If you’ve ever hit pause on your fitness goals, you’re not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 4 adults aged 65 and older get no physical activity or exercise beyond their daily routine. Life gets in the way, whether it’s an injury, a busy schedule, a health setback, or simply feeling unmotivated, and it can keep you from training for months or even years.

The good news is that you don't need a complicated program or heavy weights to start rebuilding strength. Studies show that resistance training helps older adults preserve muscle mass, protect bone density, and maintain the functional strength needed for common daily tasks like carrying groceries, climbing stairs, and getting up from a chair.

And when it comes to rebuilding strength after 65, a pair of dumbbells is one of the most accessible tools for the job. “After a long layoff, the goal isn’t to push hard; it’s to rebuild movement patterns and remind your muscles how to work under load,” says Amanda Capritto, CPT, a certified personal trainer with Garage Gym Reviews. “Starting with a few basic dumbbell exercises lets you rebuild strength gradually while keeping your joints and connective tissue safe.”

Here are four dumbbell exercises that Capritto recommends for rebuilding strength after a long break. If you’re new to working out, recovering from an injury, or managing any health conditions, check with your healthcare provider before starting any new fitness routine.

1. Goblet Squat

Goblet squats train the same movement pattern you use every time you stand up from a chair, couch, or toilet. Plus, holding the weight in front of your chest encourages good posture, which takes pressure off your lower back and helps you move through a controlled range of motion.

How to do it:

• Hold one dumbbell close to your chest with both hands.
• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Sit your hips back and bend your knees.
• Lower only as far as feels comfortable.
• Keep your chest upright and your core engaged.
• Press through your feet to stand back up.
• Do two to three sets of 8 to 10 reps, resting for 60 to 90 seconds between sets.

2. Seated Shoulder Press

Pressing overhead keeps your shoulders mobile and strong, which helps make daily tasks like reaching into a cupboard, lifting a bag onto a shelf, or putting on a jacket easier. This exercise targets your shoulders, upper back, and triceps.

How to do it:

• Sit tall in a sturdy chair with a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height.
• Keep your feet flat on the floor and your core engaged.
• Press the weights overhead without shrugging your shoulders.
• Pause for one to two seconds at the top of the movement.
• Lower them slowly back to shoulder height.
• Aim for two to three sets of 8 to 10 reps with a light, manageable weight that you can lift with proper form. Rest for 60 to 90 seconds between sets.

3. Dumbbell Chest Press

Chest presses build pushing strength in your chest, shoulders, and triceps, which are muscles you rely on for movements like pushing a door open or getting up off the floor. Research suggests that maintaining upper body strength supports independence and functional strength as you age.

How to do it:

• Lie on a bench or the floor with a dumbbell in each hand.
• Plant your feet flat and keep your lower back in a neutral position.
• Start with the weights near your chest, elbows bent.
• Press them straight up until your arms are extended.
• Lower them back down with control.
• Perform two to three sets of 8 to 12 reps, resting for 60 to 90 seconds between sets.

4. Farmer's Carry

Walking while holding weights challenges your core, shoulders, and forearms while improving posture and stability, all of which help with balance and fall prevention as you age. Farmer carries also enhance grip strength, which is linked to better overall health and longevity in older adults.

How to do it:

• Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
• Stand tall with your shoulders relaxed and your core braced.
• Walk at a comfortable pace while keeping your steps steady.
• Avoid leaning to one side or letting your shoulders round forward.
• Walk for 20 to 30 seconds.
• Repeat for two to three rounds, resting as needed between sets.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm a personal trainer who works with clients over 50 — these are the 3 mobility exercises I never skip
• After 60, this is the 10-minute routine I use with my clients to stay strong, mobile and independent
• 'I’m a Pilates instructor, and I recommend these 5 core exercises to help older clients build strength and improve posture'

I’ve been doing more stretching in recent months, and not just because I feel a responsibility to practice what I preach. As the years roll by (and they seem to be picking up the pace), stretching becomes increasingly important for better flexibility and balance, and to relieve the pain caused by muscle and joint stiffness. It can also help prevent strains and muscle damage. We should all be stretching at least two or three times a week, if not daily.

Most of us think about our legs and back when it comes to maintaining flexibility and range of motion, but we often neglect our hips. One of the most effective stretches I have done to work this area is the 90/90 hip stretch, so when my editor challenged me to take on the shin box stretch for a week, I felt (once I found out what it was) supremely confident I could do so with little effort. I was, as I so often am with these challenges, effortlessly wrong. When will I learn? Next time. For sure.

What is the shin box stretch?

This dynamic movement targets both internal and external hip rotation. It also works the glutes and the core. The stretch is called the “shin box” because, in start position, your shins form a part of a sort-of box shape, if you squint and use your imagination. It is not, perhaps, the best-named move I have ever performed. Or attempted.

Internal and external hip mobility are crucial for daily activities, as well as sport, and are also important for lumbar spine stability. Given the prevalence of back pain in the US (at any given point, it affects about one quarter of adults), we should all be spending some time on this area.

How do I do it?

Use a mat for this stretch, as it can be hard on the knees, and make sure you have plenty of space.

• Begin by sitting on the mat, with your right leg bent in front of you at a 90-degree angle, with the outside of your leg on the mat (this achieves external rotation).
• Position your left leg on the mat behind you, at the same angle, and in internal rotation (the inside of your leg will be on the mat). You may not be able to achieve the 90-degree angle with one or both legs. Don’t worry about this; just get as close as you comfortably can.
• Face ahead and, with your core and glutes engaged, drive your hips forward to lift your upper body. At the top of the move, your weight will be on your knees, and you should feel a stretch at the front of your hips.
• Return to the start position with control, landing softly on the mat. Repeat five times.
• Keeping your feet in contact with the floor and, sitting tall, switch sides using a windshield-wiper motion so the inside of your right leg and the outside of your left leg are on the floor (you may need to use your arms to achieve this). Repeat the move five times from this position.

I did the shin box stretch every day for a week and this is what I learned

The main thing I learned is that I cannot do it properly. This was the first Tom’s Guide challenge in which I failed to reach a point where I was happy with my form and felt I had improved over the week. I found it extremely difficult to maintain an upright position or switch sides without using my hands to steady myself. With my right leg in external rotation, my torso leaned to the right (albeit slightly), and with my left leg in external rotation, I leaned to the left.

Oddly enough, given my less-than-ideal start position, I found it reasonably easy to rise up onto my knees and lower again, though I did not feel any pleasing stretch from this part of the move, and could not do it from the full 90-degree position. Also, I have rarely felt as clumsy as I did when I switched sides.

I tried this move at home (on a yoga mat), in the gym, and in a hotel room. I was never comfortable, but the extra space and carpeted floor in the hotel room did help… a little.

I don’t know why I found this move so troublesome. My partner, who regularly does yoga, did it with enviable ease, so perhaps I’m not as flexible or as strong through my core as I thought. By the end of the week, I was marginally less awkward, but the move did not sit well with me, nor I with it. Admittedly, I felt some looseness in my hips after my efforts but by no means enough to convince me I should add this one to my list of stretches.

Some moves work… some don’t

I go into all of these challenges with a positive attitude, if not “can-do”, then “will-do, eventually”. I always come away from them with useful information about my strength, flexibility or mobility, and sometimes I’m so impressed with a move that, years later, I still do it (for example, good mornings, a challenge I did in 2022). In a few cases, I’m not unhappy to end the challenge and, once in a rare while, the move simply does not work for me. Such was the case with the shin box stretch. You may find it does the job and becomes part of your stretching routine, but if you try it and it doesn’t appeal, or you’re not yet ready for it (this is considered an advanced move), then simply try something else.

If you want to work on your external hip rotation, try the frog stretch, the clamshell or the butterfly pose. For internal rotation, try the hip sleeper stretch or the half frog, and if you want to work on internal and external rotation at the same time, I highly recommend the 90/90 hip stretch mentioned above.

I would have far preferred to finish the week knowing I had mastered the move, or at least reached a degree of adequacy, but it wasn’t for me. And so, on to the next one. I will definitely be thinking outside the box.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm a personal trainer who works with clients over 50 — these are the 3 mobility exercises I never skip
• After 60, this is the 10-minute routine I use with my clients to stay strong, mobile and independent
• 'I’m a Pilates instructor, and I recommend these 5 core exercises to help older clients build strength and improve posture'

Whether she's playing Abigail Whistler in "Blade: Trinity" or starring in the Amazon Prime thriller "The Better Sister," there's no denying Jessica Biel takes her training seriously, even while juggling Hollywood with life as a mom of two.

In fact, her personal trainer of more than 10 years, Ben Bruno, describes her as a "bona fide badass in the gym," and after watching the pair train together on Instagram, it's hard to disagree. Biel trains hard. Her workouts are refreshingly unfiltered and, above all, incredibly effective.

One routine that particularly caught my eye was her go-to full-body dumbbell complex. It's quick, brutal and, best of all, takes around 25 minutes from warm-up to finish.

If you've ever tried a dumbbell complex, you'll know they aren't pretty, but they’re effective, combining strength training with a serious cardiovascular challenge. As a busy mom of two and the proud owner of a pair of adjustable dumbbells, I couldn't resist giving it a go. Here's why, and what happened when I did.

What is Jessica Biel's dumbbell complex?

Rather than doing standard strength training or just training one muscle group at a time, Biel does a dumbbell complex. “The name makes it seem complicated, but it's actually really simple,” says Bruno.

“It's just four exercises done in succession without putting the dumbbells down, and those four moves cover the whole body and jack your heart rate up for some cardio. So, it's a great option for when you're short on time and energy.”

And it makes sense: you're moving from one exercise to the next without resting, so your muscles stay under constant tension while your heart rate continues to climb. The result is a workout that feels like a hybrid of strength training and cardio. Best of all, you only need a pair of dumbbells.

According to Bruno, Biel performs three to four rounds after a short warm-up. As for weight, she’ll start with 10lb dumbbells for the opening rounds, then progresses to 15lb, while Bruno occasionally encourages her to tackle the final round with 20lb dumbbells.

“We'll hit the weights about twice a week, sometimes three… and then she'll try to do some Pilates and cardio as well.”

Perform each exercise back-to-back without putting the dumbbells down, then rest for 60-90 seconds and repeat the sequence for three to four rounds.

1. Single-arm alternating shoulder press

Reps: 10 (5 each arm)

Benefits: The single-arm shoulder press strengthens your shoulders, triceps and upper back while forcing your core to work harder to keep your torso stable. Pressing one arm at a time also helps improve balance, coordination and shoulder stability.

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height with your palms facing forward.
• Brace your core and keep a slight bend in your knees.
• Press both dumbbells overhead so your arms are fully extended.
• Lower your right dumbbell back to shoulder height with control, then press it overhead again.
• Repeat on the opposite side and continue alternating until you've completed all your reps.

2. Alternating reverse lunge

Reps: 10 (5 each side)

Benefits: Reverse lunges are one of the best lower-body exercises for strengthening your glutes, quads and hamstrings while also challenging your balance, coordination and core stability.

Stepping backward places less stress on the knees than a forward lunge, making it a great option for many exercisers.

• Stand tall with your feet together, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height.
• Brace your core, then step your right foot backward into a lunge, lowering until both knees are bent to roughly 90 degrees and your back knee hovers just above the floor.
• Drive through your front heel to return to the starting position.
• Repeat on the opposite side.

3. Split stance row

Reps: 5 each leg

Benefits: Split stance rows strengthen your upper back, shoulders and arms while challenging your balance and core stability. The staggered stance forces your glutes, legs and core to work harder to keep you stable throughout the movement, making it a highly effective exercise for improving posture and balance.

• Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
• Step your left foot back into a split stance and hinge forward from your hips, keeping your back flat and chest lifted.
• Pull the dumbbells toward your lower ribs by driving your elbows backward and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
• Pause briefly, then lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
• Complete all your reps and switch legs.

4. Single-leg RDL

Reps: 5 each leg

Benefits: The single-leg Romanian deadlift develops strength in your glutes, hamstrings and core while improving balance, coordination and hip stability. Training one leg at a time also helps identify and correct strength imbalances, making it an excellent exercise for building functional lower-body strength.

• Start in a split stance with most of your weight on your front leg. Keep a slight bend in both knees and use your back foot as a kickstand for balance.
• Brace your core, keep your hips and shoulders facing forward, then hinge at your hips by pushing them backward until you feel a stretch through your front hamstring and glute.
• Allow the dumbbells to travel down the front of your working leg, keeping them close to your body throughout the movement.
• Drive through your front foot to return to the starting position. Remember to switch sides.

Bottom line: What happened when I tried the workout

At first glance, four exercises don't sound like much, but by the end of the first round, and a total of 40 reps without putting the dumbbells down, I'd changed my mind.

Because there's no downtime between each move, my heart rate climbed surprisingly quickly, and my grip and forearms clung on for dear life. I also noticed that my shoulders were working continuously, while my legs, glutes and hamstrings were working from the lunges, single-leg Romanian deadlifts and also stabilizing my body during the split stance rows.

The clever part is that because each movement flows naturally into the next, there's next to no wasted time. Instead of changing equipment or resting between sets, you simply keep moving. By the third round I was breathing hard enough that it genuinely felt as though I'd squeezed both a weights workout and a cardio session into one.

One of the biggest barriers to strength training is finding the time, but this workout removes that excuse. In around 25 minutes, I'd trained my legs, back, shoulders, arms and core while also getting my heart rate high.

It's also incredibly easy to adapt. If you're new to dumbbell complexes, start with lighter weights and focus on mastering your technique. As you get stronger, gradually increase the load rather than rushing through the reps.

And while this routine alone won't build Jessica Biel's physique, it's easy to see why she keeps coming back to it. By combining compound exercises into a continuous sequence, it trains almost every major muscle group, with a particular emphasis on the glutes, shoulders and core.

It's also efficient, challenging and refreshingly uncomplicated, which are qualities that aren't always easy to find in celebrity workouts, which is exactly why I'll happily keep it in my weekly training routine.

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Not everyone can, or wants, to squat. It might be down to mobility, an injury, or a preference, but you perhaps want to build lower-body strength and work your hips, glutes, quads and hamstrings hard, without repeatedly bending your knees and moving up and down. You still can.

Enter a variation on the popular wall sit that I wish all my clients would do as they get older. It's low-impact, which is great news if your knees don't get on with front squats, back squats, or any other squat variation for that matter.

Below, I cover a few of the many benefits you can expect, plus the variation I love most. You don't need weights, but I like to use one of the best adjustable dumbbells.

Watch: Single-leg wall sit with dumbbell

If you experience pain at any time, stop and rest. If you're working with an injury or health condition, I recommend seeking advice before starting this exercise, especially if you find it difficult to bend or kneel.

• Stand with your back against a wall so that your spine is supported from top to bottom. You can hold a weight if you'd like.
• Step your feet out in front of you, engage your core, then slide your butt down and lower into a squat position, pressing into the wall lightly.
• Lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the ground below, knees stacked over heels and hips aligned with knees.
• Stay here, or raise one leg into the air, keeping your hips level and square.
• If you're using a weight, rest it against the thigh of your supporting leg.
• Hold, then switch sides.

How long you stay here depends on your ability to hold the single-leg wall sit with good form. Try anything from 20 to 30 seconds and build. I recommend 3-4 sets.

What are the benefits?

Some people are blessed with healthy joints and may never decide to try the wall sit, but for others, it's a fantastic way to access a squat hold without the impact.

Wall sits, also known as wall squats, target your quads using isometric contraction, which builds strength without any movement, meaning the muscles aren't going through flexion or extension repeatedly. This exercise also activates the glutes, core, hips, hamstrings and calves.

Avoid letting your knees push too far over your ankles, as this will make it less effective on your quads and may put more pressure on your knees. Keep your core engaged and your weight in your heels, not in your toes. To stand, press back into your heels and slide your back up the wall until you are s

This bodyweight exercise is especially great for runners, those who are currently rehabbing an injury, or anyone building up to squats. By activating the slow-twitch muscle fibers, you’re helping build endurance with or without load, but it won’t help you grow your muscles (that would require overload), so if your goal is muscle growth, consider other squat alternatives.

Unlike a squat, where you have periods of work and rest, during a wall sit, you’re keeping your muscles under tension; this is known as time under tension. Try to keep your stomach braced and breathe expansively, drawing your ribcage outward to help engage your core, diaphragm and pelvic floor. You may get some trembling, which is completely normal.

Once you feel comfortable, lift a leg; this challenges balance and stability as your body must maintain the tall, upright position, and it will feel a lot harder as you place your weight into one side at a time, known as unilateral training.

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Recently, I spoke with a friend of mine, and I was surprised to hear he dedicates almost a whole gym session to what he calls "Arms and Farms," which translates as arm and shoulder exercises and the farmer's carry.

It makes sense to work your shoulders and arms in one workout, and it's smart to pair this with the farmer's carry. Still, if you're short on time, you might want to focus on more muscle groups in one session using moves known as compound exercises (ones that work multiple muscles, like push-ups or squats). Thankfully, the farmer's carry, or farmer's walk, does that, as it works almost your entire body.

If I were rushing through my resistance training for the week, I would pick this exact exercise to work my upper and lower body and core muscles. Here's why, plus the benefits.

How to do the farmer's carry

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and two kettlebells placed on either side of your feet. You could also use a trap bar, dumbbells, or similar.
• Bend your knees and lower into a squat, keep your chest lifted and the weight evenly distributed across your feet. Look ahead with a flat back
• Grip both kettlebells, engage your core and set your shoulders back and down
• Push through your heels to stand. Begin walking without leaning forward, backward or to one side.
• Contract as many muscles as possible and pull your shoulder blades together to prevent hunching. Stand tall as you walk while keeping a firm grip on the weights. 
• Try 2-3 sets or accumulate as much distance or time as possible against a time cap or rep target.

Why you should try the farmer's carry this week

The farmer’s carry works your shoulders and core hard, but it also works your legs, glutes, back, arms and chest. If you load heavy and walk slowly, you can tap more into strength, whereas opting for lighter, faster will raise your heart rate.

This is one of the most functional strength exercises out there because it closely mimics carrying something heavy, like your groceries, while walking. You can also scale the exercise to hold a weight overhead or to load one side at a time; the former will challenge your upper body and balance more, whereas single-sided loading tests anti-rotation and stability.

You could walk across flat ground, uphill or upstairs to work your lower body harder, or test endurance by walking for longer distances.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

As you get older, building stronger bones, joints and muscles becomes even more important; the farmer's carry contributes toward this using a process called bone loading, which means putting bones under stress (the good kind) to stimulate bone growth. Consistently performing weighted walking exercises like this will help prevent age-related injuries associated with falls or balance.

If you're a beginner, the exercise can be scaled to any difficulty, depending on your current fitness or posture. A very slight forward lean during uphill efforts can help engage your glutes, which will protect your lower back, but try to avoid excessive leaning, especially on flat ground.

You could choose free weights like kettlebells or dumbbells, or opt for groceries or filling water bottles if you don’t have access to weights. I know some of my clients like to use a trap bar with weights loaded on either side, as it helps them drive through their legs without straining the lower back so much.

Why not give this move a try and let us know how you get on in the comments.

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• The caterpillar walk is considered the 'gold standard' for lower body mobility and flexibility — here's how to do it
• Forget running — this 20-minute walking workout fires up your metabolism and builds functional strength
• I did the Frankenstein walk to strengthen my hip flexors and build core stability: here’s what happened after a week

We love a poll at Tom's Guide, as it helps us to understand you (our readers) much better, so we can give you more (or less) of what you do (or don't) want.

One poll that recently caught my attention, featured below, asked readers: "Which fitness tracking metrics do you trust the least?" Here's what you said, and why you're definitely on the right track when strapping on one of the best fitness trackers for your workout.

Which fitness tracking metrics do you trust the least?

Here's the results of the top three:

• 1st place: 45%, calories burned
• 2nd place: 21%, heart rate
• 3rd place: 13%, distance

You guys are right to not trust the calorie burn totals on your fitness trackers, and here's a little more on why.

Why calorie burn isn't too accurate on fitness trackers

Calorie burn is very person-specific and varies depending on multiple factors, from lifestyle choices, sex, weight, activity levels, to genetics or health conditions. So before we get into it, if anyone online touts a high-calorie burn workout, I, as a trainer myself, would run a mile.

To test it out myself not long ago, I pressed play on a 500-calorie HIIT workout, and I wasn't even close to the target.

There are several ways to calculate the calories burned during a workout, which I'll briefly summarize below, but your best bet would be to get hooked up in a lab setting, where monitoring would be the gold standard.

• Calorie calculators: These use MET value charts to estimate how much energy a person could burn during different workouts, but these are standardized across the board.
• Fitness trackers and the best running watches: These track calorie burn by looking at your personal details (age and weight, for example), workout type and factors like heart rate, workout length and oxygen consumption. They’ll estimate VO2 max and expected energy expenditure.
• Chest strap heart rate monitors: I'd say these are your best bet for more accurate data. They look at the effort it takes for an individual to do a workout based on heart rate and assess calories you’re likely to burn. Most devices are still only an estimate, though some do better than others based on the wealth of data they have to crunch.

Ideally, you’ll need to find out your basal metabolic rate (BMR) — how many calories your body requires to get through the day — and total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), which refers to how many calories you expend outside of "dedicated" exercise bouts, to help determine likely calorie burn during the day.

There are methods to help you calculate BMR and TDEE, but, as mentioned, visiting a doctor, lab, or sports clinic will help you get more accurate BMR and body mass readings. I'd also recommend measuring your VO2 max and maximum heart rate.

Now, you could go through all of this to find out likely calorie burn, but if you, like me, enjoy training different ways, you're looking at a wide range of calorie burn depending on your activity. And, really, who cares?

Bottom line

I always tell my clients that calorie burn during workouts only determines a very small amount of overall energy expenditure and doesn't really tell you much about your health, fitness, or longevity.

Firstly, your diet moves the needle the most in terms of fat loss or muscle gain. And other areas of your fitness, recovery and health, like Heart Rate Variance (HRV), steps taken, sleep quality, stress, sedentary time and workout intensity, are much more important metrics to look at for your overall health and the likelihood of developing health conditions in the long term.

The best advice I can give is to use calorie burn as an estimate and focus attention on other goals — building strength, increasing muscle mass (which is more metabolically active) and, most importantly, feeling good during and after workouts.

Calorie burn should never really be the focus, so I'm glad to see Tom's Guide readers are wary!

