Have you ever had a hard time getting your carry-on into the overhead bin? Or had that pain in your shoulder when you reached for something on a high shelf? These simple actions can get harder as we age, but they don’t have to be. You can stay strong and independent well into your older years if you do the right routines.
I’ve made it my job to help people of all ages stay strong and capable. I’ve worked as a personal trainer for years and as a group teacher for 15 years with kids, teens, and adults of all ages. As part of Project R3SIN, I came up with these 10 basic moves that will test your fitness level and help you get stronger for everyday life. Do these tasks to find out where you stand and, more importantly, to learn how to stay healthy and independent for years to come.
1. Why Core Strength Matters After 50
Every move we make involves our heart. It helps us do everything we need to do every day, and it’s especially important for keeping our balance. It’s not normal for our bodies to keep muscle as well as they did when we were younger, so we have to work to keep our strength and motion.
Our hips are tight and our shoulders are pushed forward because of bad posture and long times of sitting. This is especially true for people who work at a desk for long hours. Core strength and lean muscle in general are things that we “use it or lose it” parts of our bodies. This makes them very important for staying active and staying healthy as we age.
2. Master the 8-Point Plank for Total Body Engagement
I learned an easy but powerful move a long time ago. It’s called an “8-point plank.” It works like a normal board, but there are two main differences: One, all eight of your body parts—your hands, elbows, knees, and toes—touch the ground. Two, you press all eight of these points into the ground, using all of your muscles.
To hold planks, most people just do them. Some people in challenges may even be holding planks for very long periods of time, but most likely they are not actively working their muscles to stay off the ground.
As you do the 8-point plank, you work all of your small muscles in your core and throughout your body. This builds a strong base for all other actions. It will only take 20 to 60 seconds to make this exercise very difficult if you do it right. If you don’t start to shake at least a little after 30 seconds, squeeze all your muscles even more!
3. Strengthen Your Back with Extensions
While lying on your back, put your hands or arms above your head. After that, lift your shoulders, eyes, and arms off the ground. This should feel good all the way down your legs and across your back.
It is important to use the backs of our bodies every day, especially since we are becoming less active as a society. This works to open us up in the front and improves our posterior chain, which is fancy for the back of our bodies.
It’s not the point to throw yourself up and then fall down. Lift slowly, but only as high as you can hold it for a few seconds. Next, slowly lower it and do it again. Do 20 reps slowly and well. You don’t need to do a lot of them.
4. Build Functional Strength with Farmer Carries
Take a walk while standing tall and carrying something heavy (grocery bags work great). Take slow, deliberate steps when you walk. Use the muscle-strengthening tips you learned in the 8-point plank as much as possible here. Everything was involved.
You can add a little more weight or hold weight on only one side but still stand tall as you get stronger. This is a great way to improve your body’s anti-rotation, or its ability to fight off a force that would tend to pull you to one side as you walk.
In almost every part of daily life, this strength comes into play. Most of the time, we’re either trying to move something or stop something from moving us.
5. Master Rotational Movement with Woodchops
The farmer carry was about pushing against weight and not turning. This is about pushing your body against force through different planes of motion. Hold a medicine ball or barbell in both hands and twist to one side. Keep the weight close to your hip. Then, raise it above your shoulder height on the other side of your body and turn it around your body.
Making a triangle with your arms straight from your shoulders to your hands is a good idea here. Next, as you turn, your hands should stay on your chest, about in the middle. You’ll remember to move from your body, not just your arms, when you do this.
This can be done in different ways, such as from high to low or from low to high using a band connected to a wall, door, or post.
6. Challenge Your Coordination with Dead Bugs
If you lie on your back with your knees bent 90 degrees just above your hips and your arms straight up, your right arm and left leg should reach out toward opposite sides. Like you learned in the 8-point plank, keep your core tight here. Then, go back to the beginning. After that, reach out with your right leg and left arm.
Move slowly and carefully, pausing at the extension point for a moment to make sure you have control of the motion before going back to the beginning. By going slowly, you can also work on your balance. Give yourself some time. For this practice, most people have trouble at first getting their other limbs to move the way they want them to.
7. Activate Your Core with Glute Bridges
Put your feet on the ground and bend your knees while lying on your back. Then, make a straight line from your knees to your shoulders by pressing your hips into the air. Remember to work your core, and at the top, squeeze your hips. Wait three to five counts, then lower and do it again.
This is an easy but useful one. Over time, you can add more reps or a weight to your lap to make it harder. Adding a medicine ball between your knees or a band around the outside of your knees can change the difficulty level when you want to.
