Boost your ability to lift and carry heavy loads

Strengthen the shoulder, arm, buttock, and leg muscles.

Grocery bags, grandkids, and gardening supplies: they're all heavy items you may need to lift and carry short distances. That may be harder in older age, with a loss of muscle mass and strength. You'll have an easier time if you maintain the muscles that help you do the job.

Your "lifting" muscles

"Lift with your legs, not with your back." That old saying is true for a reason: "The muscles in the legs and buttocks are bigger and more power-ful than the tiny back muscles," notes Clare Safran-Norton, clinical supervisor of rehabilitation services at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.