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I run marathons for fun, and spend most of the day sitting down behind my desk, writing about how you shouldn’t spend hours sitting down for Tom’s Guide — if I didn’t have tight hips, I’d be superhuman.

A few years ago, when my sciatica was really bad, a physiotherapist told me to do the figure-four stretch every day to help relieve tight hips and target the piriformis — the deep hip rotator that sits directly over the sciatic nerve.

Since then, I’ve done the figure-four stretch every single day, and it’s changed my life for the better. Read on to find out more about this wonder stretch for tight hips.

How to do the figure-four stretch

The figure-four stretch, also known as the supine pigeon pose, is one of the most effective movements for opening the hips and relieving lower back tension. Here’s how to do it:

• Lie down on your exercise mat, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
• Take both legs up to a tabletop position, so they are both bent at 90 degrees, then cross your right ankle over your left thigh, just above the knee, forming a “figure four” shape.
• Keep your right foot flexed to protect your knee.
• Hold onto your left leg, interlocking your fingers behind your thigh.
• You should feel a stretch in your right glute and outer hip.
• Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, breathing deeply, then switch sides.

What are the form mistakes to look out for?

This is a gentle stretch, so if you feel any pain while holding it, stop and seek advice from a physiotherapist or PT. When holding the stretch, keep the crossed foot flexed to engage the muscles around the ankle and the knee, and protect the ligaments.

Keep your head and neck flat against the floor as you reach for your thigh. If you can’t reach without your head peeling off the floor, place a pillow or block under your head so that your neck stays neutral.

You also want to avoid your back arching in this move. Press your tailbone gently down as you hold the figure-four stretch — this will intensify the stretch into your hip, as well as protect your spine.

What are the benefits?

If, like me, you suffer from sciatica, this is one of the best stretches to add to your routine, as it targets the piriformis. This is a deep hip rotator that sits directly over the sciatic nerve. When it is tight, it can compress or irritate the nerve. The stretch lengthens this deep muscle and takes the pressure off the sciatic nerve.

If your glutes and hip rotators are tight, they can pull on your pelvis, straining your lower back muscles. By unlocking the hip muscles, you can relieve this tension. Plus, compared to stretches like pigeon pose, because you perform this one lying down on your back, you won’t put strain on your spine while stretching.

As well as helping you feel more comfortable, you’ll also be working on your overall hip mobility and range of motion during this stretch, which can help during squats, lunges, and deadlifts.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

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• I'm a personal trainer who works with clients over 50 — these are the 3 mobility exercises I never skip
• After 60, this is the 10-minute routine I use with my clients to stay strong, mobile and independent
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Stretching your hips is a great way to boost short-term flexibility and relax muscles after a workout, but is it the best way to increase hip mobility or build hip strength in the long term? Unlikely.

When considering stretching versus mobility for your body, you'll need to decide what it is you want to gain from the practice. If you want to relax by holding a stretch to relieve muscle tightness, sure, you might add the best hip stretches to your cool-downs after all your hard work.

But if you want to get your hips moving more freely and your joints to feel more robust, mobility exercises could be your best bet.

Combining the two might work for you, but often, when speaking with clients, they'll mistake where they actually feel tight or limited during workouts, and it might be more to do with movement mechanics than the muscles themselves. And often enough, stretching only provides a short term benefit for tightness.

Mobility isn't sexy in the way that lifting heavy weights or running ultramarathons are. Still, these three moves, performed regularly, alongside a more complete mobility program, will help you continue doing what you love for longer. Give them a try.

Watch: 3 low-impact exercises you can try for hip mobility at home

Consistent mobility routines can be microdosed into your week, so don't feel pressured to spend 30 minutes or more on them. Ideally, you'll combine strength work with mobility drills, perhaps just using your bodyweight, or adding a set of resistance bands or ankle weights if you feel ready.

These tried-and-tested low-impact exercises can be performed at home using just one of the best yoga mats or exercise mats with padding. Dumbbells optional.

If you experience pain at any time, stop and rest. If you're working with an injury or health condition, I recommend seeking advice before starting these exercises, especially if you find it difficult to get down on the floor.

• Up and overs: The dumbbell is entirely optional. If you use one, place it in front of you on a setting of your choice. Kneel on your left knee and extend your right leg away from you. Support your bodyweight with your left arm and place your right hand on your hip. With control, squeeze your glutes and lift your right leg up and over the dumbbell, tap the toes, then reverse the motion back over. Repeat for 6-8 reps per side x 2 sets.
• Standing circles: Again, the dumbbell is optional. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hands on hips. Lift your right foot off the ground and begin circling it around the dumbbell in both directions. Avoid arching your back, pushing your hips forward, or twisting your body to one side. Repeat for 6-8 reps per side x 2 sets.
• Sumo squat taps: Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width and (again, optional) place a dumbbell just behind you on a setting of your choice. Engage your core muscles, then send your hips back and lower into a deep squat, keeping your back straight and chest proud. Raise your arms as you lower down and try to tap the dumbbell with your butt. Pause, then drive upward to stand. Repeat for 6-8 reps per side x 2 sets.

What are the benefits?

Some people are blessed with healthy hips all through life. For others, it's a lifelong commitment to keeping them functioning.

Here are some benefits of these exercises.

Up and overs: Lifting your leg up and over an obstacle with one leg extended laterally challenges your gluteus medius muscles. These muscles help abduct the hip joint. You'll also feel a deep stretch along the inner thighs, or the adductors. I find this an effective stretchy opener, but it also teaches me to switch on my glutes and core to help lift my leg with control, so try to move slowly in both directions. If you experience cramping, see if bending your knee a little helps. You could also hold a dumbbell to your leg or wear ankle weights to progress this exercise.

Standing circles: Circling out the hips is a popular way to warm up the joints and muscles before exercise, but how often do you measure the distance your leg travels? You could use anything here, but moving your leg in more expansive circles in both directions will challenge your balance and stability and keep your movements consistent. Play around with it and see if you can close your eyes, too.

Sumo squats: Not an obvious choice for hip mobility, but the wide stance engages your gluteus medius muscles and stretches the groin and adductors; you'll also notice you can drop a little deeper into the squat. Focus on lifting your chest and drawing your butt down. This is a great exercise for building lower-body strength, so take a moment to pause at the bottom and drive upward with power. See if you can hold a weight overhead or to your chest as a progression. You could also use a small dumbbell and challenge your squat depth.

The more you move throughout the day, the better, as any movement you can accumulate will contribute toward overall energy expenditure and prevent prolonged sedentary time, a key cause of muscle weakness, poor posture and imbalance.

I like to add bands or very light weights to mobility exercises so that I combine movement, strength and control. This type of movement is also great for fascia, ligaments and joints; however, I would always recommend focusing on consistency and the basics first, as the progressions can come later.

Control is essential, so prioritize your form and range of motion (how far you move into the exercises and your speed). Give these a try, and let us know how you get on in the comments.

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• I teach people how to be strong and mobile: this is the one exercise I regret ignoring for years
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I'm guilty of skipping certain exercises just like the next person, regardless of my job in the fitness industry. But I actually really regret not being more consistent with this particular one sooner.

Now that it has found its way back to me through the sneaky route of Pilates, I've been turning back to the OG strength exercise once again to build strong, powerful glutes and hips at home and in the gym.

Pilates will teach you variations of this, but it has spanned the fitness industry more generally for a long time, and can be found in many strength programs. I imagine it will never lose popularity.

Intrigued? Here's the move, plus the benefits. And all you need is a weight and a bench or similar.

How to do single-leg weighted hip thrusts

I see this move butchered often, but there are several ways to tidy up your form to maximize glute activation while protecting your back. You'll also need to overload your glutes to build strength and muscle gradually, so if you want to notice a difference in your butt, you'll need to increase the volume of your training over time.

My best advice is to slowly add load, adjust your reps, or play around with a slower tempo.

The payoff is more protection for your back, better hip stability and a strong lower body. Plus, who doesn't love sculpted, powerful glutes?

• Start with your back against a workout bench or similar, roughly aligned at the shoulder blades or bra line. You can support your elbows on the bench to begin with if you want
• Bend your knees and plant your feet flat on the ground, hip-width apart, creating a tabletop position with your legs
• Brace your stomach. If you want, hold a weight at the hip of your "standing" leg
• Raise the opposite leg out in front of you. Keeping your gaze ahead and chin tucked, lower your butt down toward the bench behind you
• Pause at the bottom, then drive through your supportive leg and squeeze the glutes as you press your hips toward the ceiling. You're looking for a straight line from knee to hip. Keep your ribs tucked and gaze forward
• Repeat for slow, controlled and powerful reps, then switch sides.
• 3-4 sets, 8-10 reps per side.

Common mistakes include:

• Thrusting too high: I often see people arcing upward so that the chest and gaze face the ceiling rather than straight ahead. Instead, draw your pelvis and ribcage together to keep your torso tight; send your gaze and chest ahead and give your glutes a good squeeze as you tuck your chin.
• Rotation: With the single-leg variation, you're working unilaterally, which means strengthening one side of the body at a time. You're also testing balance and stability, working your core to prevent rotation. Try to keep your hips square and drive through your planted foot, bending the knee of the lifted leg if it helps.
• Weight placement: You can load your weight on your thigh or hip, but try to avoid your stomach. I choose the upper thigh of the supporting leg.

I can't stress enough how much looking ahead will help to draw your ribs down and avoid rib flare. This will also help you engage your abdominals properly, which is crucial during this exercise. By arcing your torso up toward the ceiling, you run the risk of hyperextending your spine, which could lead to injury and reduce glute activation.

You want all that action in your hips, glutes and core, after all. Think about tucking everything in and drawing your navel toward your spine. Imagine you have an egg between your chin and chest and scoop your hips up as you squeeze.

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Why I regret ignoring single-leg hip thrusts

This move is a masterclass in developing your glutes, and if you, like me, struggle to engage your glutes during leg day workouts, or you find that one side fires up better than the other, the single-leg variation will be your new gym bestie.

I like to lock in and load up on one side at a time to help me with any imbalances, and this strength exercise allows me to do that without sacrificing my form or weights.

I neglected this move for too long, and reintroducing it to my weekly routine has genuinely strengthened up my lazy glutes after years of neglecting them. Alongside Bulgarian split squats, my glutes and lower back have never felt better.

Give them a try, and let us know how you get on in the comments.

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• Forget burpees —the 'Pilates burpee' is beginner-friendly and low-impact (and you’ll love it)
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When it comes to sculpting a strong and stable core, you’ll probably start with endless crunches and sit-ups, but this isn’t actually the secret to functional full-torso strength. Instead, grabbing a weight and focusing on full-body functional exercises can help target the essential muscles that stabilize the spine.

Core strength is essential at any age, but if you’re looking for a quick workout to build strength, you’ve landed in the right place. Grab one of the best kettlebells and give the following workout, devised by functional fitness coach Jenna Collins, a try.

As a reminder, if you’re currently pregnant or postpartum, a complete beginner, or recovering from an injury, this might not be the right workout for you and your body. Always seek personalized advice from a qualified professional before trying something new.

What is the workout?

All you’ll need for this workout is one heavy kettlebell. Remember, the right weight for you will feel challenging, but not impossible by the final few reps. If at any time you feel the weight is compromising your form, it’s too heavy, so drop down to a lighter weight.

• Overhead knee-ups: This exercise is a full-body stability movement. You’ll be building dynamic core anti-rotation as you drive one knee, then the other, up towards your torso. Keep your core tight throughout, thinking about sucking your belly button into your spine, or bracing your midsection, as if you were preparing to be punched.
• Overhead crossover crunch: This exercise targets the internal and external obliques as you twist from side to side. Keep your core engaged, and rotate your entire torso to one side, then the other, moving slowly and with control.
• Alternating twist and squat: This exercise adds a lower-body squat to a full-body exercise. Once you’ve mastered the move, twisting and lowering the kettlebell to the floor, try to speed up, making this more dynamic.
• Oblique overhead reach: For this exercise, think about using your obliques (the muscles that run along the side of your torso) to crunch the weight down and stand back up. At the same time, reach your opposite arm above your head. Complete all of your reps on one side, then switch to the other.
• Around the world: This dynamic core stabilization exercise forces your torso to constantly fight the changing momentum and rotational pull of the weight. Think about keeping your core engaged, and avoid letting your hips sway as the weight moves around your body.

Collins doesn’t share rep recommendations for the exercises, but start with 40 seconds on each exercise, followed by a 20-second rest, and repeat the circuit twice for a 10-minute core workout.

For the oblique overhead reach and the around-the-world, switch the side you’re working on or the direction you’re moving the kettlebell halfway through.

What are the benefits?

While exercises like sit-ups and crunches isolate the outer abdominal muscles, they can put pressure on the lumbar spine as you flex forward. The primary job of the core in your daily life doesn’t involve this flexing movement — think about exercises like carrying a heavy bag of groceries or lifting something heavy from a shelf; you’re using your core, but your core is resisting flexion to protect your spine.

Doing functional exercises like these forces your deep core to work against the weight, building stability that translates to real-world strength. This means you’re less likely to get injured when doing everyday tasks like carrying something heavy.

You’ll also be working all of the elements of your core, including the deep transverse adbominis, the internal and external obliques, the erector spinae, the glutes and the pelvic floor.

Recruiting the entire core cylinder trains you to brace and engage during other physical exercises, plus you’ll burn more calories doing full-body kettlebell moves like these, so if weight loss and sculpting visible abs are your goal, this is the best place to start.

Remember that visible abs are the result of a low body fat percentage, so focus on your diet and overall fitness as well as ab workouts, and strap one of the best fitness trackers to your wrist to keep track of your goals.

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• After 60, this is the 10-minute routine I use with my clients to stay strong, mobile and independent
• 'I’m a Pilates instructor, and I recommend these 5 core exercises to help older clients build strength and improve posture'

Even here in Britain, curtsying has largely gone the same way as bowing and tugging the forelock, which is to say you don’t see it happen all that often, though that perhaps speaks more to the circles I run in than wider trends.

However, even though I rarely have the opportunity or inclination to show respect to my social betters, I have been doing a lot of curtsying of late, because the curtsy lunge has become a fixture in my leg workouts.

It’s fully replaced the regular reverse lunge, in fact, because I find the curtsy lunge brings unique benefits you don’t get from the standard move, in particular, providing more of a challenge to the hips and my core stability.

How to do the curtsy lunge

You can do the curtsy lunge without any equipment, and it’s probably wise to start by doing the move using your bodyweight only, but it’s also easy to incorporate any kind of free weight to make the exercise harder.

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Step your left foot back and behind your right leg and bend both knees to lower into a lunge, keeping your torso upright.
3. Lower until your right thigh is parallel to the floor, keeping your core engaged to maintain your balance.
4. Push through your right foot to drive back up to a standing position.
5. You can alternate reps on each leg, or do them all on one side before switching.

Throughout the move, keep both feet pointing forwards and keep your hips square and facing forward, rather than twisting when you step back into the curtsy lunge.

If you’re struggling to maintain your balance, make sure that you’re not stepping too far out to the side with your back foot. If you feel like you're getting knee pain from the move, stop and get your form checked out by a trainer.

To add weight, you can hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand by your sides, or one weight in both hands in front of your chest. I use a single 33lb dumbbell myself and do eight reps on each side during my workouts.

Why I prefer the curtsy lunge to the reverse lunge

Despite the fact that almost all of my strength training is geared toward supporting my main sport of running, I’ve never really been a fan of lunges.

While I include squats, deadlifts and calf raises in most of my workouts, lunges were never a move I really enjoyed or found very effective until I started doing the curtsy lunge.

It focuses on similar areas to the standard reverse lunge, like your quads, glutes and hamstrings, but puts more focus on the outer glutes and hamstrings and really engages the hip adductors — muscles on the insides of your thighs.

This focus on the hips and glutes is valuable for me as they are areas I’m also looking to strengthen during marathon training, and the lateral movement in the exercises is also useful, because it takes me out of the forward-back, up-down planes of movement I spend most of my time in during runs and workouts.

I’m also a big fan of the extra challenge the curtsy lunge provides for my core stability, because holding the torso upright and maintaining balance while stepping back and out to the side is difficult, especially when holding a weight by my chest.

There’s no magic to the move, but it’s definitely one that I think provides a lot of bang for my buck during workouts, and as someone keen to get a lot from a few short strength sessions each week, the curtsy lunge is a great move to have in my routine.

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It's not often I share the secrets to my dad's training regimen, but you need to know about this one. My dad is 72, and I've been training him for roughly six years now; we progress and mix up his plan every few months, and here and there, I like to share some of his favorite strength exercises with readers.

This one requires a set of the best adjustable dumbbells or hex dumbbells if you prefer your weights less bulky. You could substitute kettlebells or heavy water bottles instead. You'll also need an unstable surface like a Bosu trainer, which is affordable online, but can be replaced by wobble boards or similar.

This exercise will improve your balance and stability while building strength in your lower body, and it doesn't take much weight to really challenge your body, especially your glutes, quads, hamstrings and core. Here's how to do it, plus the benefits.

Watch: Dumbbell Bosu deadlift

It's never too late to start lifting weights and build resistance training into your program. Later in life, you need strong bones, muscles and ligaments more than ever, as lean muscle mass, strength and balance begin to decline naturally.

I encourage clients to work on mobility and strength rather than relying solely on cardio or stretching. The more you can build some lifting into your routine, even if it's just with your bodyweight, the better you prepare your body for those later years.

I can tell you that my dad (a keen runner and gardener all his life) looks like a different person when he moves now, and he only really started strength training in his late 60s. Start by trying this exercise!

If you experience pain at any time, stop and rest. If you're working with an injury or health condition, I recommend seeking advice before starting these exercises.

How:

• Stand on a balance trainer with your feet hip-width apart, holding a weight in each hand using a neutral grip
• Engage your core, maintain a soft bend in your knees, then send your hips back and lower the weights toward the ground, keeping your back straight and chest proud
• The weights should track close to your body at all times. Pause at the bottom and keep your shoulders pulled back and down, gaze slightly ahead
• Drive up through your legs and core to stand, fully extending your knees and hips.

What are the benefits?

I demonstrate above using blocks, but it works best if you give your body more instability. To start with, use just your bodyweight, then add weights when you feel comfortable. As you get stronger and your balance improves, add more load, or try creating extra instability by balancing on one leg, called a single-leg deadlift.

Deadlifts strengthen your posterior chain, including your lower back, glutes and hamstrings, but also your core, hips, arms, and, depending on the type of deadlift, your quads. Lifting heavy will also develop your brute strength and power, especially when using a barbell loaded with plates.

Because the balance trainer creates a wobbly surface, you'll teach your body to recruit all the small stabilizer muscles to help drive movement safely while staying balanced and stable.

Not only is this a strength move, but it's a great anti-aging one, too. And when you move down to the ground and perform regular deadlifts, you'll be able to drive even more power through your legs and core.

Just remember, this exercise alone won't counteract ageing; consider checking out the "big 5" compound lifts to work all the major muscle groups in your body, not just your lower half. And keep in mind that motion is lotion, so try to consider how much movement you get throughout the day outside of dedicated exercise.

The more you move throughout the day, the better you can balance and stabilize in a more natural, functional way; the more you load your bones and muscles, the stronger they get.

Control is essential, so prioritize form over speed; to do this, slow the eccentric phase (lowering the weights) to around three to four seconds, then drive upward (the concentric phase) for one to two seconds.

Deadlifts are about as functional an exercise as you can find, as it essentially mimics picking something up off the ground using your core rather than your back.

And remember, you might not notice the progress straight away, but over time, you'll see huge benefits in how your body moves, adapts and responds.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

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• According to a personal trainer, this exercise is 100 times more effective than crunches. I tried it and was humbled
• I teach people over 50 to be mobile: 3 low-impact moves that build more stability than a 30-minute walk

Training smarter, not harder, is the key to longevity as you age. It's a lesson that comes to most of us at some stage, but I wish someone had told me sooner.

Working your key major muscle groups several times per week can help counteract the natural loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs through the decades, but there are some muscle groups I really want you to focus on later in life, and those are your glutes, hips, legs and shoulders.

Strong glutes help stabilize your pelvis and keep your lower back safe; robust legs will allow you to stay balanced and active; mobile, active shoulders support proper posture and allow you to lift, push and pull your own weight.

You don't need to get down on the ground to do these exercises, and for most people, they're low-impact. Give these moves a go, and let me know how you get on in the comments section below.

2 moves I recommend as a personal trainer

I highly recommend Bulgarian split squats and scapula push-ups as part of a wider exercise routine. Bulgarian split squats strengthen your hips, legs and glutes, while scapula push-ups work the shoulder blades through protraction and retraction, strengthening the stabilizing muscles that support shoulder movement.

1. Scapula push-ups

During scap push-ups, you'll protract and retract the scapulae (shoulder blades). Drawing the shoulders apart is protraction, as you push your chest away from the floor, whereas retraction involves pulling the shoulder blades together and drawing the shoulders back.

You’ll start in a push-up position on your toes or knees. Keeping your arms straight, perform a push-up without bending your elbows. You could also perform this against a wall while standing.

Here's how to do scapula push-ups:

• Start in a push-up position with your shoulders stacked over your wrists and hips aligned with your shoulders. Use your knees if you prefer
• Brace your shoulders, core, glutes and quads
• Press through your hands and slightly rotate your shoulders outward to help engage your back
• Keep your arms straight, then push your chest away from the floor, pulling your shoulder blades apart
• Pause, then draw your shoulder blades together and lower your chest toward the ground
• Continue for 8-12 reps and 3-4 sets.

In life, the shoulders spend a lot of time protracted as we tend to live quite hunched over. Retraction is key to developing healthy, balanced shoulders, so this move will help you build stability and better posture. It’s also a great way to safeguard your shoulders from injury.

Aim to move slowly, as taking your time helps strengthen the mind-muscle connection and will prevent you from rushing. Try to pause and squeeze your shoulders at the top and bottom of the movement to help maximize activation.

Moving between the two positions is incredibly important for shoulder health, especially if you enjoy push-and-pull workouts for your chest and back, where both the frontal and posterior deltoids are working.

If you have winged scaps (shoulder blades that stick out) or struggle to engage your shoulders properly during movements like the row or bench press, this one is for you. If you would like to progress the exercise, wrap a resistance band just below your shoulder blades and secure it under your hands to increase resistance overall.

