Over 50? If You Can Perform These 10 Upper Body Moves, You're in Good Shape
Have you ever struggled to lift your carry-on into the overhead bin? Or felt that twinge in your shoulder while reaching for something on a high shelf? As we age, these everyday movements can become more challenging—but they don't have to be. With the right exercises, you can maintain your independence and strength well into your golden years.
I've spent my career helping people stay strong and capable at every age. My journey includes years as a personal trainer and 15 years as a group coach, working with everyone from kids to seniors. Through Project R3SIN, I've developed these 10 essential movements that not only test your current fitness level but also help you build the strength you need for daily life. Try these exercises to discover where you stand—and more importantly, learn how to maintain your independence and vitality for years to come.
Why Core Strength Matters After 50
Our core is involved in all movements. It's responsible for helping us do all our everyday activities and is particularly important for balance. As we age, our bodies don't naturally maintain muscle as well as when we're younger, so we must work actively to preserve strength and movement to maintain mobility.
For many of us, especially if we spend hours sitting at a desk, our hips are tight, and our shoulders are rounded forward because of poor posture and extended periods of sitting. Core strength, and lean muscle in general, is a "use it or lose it" part of our bodies, making it a critical part of maintaining our activity levels and aging well.
Master the 8-Point Plank for Total Body Engagement
A simple yet impactful movement I picked up a long time ago is called an 8-point plank. It's the same idea as a traditional plank but with two key differences: 1) your hands, elbows, knees and toes all make contact with the ground and 2) you actively press all 8 contact points into the ground, engaging as many muscles in your body as possible.
Most people tend to hold planks passively. You may have even seen challenges with people holding incredibly long planks, but most likely, they are doing so passively, giving minimal muscle activation necessary to stay off the ground.
The 8-point plank actively engages your body to strengthen all the small muscles throughout your core and entire body, setting a strong foundation for all other movements. When you're doing it properly, all you'll need is 20-60 seconds to make it a very challenging exercise. Tip: If after 30 seconds you're not starting to shake at least a little, squeeze all your muscles even tighter!
Strengthen Your Back with Extensions
Laying on your stomach, reach your arms overhead or hands by your ears. Then, lift your eyes, elbows, and chest off the ground. You should feel this all across your back and even down into your legs.
Activating the back side of our body is critical for daily life, particularly as we become more sedentary as a culture. This not only strengthens our posterior chain (fancy for the backside of our body) but also helps to open us up on the front.
The goal is not to throw yourself up high and collapse to the ground. Lift slowly, only as high as you can pause for a couple of seconds. Then lower slowly and repeat. You don't need to do a ton of these, do 20 reps slowly and do them well.
Build Functional Strength with Farmer Carries
Standing tall, holding a weight (or anything; grocery bags work great), and walking. Walk with good posture and intentional steps. Ideally, take the muscle activation you learned from the 8-point plank and put it into practice here. Everything engaged.
As you get stronger, you can add a little more weight or hold weight on just one side while still standing tall. This is great for building strength in anti-rotation, your body's ability to resist a force against it that would otherwise pull you to one side as you walk.
This strength comes into play in just about all elements of everyday life. We're typically either trying to move something or trying to keep something from moving us.
Master Rotational Movement with Woodchops
Where the farmer carry was about resisting weight and not rotating, this is about moving your body against resistance through multiple plains of motion. With a medicine ball or dumbbell held with both hands, start twisting to one side with the weight low by your hip. Then, rotate it around your body as you raise it above shoulder height on the other side of your body.
A good tip to consider here is making a triangle from your shoulders to your hands with straight arms. Your hands should then stay somewhat centered on your chest as you rotate. This will help you remember to do this movement from your core, not just your arms.
There are multiple variations of this: high to low, low to high, using a band attached to a wall, door, or post.
Challenge Your Coordination with Deadbugs
Laying on your back, knees bent at 90 degrees just above your hips and arms reaching straight up, your right arm and left leg extend out, as if reaching toward opposite walls. Keep core activation here like you learned from the 8-point plank, and then return to start. Then, reach with your left arm and right leg.
Move slowly and controlled, stopping at extension for a moment to ensure you're controlling the motion before returning to start. Going slowly also helps sort the coordination piece of this exercise. Be patient with yourself. Most people struggle at the start to get their opposite limbs moving the way they want for this exercise.
Activate Your Core with Glute Bridges
Laying on your back, bend your knees, and place your feet on the ground. Then press your hips into the air, making a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Remember your core activation and squeeze your glutes at the top. Pause for 3-5 counts then lower and repeat.
This is a simple one but valuable. You can progress it over time with more reps, or a weight to your lap. Adding a medicine ball between your knees or a band on the outside of your knees can both add variations of challenge when you're ready to mix it up.
Improve Balance with Bird Dogs
Start in table top position, placing your hands and knees on the floor, just under your shoulders and hips. Then, extend your right arm and left leg, once again reaching toward opposite walls. I like to use the cue of reaching out rather than up because when we reach up, we tend to arch our back, but that's not the goal.
Once again, aim for core activation, particularly paying attention to holding your ribcage in place, and this will help keep it from arching.
Build Core Stability with Bear Planks
The Bear Plank starts in a tabletop position. Once again, core activation is first. Then, simply float your knees a couple of inches off the ground and hold there! I always coach for active holds vs. passive holds, so how aware can you be of each part of your body as you hold this position? The more muscles you can engage, the better!
As you gain strength here you can add movement, like walking forward and backward. Start by taking a simple step with your right arm and left leg simultaneously. Then, go back to the start and repeat on the other side. And of course, remember, core activation!
Master Tension with Pallof Holds
This goes back to the anti-rotation goals of Farmer Carry but requires a band. Stand tall, make a triangle with your arms holding the band, and step out until you feel tension in your core. Then, hold 20-30 seconds before switching sides. All the same cues from the Farmer Carry and Woodchopper apply here.
If you want to progress it, add a press, bringing your hands to your chest and then reaching out again. You can also walk farther away from where the band is anchored.
Boost Overall Fitness with Sprint Training
I added sprinting in last as a bonus because there's a little more work and space required, but if you build up to it slowly and treat your body well, sprinting can be excellent for all ages and is GREAT for your core. Everything in there is involved when you're sprinting. Even just 2-3, 10-20-second sprints in a day, a couple days a week, add huge value to your routine (and life!)!
The Key to Success: Consistency Over Intensity
Aim for small efforts daily. Frequency tends to be more important than intensity, so set a small goal for each day and begin. You don't need fancy machines or even workout clothes. You can do multiple valuable things in just a few minutes, wherever you are. This will be especially valuable to help you keep mobile enough to do daily activities without allowing stiffness to set in, which often causes the back pain many experiences as we sit and age.
Small, daily efforts add up to significant value over time. Start small—start today—and then keep at it. And if you enjoyed this article, don't miss How Long Your Walking Workout Should Be To Shrink Belly Fat.
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