There’s a lot more to strength training than building muscle. Of course, maintaining muscle mass is important, especially for injury prevention as you age. Not only can resistance exercise speed up your metabolism and reduce body fat, but it can also make it easier to carry out daily tasks by keeping your bones and joints firing on all cylinders.

Until you reach the age of 40, your body replaces any bone it loses. After you hit your fifth decade, though, your bone mass decreases by 1 per cent each year. This can lead to diseases such as osteoporosis, where your bones become brittle, and your risk of fracture significantly increases. While a fractured hip might not sound like a big deal, it can increase your mortality risk and severely impact your quality of life.

There is a bright side, though. By incorporating strength training into your exercise regimen at least two to three times a week, you can safeguard yourself against low bone density as well as protect yourself from a number of other chronic diseases. In fact, the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that regular resistance exercise can increase your overall lifespan. 

Not a fan of the gym or have no time to swing by the studio after work? No problem. 

Here’s how to get a quality strength session from your living room.

Perform 1-3 rounds.

Squats

• Stand behind your chair with the loop above your knees.
• Squat down by pushing your glutes back and lower down until you are in a 90-degree squat. Use the chair for balance if you like. Then push back to standing.
• Do 30 reps.

Side leg pulse

• Using the chair for balance, suck in you core, try to keep your body even, as you shift your weight onto your left leg (your standing leg). Raise your right leg a few inches off the ground to the side.
• Pulse the right leg, focusing on working your core for stability, and the side of your right glute.
• Do 30 pulses a side.

Dynamic lunges

• Stand with your legs apart and the loop around your ankles. Perform 30 alternating lunges. Lunge one leg back, lower so that your legs are both at 90 degrees. Push back to standing and alternate legs.
• Alternating lunges are great for core stability, as well as for working your glutes and legs.

Lateral raise

• Stand with both feet on one end of the active band, while keeping your feet shoulder width apart. Hold the other end of the band with one hand, down by your side.
• Raise your arm up to shoulder height, hold for 2 seconds, lower it back down.
• Do 12 a side.

Dead lift

• Lay the active band out on the ground, then step on it so you are centred, but your feet are hip width apart.
• Fold the ends of the band over your feet and hold onto them, plus the part of the band between your feet. Your feet will be anchoring the band down.
• Lean your torso forward, push your hips back and squat down into a deadlift.
• Slowly stand back up straight, holding onto the band the entire time for resistance.
• In this exercise you will feel the burn in your glutes, hamstrings and your core.

Rotator cuff

• Stand straight, shoulders back and down, core tight, hold the active band evenly in both hands.
• Keep your elbows in at your waist. Start with your hand at 90 degrees in front of you.
• Slowly pull your hands out, stretching the band, to work your rotator cuff.
• Then slowly release, back to starting position.

Triceps Overhead

• Hold the band in both hand behind you. One arm will go over your head, as you would to do a triceps extension, the other will go behind your back at your hip to hold the band in place.
• Using the overhead hand, stretch the band up straight, then move it back to the starting position to work your triceps.
• Do 12 reps on each time.