If you have a shoulder-related injury, any pre-existing health conditions, or injuries, or you experience pain when performing scapula push-ups, speak with a qualified personal trainer or physician first.

2. Bulgarian split squats

You should feel this mostly in your standing leg and glutes, but you could position your back leg against a wall instead of supporting it on a bench or chair; pressing into the wall activates the back leg more, and you'll feel a deep stretch down the hip flexor and quad.

The exercise is unilateral, which means focusing on one side of the body at a time; this will build balance and stability alongside strength. When you feel confident, see if you can add weight in the form of dumbbells, kettlebells, or even barbells.

Here's how to do Bulgarian split squats:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart
• Position your right foot onto a bench or chair behind you. Square your hips to the front of the room. You can tuck the toes or position the top of the foot flat
• To begin with, place your hands on your hips. When you feel comfortable, hold a weight (more on this below)
• Hinge at the hips and lean slightly forward, keeping your spine long and chest proud
• Bend your front knee and lower toward the ground, sending your back knee toward the bench in an arcing motion
• Pause with the weight in your front leg, then drive upward to stand
• Continue for 8-10 reps per side and 3-4 sets.

By hinging forward, you'll engage your gluteal muscles more, which can turn an exercise like this from quad-dominant to glute-dominant.

For more quad focus, hold the weight in the same hand as your front leg (this means ipsilateral). For glute and core focus, hold it in the opposite hand (contralateral), as this will require your hips to stabilize. Holding two weights will allow you to load heavier.

Think about actively engaging your core by bracing your stomach and drawing your navel in while sending your breath down from your chest to your stomach.

Move with control and focus, not speed. As you lower into the split squat, arcing the back knee behind toward the bench will also allow you to reach further into your glutes and develop more of a stretch along the hip flexors. Dealer's choice!

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Don't feel pressured to add weight. And if you struggle with any knee conditions, pain, or injuries, I strongly recommend getting guidance from a physician or physical therapist first.

While Bulgarian split squats are more of a typical "leg day" exercise, scap push-ups are more of a warm-up technique, and I wouldn't replace regular push-ups with them; instead, add them in before upper-body workouts as a drill to prepare your shoulders for movement.

I sit behind a desk for multiple hours during the day, so I find both of these exercises brilliant additions for stretching out my hips and getting my shoulders moving again.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm a personal trainer who works with clients over 50 — these are the 3 mobility exercises I never skip
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As we get older, strength training becomes more important than ever when it comes to reversing the physical signs of aging. After the age of 30, you naturally lose 3-5% of your muscle mass per decade, an age-related process called sarcopenia. This dramatically accelerates once you turn 60, and the best way to slow this down or reverse it entirely is to do regular strength workouts.

Strength training doesn’t have to mean lifting heavy weights in the gym. Just using your bodyweight for resistance can help maintain and build muscle, boost your metabolism, and protect your bones from conditions like osteoporosis.

Yet if you’re returning to exercise following an extended break, or you’re a complete beginner, it can be tricky to know where to start. To find out more, I asked personal trainer Jen Rulon for some advice.

Rulon has 20 years of experience, is a 15-time Ironman finisher, and specializes in strength training for women in midlife. I asked her for five bodyweight exercises I could give my parents, who are both in their 60s. Here’s what she said.

5 bodyweight exercises to focus on in your 60s to build strength and stability

Rulon recommends starting with a warm-up to get the joints moving. This could be a quick five-minute walk, or just standing up and walking on the spot for a few minutes, pumping the arms and legs.

Then focus on doing the following bodyweight moves:

1. Bodyweight squats

The squat is an important functional movement to master after 60, as it’s a physical pattern required for everyday activities like sitting down and standing back up again.

Here’s how to do a bodyweight squat:

• Start with your feet hip-width apart.
• Bend your knees and hinge at your hips as if you’re sitting back in a chair. If you need the extra support, do this exercise in front of a chair and lower your glutes down till they touch the chair.
• Don’t let your knees track over your toes; keep your chest up and your eyegaze forward.
• Push through your feet to return to your starting position.
• To progress this exercise, add weight — holding one of the best adjustable dumbbells in front of your torso increases the intensity.

2. Wall or incline push-ups

The push-up is a great functional upper-body movement. You’ll be working your chest, wrists, forearms and shoulders.

• Stand facing a sturdy wall or counter about arm's length away.
• Place hands on the wall or edge of the counter slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
• Bend the elbows to lower the chest toward the wall or counter.
• Pause when the chest is close to the surface, then smoothly push back up to the starting position.
• To progress this exercise, increase the distance between your feet and the wall. Alternatively, if you can, get down on the floor and do the push-ups on your knees.

3. Glute bridge

If you feel unstable in squats, the glute bridge is a fantastic way to build your lower body. You’ll be working your glutes, hamstrings, and core, but because you’ll be lying on your back, this exercise is stable and low-impact.

• Start lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
• Engage your core, thinking about sucking your belly button into your spine.
• Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips toward the ceiling. Keep lifting until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.
• Squeeze your glutes as hard as you can at the top for a couple of seconds, slowly lowering back down to the floor.
• An easy way to progress this exercise is to add a weight, holding it with both hands across your hips.

4. Step-ups

The step-up is a single-leg movement pattern you do every single day as you climb stairs or step up onto a curb. As you’ll rarely train one leg at a time, this is a great exercise to work on any imbalances in your body and reduce your risk of falls.

• For this exercise, you’ll need a stair, sturdy step, or even the curb outside your home.
• Place your entire foot flat on the step, and if you need to, use your stairs at home and hold the handrail lightly for balance.
• Push through the heel on the step and lift your body, tapping the other foot on the step, then reverse the movement to lower back to the ground.
• To progress this exercise, increase the size of the step.

5. Modified planks

Rulon recommends doing these planks on your knees or against a wall or counter for support. The plank is a core exercise that helps protect your lower back from injury and improves your overall balance and stability.

• To do a plank on your knees, start by lying on your exercise mat face-down.
• Prop yourself up onto your elbows, ensuring your elbows are positioned directly under your shoulders and bent at a 90-degree angle.
• Keeping your knees on the mat, lift your torso and hips. There should be a straight line from your head to your knees.
• Squeeze your glutes and engage your core, thinking about sucking your belly button in towards your spine.

Aim for 10-12 reps of all of the exercises above, or a 30-second plank. Repeat the circuit a couple of times for a longer workout, and build as you get stronger.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

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• I'm a personal trainer who works with clients over 50 — these are the 3 mobility exercises I never skip
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• 'I’m a Pilates instructor, and I recommend these 5 core exercises to help older clients build strength and improve posture'

I was speaking with my friend, a physiotherapist, the other day, and he explained how frustrated he gets when people don't do their prescribed exercises. As a coach who specializes in mobility, I share the same problem; I find clients stick to their strength or cardio programs much more than their mobility routines.

And do you know what? I completely get it. Mobility isn't sexy in the way that lifting heavy weights or running ultramarathons is. But trust me, if you don't improve mobility while you can, you may not be lifting heavy or running far in the years to come. How well you move determines how well you live in the future, and as they say: "It's better late than never."

Mobility training is my happy place; I see it make an enormous difference in people's lives, creating strong, balanced and mobile bodies. Below, I share three low-impact moves I never skip with clients. Here's why.

Watch: 3 low-impact exercises you can try for better mobility at home

Consistent mobility routines can actually be microdosed into your week and still provide benefits for strength, control and stability. Alongside resistance training, it's your anti-aging weapon for healthier joints and active muscles.

These tried-and-tested low-impact exercises can be made more beginner-friendly or challenging, and you can work with your bodyweight or with weights.

If you experience pain at any time, stop and rest. If you're working with an injury or health condition, I recommend seeking advice before starting these exercises.

• Leg sweeps: Start in a tabletop position with your shoulders over your wrists and hips over your knees. Engage your core and draw your navel in. Extend your right leg behind you and lift it into the air, toes pointing down. Only lift to hip height and avoid arching your lower back. Next, with control, sweep your leg out to the side, maintaining the height. Pause, then reverse behind you and lightly tap the toes down again. Repeat for 6-8 reps per side and 2 sets.
• Tabletop reverse flies: Start in a tabletop position. Walk your hands slightly further forward and press down through your left hand. Lift your right arm out to the side and sweep up and back, maintaining a soft bend in your elbow. Squeeze your right shoulder and pause, then lower with control. Repeat for 6-8 reps per side and 2 sets.
• Alternating Supermans: Lie on your stomach and extend your arms and legs. Rest your forehead on the mat. Lift your right arm, chest, head and left leg into the air as high as possible and squeeze your shoulders and glutes. Pause at the top, then lower with control. Repeat for 6-8 reps per side and 2 sets.

What are the benefits?

I use these moves often and mix them up to add weights, bands, or reps and sets.

Here are some benefits:

Leg sweeps improve hip mobility and engage the glutes as you first lift your leg into the air, then open your hip as your leg moves outward. If you struggle with this exercise, reduce how far you move and softly bend your knee. To make this more challenging, add a looped resistance band above your knees.

Tabletop reverse flies: The goal is to work the rear deltoids, or the rear shoulder heads, and improve upper-body range of motion. If you're working to improve posture, I recommend adding reverse flies to your routine. To make this exercise more challenging, hold a light dumbbell in your hand.

Alternating Supermans work the back of the body, known as your posterior chain. You should feel this in your back, shoulders, glutes and hamstrings. You could work both sides together, lifting your arms and legs at the same time, or focus on alternating. I often ask clients to hold light dumbbells to make this exercise more challenging.

As you get older, try to move your joints through their range of motion in a variety of patterns while loading muscles using resistance. Motion is lotion, after all.

The more you move throughout the day, the better you can balance and stabilize; the more you load your bones and muscles, the stronger they get. Joints, ligaments and fascia (in particular) respond well to low-impact movement, and you only need to practice a few moves a few times per week to see some benefits.

Before you consider adding weights, focus on the fullest range of movement and really squeezing the working muscles at the top of each rep. Control is essential, so prioritize your form and speed and this will help you feel the exercises more.

And remember, you might not notice the progress straight away, but over time, you'll see huge benefits in how your body moves, adapts and responds. Give these a try, and let us know how you get on in the comments.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

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Regardless of age, we're all busy people trying to prioritize the right things at the right times: getting the kids off to school on time, eating well, sleeping enough, or shoehorning workouts into the day.

But while you might get away with being more unstructured or sporadic with your exercise routine in your teens and 20s, there comes a time when your body needs more intentional strength training without spending hours in the gym. That's because as early as your 30s, strength and muscle can begin to decline. As the years pass into your 40s, 50s and beyond, this accelerates.

I give all my older clients this advice: be consistent and intentional and work multiple muscle groups several times per week. This 8x8x8 kettlebell workout does exactly that, and this is why you're going to love it, especially if you don't have much time.

Watch: 8x8x8 kettlebell workout

I've programmed this routine to be short but effective, targeting the major muscle groups in your upper and lower body, plus your core. These are functional compound exercises (multi-muscle moves), which will focus on movements like pushing, pulling and squatting using two of the best kettlebells.

Working both sides of your body at the same time will save you time and may feel more challenging as you're loading heavier overall. If you have imbalances or a noticeably weaker side, I encourage more unilateral training (single-sided) in the future.

If you only have one kettlebell, work one side at a time and split the total reps evenly between left and right, or experiment with a number that works for you.

The workout:

• 8 reps
• 8 rounds
• 8 minutes

The moves:

• Kettlebell swings: Swings work your core, glutes, hamstrings and hips for power as you snap your hips forward and thrust the weight away from the body. It's not a squat, so keep a soft bend in the knees while hinging at the hips. As you send your hips back, imagine using your butt to close a car door behind you; as you send your hips forward, extend and squeeze your glutes and core muscles to drive the weight up to your eye line. Your arms should be pretty much weightless, powering through your torso, hips and glutes.
• Kettlebell thrusters: Thrusters combine a squat with an overhead press, working the upper and lower body together. Load one or two kettlebells at your shoulders, draw your elbows forward and engage your core, then sit deep into a squat while keeping your back straight and chest lifted. As you stand, immediately drive the weight overhead, keeping your arms close to your ears.
• Kettlebell bentover rows: Bentover rows use pulling to work your biceps and back. The hinge position will also target the posterior chain, including your hamstrings and core. Try to keep your back straight and feet hip-width apart as you hinge forward so that your chest is almost parallel to the ground. Keep a soft bend in your knees as you hold the kettlebells in a neutral grip and pull them toward your back pockets, with the elbows close to your sides at all times.

The 'why'

This workout lasts just eight minutes, but it certainly packs a punch by targeting your core for balance, power and stabilization, plus your upper and lower body. You'll push, pull and squat your way to a stronger body while keeping momentum high and improving conditioning as you race against the timer.

There's little rest, so you're going to be working almost flat out for the eight minutes, as you move through eight reps of each move and eight rounds. Essentially, you'll need to get all reps of the moves done within 60 seconds to achieve the eight rounds total.

This is about working intensely for a short burst of time, strengthening your whole body and being intentional using just three exercises to target as many muscles as possible and increase your heart rate.

You can add reps or take some away if you're struggling; if you choose to add reps, just remember that you'll start to fatigue at roughly round three, so keep some energy in the tank for those last few rounds when things naturally slow a little.

Get ready for your sweat test.

If you're new to workouts, I recommend taking it slow by removing the timer and checking your form with a personal trainer. If you have a health condition, injury, are pre or post-natal, or have any other pain or concerns, speak with a qualified medical professional before starting any new exercise regimen.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

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As we age, exercise becomes more important than ever, as it can help slow and even reverse the natural loss of muscle mass, strength, and bone density that occurs. Starting from the age of 30, adults naturally lose 3 to 5% of their muscle mass per decade, with a process called sarcopenia. After 60, this accelerates rapidly.

Luckily, there is a way to prevent muscle loss, regardless of your age, and that is through strength training, also referred to as resistance training. You don’t need a gym membership or tonnes of fancy equipment; just using your bodyweight is enough to build muscle.

Yet if you’re a complete beginner, or you’re returning to exercise following an extended break, it can be tricky to know where to start. Below, personal trainer Dave Durell shares his top tips. Durell has been in the field for over 40 years, and specializes in strength training after 50.

As a reminder, if you’re currently working with an injury, this workout might not be the right workout for you. Always check with a qualified professional before trying something new.

5 bodyweight exercises to prioritize after 50:

1. Squats

• Stand in front of the chair, facing away from it.
• Position the feet hip-width apart. Toes should be pointed forward, chest raised, head looking forward. Tighten your core to support your back.
• Bend the knees as the hips are slowly lowered. Feel free to raise the arms out in front for balance.
• Allow the butt to gently touch the chair, but don’t sit down.
• Keep looking forward with your chest up. Drive the hips back up to return to the starting position.

2. Calf raises

• Steady yourself by lightly placing a hand on the wall in front of you at shoulder height with your elbows straight. If you have a step available, place the balls of your feet on the edge of the step.
• Keeping your back straight, point your toes, rising on your tiptoes. Squeeze the calf muscles in the top position for a second.
• Smoothly lower and repeat.
• Keep your back and knees straight throughout the exercise.

3. Modified push-ups

• Stand facing a sturdy wall or counter about arm's length away.
• Place hands on the wall or edge of the counter slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
• Bend the elbows to lower the chest toward the wall or counter.
• Pause when the chest is close to the surface, then smoothly push back up to the starting position.
• (Adjust the difficulty of this exercise by changing the distance between the feet and the wall).

4. Wall rows

• Stand with your back against a wall, feet shoulder-width apart, arms by your sides, and elbows bent at 90 degrees.
• Slowly walk your feet away from the wall a few inches — the farther away from the wall your feet are, the harder the exercise.
• Keeping your back straight and abdominals tight, push your elbows back into the wall.
• This action should lift the back off the wall slightly. Hold this position for a few seconds, then slowly return to the starting position.
• (Adjust the difficulty of this exercise by changing the distance between the feet and the wall).

5. Abdominal crunch

• Lie on your back on a floor mat or thick towel.
• Cross your arms over your chest and lift your shoulder blades off the mat by curling your chest toward your hips. Pause; slowly lower back to the start position.

What are the benefits?

All of these exercises work the major muscle groups in the body, without any additional equipment. You’ll be targeting your lower body, upper body, and core, which can improve your overall balance and mobility, helping prevent falls.

“Start where you are,” Durell tells Tom’s Guide. “If you've never strength-trained and going to the gym scares you, start at home with 3-5 bodyweight exercises, focus on proper form and slow speed of movement, and add repetitions as you get stronger and more proficient.

“Later on you can progress by adding resistance, such as dumbbells. Stick to full-body workouts. Work out twice a week on non-consecutive days — this will provide a great muscle-building stimulus and allow plenty of recovery time.”

Check out the best adjustable dumbbells for working out at home here.

“Do some low-to-moderate intensity cardiovascular activity 2-3 additional days a week as you're able, and you're on your way!” says Durell.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

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• I'm a personal trainer who works with clients over 50 — these are the 3 mobility exercises I never skip
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• 'I’m a Pilates instructor, and I recommend these 5 core exercises to help older clients build strength and improve posture'

Like most certified personal trainers, I have exercises that I love and a few that I loathe.

Skipping the ones I hated was excusable when I was younger (“I’ll do it next time!” “This other exercise works the same muscles!”). But now that I’ve pushed past 40, I’ve come to realize that some of my not-so-favorite moves are incredibly important for maintaining proper balance, stability, and posture.

Training for healthy aging is vital for anyone in their 30’s and 40’s. The stronger you can enter your senior years, the better protected you are against injury from serious falls and other age-related conditions.

While the three exercises below haven’t always had a solid place in my routine, they do now. If you’re 40 or over, have a set of dumbbells, and want to start training with longevity in mind, give them a try.

How to do the three exercises

Always check in with your doctor before trying any new activity. If you’re a beginner, consider meeting with a certified personal trainer before attempting these exercises. A trainer can give you guidance on good form, offer modifications if needed, and progress the exercises once you’ve gotten stronger.

In addition to dumbbells, you’ll also need a moderately heavy resistance band.

Start by doing each exercise for 1-2 sets of 8-10 reps. Once that feels easy, increase your reps to 12-15 and add another set. You can also work with heavier dumbbells and resistance bands as you build strength.

You should be able to complete between 8-15 reps with good form. If you’re unable to do 8 reps, work with a lighter weight. If you can do 15 reps without much effort, use a heavier weight.

I often do these exercises as part of a longer resistance training workout. You may choose to do the same or perform the exercises on their own.

Here’s how to do them:

1. Single-leg Romanian deadlift

• Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
• Hold a dumbbell in your right hand.
• Engage your core.
• Lift your right leg behind you and bring your torso parallel to the floor.
• Pause briefly.
• Squeeze your left glute and stand back up, bringing your right foot to the starting position.
• Continue for 8-15 reps, then repeat on the other side.

2. Pallof press

• Loop a resistance band around a strong anchor point, like a stair railing.
• Grab the ends of the band and step away from the anchor point until the band is taut.
• Turn and face your right.
• Bring the end of the band to your chest.
• Engage your core.
• Lengthen your arms away from your chest.
• Pause briefly.
• Bring your hands back to your chest.
• Continue for 8-15 reps, then repeat on the other side.

3. Dumbbell reverse fly

• Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
• Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
• Engage your core.
• Hinge your hips behind you, bend your knees slightly, and lean forward.
• Lengthen your arms and lower the dumbbells towards the floor.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together and lift your elbows towards the ceiling, keeping them slightly bent.
• Pause briefly.
• Lower the dumbbells to the starting position.
• Continue for 8-15 reps.

Benefits of these exercises

According to the CDC, falls are the leading cause of injury for adults 65 years and older. One of the best ways to prevent falls is to build muscle and strength, maintain good posture, and enhance overall balance.

The three exercises in this routine do just that. Since the single-leg Romanian deadlift is done balancing on one foot, this move trains stabilizing muscles in the lower body, glutes, and core. The addition of a dumbbell adds resistance for your muscles to work against, which results in increased strength and muscle mass.

Pallof presses also work important core stabilizers. As you extend the band away from your body, your core must resist strong rotational forces to stay upright and neutral. This translates to improved support and control in muscles that protect the pelvis and spine.

As we age, we’re more susceptible to rounded posture and decreased upper back strength. The reverse fly targets key muscles like the rear deltoids, mid to lower traps, and rhomboids, which help keep your upper body upright, aligned, and supported. By leaning forward, your core must also engage to keep the spinal column stable.

Resistance training in general is also beneficial for the prevention and management of osteoporosis, or bone loss.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm a personal trainer who works with clients over 50 — these are the 3 mobility exercises I never skip
• After 60, this is the 10-minute routine I use with my clients to stay strong, mobile and independent
• 'I’m a Pilates instructor, and I recommend these 5 core exercises to help older clients build strength and improve posture'

Sit-ups and Russian twists still feature in many core workouts because they're known to target your abs and obliques, muscle groups that help create the rippling muscle definition you can see, alongside a low body fat percentage.

However, low back pain is common when performing these moves, whether due to a lack of core engagement, form, injury, or body mechanics. In other words, they're not for everyone, and that's okay, because there are plenty more fish (or abs exercises) in the sea.

If you're looking for some of the best low-impact exercises for your spine, I can help. You'll want to focus on strengthening your core as a whole, especially your deep core muscles, which are responsible for stability — and placing your body in positions that won't aggravate your back.

Here's what to do, from me (a personal trainer) to you.

If you are currently working with pain, an injury, or any health condition, I advise speaking with a qualified medical professional before starting any new exercises or workout programs. I'm not a qualified physical therapist and cannot diagnose a health condition.

How to do plank knee tucks

Plank knee tucks look a bit like mountain climbers, except you'll hold the position instead of moving your knees forward and backward.

This is about switching on as many muscles as possible to help you defy gravity and resist rotation, as you draw your knee high and forward toward your chest while pushing through your hands and doming your upper back.

It doesn't take long to feel the burn, and I love this exercise for its simplicity.

You'll find many yoga and Pilates teachers using variations of this exercise, but it's been around in the fitness industry in its many forms for a long, long time.

It targets the aforementioned "deep core" by engaging muscles like the internal obliques and transverse abdominis; to a degree, your quads and hip flexors are also working as you hold your bent knee in the air, along with your arms, shoulders, chest, glutes, rectus abdominis (abs) and external obliques.

In other words, there aren't many places you won't feel it. To ramp up this move further, try looping one of the best resistance bands just above your knees to add more tension.

