4 Daily Exercises That Build More Strength Than Monthly Gym Memberships After 50
Turning 50 doesn’t mean slowing down. It means training differently. Yet, many people assume staying fit now requires longer workouts, heavier weights, and many trips to the gym. In reality, some of the most effective workouts after 50 are short, intentional, and can be done at home.
As always, check in with your medical provider to ensure that it is safe for you to work out before beginning any new exercise regimen.
Here are four exercises that build more strength than gym memberships after 50.
Bridge with Chest Fly
This exercise will ideally be completed with hand weights. If you do not have dumbbells available to you at home, you can use canned goods to add a little weight to this compound exercise. To modify and reduce the intensity of the exercise, you can omit the weights altogether.
If you are using weights, grip one in each hand as you lie on the floor, with your back flat to the mat or carpet. Gently bend your knees and bring your feet closer to your seat. Take the weights out to your sides, palms facing up, with a bend in the elbows.
Gently bring your hands together above your midline to complete a chest fly. Return the weights out to your sides, with the elbows resting on the floor.
Lift your seat by squeezing your glutes. Stabilize across the pelvis, so that the hips are even as you lower back down to the floor.
Fire Hydrant to Glute Lift
To begin, stack the hands under the shoulders and the knees under the hips in a tabletop position. Lift the left knee out to the side, maintaining the bend in the knee to work the outside of the hip. Stabilize the core, ensuring the belly does not sag. Return your leg to the starting position under the hip.
Then, using the glutes, point the toe and lift the leg underneath the front of the thigh, as if you were going to stab the ceiling with your toe. Ensure that the spine does not arch.
Return to the starting position, and begin the fire hydrant again, followed by another glute lift.
To intensify this exercise, you could wear light ankle weights or place a dumbbell carefully behind the knee of your working leg. If working with a dumbbell, you will need to squeeze the weight to keep it in place, which will ensure that you are getting the maximum benefit from the exercise.
Bird Dog
Begin in a tabletop position, stacking the wrists under the shoulders and the knees under the hips. Gently lift the right arm parallel to the floor as you lift the left leg parallel to the floor. Ensure that both the arm and leg are straight, and that the spine neither sags nor rounds as you complete the movement. Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
To make this exercise more challenging, you can use arm and/or ankle weights. Alternatively, you can hold a dumbbell in each hand.
Wall Sit with Front Raises
Stand with your back flat against a wall, feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Walk your feet out in front of your body as you bend your knees and lower down to the point of tension. You should feel your quads engage.
Rotate your palms so that they are facing one another as you lift your arms to shoulder height in front of your torso. You can use dumbbells or wrist weights to up the intensity of this exercise. Maintain softness in the elbows. Lower the arms to the starting position, but hold the squat until you have completed all your repetitions. Avoid bringing your arms to the side or straining to reach shoulder height. If your range of motion does not allow the hands to reach shoulder height, simply take the movement to your maximum range.
Aim to complete two sets of 10-12 repetitions for each of these exercises. These are all complex full-body exercises that will give you a great workout and improve strength in a relatively short amount of time. While everybody is different, you should feel an improvement in about three weeks.