Older adults, even those over 85, can gain just as much leg strength as younger seniors from 12 weeks of regular weight training — and some even gain a bit more!

Older women who started out weaker in their legs got stronger in their legs more than the stronger ones after doing leg exercises for 12 weeks, but everyone gained about the same amount of muscle and upper-body strength.

If older guys who are already active do full-body strength training three times a week for three months, they’ll get stronger legs and bigger leg muscles—even without adding extra protein to their diet.

For guys who don't usually work out, doing a special type of leg exercise first leads to bigger strength gains than regular training over 9 weeks, probably because it targets muscles more specifically and adds extra low-effort reps.

When people who already train hard do different kinds of leg workouts—pyramid, failure sets, or regular sets—all of them get about the same boost in how much weight they can lift in a leg extension machine, around 17%.

Gentle weight training done slowly and steadily twice a week for 12 weeks can make older adults' thigh muscles thicker and stronger.