Here's how:

• Start in a plank position with your shoulders stacked over your wrists. You can also perform this in a forearm plank, but you'll have less space to work with
• Brace your stomach and pull your navel in. Ensure your hips align with your shoulders
• Push through your hands to slightly dome through your upper back, then draw your right knee forward between your hands
• Try to lift your knee high into your chest and point your toes. Hold for 10-20 seconds
• Return to plank, then switch sides
• Aim for 3-5 rounds of 10-20-second efforts.

Benefits

Here are some benefits of trying this exercise

Lower impact on your back

Low-impact core exercises help protect your spine by supporting your back. I'm not saying this means it's suitable for you, as only you and your physician can determine what works for your body, but for many people, the plank position is less stressful than moves like sit-ups or twists, where you're repeatedly rotating, flexing, or extending the spine.

It's very important to consciously contract your entire body and breathe into your stomach.

Cue: Focus on pushing up through your hands to create more space under your body; this will allow you to get a higher knee drive and generate more tension.

Strengthens your deep core

Your core (namely, the diaphragm, transverse abdominis and internal obliques) works to help you hold the position while maintaining your breath, called isometric muscle contraction. While, naturally, you will feel this in your hip flexors, try not to let it take away from your midsection.

Cue: Brace your stomach as if you're anticipating being punched there. Simultaneously draw your navel in and breathe down.

Translates to other exercises

You might not find yourself in a plank position daily, but this type of exercise is great for other activities like running or sprinting (think of the knee drive position as you lift your leg), hurdling, performing high knees, climbing, step-ups, hiking, walking and a multitude of other sports or hobbies you may not have considered.

What's more, building deep core strength and stability will also make you stronger and more injury-resistant.

Cue: See if you can add pulses or try adding touch points with your knee. First, try to touch your left wrist with either your left or right knee, then your right wrist, then move to each elbow, then toward the armpits.

What happened when I added it to my weekly routine?

I didn't exactly take this on as an experiment, as it already features weekly in my yoga and Pilates classes; however, it has been cropping up a lot more recently, and I've been programming it more often for clients, too. So, here's why I love it.

I find plank knee tucks help me re-engage my core muscles because there is no getting away from the tension you create when you hold this position. It also tests my breathing, which I (and many of us) lose when we are in a stress position.

You can also keep increasing the time spent holding, starting with as little as five to 10 seconds and slowly adding seconds. It's simple and can be scaled to your ability, and if it ever feels too much, you could practice from a tabletop or forearm position instead.

I like that it makes me feel present with my body and mindful of what it's trying to do; I'm not rushing through reps but focusing on creating and holding positions, which I get a lot more out of than mindlessly moving through sit-ups, especially.

I like adding pulses to work my core a little harder, or moving my knee to tap different parts of my arms. Play around with it and have some fun, but never neglect your breathing.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

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• Move over lunges — I teach weightlifting, and this is the strength exercise I'd use instead

There's yet another heatwave hitting the UK and US right now, and unlike my colleagues, I'm a fair-weather runner, so it's officially too hot for me to run outdoors.

But my once-a-week cardio sessions are non-negotiable, so I've turned to the gym and the best treadmills instead. I'm not really a commercial gym user, but if you do have access to a treadmill at home or a local gym, I recommend hopping on and giving this 20-minute running HIIT workout a try.

You'll move between paces, including walking, jogging, and running, and deal with inclines, flat roads, and some speedwork. It's helping me stay on top of cardio without sweltering in the sunshine, and I'm very grateful for it.

Don't worry, if you're not much of a runner, this whole routine is beginner-friendly. You get to set the pace of your walks, jogs, and runs, and I'll only ever give you guidelines or recommendations.

What is the workout?

• Warm-up block, 5 mins: Spend 60 seconds at walking pace; this should be something you could comfortably maintain for 30 minutes uninterrupted. Next, spend 2 minutes at jogging pace; you should be able to hold a conversation. Increase incline to 6% and maintain jogging pace for 60 seconds, then drop the incline to flat road and hit your run pace for 60 seconds.
• Incline block, 7 mins 30 sec: Walk for 30 seconds, jog 30 seconds, sprint 30 seconds. Next, jog 90 seconds at 6% incline. Drop to a walk for 90 seconds at 9% incline. Jog 60 seconds at 6% incline, then maintain jogging for 30 seconds at 9% incline. Finally, walk for 60 seconds on a flat road.
• Speed play, 7 mins 30: Jog for 60 seconds, sprint for 30 seconds, then jog for 30 seconds, all on a flat road. Sprint again for 30 seconds, then jog for 30 seconds and drop down to a 30-second walk. Repeat from the top.

Let's take a look at a popular way of measuring effort, which will help you determine your pace without a coach: rate of perceived exertion, or RPE. This will help you work out where you sit for a walk, jog and run out of 10 (10 being your absolute maximum output).

For a walk, as briefly mentioned, it should be something you could maintain happily enough for 30 minutes or so — think a 3-4/10. Your jogging pace is around a 5-6/10; you can still have a conversation with someone next to you, but you're exerting a little more effort.

Your run pace is more like a sprint, think between 7-9/10. This should be a hard effort that you can only maintain for a short time.

The inclines are 6 and 9%, but these are only guidelines, so you can adapt these to your ability. If you're unable to hit the specified times at your given pace, it could be worth making some adjustments.

As you push through the inclines, slightly lean your weight forward without rounding your back, as this will help you engage your glutes. Generally, uphill climbs engage more of your back body, like the lower back and hamstrings, so just be sure to brace your core as you walk, jog, or run to protect your spine.

During the faster running efforts, use your arms to help with forward propulsion, and keep your strides even as you strike the treadmill. Try to avoid crossing your arms over the front of your body, as this reduces efficiency, and also avoid running too far back or forward on the running belt.

Pace yourself properly because fatigue will set in, so you need to think about keeping something back during the warm-up. This is about building speed, power and endurance, so try to keep some energy in the tank for those final rounds.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

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One of the things I love about YouTube is that whenever the mood strikes you to do a training session, you can find the exact kind of workout you’re looking for, led by a trainer.

I’m a runner who’s always aiming to do more supportive strength training to improve my performance and injury resilience, but I’m not the most motivated when it comes to weight training.

That means when a window opens up to train, and I do feel like doing it, I love being able to jump onto YouTube and find a session that suits my goals.

That’s exactly what happened with this 15-minute standing dumbbell workout from fitness trainer FitByMik. I wanted a lower-body session that uses dumbbells and isn’t a HIIT-style workout, and this session ticked all the boxes.

You need a couple of dumbbells for the workout — Mikala is using 15lb weights, and I used 27.5lb weights. If you have a set of the best adjustable dumbbells, then you can pick the exact weight required for each move as you do the session.

Watch FitByMik’s 15-minute lower body workout

Along with the workout itself, Mikala leads you through a quick warm-up and cool-down in the video, which are worth doing too unless you’re really pressed for time — they only add an extra two to three minutes in total.

During the workout itself, you do each move for 45 seconds and then rest for 15 seconds before going on to the next one. That rest does not feel like a long time, I can tell you, since you spend most of it getting into position for the next exercise.

Along with your dumbbells, it’s handy to have one of the best yoga mats to give you better traction during the workout, but it’s not essential.

I did the workout after a run one morning. Here are five reasons why I think any runner will find it a worthwhile addition to their training routine.

It’s a controlled session so you can use heavy weights

This is not a frenetic HIIT workout where you move as fast as possible. In each set, you move with control, focusing on maintaining good form.

This means that you not only ensure you’re working the right muscles and maintaining your technique, but also that you can use heavy weights more safely.

Since this is a lower-body-focused session, it’s helpful to use heavy weights that target the big lower-body muscle groups, and as a runner, that kind of training is highly beneficial.

There’s a lot of single-leg exercises

Whenever I’m doing strength training, I aim to incorporate a lot of single-leg exercises, which mimic the challenges involved in running effectively.

This session has moves like split squats, single-leg deadlifts, and side leg lifts, all of which make you work each leg individually and strengthen them for your runs.

It improves your balance and core stability

Along with directly working your legs and glutes through moves like squats and deadlifts, the workout is great for your core strength and stability and also boosts your balance.

This is because you’re wielding heavy dumbbells while maintaining your form, so your trunk is working hard to keep your balance throughout, especially when you’re working on one leg.

I value this kind of stability highly, because late in long races like marathons, you need a strong core to hold your upright form and keep running efficiently.

The whole lower body is worked from different angles

Running is a repetitive sport where you move in mostly the same way for several hours a week, which can mean that some of your muscles get neglected relative to others.

This workout involves moves like curtsey lunges, side-to-side squats, and side leg lifts, all of which forced me out of the up-and-down, forward-and-backward planes of motion I mostly operate in, working muscles that needed attention.

It doesn’t completely trash the legs and give you major DOMS

If you follow a structured training plan for your running, then you’ll know that there’s always an important session coming up — you might do one or two of them a week.

I always want to nail those sessions, and as a result, I can put off strength training because I don’t want to push myself too hard with the weights and have horrible muscle soreness during my running workouts.

For me, this workout is the perfect length and intensity to get some beneficial strength training done without pushing so hard that I’m tired or negatively impacted on my next run — I did it the day before a big session, and didn’t feel worried it was going to hold me back.

More from Tom's Guide

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• I’m a personal trainer who works with clients aged 65+ daily. Here are the 2 exercises I always recommend when it comes to building mobility and balance
• A Pilates instructor shares a 6-move routine for over-60s to build balance, mobility and functional core strength

If I had 10 seconds to pick five strength exercises I'd give (most of) my clients for the rest of their lives, these are the ones I'd pick. While I would encourage most people to be versatile in the gym, these moves tick the boxes for being compound (multi-joint and multi-muscle), progressive, beginner-friendly, effective, and good for your joints and mobility.

The benefits of strength training are well-documented: stronger bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles; a higher resting metabolism (lean muscle is more metabolically active than fat); decreased sedentary time, and a little boost in mental health. It's a longevity tool that we know becomes even more crucial after 35.

You don't need a list of exercises as long as your arm, either. You can strengthen your whole body and even improve overall mobility with just five. Here they are.

If you experience pain at any time, stop and rest. If you're working with an injury or health condition, or you're currently pregnant or postnatal, I recommend seeking advice before starting these exercises.

5 exercises for longevity

Try adding these five movements to an existing routine, aiming for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps with roughly 30 to 60 seconds between, or use them to create a higher-intensity circuit. If you follow a circuit, aim for 45 to 50 seconds of work, aiming to hit the same reps for each exercise each time, followed by 10-15 seconds of rest, for 4-5 rounds.

1. Push-ups

Push-ups develop pushing power and are very functional for everyday life, whether it's pushing yourself up off the ground or pushing a pram uphill.

Without weights, they strengthen your triceps, the fronts of your shoulders, known as the anterior deltoids, your core, which stabilizes your torso, and your pectorals (the chest).

Avoid letting your hips sag and always lead with your chest. In the gym, or anywhere you like to train, pairing push-ups and pull-ups offers a pretty complete upper-body workout using opposing movements.

Here's how to do a push-up:

• Start in a plank position, with your weight underneath your shoulders and your palms flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart
• Engage your core, thinking about sucking your belly button toward your spine
• Maintain a straight line from your heels to the crown of your head
• Slowly bend your elbows and lower your chest toward the floor, keeping your elbows tracking back
• Pause, then press upward to your starting position. 

2. Pull-ups

Unless you have exceptional levels of relative strength, you might not find pull-ups immediately available to you. If that's the case, many gyms will have assisted pull-up machines; personally, I like to loop a resistance band around a pull-up bar and rest my foot or knee on it to give me support.

Pull-ups develop your pulling power, strengthening your core, biceps, forearms, rear deltoids, and various muscles in your back, including your lats. To target your biceps more, consider turning your palms to face you, known as a chin-up.

Not sure which is better for you? We pulled together a pull-ups vs chin-ups guide.

How to do a pull-up:

• Stand under a bar and grip with both hands in an overhand grip, hands wider than your shoulders
• Wrap your thumbs around and grip with your palms rather than your fingers
• Contract your whole body, draw your shoulders back and down, then hang from the bar
• Give your lats an extra squeeze, slightly shrug your shoulders, then pull yourself up with your chest lifting toward the bar. Avoid swinging your body
• Slowly lower to your starting position with control.

3. Front rack squat

There are hundreds of squats you can try using all sorts of different equipment, but one of the weighted squat variations I try to introduce early to clients is the dumbbell or kettlebell front rack squat.

Like the goblet squat, where you'll hold one weight in both hands at your chest, it's one of the more entry-level squats for many people, but with a few extra challenges, and I like clients to learn it early to encourage good habits.

Front racking means holding the weights at your shoulders and driving your elbows forward while you squat; it's brilliant for engaging your upper body and reinforcing an upright torso position.

For many, it also improves mobility and posture. Although I encourage shelving the weights at the shoulders and lifting the elbows high, some people prefer to hold them along the upper back; either is fine, but front-loading works your quads harder.

How to do a front rack squat:

• Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your shoulders, drawing the elbows up and resting the weights comfortably
• Position your feet roughly shoulder-width apart and engage your core
• Keep your back straight and chest lifted as you sit your hips back and lower into a squat, as if sitting on a chair behind you
• Once your thighs are roughly parallel to the ground pause, then drive upward through your feet and legs to stand, fully extending the knees and hips
• At all times, press through your big and little toes and heels.

4. Suitcase deadlift

Again, like squats, there are lots of deadlifts you can master, whether you're using free weights or a barbell. The reason I love teaching suitcase deadlifts is that it's more accessible for people who are limited on equipment, and for some, the standard barbell deadlift can carry risks for the spine; this can be down to poor form or lifting beyond your means, but also placing stress on the back with the front placement of the bar.

Suitcase deadlifts can be done with heavy kettlebells or dumbbells at your sides, which can be easier on mobility while also encouraging you to really engage your core and drive through your legs, heels and feet. Done well, they'll help you build strength and power.

How to deadlift:

• If you use dumbbells, hold them so that you can tap one end of the dumbbells to the floor. If you use kettlebells, you can keep more tension by never letting them rest on the floor. Alternatively, place them down after every rep.
• Hold a weight in each hand and stand with your feet hip-width apart
• Softly bend your knees and engage your core
• Drive your hips backward and hinge forward
• Lower the weights to the ground on either side of your feet, allowing the weights to travel close to your sides at all times. Keep your back straight, chest lifted, and shoulders pulled back and down
• Pause, squeeze your back and core muscles, then drive up to stand and extend your hips and legs.

5. Farmer's walk

This rarely makes it off my list. About as functional an exercise as possible, the farmer's walk or farmer's carry is a full-body exercise that develops grip strength (a key indicator of longevity) and overall strength by testing how much weight you can carry in your hands and for how long.

You'll walk holding a weight in each hand by your sides, and it should feel heavy and challenging, especially on your shoulders and forearms. For an extra challenge, hold one heavy weight; this will make your core work harder as it tries to resist rotation and maintain balance and stability through your body.

This is about full-body activation, so squeeze your glutes and quads, plug your shoulders back and down, avoid swinging the weights and brace your abs.

How to do a farmer's walk:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and two weights placed on either side of your feet.
• Bend your knees and squat to pick up the weights; keep your chest lifted and the weight evenly distributed across your feet. Look ahead
• Push through your heels to stand. Begin walking without leaning forward, backward, or to one side.
• Consciously squeeze as many muscles as possible and pull your shoulder blades together to prevent hunching. Stand tall as you walk.

What are the benefits?

As you get older, you don't automatically need to start doing different types of exercise just because of your age. This is especially true if you've always trained. In the same way that many pregnant women still have the all-clear to weight train and run when pregnant, as their bodies are familiar with it.

Some of the fittest, strongest people I know are over 50, 60, and 70 and have the biological age of people much younger. Resistance training is one of the most effective ways to bolster your biological age score and stay fit, strong, and active later in life. It's honestly an anti-aging tool capable of strengthening your body against injury and age-related conditions like osteoporosis or sarcopenia.

The next time you hit the gym or you have some spare time at home with minimal equipment, give some or all of these exercises a try.

Take the time to really control these movements and make the most of them, rather than rushing. Adjust the reps and sets as necessary, and decide what (if any) weights or equipment suit you. If this damages the quality of your reps, stick to using your bodyweight at first.

Give these a try, and let us know how you get on in the comments.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

More from Tom's Guide

• I teach people how to be more mobile: 3 low-impact back and shoulder moves that build stability and strength after 40
• I’m a personal trainer who works with clients aged 65+ daily. Here are the 2 exercises I always recommend when it comes to building mobility and balance
• A Pilates instructor shares a 6-move routine for over-60s to build balance, mobility and functional core strength

When it comes to building a rock-solid upper body, your mind probably goes to push-ups, but according to a sports scientist, that’s not the best use of your gym time. Pak Androulakis-Korakakis (who goes by Dr Pak), a sports scientist, researcher, and coach who specializes in the science of strength training, says you only need two exercises to build your upper body. Read on to find out more.

As a reminder, if you’re currently working out with an injury, you’re a complete beginner, or you’re pregnant or postpartum, these might not be the best exercises for you. Always check in with a qualified professional before trying something new.

What are the exercises?

“These two exercises are like the squat and deadlift for your upper body,” says Dr. Pak, but unlike squats and deadlifts, you don’t need tons of equipment — you can do both efficiently using just your body weight.

The two exercises he rates to build a strong upper body with zero equipment are chin-ups and dips. Here’s how to do both:

Chin-ups

The main difference between a chin-up and a pull up is your grip. For a chin-up, you’ll have a supinated grip — this means your palms will be facing you. Because of this grip, your biceps will have to work harder than they would during a traditional pull-up or dumbbell curl. You’ll also be hitting the muscles in your lats and upper back, as well as your core.

Here’s how to do a chin-up:

• Grab the bar with an underhand grip, with your hands shoulder-width apart.
• Keep your body in a straight line with your core engaged, and pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar.
• Hold this position for a moment, then lower back to the starting position.

If you struggle to do a chin-up, use a long resistance band, loop it around the bar, then place your knees into the band to help pull yourself up.

Dips

A dip forces you to push your entire bodyweight vertically up and down on parallel bars. If you lean your bodyweight slightly forward, you’ll be recruiting your pecs, making these super effective if you don't want to do a standard bench press for your chest. You’ll also be working your triceps and shoulders.

Dr. Pak recommends going as low as you can comfortably go at the bottom of the movement, keeping your elbows close to your body, and your torso leaning slightly forward.

Here’s how to do dips:

• Raise yourself onto two dip bars with straight arms
• Lower your body down to the ground, bending at the elbow. If you can, keep going until your shoulders are lower than your elbows.
• Push into the bar and lift your body until you’re back in your starting position, with your arms straight.

How to turn these into a workout

Dr. Pak recommends doing these two exercises, followed by a few sets of lateral raises to work your entire upper body. If you’re working out at home, check out the best adjustable dumbbells here.

A superset in strength training means doing two exercises back-to-back with minimal or no rest in between. During supersets, you’ll normally target opposing muscle groups; for example, here, you’re working your chest, followed by your back. Supersets are a great way to train if you’re short on time.

Here’s Dr. Pak’s upper-body superset:

• Do a set of chin-ups to failure
• Rest for 10-20 seconds
• Do a set of dips to failure
• Rest for a couple of minutes
• Repeat four times, twice a week

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• I'm a personal trainer who works with clients over 50 — these are the 3 mobility exercises I never skip
• After 60, this is the 10-minute routine I use with my clients to stay strong, mobile and independent
• 'I’m a Pilates instructor, and I recommend these 5 core exercises to help older clients build strength and improve posture'

I believe, even as a personal trainer and fitness editor, that your life shouldn't be spent in the gym (unless you want it to be). For that reason, routines that can be done at home or that are short but effective can help contribute toward your weekly exercise routine without taking away from other things you love doing.

Recently, I was chatting with Pilates instructor Bojana, who runs the Strong Pilates studio. She gave me a three-move Pilates routine you can do using the reformer or your mat if you don't have access to a studio or machine.

It's beginner-friendly and strengthens your entire body. In just three moves, I was shocked at just how effective and challenging this routine is. Here's how to access it for free.

As always, seek advice from a physical therapist, Pilates instructor, or relevant medical professional if you're unsure about an injury, health condition, or similar.

What is the 3-move Pilates routine?

This routine combines strength and mobility; using a reformer provides extra resistance, but there's no reason you can't use your mat or a smooth floor where you can slide a dish towel across it.

Work for 45 seconds, take 15 seconds to rest, then move to the next exercise. Aim for 5 rounds.

Plank hip dips

Hip dips use torso rotation to strengthen your obliques as you rest on your forearms and twist from side to side. You'll also feel this working your shoulders, glutes, hips and quads.

• Start in a forearm plank position with your shoulders over your elbows and hips aligned with your shoulders
• If using a reformer, attach springs and press the carriage away to create resistance as you hold the plank. Otherwise, perform on your mat
• Twist to the left and tap your outer left hip toward the mat or reformer
• Rotate back to center, then repeat on the right.

Sweepbacks

Sweepbacks extend the hip flexors and work the gluteus muscles as you extend your leg and kick behind you. Try to maintain a strong tabletop position and zip your belly in toward your spine, focusing on a smooth sweep of the leg.

For an advanced variation on the reformer, attach your springs and hook your working foot through your strap. You're going to position your body on the carriage, and as you sweep your leg back, the carriage will move. Your goal is to control the entire movement of the carriage back and forth as your leg moves.

• Start in a tabletop position with your shoulders over your wrists and hips over your knees
• On the reformer, place your right toes on the ground on your right side. If you're using a mat, extend your right leg behind you and tuck your toes. You won't get as much range of motion, but you can still perform the exercise
• Sweep the leg up and back behind you without arching your lower back. Pull your belly in and push out through your hands
• At the top, squeeze your glutes and core and point the toes down. Pause
• Slowly lower the leg, then switch sides.

Squat extensions

If you plan to use your reformer, stand on one leg on the platform for stability and place your other foot onto the carriage; your goal is to open and close the carriage with control. The more springs, the more resistance; the fewer springs, the less stability. Pick your poison.

If you're performing this exercise without a reformer, use a dishcloth or similar on a smooth floor; wood works well.

This exercise hits the outer glutes, core, and inner thighs hard, but overall, you're working your hips and lower body.

