As we age, we naturally begin to wonder how our limits change. Conventional wisdom is that you can still be strong as you age, but your recovery ability goes down, preventing you from exercising as hard as you used to. This is probably conventional wisdom for good reason, as you have fewer resources in the body to repair the damage done from exercise.

So what is the best way to work out for older adults? A recent study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham was conducted to determine at least a part of that answer. How often should older individuals be exercising for best results?

In the study, each participant was female and aged 60 or over, and placed in one of three groups. One group trained once per week doing aerobic work, and once doing resistance training (1 + 1). The second group did two days of each (2 + 2). And, you guessed it; the third group did three days of each (3 + 3). The researchers then measured various forms of energy expenditure and a few other variables.