5 Home Exercises That Firm Your Midsection Faster Than Gym Workouts After 60

By Alexa Mellardo

July 21, 2026

Your midsection lies between your pelvis and chest. This part of your core works hard at keeping you stable and supporting your movement and posture. Although we praise the midsection for all the important things it does, it lets us down with several frustrating age-related changes. It’s a common area for weight accumulation due to metabolic changes, hormonal shifts, and muscle loss. Unhealthy abdominal fat is challenging to lose, but we’re here to help.

We spoke with experts who suggest five at-home exercises you can do to firm your midsection faster than gym workouts after 60.

“You don’t need a gym to build a strong core. In fact, some of the best core exercises require nothing more than your own body weight,” explains Ngo Okafor, Founder, CEO, and Celebrity Trainer at Iconoclast Fitness. “Home workouts can be just as effective because they focus on stability, control, and proper movement patterns rather than simply adding more weight. The gym gives you more resistance and progression options, but if you’re consistent with well-designed home exercises, you can build great core strength and improve balance, posture, and function.”6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Working with your own body weight offers more than enough resistance when exercises are performed with control and precision, adds Lyndsey Meade, Founder of BODY Hot Pilates and Certified Pilates Instructor.

“A functional core isn’t measured by how much weight you can lift—it’s measured by how well your body can stabilize while you move,” she tells us.

Below are five stellar moves to add to your home workout routine.

Hundreds

“The Hundred teaches one of the most overlooked components of core strength: breathing. Coordinating lateral breathing with deep abdominal engagement activates the transverse abdominis—the body’s natural ‘corset’—while building endurance and improving spinal stability,” Meade says.

1. Begin seated on a yoga mat.
2. Roll back, bringing your chin to your chest and hovering your shoulder blades above the floor.
3. Extend your legs to a 45-degree diagonal. Bring them together and point your toes.
4. Reach your arms forward.
5. Begin pumping your arms.
6. Perform 4 sets of 25 pulses.

Shoulder Bridges

“A strong core extends far beyond the abdominals. Shoulder Bridge strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, and posterior chain while improving pelvic stability. Strong glutes help support the lower back and contribute to better posture and more efficient movement,” Meade points out.

1. Begin lying flat on your back with your feet on the floor hip-width apart and arms at your sides, palms pressing into the mat.
2. Activate your core and gently tilt your pelvis so your lower back makes contact with the mat.
3. Press through your heels to slowly lift your hips, peeling your spine off the mat.
4. Lifting until your body is straight from shoulders to knees.
5. Hold at the top and squeeze your glutes.
6. Use control to lower.

Toe Taps

Toe taps may look like a simple exercise, but they’re incredibly productive. The movement teaches your deep core muscles to activate without relying on momentum.

“It’s one of my favorite exercises for helping clients understand what true core activation feels like while building stability that carries over into everyday movement. Together, these five exercises strengthen the core from every angle while emphasizing breath, control, and stability. That’s what creates a stronger, more functional core over time,” Meade explains.

1. Lie flat on your back with knees bent to 90 degrees and hips stacked over your heels.
2. Keep your arms at your sides for support.
3. Activate your core and press your lower back into the mattress.
4. Gently lower your left foot toward the mattress, tapping your toes to the surface.
5. Return to the tabletop position.
6. Repeat on the other side and continue to alternate.

Planks

1. Place your hands under your shoulders.
2. Press into the pads of your fingers and hug your inner arm toward your armpit.
3. Walk your feet out to hip-width.
4. Engage your abs, squeeze your buttocks, and pull upward through your quads.
5. Hold the plank position with proper form.

Dead Bugs

1. Lie face-up with your arms extended toward the sky and knees lifted and bent to 90 degrees.
2. Press your lower back into the mattress as you gradually lower your left arm and extend your right leg.
3. Return to the center.
4. Then, lower your right arm and left leg.
5. Continue to alternate.