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Your back should be straight, chest proud, and hands clasped in front of you or resting on your hips
• Sit your hips back into a squat with your core engaged
• With control, place your weight into your left leg, then smoothly glide your right leg away from you, keeping your knees tracking with your toes
• Pause, then slowly draw your leg in again. Switch sides.

Here's what happened when I tried it

This workout targets your lower body and core primarily, but your upper body also supports stability. I love the focus on the glutes and hips, which are essential muscle groups for strength, stability, and healthy movement patterns.

Each exercise tests you to work one side of your body at a time, which I need because my left side is noticeably weaker than my right; something I've still not been able to iron out, despite years of training toward it.

Focus on keeping the movement smooth and controlled; the focus is on time spent working (45 seconds per move), rather than reps, so think about the quality of the ones you manage to do each round.

The idea of this short Pilates routine is to connect you with your core and build strength through your legs; it challenges stability and control and asks your body to control itself while moving through resistance, whether you use a reformer or not.

I'm not joking; I was shaking from head to toe after trying this. It blends strengthening with improving range of motion and forces you to focus on what your muscles are doing.

Here are three things it did for my body:

• 1. I felt more open in my body after: Sweepbacks help my hips open up, and I love the stretch down my inner thighs during the squats.
• 2. It gives me the good shakes: It doesn't matter whether you use the reformer or not, because either way, it will leave you shaking. That's down to the amount of control and slow tension you will create. There's no rushing here, just pure resistance.
• 3. My whole body felt worked: Although you're not specifically targeting your upper body, your entire body is working throughout, and I came away feeling like I'd managed a full-body workout in a short time.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

More from Tom's Guide

• Not sit-ups, planks, or crunches: I do this simple Pilates exercise every single day to build a strong and stable core and work on my hip flexor mobility
• I teach people how to be more mobile: 3 low-impact back and shoulder moves that build stability and strength after 40
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Any parent will know how hard it is to fit in any sort of exercise with kids in the house, so a fast, functional workout with minimal equipment is essential. As a single mom, I appreciate the juggle, but when I stumbled upon this simple kettlebell workout, I had to share it.

All you’ll need to build full-body fitness is one of the best kettlebells and three rounds of these four exercises. Remember, the right weight will feel challenging, but not impossible by the final few reps. If at any point you feel like the weight is compromising your form, it’s too heavy. If you don’t have a kettlebell, you could also use one heavy dumbbell for this workout.

As always, a reminder that if you’re a complete beginner, pregnant or postpartum, or recovering from an injury, this might not be the right workout for you and your body. Always seek personalized advice from a qualified professional if you’re not sure.

What is the workout?

The workout is shared by Jeff, who is the trainer behind MidLifeFitClub on YouTube. He often shares stories about how he transformed his body in his 50s through workouts and healthy eating.

This is a HIIT workout aimed at burning as many calories in a short amount of time.

Here are the exercises involved:

• 12 x thrusters: Jeff is holding two dumbbells, but he explains in the comments that you can do the same move with a kettlebell in both hands in front of your chest, lifting it to the ceiling. Start with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, bend your knees and send your hips back to lower into a squat, then push through your feet to return to your starting position. As you do so, lift both arms to the ceiling, lifting the weight above your head. Keep your core engaged throughout the exercise, thinking about sucking your belly button in toward your spine and bracing your core.
• 15 x kettlebell swings: Some things to remember with the kettlebell swing — the movement should be controlled at all times. As you swing the kettlebell in front of you, squeeze your glutes and core, then swing it up in line with your torso. Keep a soft bend in your knees.
• 20 x push-ups: You don’t need any equipment, but a good yoga mat can help make things more comfortable. Keep your core engaged as you lower your torso down to the mat. If this is too much, drop your knees down to the floor; you’ll still get all the benefits of a push-up.
• 40 x mountain climbers: Start in a high plank position, drive your left knee underneath your body to touch your right elbow. Keep alternating sides and move slowly and with control. Don’t be tempted to run your knees in — the slower you move, the harder your core has to work.

You’ll do three rounds of the circuit. Take a small rest in between each round if you need to.

What are the benefits?

All of these focus on building functional fitness in the body — this means preparing your body for daily tasks, like carrying a heavy load of shopping or a toddler who refuses to get back in the stroller. During these everyday movements, your core will have to stabilize uneven weight, and by training for this in your workouts, you’re less likely to get injured.

Unlike traditional gym machines that isolate a single muscle, you’ll be working multiple joints and muscles at the same time, meaning you’re getting more bang for your buck in a shorter workout. Your heart has to pump blood to your legs, arms, and core all at once, elevating your heart rate and boosting your cardiovascular endurance without hours in the gym.

Finally, these exercises can all work on your balance, coordination, and posture. During the thrusters and kettlebell swings, you’ll be building glute and hamstring power, as well as reversing the effects of sitting all day on your hips and upper back. You’ll also be getting all the cardiovascular benefits without any impact on your feet, ankles and knees, which is great if you’re a runner or cyclist.

What are you waiting for? Grab something heavy and give this workout a try before the kids wake up.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

More from Tom's Guide

• I teach people how to be more mobile: 3 low-impact back and shoulder moves that build stability and strength after 40
• I’m a personal trainer who works with clients aged 65+ daily. Here are the 2 exercises I always recommend when it comes to building mobility and balance
• A Pilates instructor shares a 6-move routine for over-60s to build balance, mobility and functional core strength

When I have a lot on my plate at home, the thought of heading to the yoga studio feels like extra life admin I don't need. That said, I don't want to neglect exercise, as my mind and body need it, so I turn to short exercise snacks instead.

This short 10-minute yoga routine is designed to stretch stiff bodies, and while I didn't design it, I have tested it, and I can tell you it gets the nod from me. Save it until just before bedtime or even first thing in the morning to gently move your joints and muscles in a low-impact way.

All you need is one of the best yoga mats for your practice (I recommend a plush one with some cushioning), and to read on for the full routine. For more, check out this amazing 60-second core routine.

Watch: 10-minute yoga routine by Yoga With Bird

For me, yoga is about moving mindfully rather than trying to achieve an outcome. It's really the only time I connect my body with my breath, and I know a lot of keen yogis feel the same. As much as I love dumbbell workouts, kettlebell flows, or the odd HIIT session, nothing unites breath and body quite like it.

There's a wealth of research telling us that yoga can boost mood, reduce anxiety, and create a sense of calm. It can also help you increase mobility, flexibility, and strength, depending on the type of practice you enjoy. I could go on and on about the benefits of yoga, but instead, why not settle into a practice and see for yourself?

This one is beginner-friendly and only takes 10 minutes. I recommend a quiet place where you can roll out a mat and listen along to the video.

If you enjoy faster-paced yoga routines, this might not be for you, as it encourages you to slow down instead of speed up. It will feel quite stretchy with a lot of focus on your breathing. But I'd argue that the faster you move through life and the more impatient you get with slow styles of yoga, the more you actually need to try this.

Sometimes, we may not want something, but we need it. This is particularly true for me, and I really enjoyed it as a result.

You’ll spend several breaths in each posture, but you can always move with your pace of breath, as everyone's inhale and exhale are different.

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What are the benefits?

"This yoga for stiff bodies class is perfect to do every morning or anytime you need a bit of movement," says your instructor. "You can even use this practice as a warm-up before a longer yoga class or right before or after your workout or run. Join me in this quick 10-minute morning yoga full-body stretch to feel your best!"

I'm not going to overpromise on this routine. It's only 10 minutes, and some of that time will be spent in child's pose and holding your poses. Sometimes, spending longer in one position allows you to melt into the posture better, releasing tension from your muscles to find a deeper stretch.

I find this tricky, as my impatient ADHD brain wants to move on to the next thing, and I quickly get bored. However, Yin yoga and other slow styles of yoga are great at teaching stillness, and you might find yourself (eventually) indulging in this opportunity to stay in one place.

It's not for everyone, but the routine does still retain a flowy feel, allowing you to move into spaces in your body that feel tight or niggly and giving you the chance to notice what you're feeling.

While classes like this, performed consistently, can help contribute toward flexibility, mobility, mindfulness, and overall activity levels, it's not going to build strength, muscle, or endurance. It's also not going to contribute to your cardio or resistance training output.

For that, I would recommend checking out a few other options below. Let us know what you think!

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• Forget burpees —the 'Pilates burpee' is beginner-friendly and low-impact (and you’ll love it)
• A yoga instructor says this is the 5-minute yoga routine you need for strong and mobile hips and core muscles

Most people think getting visible abs means mindlessly crunching or performing a concoction of different exercises that promise to hit your core. But after more than 20 years of training, I've learnt that mastering certain movements well is often more effective than doing a dozen badly.

Mastering one exercise gives you the chance to perfect your technique, progressively overload the movement and really target the muscles you're trying to strengthen. In this case, that's your deepest abdominal muscles, which are the stabilizing muscles that support your spine, improve posture and create the strong foundation every well-developed core is built on.

Don't get me wrong, lowering your body fat is what ultimately makes your abs visible, but building the muscles underneath is just as important. And one of the most effective exercises for doing exactly that doesn't involve a single crunch.

Here's what you need to know.

What is the hollow hold?

I was first introduced to the hollow hold during my gymnastics days, and it's an exercise I've come back to time and time again. Today, it's used by everyone from CrossFit athletes to strength coaches because it delivers impact with little equipment and almost no movement.

This deceptively simple (but surprisingly difficult) exercise teaches you how to brace your core properly by forcing your abdominal muscles to work continuously to keep your spine stable. It particularly targets your deepest core muscle, the transverse abdominis, while also challenging your rectus abdominis (your six-pack muscles), obliques and hip flexors.

And as someone who spends a lot of time running and lifting weights, I'm always looking for exercises that deliver maximum results with minimal fuss. The hollow hold ticks every box.

Read on to learn how to do the hollow hold correctly, why it's one of the best exercises for building a stronger core and how to progress it as you get stronger.

How to do a hollow hold with proper form

Instead of balancing on your hands and toes, you're lying on your back with your shoulders and feet off the floor while using your core to keep your body perfectly still.

• Lie on your back and press your lower back firmly into the floor. This is the most important part of the exercise.
• From here, lift your feet a couple of inches off the ground, then raise your shoulder blades and extend your arms overhead.
• Squeeze your glutes and keep your ribs pulled down.
• Hold the position for up to 60 seconds while breathing steadily.
• Lower with control and don't collapse.

The aim is to create one long, slightly curved "dish" shape from your fingertips to your toes while keeping your lower back glued firmly to the floor.

What makes the hollow hold so effective is the combination of midline control and constant tension. By aggressively bracing your abs and maintaining that brace for as long as you can, you're forcing your deepest core muscles to work continuously to stabilize your spine.

It looks simple, but don't be surprised if your abs are trembling long before the timer runs out.

What if I can't hold it for 60 seconds?

Start with three sets of 20-30 seconds.

As your core becomes stronger, gradually build toward holding the position for a full 60 seconds while maintaining perfect form.

Remember, quality beats time. If your lower back starts lifting off the floor, finish the set. If you’re really struggling to maintain contact between your lower back and the floor, bend your knees or lift your legs slightly higher until you build more strength.

What are the benefits?

Unlike crunches, which mainly train your abs through trunk flexion, the hollow hold teaches your core to resist movement. That means your abdominal muscles stay under constant tension throughout the exercise, forcing your deep stabilizing muscles to work much harder while reinforcing good posture and spinal stability.

You'll train your entire core, particularly the transverse abdominis (the deepest layer of your abdominal wall, which acts like a natural corset around your waist). The hollow hold also heavily recruits the rectus abdominis (your six-pack muscles), internal and external obliques, hip flexors and shoulders.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

As a runner, this is one of the reasons I love the move. A stronger core helps your posture, allows you to transfer force more efficiently and improves running form when fatigue starts to creep in. It also reduces unnecessary movement through your torso, making every stride feel stronger.

As a mum, I love it too. My daughter is obsessed with handstands, and the hollow hold is one of the exercises that helps me keep up with her. It teaches your body to brace properly by locking your core, tucking your pelvis and keeping your ribs down, which is the exact position you need to stay straight and balanced when upside down.

How to progress the hollow hold

Once you've mastered the standard hollow hold, there are plenty of ways to make it harder. Try holding a light dumbbell overhead or gently rocking backward and forward while maintaining the “dish” position.

One of my favorite progressions is also known as the Gator Roll. From your hollow hold position, slowly roll onto one side, then back again without losing your shape. It looks impressive (and definitely attracts a few looks at the gym), but maintaining constant tension throughout turns an already difficult exercise into a genuine test of total-body tension, coordination and core strength.

More from Tom's Guide

• I’m a personal trainer for seniors — everyone over 40 should start doing this exercise now
• I'm a weightlifting coach — 3 exercises I prefer over lunges for building strong, stable legs and knees over 40
• A yoga instructor says this is the 5-minute yoga routine you need for strong and mobile hips and core muscles

We know that jumping into a workout isn't recommended; as a trainer, ideally, you'd always warm up first with me. But whether or not you swerve your warm-ups in your own time, preparing your core and spine is very important, and these five "grounding" exercises are perfect for helping you do that.

If you try these before workouts, you'll feel more connected to your body, including your core and diaphragm, and the ground beneath you. This is particularly crucial for exercises that require foot-ground connection, like squats and deadlifts, plus moves like push-ups or planks, where your hands or elbows are also planted.

Below, I show you exactly how to do them, plus share some of the benefits. One of the best yoga mats is useful to have, but any exercise mat will work.

If you experience pain at any time, stop and rest. If you're working with an injury or health condition, or you're currently pregnant or postnatal, I recommend seeking advice before starting these exercises.

Watch: 5 low-impact exercises for posture and core strength

Try to work slowly through these and focus on exactly what your breath and body are doing. As you breathe, slow it down to three to four counts in and out, breathing down into your stomach while lightly bracing your core. Imagine inflating and deflating a balloon; placing your hands on your stomach can be useful for connecting with the breath. Some beginner breathing exercises may help you get started.

Additionally, with your feet on the ground, press through your heels and big and little toes. This is called a tripod position, and combined with toe splay, will help you feel connected to the ground. Combined with some breathing exercises, spine work, and core engagement, your whole body should feel ready to move safely.

The routine:

• Pelvic tilt 2 sets x 8-10 reps: Lie on the mat with your knees bent and feet pressed down, hip-width apart. Place your hands lightly on your hips. Keep your chin tucked so that your spine is neutral. Slowly tilt your pelvis toward you and draw your navel in; notice how this flattens your lower back to the mat. Reverse the motion back to neutral.
• Toe splay 60-90 seconds: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Press down through your big and little toes and heels. Begin rolling your feet from the outer edges to the inner edges, and from heels to toes. Roll through your toes individually from big to little, pressing down into the mat and feeling the connection with the ground.
• Belly breathing for 2 sets of 10 breaths: You can lie on your back or stay standing. Place both hands on your stomach and begin breathing in and out for the count of 4 seconds each way. As you inhale through your nose, feel your stomach expand like blowing up a balloon; as you exhale through pursed lips, feel your stomach deflate, and your navel draw in.
• Core bracing 2 sets x 8-10 reps: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet raised in a tabletop position. Place your hands by your sides on the mat. Slowly peel your upper back away from the mat and send your gaze forward; crunch your stomach and brace as you press into the mat with both hands. Hold for a moment, then slowly lower your back and head to the mat again.
• Forearm plank pushes 2 sets x 8-10 reps: Start in a forearm plank with your shoulders stacked over your elbows. You can place your knees down for extra support. As you hold the plank, push through your forearms to lift your chest further from the mat, separating your shoulder blades and slightly rounding your upper back. Release, then repeat.

What are the benefits?

Here are some of the benefits you can expect:

Pelvic tilt: Technically a core exercise, the tilt strengthens your abdominal muscles and can help relieve lower back pain. If you struggle with posture, this one is for you, as it also helps engage the deep core muscles like the transverse abdominis. I find this particularly helpful during floor exercises, when I might be arching my lower back rather than connecting with the ground.

Toe splay: Foot-ground connection is crucial for stability and power during standing or balancing exercises. Think squats, deadlifts, or even some yoga poses. It's also a brilliant grounding technique that can relieve stress and help you feel more connected to the body. I recommend closing your eyes and focusing on how your feet feel on the earth beneath you. Take long, deep breaths as a moment of mindfulness.

Belly breathing: Belly breathing is helpful for core activation and engaging the diaphragm, ensuring you breathe properly during exercise, when your body is under tension. This can improve posture and alignment and also help manage blood pressure during heavy lifting. It's a useful way to reduce stress and move the body from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system, which means rest and repair. Think of it as a mini reset.

Core bracing: As the name suggests, this drill will help you engage your core properly. As you reach up and forward, you'll draw your navel in and brace down through your stomach, helping to activate the deep core. We want to focus on squeeze-and-release movements throughout to get the most from this move.

Forearm plank pushes: Finally, planks are one of the most common multi-muscle core exercises out there, but often we dump into the shoulders, which takes away from the active engagement of the exercise. Pressing through your forearms and drawing your shoulder blades apart will help you lift your upper body, improve engagement and boost form.

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As we get older, strength training isn’t about bulking up, but instead, the focus is on maintaining muscle mass and improving the elasticity of our joints. We naturally lose muscle as we age, and this can lead to stiffness, poor balance, and chronic pain. Strength and mobility exercises are the best way to counteract this.

Yet if you’re returning to exercise following an extended break, or you’re a complete beginner, it can be tricky to know where to start. Luckily, you’ve landed in the right place. Below, 65-year-old trainer Janet Osbourne shares a quick mobility routine you can do every morning to really feel a difference in your body.

As a reminder, if you’re currently recovering from an injury, it’s always best to seek personalized advice from a qualified professional. If at any point you feel a sharp pain when exercising, stop.

What are the exercises?

Osbourne shares six different exercises to add to your routine. Five of them are done standing, and for one of them you’ll need to sit down on the floor — using an exercise mat or yoga mat can help make things more comfortable. You won’t need any additional equipment; however, you might want to be near something to hold onto for support, such as a table or sturdy chair.

Here are the exercises:

• Hip rotations: 10 per leg. Hold onto something for support and lift one leg with a bend in your knee. Take your leg out to the side, then back behind you, thinking about circling the leg from your hip joint. Do 10 reps on one leg, then turn and do the same on the other leg.
• Ankle circles: 5 each direction on each leg. Starting in the same position as the first exercise, bend one knee and balance on the other leg. Hold on to the side for support if you need it. Engage your core, squeezing your belly button into your spine — this will help you balance. Draw a circle with your ankle, making five circles in one direction, then switch to the other direction. Complete 10 circles on each leg.
• Cat-cow: 10 reps. This is a standing version of the classic yoga move, which can help keep your spine mobile and reduce stiffness in your lower back. Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, hinge at your hips, and keeping your back flat, run your hands down the front of your legs. Pause when your back is flat, then reverse the movement. As you stand back up, round your shoulders and arch your back.
• Arm swings: 10 reps on each arm. These work on your shoulder mobility. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and engage your core. Keeping your arm straight, swing one arm up to the ceiling, then the other. Keep switching sides and complete 10 reps on each side.
• Elbow squeeze and open: 10 reps. Start standing with your feet hip-width apart and your core engaged. Place your hands behind your head with your elbows out to the side. Bring your elbows together in front of your face, pause, then take them back out to the sides. Complete ten reps.
• 90/90 hip rotations: 10 reps on each side. This is one of the best exercises you can do to build mobility in your hips. Start seated on the floor with one leg bent at 90 degrees in front of you and the other at 90 degrees behind, so your knees point in opposite directions. Your front thigh should align with your torso, and your back thigh should extend out to the side. Keep your chest upright and hold your arms out in front of you. Slowly rotate your hips to switch sides, keeping both knees bent — aim for control, not speed. Do 10 reps on each side.

What are the benefits?

“Mobility training is key to long-term independence,” Osbourne writes. “It helps keep your joints moving well, supports healthy muscle function, and improves balance and stability, reducing your risk of falls. A few minutes of mobility each day is an investment in how you’ll move for years to come.”

When we talk about mobility, we’re referring to your ability to control and move a joint through its full, intended range of motion. All of these exercises focus on that. They might not feel like much, but you’ll be lubricating the joints, reducing the friction that causes arthritis pain. Exercises like this can also reduce the impact of spending too much time sitting down, helping improve your posture.

Finally, the single most important benefit of adding mobility exercises to your routine is that they reduce your risk of trips and falls. Exercises like these give your ankles, hips, and spine the range to react if you trip, helping you correct and catch yourself before getting hurt.

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Squats don't just build strength and muscle; they're also a functional compound exercise because they work multiple muscle groups and joints and mimic the types of movements you'd do in real life outside the gym — picking something up, getting out of a chair or sitting down, for example.

The bodyweight squat is the first place to start when learning how to squat properly, but over time, you might want to add new squat variations. Most people like to learn the quad-dominant front squat and the back-body-dominant back squat, as you can arguably lift the heaviest.

But if you're here looking for some new movements to add to your strength program, here are three I love as a personal trainer — my clients love them too.

3 squat variations to try

Building strong legs and glutes will contribute toward a powerful lower body capable of climbing, swimming, running, walking and more.

As we get older, naturally, we begin to lose lean muscle mass. Muscle fibers are known as fast-twitch and slow-twitch; fast-twitch are responsible for quicker, more powerful efforts and tend to decline at a higher rate, which means strength and balance can also decline.

A consistent lower-body strength program can help you fight back, and any form of resistance training added to your weekly routine is a great place to start if you want to protect or build strength and muscle mass.

Give these three squats a try, and consider adding weight using resistance bands, kettlebells, dumbbells, or barbells.

1. Suitcase squat: Mobility

I like to lift really heavy kettlebells for this one, but you can also use dumbbells. Focus on pulling your shoulders back and down and keeping your back straight and long with your chest lifted.

Sit your hips back and down as if you're about to take a seat in a chair behind you and lower the weights either side of your legs as you squat. See if you can get your thighs parallel to the floor (remember, this isn't a deadlift), then drive upward through your legs to stand. If your chest falls forward, try to keep your torso upright.

I find clients notice more of a challenge in mobility, especially the hips and ankles. I want you to press through your big and little toes and heels, spreading your toes and pressing through the feet.

3-4 sets, 8-12 reps.

2. Eagle squat: Strength and balance

Plant your weight into your left leg and hold a heavy weight with both hands at your chest. Wrap your right leg behind your left and tuck your right foot around the left ankle. Sit your hips back and down, and keep your chest lifted as you lower as far as possible into a squat. Pause at the bottom, then drive upward to stand.

