If You Can Do These 5 Exercises After 50, You’re in Better Shape Than Most

Getting up from the floor isn’t as easy as it used to be. Maybe you’ve noticed your joints feel a little stiffer in the morning, or that reaching for something on a high shelf takes more effort than before. I’m Lisa Morton, a Fully Certified STOTT PILATES Instructor and Instructor Trainer, and I work with clients over 50 every day at Club Apple in Idaho Falls. The good news? Five simple exercises can help you stay mobile, flexible, and stronger than most people your age.

What’s Actually Happening to Your Body

As we age, our joints and muscles start to go through some subtle changes. Our collagen production slows down, our joint capsules don’t produce as much synovial fluid and our fascial system begins to become dehydrated. Fascia is the most ambiguous tissue in our body. It connects us from head to toe, skin to bone. It is what gives us our shape. Our fascial system used to be overlooked by scientists. Now they are discovering so much more about this unique system. If you think of our fascial system like a river, over time, the sediment builds up and slows the flow of water. In our bodies, our fascial system can also build up sediment. Our fascia, which is mostly water, can get dehydrated and then becomes less mobile. It should be able to slide and glide over whatever surface it touches. Movement is so important to keep this river of fluid moving in our body. If you have ever heard the saying motion is lotion, it’s completely true. Our lifestyles have made us less mobile and sitting for long periods of time is one of the worse things we can do for our bodies. Unfortunately, we do become less mobile and flexible as we age, but there are some things we can do to keep our joints moving.

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Why These Bodyweight Exercises Work for You

Mobility exercises are especially effective for people over 50 because it can reduce the risk of injuries. Keeping the joints mobile and flexible will reduce the risk of injury. These exercises can also help preserve and restore movement quality, balance and strength without straining the body. These exercises are low impact, functional for everyday movement and will help improve balance. They are easy to modify and will keep the joints lubricated.

Cat Stretch

This stretch is great for spinal mobility. It focuses on articulation of the spine from tail to head. We want our spine to be mobile, and this is a great way to create spinal mobility, especially for a beginner.

How to do it:

• Start on the floor on your hands and knees
• Make sure that the knees are directly under the hips, hip distance apart
• Hands directly under the shoulders
• Spine neutral
• Inhale to prepare
• Begin to exhale and mobilize the pelvis into a tuck position, continue to round the spine toward the ceiling, focusing on each vertebrae moving
• Round the upper spine and drop the head to take your eye gaze toward the belly
• Your spine should look like a cat that has been scared, hence the name
• Inhale breathe into the sides and back of the rib cage
• Exhale begin to return pelvis and spine to neutral starting from tail to head
• Continue past neutral, extending the upper spine slightly as you inhale
• Keep abdominals engaged and don’t dump into the lower back
• Take the eye gaze forward toward the wall in front of you
• Complete 4-6 repetitions

Modification: If you are unable to be on your hands and knees, you can do this stretch standing with your hands on your knees. Be sure to keep the knees bent so that your pelvis can move.

What to avoid: Try to create a complete arc in your spine; don’t allow your abdominals to disengage, keep them active throughout the entire stretch.

Knee Drops

This mobility exercise is great for the hips. It creates internal and external rotation on both hips at the same time. The hips are a multiplanar joint, meaning they move in all 3 planes of motion. This exercise is a great way to keep the hips moving.

How to do it:

• Start seated with your knees bent and your hands resting on the floor behind you, arms straight
• Make sure your feet are wider than shoulder distance apart
• Inhale to prepare
• Exhale begin to let your knees fall to one side
• Inhale to hold
• Exhale rotate your knees and drop them to the other side
• Increase the pace as your hips begin to loosen up
• Complete 10-20 repetitions side to side

Modification: If you are unable to hold yourself up with your arms or your hips are tight, lay down on the floor and complete the exercise while on your back.

What to avoid: Moving too fast. Start moving slow and don’t allow your feet to move closer to each other.

Thoracic Rotation

This exercise is great for the upper back. Our thoracic vertebrae are made to rotate more than the lumbar vertebrae. Regular rotation keeps the upper back from getting stiff, which can lead to pain.

How to do it:

• Standing with the feet hip distance apart
• Knees bent, spine neutral, hips flexed
• Arms reaching forward
• Inhale prepare
• Exhale rotate to one side, reaching back with the same side arm
• Inhale breathe into the ribcage
• Exhale return to center
• Repeat to the other side, complete 3-4 repetitions

Modification: If unable to complete standing, lye on your side with the knees bent toward the chest and rotate one side at a time.

What to avoid: Standing with your feet together, try to keep the pelvis stable. Don’t allow your body to rotate and crunch downward. Think about rotating up toward the ceiling.

Ankle Circles

This exercise is great for keeping the ankle mobile. It is important to keep the ankle mobile for gait mechanics in walking and for balance. We all know our balance gets worse with age. Ankle circles will keep you agile on your feet.

How to do it:

• Stand with the feet hip to shoulder distance apart
• Lift one heel off the floor, keeping the ball of the foot in contact with the floor
• Inhale to begin to rotate the ankle counterclockwise
• Exhale to complete the circle
• Continue circling 8-10 rotations, then reverse the rotation
• Complete circles both directions on both feet

Modification: If unable to balance on one foot, hold on to a high countertop or the back of a chair.

What to avoid: Not completing the full circles. Keep a tall posture.

Arm Circles

This movement is important for the whole upper body. Our shoulder blades don’t attach directly to our thorax. They only attach at the acromion process at the front of the shoulders. We need to keep our scapulae moving and arm circles are an excellent option to move our scapulae in all ranges of motion.

How to do it:

• Start standing, feet hip distance apart, arms resting by your side
• Inhale lift the arms overhead
• Exhale circle the arms out to the side, returning the arms to the hips
• Complete 3-5 reps, then reverse the direction

Modification: Complete arm circles while seated or lying on the floor.

What to avoid: Allowing the ribs to pop and shift forward as the arms go overhead. Be sure to keep your arms in your peripheral vision and not circling too wide.

What Results You Can Expect

The great thing about mobility, is that you can do these exercises every day. Try to take 10-30 minutes a day to allow yourself to mobilize your body. If you have a job where you sit for long periods of time, set an alarm to take a break and spend some time doing these exercises. The more often you do them, the more your body will thank you. If you create a routine for mobility, you will see and feel changes immediately and make changes long term in 4-6 weeks. It takes lots of repetitions to create a new habit. If you stick with it for 6 weeks consistently, it will become a new habit your body will appreciate.