I test the best exercises for healthy aging after 50 — these are the 5 moves that always stand out

Older woman performing a dumbbell overhead press outdoors .

The best exercises for strength and muscle after 40, 50, or 60 are progressive, repeatable, scalable and unfussy.

If you didn't already know, fitness markers, including muscle loss, surprisingly begin to decline as early as 35 years old. Each decade we lose muscle mass, and this decline can accelerate after 60.