercise oxygen consumption can raise your metabolic rate for up to 3 days after a really intense session
Top 5 Metabolism-Boosting Exercises for People Over 50
Compound Dumbbell Lifts
Step-by-step: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, dumbbells at your sides. Squat down until thighs are parallel to ground. As you stand up, curl the weights to shoulders, then press overhead. Reverse the movement to start. 8-12 reps.
For beginners: Use lighter weights or no weights at all until you get the movement pattern. You can break the exercise into parts – practice squats first, then add the curl and overhead press when comfortable.
Common mistakes: Using momentum instead of muscle control, rounding lower back during squat, locking knees at top of movement. Engage core throughout and keep spine aligned.
Kettlebell Swings
Step-by-step: Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width, and hold the kettlebell with both hands. Hinge at hips, swing the kettlebell between legs. Thrust hips forward to swing the weight up to the chest. Let the kettlebell fall as you hinge again. 15-20 reps.
For beginners: Practice hip hinge without weight first. When ready, use a lighter kettlebell and focus on hip power, not arm strength.
Common mistakes: Squatting instead of hinging, using arm strength instead of hip drive, allowing back to round. Glutes do most of the work, and your back must stay flat.
Circuit Training with Minimal Rest
Step-by-step: Choose 5-6 exercises that target different muscle groups (push-ups, lunges, rows, planks, step-ups). Do each exercise for 45 seconds with 15 seconds rest between movements. Do full circuit 3-4 times with 1 minute rest between rounds.
For beginners: Do 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest. Choose modified exercises like wall push-ups instead of floor push-ups or supported planks.
Common mistakes: Rushing through exercises with poor form, not adjusting intensity based on your fitness level, avoiding certain movements because of discomfort, not pain. Quality over quantity
Interval Walking
Step-by-step: After a 5-minute warm-up walk, walk briskly for 1 minute, then moderate for 2 minutes. Repeat 8-10 times, then 5-minute cool-down. As you get better, increase the intensity of brisk intervals or shorten recovery periods.
For beginners: Start with 30 seconds of brisk walking and 2-3 minute recovery periods. Build up gradually.
Common mistakes: Not pushing hard enough during intense intervals, hunching your back, taking too long of a step. During brisk intervals you should be breathing hard but still able to talk a few words.
Bodyweight Superset Training
Step-by-step: Pair exercises like squats and push-ups or lunges and rows. Do 12-15 reps of the first exercise, then 12-15 reps of the second with no rest in between. Rest 60-90 seconds after both exercises, then repeat for 3-4 rounds.
For beginners: Reduce reps to 8-10 per exercise and extend rest periods to 2 minutes between supersets. Use modifications for challenging exercises.
Common mistakes: Not taking enough rest between rounds, not adjusting exercise difficulty to fit your level, and sacrificing form for more reps. Focus on controlled, full-range movements.
How to Fit Them Into Your Weekly Routine
- Aim for 3 – 4 training sessions of 30-45 minutes each. Make sure you have a day's rest between strength workouts to allow for recovery. Two full-body strength sessions (with compound lifts and supersets) and two interval based workouts (kettlebell swings and circuits) spread through the week would be a balanced approach that would work for most people.
- Along with these formal workouts, try to add daily movement. 7000 – 10,000 steps a day is a good number to aim for.
- Consistency matters more than intensity, particularly when first establishing your routine. Start with two weekly sessions if you're new to exercise, then gradually build to four as your body adapts.
- Consider your natural energy cycles when scheduling workouts. Many people over 50 perform better with morning exercise sessions when hormone levels are optimal.
- Regardless of timing, never skip your warm-up – spend 5-10 minutes with dynamic mobility movements to prepare your body for more intense work.
- Track your progress using a simple journal or app. Note exercise performance, energy levels, and recovery quality to guide adjustments to your routine. This data helps identify patterns and prevents overtraining.
What to Expect from These Exercises
After 1 month: You will feel more energetic and have more stamina for daily activities. Sleep quality usually improves within the first few weeks as your body gets used to exercise. You will have more strength in everyday movements like climbing stairs or carrying shopping. Weight loss might be minimal at this stage but you will notice clothes fitting differently as your body composition starts to change.
After 3 months: Resting metabolic rate increases can be measured, burning 100-250 more calories daily. Body composition shows big improvements with visible muscle definition and reduced waist size.
Blood work may show improved glucose handling and cholesterol profiles. Recovery between workouts becomes faster, allowing for more varied exercises. Many people report less joint pain and improved mobility at this stage.
After 6 months: Your metabolism is back to what it was 5-10 years ago. Exercise becomes a natural part of your lifestyle rather than a chore. Visible body composition changes plateau, but internal improvements continue.
Bone density scans often show improvements especially from the resistance training. Many people experience a huge improvement in posture and reduced back pain. The cumulative effect of consistent training creates lasting metabolic adaptations that even persist on rest days.
How to Keep Your Metabolism Strong After 50
- Start where you are not where you think you should be. Your current fitness level is your reality – don't judge yourself. Many people quit exercise programs because they start too hard, get sore, discouraged and quit.
- Focus on consistency over intensity. Three moderate workouts a week will transform your metabolism better than one "killer" session followed by days of rest. Your body responds to regular stimuli, not occasional heroics.
- Support your workouts with proper protein intake. Your body becomes less efficient at processing protein after 50 so aim for 25-30g of quality protein per meal. This nutritional support will preserve muscle mass and enhance the metabolic benefits of your workouts.
- Prioritize recovery as much as your workouts. Quality sleep, stress management and proper hydration directly impact your metabolic function. No exercise program can outwork poor recovery habits.
- Finally, find exercises you enjoy. The most effective metabolism-boosting workout is the one you'll do consistently. Try different movement styles, training environments and workout partners until you find what keeps you engaged for the long term.
About the author: Michael Betts is the Director of TRAINFITNESS, the UK's leading fitness education company. With nearly 40 years in the industry, he is a certified personal trainer and group exercise instructor specializing in fat loss, personal training, and fitness education.
Sign up for our newsletter!