Again, keep your spine straight and avoid leaning your chest forward. Always think about that chair behind you and try to sit into it. Remember to switch sides. Really focus on the action of your knees and ensure they're tracking out, not inward. You might notice your ankle mobility gets tested here, so only lower as far as you can without the heel lifting.

3-4 sets, 6-8 reps per side.

3. Wall press Bulgarian squat: Activation

For this version, we're not so much using the wall for support but to create isometric tension in the back leg so it isn't resting. As you support your foot on the wall, press as hard as you can into it to activate the back leg, especially the hip and quad, then shift most of your weight into the front leg as you hinge forward at the hips and load the glutes.

Again, this is a unilateral exercise as you'll focus on one leg at a time. While the Bulgarian split squat loads the quads, it's a great move for hitting the glutes harder, with less pressure on the spine. Think better balance, strength, power and single-leg stability. I would always encourage runners and soccer players to incorporate this into their training.

Stand in front of a wall, shift your weight into your left leg, then step the right foot back against the wall. Press as hard as you can into the wall with your foot. If you feel confident, hold a heavy weight to your chest with both hands.

Hinge at your hips and lean forward with a straight spine. Bend your left knee and lower, tracking your right knee in an arcing motion toward the wall behind you. Pause at the bottom, then drive upward to stand. Remember to switch sides.

3-4 sets, 6-8 reps per side.

Verdict

Of course, we encourage you to train your whole body, so while these three types of squat can help build a strong lower body, you'll also need to think about upper-body workouts and core work for a more well-rounded program.

Consider progressing your workouts as you get fitter and stronger by adding more load, sets, variations, or reps as you improve; this is called progressive overload.

Strength training is a powerful anti-aging tool, and you don’t have to lift heavy weights to benefit from it. I encourage playing around with dumbbells, bodyweight, resistance bands, barbells, or kettlebells, and lifting at roughly 65-80% of your maximum ability. Even just one or two strength workouts a week can be beneficial if you can't manage more than that to begin with.

And did you know that one study published in Biology found 90 minutes of training per week could lower biological age by as much as four years? Let us know how you get on in the comments.

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Lower back pain is one of the most common injuries or health conditions you see cropping up, and managing back pain through movement involves assessing your options and finding the best low-impact exercises for your spine.

If you've been cleared to exercise and you struggle with your back, then low-impact core exercises can help you strengthen your core while minimizing the risk of pain or strain. That might mean popular abs exercises like sit-ups or Russian twists aren't for you, and you could be on the market for some new moves.

I've recently been testing this for myself, and I'm currently swapping well-known core exercises for one in particular. Here's why I love it, and a step-by-step for how to perform it yourself.

If you are currently working with pain, an injury, or any health condition, I advise speaking with a qualified medical professional before starting any new exercises or workout programs. I'm not a qualified physical therapist and cannot diagnose a health condition.

How to do hollow hold pulses

The hollow hold exercise is one of my favorite core exercises to teach because it targets your deep core, builds stability, and encourages deep, expansive diaphragmatic breathing.

I first really got to know the hollow hold when I did a lot of CrossFit, as this core exercise was often taught during warm-ups before any work on the bar; it's brilliant if you like to do pull-ups, muscle-ups, toes-to-bar, or any hanging exercises like L-sits, as it teaches you to engage your core muscles and hold one position with proper form and breathwork.

I don't know anyone who won't struggle with as little as 20 seconds of this move, and it's not uncommon to see a lot of trembling muscles.

For this version of the exercise, I want you to add little pulses up and down with your arms and legs, followed by pulses outward and inward with your legs. You can add one of the best resistance bands just above your knees to make this harder.

Here's how:

• Lie on your back with your arms and legs extended
• Slightly tuck your chin toward your chest, then peel your arms and upper back away from the mat so that your shoulder blades lift away. Keep your gaze forward and brace your core muscles, drawing your navel in
• Keep your arms alongside your ears and reach back with your fingertips. Lift your legs to hover above the mat. Point your toes and glue your legs together to activate your inner thighs
• Aim for a soft banana shape with your body and hold for 20 seconds, then relax for 10 seconds. Repeat for the desired number of rounds
• Once you feel confident, add little pulses up and down with your arms and legs, focusing on pressing your lower back into the mat. Add pulses in and out with your legs, too.

Benefits

Here are some benefits and cues to help you with the hollow hold exercise.

Strengthens your deep core

Your core as a whole (namely, the diaphragm, transverse abdominis and internal obliques) works hard as you hold the position using something called isometric muscle contraction. You may also feel this in your hips, legs, arms and shoulders as you resist gravity, but they shouldn't take over the exercise.

Cue: Keep your arms glued to your ears and your legs glued to each other; this improves contraction and alignment.

Protects your lower back

Low-impact core exercises help protect your spine by supporting your back. The beauty of this move is that your lower back will press gently into the mat throughout so that only your upper back, arms and legs lift. It's very important to consciously contract your entire body and breathe toward your stomach. Holding your breath can increase blood pressure, which we don't want.

Cue: Focus on slightly tucking your pelvis toward you so that you can't slide a piece of paper under your lower back. If that doesn't help, consider placing both hands beneath your lower back for extra support.

Translates to other exercises

It might not seem like the type of exercise you'd do in other areas of your life, but building deep core strength and stability does translate, as you need your core to safely drive movement like lifting a heavy box or climbing a steep hill without hurting your back.

Moreover, this exercise teaches you to understand where your body is in space and encourages you to consciously contract as many muscles as possible; I find this improves overall mind-muscle connection.

Cue: See if you can add pulses or maybe a rocking motion while holding the soft banana shape; this mimics the first stage of getting off the floor from a lying position.

What happened when I added it to my weekly routine?

This move never gets easier, but I love that.

Every time I add it back into my routine and swap out more common core exercises, my back loves me. I also find it helps me re-engage with my core muscles, which I have to (constantly) remind myself exist for a reason, and that's to protect me from injury.

Pilates has been brilliant at strengthening my core, but this move is one that I keep returning to time after time. It's simple and can be scaled to your ability, and if it ever feels too much, you can simply focus on lifting just your arms or legs or alternating between the two.

I like adding pulses to work my core a little harder, but the leg pulses in particular help engage the outer glutes and get the inner thighs working, too.

Play around with it and have some fun, but never neglect your breathing. I want you to think about blowing up a balloon and funneling your breath to your stomach while bracing. This will also help protect your back.

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Obviously, I'm not suddenly sporting a rippling six-pack, but this is about deeper core strength rather than the more superficial gains.

Why not add it to your routine and let me know what you think?

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Most of my senior personal training clients come to me with one major concern: balance. It’s definitely an important consideration for this age group, as according to the CDC, falls are the leading cause of injury for those over 65.

Strengthening the muscles that keep us upright and supported is the first step to building better balance. Hip airplanes do just that, targeting the glutes, hips, legs, and core while challenging our ability to stabilize during movement. They’re a beneficial exercise for almost everyone, but especially for active adults focused on healthy aging.

If you’ve crossed the 40 mark and want to protect your strength and stability as you get older, start doing hip airplanes regularly. You won’t need any equipment to do them, but a yoga mat can provide some extra cushioning if desired.

How to do hip airplanes

Check in with your doctor before trying any new exercise or workout regimen. Hip airplanes are a fantastic way to strengthen multiple muscle groups at once, but your medical team may recommend avoiding them based on your specific health background.

Hip airplanes can also be somewhat challenging to master. If you’ve never done them before, consider meeting with a certified personal trainer to learn proper form. A trainer can also suggest appropriate modifications, alternative exercises, or progressions when you’re ready.

In addition to a yoga mat, you may want a solid surface nearby for support, like a sturdy chair or section of bare wall.

Start with one set of 5-8 reps on each side, 2-3 times per week. Once you’ve built up some strength, you can try up to 3 sets of 8-10 reps. Hip airplanes can be done on their own, as a part of your lower body warm-up, or in conjunction with other strength exercises.

Here’s how to do them:

• Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
• Engage your core.
• Bend your left knee slightly.
• Pitch your torso forward, lifting your right leg behind you.
• Lengthen your arms perpendicularly to your torso.
• Slowly rotate your torso to your left.
• Pause briefly.
• Slowly rotate your torso to your right.
• Pause briefly.
• Return to the starting position.
• Continue for 5-10 reps, then repeat on the other side.

Benefits of hip airplanes

Hip airplanes work a number of different muscles at the same time, including the glute medius, glute minimus, and hamstrings. Your hip abductors, hip adductors, core, lower back, and quadriceps also work to provide stabilization and support as you move.

Since hip airplanes are done unilaterally (or one side at a time), each side must work independently of the other. This highlights any strength deficits, allows you to target your left and right sides equally, and reduces your risk of overcompensation injuries.

Hip airplanes are also an example of dynamic balance — exercises that require stabilization while in motion. Falls rarely happen when we’re standing completely still, so it’s crucial to learn how to properly balance as we shift our weight and move our body.

Modifications for hip airplanes

Hip airplanes are an advanced move, so you may need to modify the exercise as you build the appropriate strength and stability.

The first way to modify is by holding on to a stable surface. This makes the balance aspect of the exercise far less challenging. Start by holding on with both hands, then as you feel more stable, hold on with only one hand.

You can also try practicing the first portion of the movement without rotating your torso, similar to single-leg romanian deadlifts.

Additionally, you can limit your rotations to one side and return to the starting position between each rep.

Progressions for hip airplanes

When you’re ready to up the ante, there are a few ways to make hip airplanes more difficult. Only attempt these progressions once you’re fully confident with the standard form.

The easiest method for progressing the hip airplane is to increase your reps or slow down your tempo. Try moving at half-speed as you rotate through each position, and add a few more reps to each set. Moving slower requires a high level of full body control and stability, and doing more reps will improve your muscular endurance.

You can also add resistance by holding on to a dumbbell, kettlebell, or medicine ball, which increases the load your muscles have to support while balancing and moving.

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The best exercises for strength and muscle after 40, 50, or 60 are progressive, repeatable, scalable and unfussy.

If you didn't already know, fitness markers, including muscle loss, surprisingly begin to decline as early as 35 years old. Each decade we lose muscle mass, and this decline can accelerate after 60.

I encourage strength training throughout life to maintain as much strength, mobility, balance and muscle as possible; I encourage it even more strongly after 50, especially for women, for whom hormones are another factor to consider.

For many of my clients, I recommend the same exercises at any age, but how we approach them might differ from person to person. Over the years, there have been five that still always stand out, and here's why and how to do them.

If you experience pain at any time, stop and rest. If you're working with an injury or health condition, I recommend seeking advice before starting these exercises.

5 strength exercises that build strength and muscle after 50

Everyone has a mix of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers in the body. Your fast-twitch fibers are responsible for speed and power and sustain exercise for less time (think sprinting); slow-twitch typically sustain longer, slower efforts of exercise (think a long run or steady-state routine).

Later in life, fast-twitch fibers can be lost at a higher rate. This means building and maintaining strength and balance becomes even more crucial, as well as focusing on moves that power your everyday life, tapping into functional fitness. Without strength training, areas like power, speed, balance and reaction time can decline, especially after 50.

Give these exercises a try. You can individually add them to an existing routine or create a five-move full-body workout. I recommend 8-12 reps and 3-4 sets per move, taking roughly 30 to 60 seconds of rest between each exercise.

Aim to choose weights that challenge you; the last few reps of every set should feel like a real push to complete. However, don't let your weight choice distract from your form. Keep your core engaged throughout, and focus on the quality of your reps. I recommend a set of the best adjustable dumbbells or hex weights for this routine.

What are the benefits?

Overhead press: The overhead press is a test of pushing power, strengthening the upper body, primarily the upper chest, triceps, and shoulders; your core and upper back are also heavily recruited.

Stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart and keep a soft bend in your knees. Hold a weight in each hand at your shoulders, with your elbows high. You can opt for a wide or narrow position.

Keep your pelvis tucked under and core engaged (no arching your lower back), then press the weights overhead with power; try not to let your legs assist you for this variation, otherwise you'd be doing a push press.

With control, lower the weights to the starting position and repeat for reps.

Overhead side lunges: Side lunges strengthen your glutes, hips, quads and hamstrings; the lateral motion is effective for targeting your outer glutes and inner thighs (the adductors), and the overhead position helps engage the thoracic spine, shoulders and arms.

Start in a wide-leg stance with toes pointed slightly outward. Hold a weight in each hand and press them overhead; think about hugging your biceps close to your ears and stacking the weights above your shoulders.

Bend into your left knee and lower into a side lunge, sitting your hips back and down while lifting your chest. Your back should stay straight and the weights should stay pressed overhead. Pause at the bottom, then drive up through your left leg to stand and move straight to the right side. A

Aim to sit as low into the lunge as possible.

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Stiletto squat with pause: The stiletto squat works your glutes and legs, heavily recruits your core and tests balance and ankle mobility. This one is quad-dominant, but try to stay up on your tiptoes to really work the calf muscles harder.

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a weight in each hand. You could also hold one weight to your chest, extend your weights out in front of you, or even press the weights overhead.

From here, lift onto the ball of your feet, sit your hips back and down while keeping your chest lifted, then lower into a squat. Stay tall and focus on a slow descent to maximize control.

At the bottom of the squat, pause for 2-3 seconds, then drive up to stand. Lower your heels between reps.

Glute bridge dumbbell press: The glute bridge works the back of the body, but as the name suggests, primarily targets the glutes. Your glutes are incredibly important for protecting your lower back, so engaging and strengthening them matters as you age.

The dumbbell press works your triceps, pecs and the fronts of your shoulders. This combo move coordinates the upper and lower body.

Lie on your back with your feet hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Press through your feet and peel your back away from the floor, pushing both hips toward the ceiling. Hold the glute bridge, squeezing your glutes at the top.

Press both weights overhead in line with your shoulders. Bend your elbows and lower the weights toward your shoulders, driving your elbows wide. Pause at the bottom, then press upward for one rep. Remember to squeeze your core and glutes throughout the reps, then lower to the ground slowly.

Bentover row with pause: Time to hit the back and biceps. The bentover row requires core engagement as you hold the bentover position; during the row, your back and biceps work to pull the weight inward, improving overall pulling strength and power.

Stand with a weight in each hand and your feet hip-width apart. Bring a soft bend to your knees, hinge at your hips and lower your chest to almost parallel to the floor. Keep your core engaged and spine straight.

Extend both arms and turn your palms to face each other in front of your shins. Bend your elbows and drive the weights back toward your hips, keeping your elbows close to your ribcage. Pause and squeeze your shoulder blades together, then, with control, lower the weights again.

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There are a lot of things I’d like to achieve with my strength training. My main aim is to build lower body strength and power to support my running, but I also want to strengthen my core and improve my stability and balance.

I also wouldn’t mind building a bit of upper-body muscle, or at least maintain what little I do have as I get older.

Unfortunately, doing enough to hit each of those targets properly would mean a lot of working out, and between family life, work and running every day, I haven’t been able to fit in a variety of workouts devoted to each goal.

Instead, I like to do all-rounder sessions like this 25-minute HIIT workout from fitness trainer Lindsey Bomgren from YouTube channel Nourish Move Love.

It’s a supersets session that combines strength exercises with plyometric moves to boost your power, and targets the whole body in just 25 fast-paced minutes, getting your heart pumping along the way.

You need weights for the workout, and ideally you’d have either a couple of sets suitable for upper and lower body moves, or some of the best adjustable dumbbells so you can change the weight to suit each exercise.

Watch Nourish Move Love’s 25-minute full-body HIIT workout

Before the workout starts, Bomgren leads you through a quick warm-up — quick really is the word here; she moves at a furious pace.

During the workout itself, you do five supersets of two moves, doing each exercise twice before moving on to the next superset.

In each superset, you do one strength-focused move using heavier weights, then a power-focused exercise that involves more dynamic movements like jumping or twisting.

Throughout the workout Bomgren’s fellow trainer Rachel demonstrates modified versions of each exercise, including low-impact alternatives for the power moves, so you can switch to those if you prefer.

I tackled the workout one morning and found it tough, but undoubtedly effective in improving my strength and fitness in various ways. Here are my main takeaways from the experience.

The pace is fast throughout

From the moment the video starts the pace is unrelentingly fast during this workout, which is great in that the time flies by even when you’re struggling, but it does mean you need to be prepared to work hard and quickly.

The intense pace is also good for getting your heart rate up and keeping it up. You only get short rests between moves during the supersets, and even the breaks in between supersets are fairly short, so you don’t get too much time to recover and let your pulse drop.

That said, if you are keen to do more of a low-intensity strength session, you can follow the exercise demonstrated by Rachel, who doesn’t jump around for the power moves.

You burn a lot of calories

I burned 213 calories in 24 minutes doing the workout, which doesn’t sound like an incredibly high amount but I’m a pretty skinny guy and don’t tend to burn vast amounts of calories in workouts — this was definitely above average for me for a strength session.

The plyometric moves are a big part of this. Doing exercises like skater jumps and dumbbell burpees spiked my heart rate, which then stayed pretty high during the strength sections too.

It’s helpful to have a range of weights

Each superset focuses on either the upper or lower body, and the weights I had available were great for the leg exercises, but were a bit heavy for the upper body moves.

I got around this by using one weight at a time or simply doing fewer reps, but ideally you’d have two sets of weights to hand at least.

You can’t hide any weaknesses

The workout challenges a variety of muscles in a variety of ways, and if you have a weakness of some kind it will get found out.

For me it was the lateral movements in the side lunges and skater jumps that engaged muscles I’ve clearly not been using very much — they were sore the next day.

This is a good thing, because it helps you to identify the areas that you need to pay more attention to in your training going forward.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm a personal trainer who works with clients over 50 — these are the 3 mobility exercises I never skip
• After 60, this is the 10-minute routine I use with my clients to stay strong, mobile and independent
• 'I’m a Pilates instructor, and I recommend these 5 core exercises to help older clients build strength and improve posture'

I'm a firm believer that workouts shouldn't feel drawn out and tiresome, which is why short yoga routines and exercise snacking are great ways to fit small but intentional movement efforts into your days.

This five-minute yoga flow is best saved until just before bedtime or even first thing in the morning to wake your joints and muscles up and boost motivation. It's designed by Jack Bryant, a 500-hour yoga teacher and founder of Wellness With La Rue,

All you need is one of the best yoga mats for your practice (I recommend a plush one with some cushioning). Let's get started.

Watch: 5-minute yoga routine by Jack Bryant

Yoga is just as much about the mind as it is the body: pranayama and asana. A regular practice can boost mood and wellbeing, reduce anxiety and help move the body from the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight) to the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and repair).

There’s also evidence that yoga can improve sleep by promoting relaxation and helping the body wind down.

Remember that you have options during class, which Bryant will remind you of. Even a child's pose or downward dog are great options if you're feeling like you need extra rest.

I like to close my eyes during practice, which is difficult for balance but helps you settle into each pose, focusing on breath. With every inhale, draw the belly in, and with every exhale, expand your stomach and lungs outward and downward.

I recommend a quiet space where you’ll be unlikely to be disturbed.

If you enjoy vinyasa flow or more vigorous styles of yoga, we use the term “flow” loosely, so this routine might not be for you. This is a slower-paced, stretchy routine that releases the muscles and joints and recharges your body.

You’ll spend several breaths in each posture, but try to move with your pace of breath rather than Brayant's, as everyone’s breathing is different, and you might feel you are moving too fast or too slow otherwise. That said, at first, you might prefer to follow his lead if you're unsure of the moves.

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Hip mobility sounds like something you'd focus on in late life, when the stairs are looking a lot more problematic than they once did. But really, the best hip mobility exercises are as much preventative as they are reactive in managing hip health.

Despite it being more difficult to get clients excited about mobility drills than, say, dumbbell workouts or kettlebell conditioning, I will never forgo certain exercises, whether I get a groan in reply or not.

Done right, it can make an enormous difference in people's lives, whether that's during workouts, recovery, or just everyday life. And you don't need 30-minute stints, either; microdosing your routine can still pack in the benefits if you're intentional enough.

The mobility exercise below is one of my anti-aging weapons for helping unstick your hips and get you moving more freely. Plus, it's low-impact and beginner-friendly. You just need one of the best yoga mats to do it. Here's why I swear by it.

How to improve mobility in one move

This exercise alone won't change the world, but combined with a consistent routine including resistance training, gentle movement and some weekly mobility work, it can make a huge difference.

One way to improve mobility naturally is to be intentionally dynamic by moving often and in a variety of patterns, alongside strengthening and loading muscles using resistance. Even if that's adding a few extra walks into your day or having a quick stretch.

The more you get your body moving, the more you load your muscles and bones to withstand impact and more easily maintain the strength and muscle you already have. Being active is also good for maintaining a healthy metabolism; the more lean muscle mass you have, especially as you get older, the more energy you can expect to burn during the day.

Your joints, ligaments and fascia respond well to low-impact movement, which can be achieved through a challenging yet consistent mobility routine.

If you experience pain at any time, stop and rest. If you're working with an injury or health condition, or you're currently pregnant or postnatal, I recommend seeking advice before starting.

The routine: 3-4 sets, 8-10 reps per side.

What are the benefits?

Depending on ability, programs and individual preferences, I might consider weights, bands, or adjustments to reps and sets, but the basis of the exercise stays the same.

Here are some benefits:

• Stretches the hips and groin: The low side lunge position naturally opens the hip and stretches along the adductors (inner thighs) and groin. When the toes are pointed forward, the focus moves to the inner thigh; when the toes point upward, the hamstrings get more of a deep stretch. This is brilliant if you sit for long periods or tend to seize up.
• Helpful for back pain: While I cannot diagnose or treat back pain like a physio or physical therapist can, this is one of those exercises that many people find help manage and relieve back pain. Focus on keeping a tall spine and avoid hunching. I strongly advise sitting on a yoga brick at all times for support. If you are working with a back condition, speak with a medical professional first.
• Works the hips in two directions: As you draw your toes up, you rotate the hip outward; you'll do the opposite as you draw your toes forward. This rotation is brilliant lubrication for the pelvis, especially if you experience a lot of lower-body tightness. Essentially, you combine movement with stretching, which I personally find helpful for unsticking "desk hips."
• Effective as a warm-up: Finally, this exercise works well for warm-ups, especially if you plan to do squat-heavy leg programs or running. You might choose to reduce the reps and/or sets if you're about to begin weightlifting and combine with a few other moves as well.

