Fitness
6 Best Leg Workouts for Men After 50
As men age, maintaining strong and healthy legs becomes increasingly important for overall mobility, balance, and quality of life. Leg workouts can help prevent muscle loss, improve joint health, and support cardiovascular fitness. So, I’ve rounded up six of the best leg workouts I recommend for men over 50. I’ve curated each of these workouts to ensure a comprehensive approach to lower-body strength and endurance.
Tailor the below exercises to your fitness level and consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new workout regimen. Stay active, stay strong, and enjoy the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
Now, let’s dive into the best leg workouts for men after 50.
Workout #1: Classic Strength Training
Strength training is crucial for building and maintaining muscle mass, especially as you age. This workout focuses on fundamental exercises that enhance strength and stability.
1. Squats
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms extended in front of you or placed on your hips. Lower your body by bending your knees and hips, keeping your chest and back straight. Lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Push through your heels to return to the starting position. Perform three sets of 10 to 12 reps.
2. Leg Press
Sit on the leg press machine with your feet shoulder-width apart on the platform. Push the platform away by extending your legs, keeping a slight bend in your knees at the top. Slowly lower the platform back by bending your knees, ensuring your lower back remains against the seat. Repeat the movement. Perform three sets of 10 to 12 reps.
3. Calf Raises
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands resting on a support for balance. Lift your heels off the ground, rising onto the balls of your feet. Hold the position for a moment, then slowly lower your heels back to the ground. Repeat the movement. Perform three sets of 15 reps.
Workout #2: Balance and Stability
Improving balance and stability is essential for preventing falls and maintaining independence as you age. This workout focuses on exercises that enhance these critical skills.
1. Single-leg Stance
Stand on one leg with your other foot lifted slightly off the ground. Hold the position for 20 to 30 seconds, maintaining balance. Switch legs and repeat. Perform three sets on each leg.
2. Side Leg Raises
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips or holding onto a support. Lift your right leg to the side, keeping it straight. Lower it back to the starting position. Repeat the movement for the specified reps, then switch legs. Perform three sets of 12 to 15 reps on each leg.
3. Heel-to-Toe Walk
Walk forward in a straight line, placing the heel of one foot directly in front of the toes of the other foot. Take slow and controlled steps, focusing on balance. Continue for 20 steps. Perform three sets.
Workout #3: Flexibility and Mobility
Maintaining flexibility and mobility helps reduce stiffness and improve joint range of motion. This workout includes stretches and movements to keep your legs limber.
1. Hamstring Stretch
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Step your right foot forward and bend at the hips, keeping your back straight. Reach down toward your toes, feeling a stretch in your hamstrings. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, then switch legs. Perform three sets on each leg.
2. Quad Stretch
Stand on one leg and pull your opposite foot toward your buttocks, holding your ankle with your hand. Keep your knees close together and your back straight. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, then switch legs. Perform three sets on each leg.
3. Ankle Circles
Stand or sit with one leg extended. Rotate your ankle in a circular motion, first clockwise for 15 seconds, then counterclockwise for 15 seconds. Switch legs and repeat. Perform three sets on each leg.
Workout #4: Cardiovascular Endurance
Cardiovascular exercises improve heart health and stamina. This workout includes leg-focused cardio exercises to boost your endurance.
1. Walking Lunges
Stand with your feet together. Step forward with your right leg and lower into a lunge, keeping your back straight. Push through your right heel to bring your left foot forward into the next lunge. Continue alternating legs as you move forward. Perform three sets of 10 to 12 reps per leg.
2. Step-ups
Stand in front of a sturdy bench or step. Step up with your right foot, then bring your left foot up to meet it. Step down with your right foot, followed by your left foot. Repeat the movement, alternating the lead foot. Perform three sets of 12 reps per leg.
3. High Knees
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Lift your right knee toward your chest, then quickly switch to lift your left knee. Continue alternating knees as quickly as possible. Perform continuously for 30 seconds. Perform three sets with a 15-second rest between sets.
Workout #5: Functional Strength
Functional strength exercises improve your ability to perform daily activities. This workout includes movements that mimic real-life actions.
1. Chair Squats
Stand in front of a chair with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lower your body to sit on the chair, then stand back up without using your hands. Repeat the movement. Perform three sets of 12 reps.
2. Side Lunges
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Step out to the right side, lowering your body into a lunge while keeping your left leg straight. Push through your right heel to return to the starting position. Repeat on the other side. Perform three sets of 10 to 12 reps per leg.
