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Bands, machines and staying strong as you age

Bands, machines and mixed workouts can support different strength and mobility goals. Here’s what a new review found, and what the rankings don’t tell us.

By Glen Cook · Sunshine Coast

Build your training around what you want to do more easily, not which piece of equipment wins the headline.

Resistance bands can look like the poor cousins of gym equipment. Machines look more serious. Neither gets bonus points for looking impressive.

The useful question is what you want to improve. Stronger hands? Stronger legs? Getting around more easily? Those goals overlap, but they are not interchangeable.

A recent review offers some useful clues. It also gives us a good reason to be suspicious of headlines promising the single “best” exercise.

First, a couple of definitions

Sarcopenia is a muscle condition involving low strength and reduced muscle quantity or quality. It becomes more common with age, but it is not simply another word for getting older.

Frailty is broader. It describes reduced reserves across the body, leaving someone more vulnerable to illness and other stresses. The two conditions can overlap, but they are not the same thing. Neither should be diagnosed from your birthday or a stubborn jar lid.

For the clinical background, see the European consensus on sarcopenia linked below.

What the review found

Published in BMC Geriatrics in October 2026, the review combined 61 randomised trials involving 3,706 older adults with sarcopenia or frailty. The average age was about 77.

Compared with control groups:

  • Elastic-band training improved handgrip strength by an estimated 1.95 kg. Confidence in this finding was moderate.
  • Machine-based resistance training improved knee-extension strength, with low-certainty evidence. That category also included adjustable ankle weights and weighted vests.
  • Programmes combining resistance exercise with balance and/or aerobic activity showed broader physical-function benefits, particularly mobility. Confidence in those findings was also low.

These were strength and performance outcomes. The review did not establish which approach builds the most muscle or reverses frailty.

Source: Wang and colleagues, BMC Geriatrics, linked below.

Before we crown a winner

Most findings had low or very low certainty. Studies differed, and some outcomes had limited evidence. The authors explicitly cautioned against treating the rankings as definitive.

A network meta-analysis combines direct comparisons with indirect comparisons across studies. That is useful, but a high ranking does not remove uncertainty or guarantee that the same approach will work best for you. Cochrane’s guidance on interpreting these analyses makes that distinction clear.

What this means for your training

My takeaway is to start with the job you want your body to do, then choose the exercises and equipment to suit.

Some useful questions:

  • What is getting harder? Be specific about the activity rather than settling for “I should get fitter”.
  • What can you do safely now? Your starting point matters more than someone else’s workout.
  • What will fit your week? Consider where you will train, what equipment is available and what support you need.
  • How will you track progress? Choose something relevant to your goal rather than judging a session by how exhausted you feel afterwards.

For the broader picture, Australia’s current guidelines for people aged 65 and over include muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days a week, and activities targeting mobility, balance and coordination on at least three. They also recommend regular aerobic activity. These are general guidelines, not a personalised prescription.

And if you are over 55 but otherwise well

This review does not prove that its rankings apply to every healthy person over 55, or that one programme prevents future frailty.

You can still use the questions above to plan sensibly. If you have diagnosed frailty, unexplained weakness, repeated falls or a medical condition affecting exercise, seek individual advice from your GP, physiotherapist or accredited exercise physiologist.

Keep the equipment debate in perspective. The goal is to make the activities you care about more manageable. The exercise does not need to look impressive on Instagram.

If you would like help getting started, GlenCook.FIT offers mobile fitness coaching on the Sunshine Coast.

This article provides general information, not individual medical advice.

References

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