Before you consider adding weight, focus on sitting as low as you can and moving with a full range of motion in both directions. I recommend starting seated on a chair with one leg out to the side, then progressing to sitting on a tall book or similar. Eventually, you might reduce the height setting, or you might take away all support.

Control each of these movements and make the most of them, even if that means reducing the sets or reps or adding more rest. Moving to your end range can be uncomfortable, but you shouldn't experience any sharp pain or pinching.

Find length through your spine and draw your shoulders down away from your ears. But most importantly of all, be patient; the benefits may not appear straight away, but they're coming.

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• I’m a personal trainer: These 4 essential exercises are 'liquid gold' if you sit at a desk all day
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What if I told you that there's a lunge variation you can try to build a strong set of legs, hips and core muscles with very little gym equipment? You can add weights if you want to, but I can guarantee you'll feel the benefits with or without.

All you need is a slider (a little disc with a plastic bottom designed for moves like these) or a towel or dishcloth as an alternative. This simple exercise is low-impact on your joints, builds strength and even works your core muscles.

If you prefer not to get down on the ground during workouts, standing exercises are the smart way to train your body, and this is one lower-body exercise I swear by.

Here's how to do it and the benefits.

How to do 'sliding lunges'

Before we get started, building a strong core means more than just hitting your abs with sit-ups or crunches. There are a range of core muscles in your body, wrapping around your torso, extending down to your pelvis and even surrounding your spine. Your core is there for stability, aiding proper breathing and helping you move safely; in fact, it's a powerhouse center for movement.

For that reason, moves that require balance, stability and controlled reps are great for building a stronger, more active core, even if they might not primarily focus on those muscles.

During this exercise, you'll also practice hinging forward at the hips and leaning your torso forward while keeping a straight spine. Again, hard work for the core, but this will also help work the glutes harder. Think about actively engaging your core by bracing your stomach and drawing your navel in and up as you breathe expansively.

Move with control and focus, not speed, focusing on inhaling and exhaling as you move. I would start with 6-10 reps per side and 2-4 sets.

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart
• Position your right foot on a towel or similar
• To begin with, place your hands on your hips. When you feel comfortable, extend your arms overhead and glue your biceps to your ears, reaching up high
• Keeping your hips forward-facing, hinge at the hips and lean slightly forward, keeping your spine long
• Slide your right foot behind you and lower into a lunge, keeping the weight in your left leg and forward
• Pause. Take weight out of the right leg and draw the foot forward as you come back to standing. Switch sides.

What are the benefits?

You should feel this mostly in your standing leg and glute so that you can move the towel with your opposite foot in a smooth, sliding motion back and forth. This is brilliant for building resistance into bodyweight lunges using some drag, while testing balance and stability.

By leaning forward with your arms raised, your body must work against gravity to stay upright, working the core muscles hard and increasing demand on the thoracic spine. Try to keep your back straight without hunching and draw your arms back; the hip hinge position also engages your gluteal muscles more, which can turn an exercise like this from quad-dominant to glute-dominant.

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As a personal trainer, I find my clients actually love exploring standing exercises much more as they get older, whether that's for ease, mobility, or injury-related conditions.

Once clients feel comfortable with the movement, I often add a dumbbell or kettlebell. Another option is to loop a flexible band just above the knees.

See if you can push one leg back for the count of four, then forward again for the same count of four. This is inspired by Pilates tempo, which involves slowing reps down to increase overall workload and intensity without adding weight or reps.

For an even greater challenge, see if you can hold a weight with both hands overhead rather than your chest; you might feel more engagement in your back muscles, arms and shoulders, and it's a great option to try if you have limited weights available.

I sit behind a desk for multiple hours during the day, so I find this lunge variation a brilliant addition for stretching out the hips after a long day and getting my back, legs and shoulders moving again.

Whether you enjoy running, weightlifting, Pilates, or something else entirely, a strong and stable core and set of glutes and legs are even more important as you get older. Give this a try and let us know in the comments what you think.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm a personal trainer who works with clients over 50 — these are the 3 mobility exercises I never skip
• After 60, this is the 10-minute routine I use with my clients to stay strong, mobile and independent
• 'I’m a Pilates instructor, and I recommend these 5 core exercises to help older clients build strength and improve posture'

While I like to mix up my workouts and do a variety of different exercises to keep them interesting, push-ups are one move I almost always include in whatever session I’m doing.

They’re a classic for a reason, and one of the best ways to improve your all-round upper-body strength at home with minimal or no equipment.

Until recently, I almost always did the bodyweight-only version of the move, which is great, but having made the switch to dumbbell push-ups over the past month or so, I have found it a worthwhile upgrade.

If you have a set of the best dumbbells at home, I’d suggest giving the dumbbell push-up a try. Here’s how to do it, and what I noticed after doing it for a month.

How to do dumbbell push-ups

Set up in a high plank position, holding weights in each hand, so you’re supporting your upper body on top of the dumbbells.

Bend your arms to lower your chest toward the floor, maintaining the plank position from your shoulders to your feet.

When you feel a deep stretch in your chest as you lower between the dumbbells, push back up to the starting position. Here's what I noticed when doing them.

It definitely benefitted my chest

The main advantage of dumbbell push-ups over the standard move is that it increases the range of motion and allows you to get deeper when you lower, which stretches the chest muscles and makes them work harder to stimulate growth.

I’ve been doing push-ups regularly for years, but after just a few weeks of doing dumbbell push-ups, I noticed increased definition and size in my pecs.

If that’s your aim, you’ll also want to do moves like the bench press with heavier weights, but it was a welcome bonus just as someone looking to build general strength.

By narrowing the dumbbells you can work the triceps harder

As with normal push-ups, you can shift the focus of the move to different muscles by widening or narrowing your grip.

Having the dumbbells wider apart works the chest and shoulders more, while bringing them closer hits the triceps harder, and I tend to mix up my approach during workouts to change the focus.

It’s more noticeable how hard the triceps are working when doing push-ups on dumbbells compared with the standard push-up, and maintaining my balance while having the weights close together was a challenge.

I worked harder to maintain a stable plank

Maintaining a plank position while you lower and raise yourself is part of the challenge of any push-up — you don’t want to sag or buck your hips — but the dumbbell push-up felt like it was recruiting more stabilizing muscles during my workouts.

You’re supporting your upper body on the grips of the dumbbells, rather than having your hands flat against the floor, which means you’re more unstable. I feel like the move benefits my core strength and stability more as a result.

Hexagonal dumbbells are best

While you can do the dumbbell push-up with any type of dumbbell, hexagonal ones are by far the best option because they provide a stable base for the move.

Circular dumbbells, in contrast, can roll around, especially on hard floors. Unless you’re looking for the extra challenge of holding them still while doing push-ups, I’d use hexagonal weights.

You can also do the move using yoga blocks, which allow you to support yourself on flat palms if you prefer, or even kettlebells.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

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About a month ago, I saw someone in the gym elevating their feet on a tall box during pike push-ups, and it got me thinking about other bodyweight exercises I could transform using the same equipment.

The bear plank and pike push-up are both hard on the core muscles while strengthening various other muscle groups like the arms and shoulders, but combining the two and adding a box for height has absolutely changed the game for my functional strength and flexibility.

You just need a box, sofa, bed, or similar to elevate your feet, and you're ready to get started. Here's what they are, how to do them, the benefits and what happened when I added them to workouts for a month.

How to do bear plank-to-pike push-ups

You'll start in a bear plank, which strengthens your hips, quads, arms, shoulders, and deeper core muscles; then you'll lift your hips up and back, similar to a downward-facing dog.

From here, shift your weight forward slightly over your hands while keeping your hips high, then perform an overhead press by tapping the crown of your head to the ground (or as close to it) in front of your hands. Push back up, then drop your knees back into the bear plank.

Don't worry, it's hard to visualize, so I demonstrate how to do it below.

There's quite a lot of weight-bearing on your wrists, so only move to your ability and stop if you need to. You could also elevate your hands on dumbbells or push-up bars. If you cannot reach your head to the ground, place a block or book in front of your hands and aim for that instead.

Seek medical advice first if you're unsure about trying this exercise.

• Start in a tabletop position with your shoulders over your wrists and hips over your knees
• Zip your navel in and brace your stomach
• Lift your knees to hover just above your mat, keeping your toes tucked under
• Lift your hips up and back into downward dog with a slightly shorter stance
• Shift your weight forward, bend your elbows, then tap the crown of your head down just in front of your hands
• Press up and extend your elbows, pushing your hips back
• Drop your knees to hover again in the bear plank position
• Once you feel comfortable, place a step or box behind you and repeat the move with your feet elevated on the box. This will slightly change your range of motion and body positioning.
• Continue for 8-12 reps and 3-4 sets, or 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for 5-6 rounds.

The benefits

Here’s what a bear plank-to-pike push-up can do for your body:

Strengthen your core

Bear planks and pike push-ups already require your core to work hard to stabilize your torso and drive movement. However, your deep core will be working here, not just more superficial muscles like the abs, but also the internal and external obliques along your waist, sometimes playfully referred to as "shark gills." Elevating your feet will shift weight into your chest, shoulders and arms, working your upper body harder.

Challenge your range of motion and overall strength

The box provides a deficit, which means your overall range of motion and distance to travel increases, increasing time under tension and load on the body. Your knees will have further to drive downward, and you'll notice it's also harder to lift your hips high, working the back body flexibility, including your hamstrings, even more. Without weights, this move will really test strength, and I can guarantee it'll work up a sweat.

Improve functional movement

While I don't anticipate you're doing this type of movement daily, practicing this movement can improve your ability to weight-bear on your wrists and open up the back of the body if you find your hamstrings are tight. While it doesn't transfer directly to crawling, it can mimic activities that involve being on your hands and knees or using your upper body.

What happened when I added it to my weekly routine?

At Tom's Guide, we love experimenting with different exercises and movements, and these can last anything from a week to a few months, or even a year or more. Of course, the longer you give something, the more time you have to notice its drawbacks or benefits.

For that reason, I've been trying to add this move to most of my workout routines for roughly 30 days; more than enough time to see how the move impacted my body. Combined with my yoga and Pilates routine, I've found this exercise beneficial for my shoulder and arm strength, hamstring flexibility, and I can really feel my core working throughout, especially with both feet elevated.

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Obviously, I haven't seen a difference in how my abs look (it's unlikely I'll ever sport a six-pack, as this comes down to a lot more than your workouts), but how they feel? Game-changer. Combined with diaphragmatic breathing (or belly breathing), I feel like I've improved my ability to engage my deep core and drive movement through those powerhouse core muscles.

My ability to perform the exercise has improved, and I feel stronger during my yoga and Pilates workouts. Win-win.

Why not add it to your routine and let me know what you think?

More from Tom's Guide

• Not sit-ups, planks, or crunches: I do this simple Pilates exercise every single day to build a strong and stable core and work on my hip flexor mobility
• I'm a weightlifting coach — 3 exercises I prefer over lunges for building strong, stable legs and knees over 40
• I tried a 7-day standing core routine. Here are the differences I noticed in my strength and posture

I'm here to show you that you can still get stronger without jumping, gym time, or equipment; you just need the best strengthening exercises for you and the right program, performed consistently and with progression.

Now, that's not to say I don't recommend lifting weights. Loading your bones and muscles is the best way to counteract aging, muscle mass decline and loss of bone density, so I strongly recommend resistance training at all stages of life.

But if it's just you and your yoga mat, then you need to give this bodyweight workout a go. And what better way to add resistance to your training routine than working against your own bodyweight?

Ready? Let's get started.

If you experience pain at any time, stop and rest. If you're working with an injury or health condition, or you're currently pregnant or postnatal, I recommend seeking advice before starting these exercises.

Watch: 20-minute low-impact workout for all ages

The routine: To keep the intensity high without weights (of course, you could add weights and equipment if you wish), we will use an EMOM format, which means "Every minute on the minute."

Perform 8-12 reps of the first exercise, then rest for the remainder of the minute. The aim is to get roughly 10-15 seconds of rest each time. On the next minute, perform 8-12 reps of the second exercise, then rest. You'll work through four exercises, each starting on a new minute, and five rounds, totaling 20 minutes.

Each of the four moves works to build functional fitness and strength, using movements you'd see in everyday life, like pushing or squatting. If you're not getting enough rest, cut the reps back; if you're resting too long, add reps.

• Diamond push-ups: Start in a push-up position either on your knees or with them lifted away from the mat. Stack your shoulders over your wrists and ensure your hips align with your shoulders. Touch your index fingers and thumbs together to create a diamond shape. Engage your core. Bend your elbows and lower your chest toward the floor, pause, then drive upward again.
• Frog squats: Stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart, then drop down to the bottom of a squat and turn your toes slightly outward. Hook your elbows to the inner knees and push your knees outward in line with your toes. With your hands in prayer position, pull your shoulders back and down, lift your chest and straighten your back. With control, lift your butt and lower your chest to almost parallel to the floor. Sit your butt down and lift your chest again.
• Inchworm downward dogs: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Roll down your spine to place your hands on the mat in front of your feet. Bring as much bend to your knees as you need if you have very tight hamstrings. Walk your hands out until you come into a plank position with your shoulders stacked over your wrists. Lift your hips up and back into a downward dog, then walk your hands back to your feet and roll up slowly to stand.
• Supermans: Lie on your stomach with your arms and legs extended down the mat. Rest your forehead on the mat, too. At the same time, lift your arms, chest and legs into the air as high as possible, squeezing your mid-back and glutes. Hold the position at the top for a beat, and knit your shoulder blades together. Slowly lower with control.

What are the benefits?

Each of these exercises brings benefits for different body parts.

Diamond push-ups still work your pectorals, triceps and the fronts of your shoulders, known as the anterior deltoids, but they are much more triceps-focused and require lots of core activation to stabilize your torso. Use your knees if it improves your form, as the goal is to lower the chest as much as possible, then drive upward with power as you exhale and extend both elbows.

Frog squats burn out the quads and hamstrings without high-intensity moves like jump squats or broad jumps. It's also great for opening your hips and groin, so focus on driving your elbows into the inner legs and lengthen through your spine. Say hello to lower-body strengthening without any kit at all.

Inchworm downward dog stretches along the back of your body, including your spine, glutes, hamstrings and calves. As you walk yourself into a plank, your core, arms and shoulders are active to keep you stable. Challenge yourself to straighten your legs as much as you can. As you push into downward dog, this also stretches along the back of the body, including your upper back, chest and shoulders. Walk yourself in and out with control, and this becomes a full-body exercise.

Supermans are effective for strengthening the posterior chain, which includes the muscles in your back, surrounding your spine, your rear deltoids (shoulders) and your glutes. This is particularly important for targeting the postural muscles that support, you guessed it, your posture. Focus on squeezing your glutes hard to protect your lower back, and lifting high. If this feels like too much, lift just your arms or legs, or alternate.

Control and constant tension are the goals, so if that means reducing your reps, that's totally fine. You're working most muscle groups throughout, including your back, chest, shoulders and arms in your upper body; your core; your hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves in your lower body.

What's more, you're doing it without heaps of fancy gym equipment, classes, or jumping around.

You can still play with the weights or equipment you like to use. I like to add dumbbells and bands, but you can still work up a serious burn without them. If this is your first time trying these moves, you might find working with your bodyweight the best option.

Give this low-impact bodyweight workout a try, and let us know how you get on in the comments.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

More from Tom's Guide

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• I’m a personal trainer who works with clients aged 65+ daily. Here are the 2 exercises I always recommend when it comes to building mobility and balance
• Sit all day? Try these 7 back exercises from a physical therapist right now

There are some essential exercises I recommend if you sit for prolonged periods during the day, especially if your job involves desk work. The best exercises for keeping your muscles and joints strong, mobile, and flexible aren't necessarily super fancy, but they do the job they're designed to do.

I'm sharing four of my go-to moves to release tension in your spine, stretch your glutes, lower back, hips, and hamstrings, and create strength and range of motion around your joints, particularly your pelvis.

If you are currently working with a health condition or injury, I recommend seeking personalized advice from your healthcare provider before trying these exercises. All you need is one of the best yoga mats to get started. Check them out below.

4 'essential' exercises to try if you sit at a desk all day

The routine: Perform each exercise for 60 seconds, briefly rest, then repeat for a second round.

Remember, only move within your ability and don't force your end range of motion to a point of pain. These moves are simple, repeatable and scalable, so below I explain how to progress them so that you can keep benefiting at any level or age.

I train clients of all ages and abilities, and I'm seeing mobility training and anti-aging routines being taken up across the board. It's about steering away from just high-impact training and focusing on functional fitness instead.

I like to combine stretching and mobility work to target muscle flexibility and joint range of motion. This will help keep your joints and muscles robust to withstand muscle atrophy, bone density loss, or injury. If you don't load them, you erode them.

What are the benefits?

Each of these exercises focuses on a different benefit.

Seated windshield wipers: Start seated with your feet planted on the mat wider than shoulder-width, knees bent. Place your hands next to your hips. Roll your knees over to the right side so that the inner left knee and outer right knee touch the mat, then repeat over to the left side so that the outer left knee and inner right knee touch the mat. Keep your back straight and chest proud as you move from side to side.

Don't worry if your knees don't physically touch the ground, as this will be determined by the range of motion available in your hips. This is a great lower-body exercise for warming up your muscles and joints while also relieving tension in your lower back and pelvis as you internally rotate one hip and externally rotate the other.

Tabletop hip circles: Start in a tabletop position; it's important to stack your shoulders directly over your wrists with your hips over your knees. Draw your navel in. You could position a book, yoga block, or dumbbell to your right side as a marker, but this is optional. Lift your right knee to hover above the mat, then create large circles with your right leg, opening the knee away from the body first.

If using a marker, try to circle your leg around it without knocking it over. Spend 30 seconds on one side, then switch sides.

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Reverse tabletop: This is all about strengthening your arms and shoulders and stretching the back body and hips. It's a strong posture, but over time, aim to create a straight line from your shoulders to your knees as you press your hips upward to the ceiling.

Start seated with your knees bent and feet planted hip-width apart. Place your hands behind your hips, fingers pointed toward your feet. Keep your chin tucked and gaze ahead, then press your hips upward as you squeeze your glutes to protect your back. Pause, really engaging your core and drawing your ribs in and down. Lower your hips to the ground slowly and repeat.

Dynamic puppy pose: Your spine will love you for this, as will your upper chest, upper back, shoulders and arms. Consider this a child's pose on steroids, giving you a deep upper-body stretch but with some gentle movement added as a side.

Start in tabletop (as above); your knees must stack beneath your shoulders. Keeping your hips high and toes untucked, walk your hands along the mat away from your body as far as you can. Press down with your palms and either bring your forehead or chin to rest on the mat. Slowly release and repeat for 60 seconds.

Now let's look at some progressions you can try:

• Seated windshield wipers: Experiment with the distance you place your feet from each other and consider holding light weights to your hips or lying on your back or elbows.
• Tabletop hip circles: As mentioned briefly, you could place a dumbbell on its end to one side and focus on creating circles around the object without knocking it over; this tests control and range better. I sometimes add a loop band above the knees of my clients for added resistance.
• Reverse tabletop: Consider walking your feet further away from you to target your hamstrings more. You could also place a weight across your hips and/or slow the exercise to lift and lower for 4 seconds each way.
• Dynamic puppy pose: Consider elevating your hands on a yoga block or similar to create a deficit; this means your chest and shoulders have further to travel to reach the mat. To increase the stretch, hold longer and/or place your chin on the mat and gaze forward. You could also lift your palms away to balance on your fingertips.

More from Tom's Guide

• I teach people how to be more mobile: 3 low-impact back and shoulder moves that build stability and strength after 40
• I’m a personal trainer who works with clients aged 65+ daily. Here are the 2 exercises I always recommend when it comes to building mobility and balance
• Sit all day? Try these 7 back exercises from a physical therapist right now

As we get older, working on our balance and stability is the best way to boost our longevity and independence. Yet if you’re a complete beginner, or you’re returning to exercise following an extended break, it can be tricky to know where to start.

Luckily, you’ve landed in the right place. This simple workout below boosts your balance and stability using just four bodyweight exercises that can be done from just about anywhere. You’ll be working one side of the body at a time, called unilateral training, which can help address muscle imbalances and weaknesses and, in turn, prevent falls.

As a reminder, if you’re currently recovering from an injury, it’s always best to seek personalized advice from a qualified professional.

What is the workout?

All you’ll need for the workout is your own bodyweight. They can be done at home, and according to personal trainer Deron Buboltz, who specializes in training seniors, they can give you fast, noticeable gains.

Here are the four exercises:

• Lateral leg lift: Buboltz says that this move works on your hip strength and balance. Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart and engaging your core, thinking about sucking your belly button in towards your spine. From here, shift your bodyweight onto one leg and lift the other leg out to the side, keeping your foot flexed and your leg straight. Lift a few inches off the floor before bringing it back to your starting position. Keep switching sides for 15 seconds.
• Skaters: This move works on your side-to-side weight shifting — this is a functional exercise you’ll use every day. To do this exercise, take a big step out to one side, and take the other leg behind and tap your foot on the floor. Swing your arms as you move and keep switching sides for 15 seconds.
• Forward leg lifts: This simple exercise works on your leg stability. Start with your feet hip-width apart and your core engaged. Keeping your leg straight and your foot flexed, lift one foot a few inches off the floor slowly and with control, before lowering it back to your starting position and switching sides. Do 15 seconds.
• Tapping forwards: Buboltz says this exercise works on coordination control. Start with your feet hip-width apart and tap one foot out in front of you, rotating your torso to the side you are tapping forward on. Keep this exercise as dynamic as possible and keep switching sides for the full 15 seconds.

Do 3-5 rounds of these exercises, and add them to your routine a few times a week to see a difference in your overall balance and stability.

What are the benefits?

All of these exercises help you build the functional fitness you’ll need every single day for exercises like stepping up and down from a kerb, or stepping to the side when a toddler is scooting towards you. Working on your overall balance and stability can help prevent accidental falls and injuries and help you catch yourself if you do trip.

These exercises also work on your overall proprioception. This is your brain’s ability to sense where your limbs are without looking at them. It’s how you know where your hand is if you hold it up to your face in a dark room, even when you can’t see it. As we get older, the sensory receptors in our joints and tendons lose their sensitivity. Stability training can help rewire these pathways and wake up the neural connection between your feet and brain.