3. Standing Hip Abductions
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips or holding onto a support. Lift your right leg to the side, keeping it straight and your toes pointed forward. Lower it back to the starting position. Repeat the movement for the specified reps, then switch legs. Perform three sets of 15 reps on each leg.
Workout #6: Low-impact Aerobics
Low-impact aerobic exercises are gentle on the joints while still providing a good cardiovascular workout. This workout is perfect for maintaining heart health and leg strength.
1. Marching in Place
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Lift your right knee to hip level, then lower it. Lift your left knee to hip level, then lower it. Continue alternating knees in a marching motion. Perform continuously for one minute. Perform three sets with a 30-second rest between sets.
2. Side Steps
Stand with your feet together. Step your right foot to the side, then bring your left foot to meet it. Step your left foot to the side, then bring your right foot to meet it. Continue stepping from side to side. Perform continuously for one minute. Perform three sets with a 30-second rest between sets.
3. Heel Raises
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands resting on a support for balance. Lift your heels off the ground, rising onto the balls of your feet. Hold the position for a moment, then slowly lower your heels back to the ground. Repeat the movement. Perform three sets of 15 reps.
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Fitness
Scientists Say Most Adults Need 4 Times More Exercise Than Recommended for Major Heart Benefits
Substantial heart health benefits may require 560-610 minutes of weekly exercise, with lower fitness individuals needing even more activity to achieve similar protection.
Adults may need far more exercise than current public health guidelines recommend to significantly lower their risk of heart attack and stroke, according to an observational study published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Researchers found that adults needed between 560 and 610 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week for a substantial reduction in cardiovascular risk. That is roughly 3 to 4 times higher than the current recommendation of at least 150 minutes weekly of activities such as brisk walking, running, or cycling.
The findings also suggest that people with lower fitness levels need slightly more exercise than highly fit individuals to achieve the same cardiovascular benefits.
Researchers said current exercise recommendations may need to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach and instead provide personalized goals based on a person’s fitness level.
VO2 Max and Cardiovascular Fitness Explained
Cardiorespiratory fitness differs widely between individuals and is considered a strong indicator of heart health. Researchers noted that low cardiorespiratory fitness is closely linked to a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes, and early death.
One common way to measure fitness is through VO2 max, which reflects the maximum amount of oxygen the body can use during intense exercise. The measurement shows how efficiently the heart, lungs, and muscles work together to deliver and use oxygen.
Researchers from Macao Polytechnic University in China investigated how physical activity levels and cardiorespiratory fitness, measured through VO2 max, influenced cardiovascular disease risk.
UK Biobank Study Tracks Exercise and Heart Events
The study analyzed data from 17,088 participants in the UK Biobank study collected between 2013 and 2015. Participants had an average age of 57, while 56% were women and 96% were white.
Participants wore wrist devices for seven consecutive days to track their normal exercise levels. They also completed a cycling test to estimate VO2 max.
The researchers included additional information such as smoking habits, alcohol use, self reported health and diet, body mass index, resting heart rate, and blood pressure.
Over an average follow-up period of 7.8 years, researchers recorded 1,233 cardiovascular events. These included 874 cases of atrial fibrillation, 156 heart attacks, 111 cases of heart failure, and 92 strokes.
560–610 Minutes Weekly Linked to Stronger Risk Reduction
Adults who met the current guideline of 150 minutes of exercise per week saw a modest 8% to 9% reduction in cardiovascular risk, regardless of fitness level.
However, achieving a more substantial reduction of greater than 30% required between 560 and 610 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise weekly. Only 12% of participants reached that level of activity.
Lower Fitness Levels Require More Physical Activity
The analysis showed that participants with the lowest fitness levels needed about 30 to 50 additional minutes of exercise each week compared with highly fit individuals to gain similar benefits.
For example, a person with low fitness needed about 370 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each week to reduce cardiovascular risk by 20%, compared with 340 minutes for someone with high fitness.
The researchers say, “This finding highlights the steeper challenge faced by deconditioned populations.”
Researchers Call for Personalized Exercise Guidelines
Because the study was observational, the researchers said it cannot prove cause and effect. They also acknowledged that participants may have been healthier and fitter than the general population. Additional limitations included estimating cardiorespiratory fitness rather than directly measuring it and not tracking sedentary behavior or lighter physical activity.
The team said the findings support current exercise guidelines as an effective minimum target for cardiovascular protection. However, they added that more personalized recommendations could help motivated individuals further reduce their heart disease risk.
