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Injury Risk

How often people actually get hurt when they train, and how supervised strength work compares with other popular activities for adults over 40.

HOW OFTEN PEOPLE GET HURT

Injuries per 1,000 hours of taking part. Where research exists for adults 40 and over we use it and mark it; otherwise the general-population number is shown as the closest available estimate.

  • What we coach
  • 40+ verified age-specific data
  • proxy general-population figure
  • rises with age risk is higher, not lower, past 40

Golf proxy

0.5

Yoga proxy

0.6

Progressive strength training what we coach

0.9

Walking proxy

1.2

CrossFit / HIFT proxy

2.7

Tennis 40+ verified

3

Biking rises with age

3.1

Weightlifting proxy

3.2

Powerlifting 40+ verified

4.4

Strongman proxy

5.5

Novice running rises with age

17.8

Read this before using the chart.

These numbers come from different groups of people, different definitions of injury, and different study designs, so this is not a definitive safety ranking. Two things cut against the idea that older automatically means safer: cycling injury severity and hospital admissions climb sharply after 45, and masters runners report more injury-related time off than younger runners in at least one comparison. Where a row is marked "proxy", no age-restricted hourly rate has been published — the general-population figure is the best estimate available, not a confirmed 40-plus number.

WHERE THESE NUMBERS COME FROM

  1. Progressive resistance training, general population (under 1 injury per 1,000 hours) — systematic review of resistance training injury incidence — PubMed Central
  2. Resistance training safety in adults 60+ — Liu & Latham, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2010 — PEDro record
  3. Powerlifting, masters and open lifters, 4.4 per 1,000 hours — retrospective injury epidemiology of competitive powerlifters — Bond University
  4. Tennis, recreational adults (mean age 49), up to 3.49 per 1,000 hours — South African Journal of Sports Medicine
  5. Golf, amateur players, 0.28–0.6 per 1,000 hours — Australian golf club cohort — PubMed
  6. Cycling exposure-based crash and injury rates, plus the sharp rise in hospitalisation after age 45 — NSW cyclist cohort
  7. CrossFit / high-intensity functional training, 1.94–3.3 per 1,000 hours — systematic review — PubMed Central
  8. Weightlifting, about 3.2 per 1,000 hours, plus masters prevalence data — Huebner & Ma, BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 2022 — dataset
  9. Novice running, 17.8 per 1,000 hours, plus a masters versus younger runner comparison — Chapman University
  10. Walking, 1.2 per 1,000 hours — population-based prospective data (general population)
  11. Yoga, 0.6 per 1,000 hours — Cramer et al. adverse-event data (general population)
  12. Strongman, about 5.5 per 1,000 hours — resistance training modality review (general population)

THE STUDIES

4 studies on this topic

2026

Geriatrics & Gerontology International

Effectiveness of High-Intensity Versus Low-to-Moderate-Intensity Resistance Training in Improving Muscle Strength and Bone Mineral Density in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Studied: 1,283 participants across 18 RCTs, adults ≥50

Comparing 18 trials in adults 50+, high-intensity training (≥70% of one-rep max) beat lighter loads for building leg strength, while both intensities protected bone density about equally — with no difference in fall or injury rates.

High-IntensityBone DensityMuscle StrengthInjury Risk
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2020

Sports Medicine

Effects of Resistance Training on Muscle Size and Strength in Very Elderly Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Studied: 22 studies, adults ≥75 (subgroup analysis for 80+)

Across 22 trials in adults 75 and older, resistance training produced meaningful strength and muscle-size gains — including among the 'oldest-old' (80+) — with very few adverse events reported.

Very ElderlyMuscle HypertrophyOldest-OldInjury Risk
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2018

Journal of Bone and Mineral Research

High-Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopenia and Osteoporosis (the LIFTMOR trial)

Studied: Postmenopausal women with low bone mass

Postmenopausal women with low bone mass trained twice a week for eight months with heavy deadlifts, squats, overhead press and jumping chin-ups. The heavy-training group improved spine and hip bone density and function, with a very low injury rate under supervision.

Bone DensityPostmenopausal WomenHigh-IntensityInjury Risk
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2017

Aging Clinical and Experimental Research

Benefits of Resistance Training in Physically Frail Elderly: A Systematic Review

Studied: 16 studies pooled (physically frail elderly)

Pooling 16 studies, resistance training (alone or combined with other exercise) produced 6.6–37% strength gains and improved muscle power, function and fall risk in frail older adults — and a modest starting intensity of 30–70% of one-rep max was enough to see results.

FrailtyFalls RiskFunctional CapacityInjury Risk
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These summaries are general education, not medical advice. Individual results vary, and research on groups does not replace advice about your body from your doctor.

OTHER TOPICS

Protein1Frailty3Anxiety2Dynapenia1Arthritis1Longevity2Mortality1Oldest-Old1Falls Risk1Sarcopenia1Depression3Real Stories1Bone Density3Very Elderly2Powerlifting1Mental Health3Dose-Response2Nonagenarians1Muscle Quality1High-Intensity3Sex Differences3Training Volume1Muscle Strength3Chronic Conditions1Muscle Hypertrophy4Functional Capacity1Resistance Training2Functional Mobility1Postmenopausal Women2Cardiovascular Fitness1