How do you stay strong and independent as you get older?
Staying strong and independent as you age comes down to a few habits kept for years: strength training two to four times a week, enough protein every day, daily movement, and a routine you actually enjoy. Mavy Wellness coaches adults over 50 to build these habits on a whole food plant based diet.
The habits that matter most:
Train the movements of daily life. Getting up from a chair and from the floor, climbing stairs, carrying bags, reaching overhead.
Keep getting a little stronger. Muscle you don't challenge slowly fades. Progression keeps it.
Eat enough protein and enough food. Under eating is common after 50 and makes it hard to keep muscle.
Move every day. Walking, gardening and chores keep you capable between workouts.
Make it enjoyable. If you don't enjoy it, you'll find reasons to avoid it. If you love it, you'll find ways to do it more often.
Members tell us what strength gives them: keeping up with their partner on the trail, getting down on the floor with the grandkids, traveling without worry. One 65-year-old member who hated exercise now trains four times a week, takes the stairs and isn't breathless anymore. Members in their eighties keep training, too. As one of them puts it, "I'm not done yet."
What the research says. The CDC recommends that adults 65 and older do muscle-strengthening activities at least 2 days a week, plus balance activities. [1] A 2011 meta-analysis of 49 studies of adults over 50 found that resistance training increased lean body mass, with bigger gains from higher training volume. [2]
Watch on the Forever Fit Podcast: Fitness Isn't About Looking Better After 50, It's About This (Ep. 424)
"Forever Fit is an inspiring, evidence-based guide to developing a strong body and sustainable lifestyle."
Brenda Davis, RD, Plant-Based Trailblazer, Bestselling Author, on Forever Fit
To build your plan for the decades ahead, book a call with our team at mavywellness.com.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Older Adult Activity: An Overview. https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/guidelines/older-adults.html
Peterson MD, Sen A, Gordon PM (2011). Influence of resistance exercise on lean body mass in aging adults: a meta-analysis. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 43(2):249-258. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20543750/
About the author. Maxime Sigouin is the founder of Mavy Wellness (formerly FitVegan Coaching) and the author of Forever Fit, a book endorsed by physicians including Neal D. Barnard, MD, Laurie Marbas, MD, and James F. Loomis, MD. He has coached for more than six and a half years and, with his team, has coached nearly 1,300 adults over 50 on a whole food plant based diet. He hosts the Forever Fit Podcast, with more than 450 episodes.
Last updated: October 19, 2026. This page is for general education and is not medical advice. Check with your doctor before starting a new exercise or nutrition program.