“Future guidelines may need to differentiate between the minimal moderate to vigorous exercise volume required for a basic safety margin and the substantially higher volumes necessary for optimal cardiovascular risk reduction,” they conclude.
Reference: “Joint non-linear dose–response associations of device-measured physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness with cardiovascular disease: a cohort and Mendelian randomisation study” by Zhide Liang, Senyao Du, Shiao Zhao, Xianfei Wang, Qiang Yan, Baichao Xu, Sanfan Ng and Ziheng Ning, 19 May 2026, British Journal of Sports Medicine.
DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2025-111351
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“In space we don’t experience any forces, our muscles, our bones immediately start to diminish because we’re not being loaded by those forces,” says Dr Dan Cleather, professor of strength and conditioning at St Mary’s University who is on the team developing the British equipment, HIFIm.
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Coming on the heels of the exercise-crazed 1980s, with its ubiquitous leg warmers and tights, were the 1990s. During the decade, cardio-packed martial arts workout videos and stationary bike spinning classes came into vogue, as well as some new gym lingo. And, while the decade did get some things right when it came to health and fitness — like the Health At Every Size Movement and the culmination of the U.S. government’s push to promote its Healthy People guidelines — it also got some things very wrong, especially when it came to its fitness jargon. We just can’t forget the fact that these popular ’90s catchphrases sounded quite ridiculous, not just today, but even back then. With that said, here are some of the classic cringeworthy slogans of the era, which you might recognize if you’re a Millennial, Gen Xer, or Boomer.
Tae Bo Nation (and Work It)
By the late 1990s, fitness guru Billy Blanks seemed to be touting his Tae Bo kickboxing-meets-martial-arts videos on every screen. Thus, his calls to form a “Tae Bo nation” and to “Work it!” became commonplace.
Interestingly, Blanks refused to follow a script for his Tae Bo videos (via Men’s Health). Consequently, his enthusiasm was totally legitimate (and smile-inducing) for everyone involved. As Blanks told The New York Times in 2026, “Even though we were working out hard, we were having so much fun with doing it.”
Unlike many fitness trends that completely disappeared, Tae Bo has demonstrated some staying power, with today’s generation rediscovering the classic workout, albeit without the “Work it!” catchphrase or the tight neon outfits.
Abs of steel
The 1980s saw the birth of “Buns of Steel” workout videos, featuring glute-burning exercises. The slogan took on a new form in the 1990s and became “Abs of Steel,” a branded workout featuring toned fitness instructor Tamilee Web that eventually took off as a catchphrase as well.
Even nowadays, it’s used as a figure of expression (or even ironically in memes) because of how everyone associates well-developed abs with toughness. Obviously, though, everyone knows that toned abs aren’t literally as hard as steel. (Check out these ab exercises that should be in your workout routine.)
Boo-yah!
In the ’90s, it wasn’t that uncommon to hear someone utter, “Boo-yah!” after any great accomplishment, like winning at sports or completing a particularly intense workout. In fact, the strange term became a one-word catchphrase after ESPN reporter Stuart Scott kept saying it during the early part of the decade.
According to Scott’s college friend Fred Tindal (via The Ringer), “boo-yah” was a misspelling of how someone used to describe the sound of a thunderstorm to them (“crack crack crack crack crack boo-yaw”). Interestingly, while Scott popularized the phrase, he didn’t invent it; experts traced its roots to West Coast hip-hop (per Slate).
Stop the insanity!
Fitness star Susan Powter gained popularity in the 1990s for her passionate cry to “Stop the insanity,” a rallying call for people to move beyond restrictive dieting and fad fitness trends toward true holistic health. Though it earned Powter positive attention (and a guest spot on “The Tonight Show”), her catchphrase also became the subject of jokes and spoofs on various TV shows of the era.
Ultimately, Powter’s following faded. But while her catchphrase is no longer popular, its message remains significant, as evidenced by the growing movement towards fitness at any size.
Squeeze your way to shapely hips and thighs
Longtime actress and model Suzanne Somers shook up the 1990s when she starred in ThighMaster exercise product infomercials, where she claimed it was possible to “squeeze your way to shapely hips and thighs.”
Consumers seemed to buy into the silly slogan: On the “Hollywood Raw” podcast, Somers claimed that they “stopped counting” when they reached 10 million copies sold (via Yahoo!).
But does Somers’ ThighMaster actually work, as the catchphrase suggests? “[With the ThighMaster], you’ll build muscle, but it’s not going to be functional in any way,” fitness expert Justin Price told the Los Angeles Times, reinforcing what we know about spot reduction being fiction.
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