Finally, all of these exercises will work on your single-leg strength and your core. As we get older, we naturally lose muscle mass, and this speeds up dramatically after 60 in a process called sarcopenia. Balance and stability exercises like single-leg lifts recruit fast-twitch muscle fibres and can help maintain muscle strength.

More from Tom's Guide

• I teach people how to be more mobile: 3 low-impact back and shoulder moves that build stability and strength after 40
• According to a personal trainer, this exercise is 100 times more effective than crunches. I tried it and was humbled
• I teach people over 50 to be mobile: 3 low-impact moves that build more stability than a 30-minute walk

While it’s not always easy to find the time to train, spending 30 minutes working out is an investment in both your physical and mental health, and if you can fit this standing Pilates session into your day, you definitely won’t regret it.

The workout has been created by fitness trainer Eleni Fit, who guides you through the whole session and does it herself so you can copy her technique.

You don’t need any equipment at all for the workout, though if you have one of the best yoga mats to hand, it will give you better grip on hard floors.

If you have some light dumbbells or hand weights, they would also be easy to integrate into the session to increase its difficulty. If you do the workout once and find it comfortable, adding weights would be a great way to progress next time you do it.

Watch Eleni Fit’s 30-minute standing Pilates workout

Along with the workout itself, Eleni leads you through a warm up and cool down, which are worth doing as well if you have the time.

During the workout itself you do each exercise for 40 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds between moves.

It doesn’t sound like a lot of rest, but the moves you’re doing are gentle and flow together so it shouldn’t be too tiring overall, and you can always take extra breaks if required during the session.

As a Pilates-inspired workout, the focus is on moving with control and engaging the right muscles during each move while also maintaining good posture. Don’t rush through your reps, but instead try to match Eleni’s pace and form.

Several of the exercises involve pulses — small repetitive movements that are great for exhausting the target muscles quickly. You might need an extra rest after these moves, given how tiring they can be.

Throughout the workout you’ll also regularly train one side of the body at a time, and work on one leg, which is great for improving your stability and balance. If you’re worried about falling, make sure you’re near a sturdy table or chair to lean on if required.

Along with strengthening muscles all over the body, the fact that you’ll be moving for 30 minutes in total with this workout means it does also get your heart rate up and boost your cardio fitness.

This is despite the fact there’s no jumping around in this session, so it’s a good low-impact way to work on your cardio compared to more intense options like HIIT or running.

If you enjoy this workout and are looking for ways to increase the difficulty without adding in too much impact, then a standing dumbbell session would be a great option.

This 12-minute standing dumbbell workout focuses on your core strength, but also works muscles around the rest of your body, and if you use light weights at first it’s both accessible and effective.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

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As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned a few things. I probably should have learned a lot of things, but I’ll take what I can get. One of them is that stretching is increasingly important as the years gallop by and disappear over the hill, never to be seen again. This is something I should have been aware of a long time ago, but, again, I’ll take what I can get.

So I now stretch before and after exercise, and I also stretch in the mornings (yawning excessively and extending the arms out to the sides like a cartoon bear emerging from hibernation does not count, by the way). I do a range of stretches but I had never tried the Frankenstein walk, which is a dynamic stretch, meaning it’s designed to improve range of motion and act as a warm-up move. And now that I have… well, I plan to keep walking this way.

What is it?

The Frankenstein walk is one of the most straightforward moves I have ever done for Tom’s Guide. It works the hamstrings, quads, and hips, and also helps you loosen up before exercise. Tight hamstrings are a major factor in limiting performance in daily activities, as well as sport, and can lead to back pain, too, as can tight hip flexors.

The exercise is also known, more prosaically, as the toe-touch walk and while infinitely less catchy, that name is also far more accurate. Victor Frankenstein had, from all indications, a perfectly normal human walk (though as played by Oscar Isaac in the recent Guillermo del Toro adaptation, he was inclined to swagger like a rock star), and his misbegotten creation (who was, of course, not called Frankenstein) has never walked in the highly exaggerated, hugely inefficient manner this move suggests. So, not only is it named after the wrong guy, it just didn’t happen, at least not in the film versions I’ve seen (and Mary Shelley certainly doesn’t go on about it). That said, it’s a deceptively effective exercise.

If you have recently had hip or lower back problems, or you are recovering from injury, talk with a medical professional before attempting this move.

How do I do it?

• Stand tall, arms straight in front of you, palms down.
• Begin to walk forward, swinging one leg high to create a 90-degree angle with your body. Your foot should be close to the hand on the same side.
• With the next step, do the same thing with the other leg.
• Continue for 20 steps, changing direction if space is limited. Repeat two or three times.

I did the Frankenstein walk for a week and this is what I learned

With most of these moves, I begin with decent-to-abysmal form and get better over the week. This one I could do from day one. That did severely limit the learning experience, so I focused on adding to my steps and using the move as a warm-up or even a respite from sitting at my desk — for which it was excellent. However, I work from home, so please think hard before you try this in an office, where other people will certainly see you and may call security. Just go to a park.

Although there is not much technique involved, there are a couple of things to watch for. First, don’t overdo it. Only raise your leg as high as you comfortably can — you don’t need to kick your own hand. If you are flexible enough to do so, you still don’t have to inflict damage on yourself. Also, don’t arch your back or lean forward when doing the exercise. Maintain a straight back throughout.

This one’s a keeper

I liked this move from the start, and not just because I could do it with relative ease. I enjoyed it because I immediately felt its benefits. After a long period at my desk, it quickly activated and stretched my quads, hamstrings and glutes, and eased lower back tightness (it’s all connected, folks). And it’s also a decent cardio workout. After 50 high steps on day one, I was breathing hard. This one gets the heart pumping and the blood flowing, which also made it very useful as a warm-up before a run.

In the days that followed, I simply upped my steps, noticing it became easier to raise my leg higher. After each effort, I felt invigorated, which was the dynamic aspect of the move doing its thing. Such stretching before exercise has been shown to increase hamstring flexibility and reduce stiffness. It can also lower the risk of joint strain, pain and muscle damage.

By the end of the week, I had stopped counting steps. I merely kept at it until I began to feel a little foolish. I did the move indoors, turning when I had to, but I feel you can do this one on the spot, without going forward at all. I also tried doing it without raising my arms, and it can be done, though raised arms help with balance and give your legs something to aim for, or aim past. After a few days, I was able to raise my legs higher than my hands, which was a great and pleasant surprise. Some coaches suggest that, once you are comfortable with the basic move, you can raise your arm to touch your opposite foot and extend your other arm behind you. I did not feel this added much, but you may get a kick out of it.

This is a move I can endorse without hesitation or caveat. It’s fairly easy to do it well; it works, and at no point did I feel I was about to be chased by villagers carrying torches and pitchforks, which is always a bonus during exercise. I confess to occasionally thinking I was in a military parade in one of those places where everyone has to look up at a smiling dictator, but I wasn’t wearing a huge hat, so the moment always passed. Do try this one, but take it one step at a time.

More from Tom's Guide

• I teach people how to be more mobile: 3 low-impact back and shoulder moves that build stability and strength after 40
• According to a personal trainer, this exercise is 100 times more effective than crunches. I tried it and was humbled
• I teach people over 50 to be mobile: 3 low-impact moves that build more stability than a 30-minute walk

Forget everything you thought you knew about the plank, as the gymnast plank is about to change it. This killer variation blasts your core and posterior chain (the group of muscles that run along the back of your body) and is a serious challenge for anyone looking to up the ante in their ab workouts.

As always, I decided to practice what I preach, and I added the move to my pre-run warm-up for a week. My core still hasn’t forgiven me, and while I’m definitely no gymnast, read on to find out why I recommend adding this move to your workout routine.

As a gentle reminder, if you’re a complete beginner, you’re pregnant or postpartum, or you’re recovering from a specific injury, this might not be the right move for you and your body. Always check in with a qualified professional before trying something new.

What is the gymnast plank?

In a traditional plank, you’ll focus on keeping your spine completely flat, but a gymnast plank forces you to do the opposite. In this move, you’ll actively round your upper back and tuck your pelvis while balancing on your elbows and pointed feet. It’s a challenging progression of the forearm plank and has several benefits.

You won’t need any additional equipment for this exercise, just your bodyweight, but using one of the best yoga mats can help keep things comfortable.

Here’s how to do a gymnast plank with good form:

• Start in a standard forearm plank position, with your forearms shoulder-width apart.
• From here, squeeze your glutes and scoop your abs to tuck your tailbone under. Your lower back should flatten out and your pelvis should tilt.
• Drive your elbows into the floor and think about rounding your upper back like a cat — this is a move called scapular protraction.
• Keep your legs closed and your toes pointed. Extend your knees completely.
• Keep squeezing your core, bracing as hard as you can.
• Hold the move for 3 to 4 sets of 15-30 seconds rather than trying to hold this exercise as long as you would a standard bodyweight plank.

Your body should stay in this hollow position for the entire hold. If you notice your hips dropping to the floor or your neck and shoulders slouching, stop and reset. This is an advanced move, so if you’re a beginner, stick with a traditional forearm plank to build strength in your abs first.

What are the benefits?

This exercise is tough, and you’ll probably need to work up to holding it for the full 30 seconds. That said, when you do, you’ll be getting a fantastic ab workout. As well as your deep transverse abdominis muscles, which have to fire to keep you stable in this move, the ‘scooping’ element of the gymnast plank will also blast the outer ‘rectus abdominis’ or six-pack muscles. This exceeds the muscular tension generated by a regular plank.

You’ll also be building scapular stability and shoulder strength in this move, which can translate to other exercises, whether you’re a gymnast or not. To hold the position, you’ll have to aggressively push the floor away and round your upper back. Holding this position strengthens your shoulders, building a great foundation for exercises like push-ups and overhead lifts.

Finally, if you spend a lot of time sitting down, you’ll probably have tight hip flexors. As well as increasing your risk of injury, tight hip flexors can pull the pelvis into an anterior tilt, where the lower back arches. This exercise requires you to do the exact opposite and teaches you to engage the glutes and lower abs together to pull the pelvis back into a neutral position.

I added the gymnast plank to my routine for a week — here’s what I learned

I haven’t practiced gymnastics since gym class in high school, but I’m a marathon runner who spends most of her week sitting down behind a desk, so if I didn’t have tight hip flexors, it would be a miracle. I really struggled getting to grips with this move at first, and had to really focus on scooping my abs and squeezing my glutes to correct the desk hunch posture many of us have adopted.

Another noticeable difference with this plank variation is holding on pointed toes. Again, I don’t worry too much about my toes in workouts, as I’m not a gymnast, but I found the pressure on my feet was a lot. This did ease over the course of the week.

After seven days, I was able to hold for a full 30 seconds, but the core shake was intense and this is one challenge I’m glad is over. I actually enjoyed the stretch in my shoulders and this move was a real eye-opener at how much sitting down all day is affecting my body. I’ll be keeping it in my ab workouts, and I promise I’ll never moan about a standard forearm plank ever again. Be warned, this one is tricky!

More from Tom's Guide

• I teach people how to be more mobile: 3 low-impact back and shoulder moves that build stability and strength after 40
• According to a personal trainer, this exercise is 100 times more effective than crunches. I tried it and was humbled
• I teach people over 50 to be mobile: 3 low-impact moves that build more stability than a 30-minute walk

The best exercises for strength and mobility aren't ones that look fancy on social media; the ones I love are simple, repeatable and scaleable, which means they're effective and can be performed at any age.

These five combo moves only require one of the best yoga mats, and, if you want to add one, a dumbbell.

I train clients of all ages, and I'm seeing a real uplift in people over 50 taking far more notice of mobility training, longevity practices and anti-aging routines. It's about steering away from what might take off on TikTok and focusing on functional fitness instead.

While stretching can give you some flexibility benefits and feel good short-term, I strongly recommend looking at your mobility as you get older, using a range of movement and strengthening exercises, as this will help keep your joints and muscles robust to withstand muscle atrophy, bone density loss, or injury.

I'm sharing my go-to exercises below, plus some benefits you can expect.

If you experience pain at any time, stop and rest. If you're working with an injury or health condition, I recommend seeking advice before starting these exercises.

Watch: 10-minute mobility routine

The routine: Perform each exercise for 60 seconds, take a brief rest, then repeat for a second round.

What are the benefits?

Each of these exercises focuses on a different benefit, so let's break it down briefly, move-by-move.

Shoulder raises: Using a light dumbbell, begin in a seated or kneeling position with your arm by your side. Start by arcing the dumbbell in a sweeping position to an overhead position, moving laterally. Then, lower the dumbbell in front of you until it almost reaches your thigh. Repeat in reverse by raising the dumbbell overhead in front of you, then lowering it to the side.

This primarily works the lateral and frontal heads of the shoulders (your deltoids). You'll also recruit your core muscles to stabilize your torso as you move, plus recruitment of the upper back and chest. For a more strength-focused exercise, you would lift heavier weights closer to failure, but this is a mobility exercise, so lift lighter and focus on maximizing your range of motion.

Bear squat x downward dog combo: This short "flow" combines two reps of a bear squat, two forward leans, then two downward dogs. It's great for mobilizing your wrists and ankles and works the quads hard in the kneeling position, then stretching the back of the body in the downward dog position, including your lower back and hamstrings.

Start in a tabletop position; it's important to stack your shoulders directly over your wrists with your hips over your knees. Tuck your toes, squeeze your core and lift your knees to hover just above the mat. Moving horizontally, sit your hips back, return to center (twice), then do the same moving forward over your wrists (twice). From here, lift your hips up and back into downward dog (you guessed it, twice).

• Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

Reverse tabletop sweeps: It doesn't look like much, but your hips and spine will love you for this move, as you stretch out your entire body and help gently mobilize the spine. If you have a back or shoulder injury, check with a qualified expert before trying this move.

Start seated with your knees bent and feet planted. Place your left hand just behind your left hip. Press your hips upward toward the ceiling as you sweep your right hand up and back behind you, coming into a backbend. Squeeze your glutes to protect your back. Lower your hips to the ground and repeat on the other side.

Spinal rolls with wide seat: Again, your spine will love you for this, as a spinal roll provides a gentle massage along your back; by engaging your core, you can also control the momentum of the roll, slowing it down to really feel the exercise. The wide seat with reach will stretch the hamstrings and groin and you might also feel this along your mid to upper back.

Start on your back and perform some rock and rolls up and down your spine with your hands lightly placed behind your head and your legs extended. See if you can lift your legs up and behind you as you roll back, then, as you roll forward, come to a seated position with your legs wide. Reach forward with your hands, then roll back again.

Glute bridge with leg lift: This move combines hip extension with glute activation and is a great strengthening exercise if you'd like to add load. For a mobility focus, simply draw your hips upward until you create a straight line between your shoulders and knees and squeeze your glutes to protect your back.

Press down through your heels, and move your feet slightly further away from your butt to engage the hamstrings more. From here, lift one leg into the air, then place it down and repeat with the other leg. Raise your hands overhead or keep them by your sides for support.

As you lift, curl your spine away from the mat, starting from your lower back; do the reverse on the way down.

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We all know how important it is to build a strong and stable core, but after 45, this becomes less an aesthetic goal and more of a fundamental requirement. Starting in our mid-40s, the human body naturally starts to lose lean muscle mass, and bone density begins to decrease. A strong core is the single most effective way to protect the spine and countermeasure the effects of aging.

Yet if you’re a complete beginner, or you’re returning to exercise following an extended break, it can be tricky to know where to start. Luckily, you’ve landed in the right place. Below, we’ve shared the workout of 47-year-old personal trainer Kate Nolte, who specializes in helping women build strength and mobility. Read on to find out more.

As a reminder, if you’re currently recovering from a specific injury, this might not be the right workout for you and your body. Always check with a qualified professional before trying something new.

What is the workout?

You won’t need any additional equipment for this workout, just one of the best yoga mats to keep things slightly more comfortable. The sequence is simple — you do 20 reps of each of the four exercises, for two rounds. Take a short break between sets to reset if you need.

Here are the exercises:

• Reverse curl, 20 reps: Think about engaging your core and lifting your legs from your midsection, rather than using the momentum from your legs to swing them up towards the ceiling. Keep the move slow and controlled to really feel the benefits in your core.
• Toe touches, 20 reps: Start with your arms and legs extended away from you on the mat. Using your core, lift your head, neck and shoulders off the floor, keeping your arms extended behind you. At the same time, lift one leg and reach your arms to touch your toe. It doesn’t matter if they don’t actually touch; reach as close as you can.
• Heel taps, 20 reps: bend both knees and press your feet into your exercise mat. Crunch your head, neck and shoulders off the floor with your arms extended by your sides. Reach your left hand to your left ankle, then your right hand to your right, keeping your torso lifted the entire time.
• Knee tuck extend, 20 reps: Lift your head, neck and shoulders off the mat, supporting your head with your hands. Lift your knees into tabletop position, keeping a 90-degree bend in your knee. Bring both knees in toward your torso, crunching from your abs, then extend both legs out away from you. Don’t let your head and neck drop down to the mat.

What are the benefits?

This bodyweight circuit blasts all the major muscles in your core, including the deep transverse abdominis muscles, which are responsible for stabilizing and protecting your lower back.

Strengthening these muscles is essential for your overall balance, but can also halt the onset of age-related lower back pain. Your deep core muscles can absorb the daily impact and stabilize your pelvis, so your spine isn’t strained when you do everyday activities like carrying a heavy bag of groceries or lifting something down from a shelf.

Talking of functional strength, working on the muscles in your midsection can protect you from injury during everyday activities, helping preserve your functional power, and reducing muscle loss in your core.

This quick workout can also help boost your mobility and flexibility. When your core muscles atrophy, your bodyweight shifts, which can lead to poor mechanical tracking. Working on your core can help improve your alignment and protect against conditions like osteoarthritis.

So what are you waiting for? Unroll your exercise mat and give this workout a try. Let us know in the comments how you got on.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

More from Tom's Guide

• I teach people how to be more mobile: 3 low-impact back and shoulder moves that build stability and strength after 40
• According to a personal trainer, this exercise is 100 times more effective than crunches. I tried it and was humbled
• I teach people over 50 to be mobile: 3 low-impact moves that build more stability than a 30-minute walk

I'd call mobility training my happy place; my bread and butter. It's what makes me really smile because I see it make an enormous difference in people's lives, whether that's because they love exercise and want to continue doing it, or they just want to stay strong, balanced and mobile later in life.

Mobility is an entity unto itself, and if you don't enjoy it much, the good news is that microdosing your routine can still provide real benefits for strength, control and stability. In other words, even exercise snacking with 5, 10, or 15-minute routines can still give you results, as long as you're consistent and intentional.

Think of the three moves below as your anti-aging weapons for helping unstick your hips, lubricate your joints and get you moving more freely. They're low-impact exercises and can be made more beginner-friendly or challenging, and you can work with your bodyweight or with weights.

Below, I share my ride-and-die three moves I never skip with clients. Here's why.

Watch: 3 exercises you can try for better mobility anywhere

Do you know what "mobility" truly means? It sounds age-related, I think, but actually, there's a real focus on longevity, mindful movement, yoga and Pilates right now, which all feed into the mobility world.

Improving mobility isn't just about being able to put one foot in front of the other without straining something, or getting up off the couch to make a drink, although, yes, that absolutely matters.

It's about being intentionally dynamic by moving the joints through their range of motion in a variety of patterns, alongside strengthening and loading muscles using resistance. Think strength, control and motion without age-related limitation. A quick example is performing shoulder rolls and similar exercises before an upper-body workout.

The more you get your body moving throughout the day, the more you train yourself to balance and stabilize; the more you load your bones and muscles to maintain strength rather than atrophying or losing density.

Your joints, ligaments and fascia (in particular) respond well to low-impact movement, which can be achieved through a challenging yet consistent mobility routine.

If you experience pain at any time, stop and rest. If you're working with an injury or health condition, or you're currently pregnant or postnatal, I recommend seeking advice before starting these exercises.

The routine: 3-4 sets, 8-10 reps per move. For more of a mobility flow, try 60 seconds per move for a few rounds.

• Overhead squat to block: Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart with a block positioned on a setting suitable for you (I use high) behind you. Raise your arms into the air, holding a weight if you want to, and engage your core. Sit your hips back and lower into a squat, keeping your feet planted, back straight and chest lifted. Try to avoid letting your arms travel forward. Touch the block with your butt, then drive up through your legs to stand.
• Single-leg hip circles: In a tabletop position, stack your wrists under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Draw your stomach in and press through your hands to create space. For an extra challenge, place a dumbbell or similar on the right. With control, lift your right leg, keep the knee bent and circle the leg around the dumbbell, changing direction every rep. Remember to switch over to your left side. Aim to keep both hands pressed down; raise your hands onto blocks or come onto your fingertips if needed.
• Leg liftovers: Sit with your back straight and legs extended wide. You can rest your back against a wall or couch for extra support. Sit tall through your spine and place your hands lightly behind your head, drawing your elbows back. Position a dumbbell or similar to the right of your right leg. Practice lifting your leg up and over the dumbbell in both directions. Remember to switch to the other side. Play with height settings depending on your ability.

What are the benefits?

I use these moves all the time with clients. Depending on their ability, programs and individual preferences, we mix them up to add weights, bands, or reps and sets, or we might try variations on the above to keep things interesting.

Here are some benefits:

Overhead squat to block: Squatting improves lower-body strength, but your ability to squat low will depend on a mix of thoracic, hip, knee and ankle mobility. This exercise allows you to practice using one of the toughest squat variations (the overhead squat) for engaging the upper body and shoulders. This will test, and hopefully improve, your ability to keep your chest lifted and shoulders back as you sit the hips back and try to reach the block with your butt.

Single-leg hip circles: This is one of my favorite exercises to give my dad for his stiff hips. You don't have to use a dumbbell, but having an object to circle will keep you accountable; don't worry how many times you knock it over, as that's part of the fun. Aim to create large circles in both directions, which makes space around the pelvis and warms the muscles and joints of the lower body.

Leg lift-overs: These are killer on hip flexors that run along the front of your hips, plus the thighs, core and upper body. Focus on knitting your shoulder blades together and sit tall to help engage your upper back and open your chest. As soon as you start hunching, you're losing form, so be mindful and use a wall for support if needed. Again, the dumbbell is optional but helpful.

If you have tight hamstrings, I recommend sitting on the edge of a book or yoga brick to help tilt the pelvis and take some pressure off. An extra challenge would include looping a resistance band just above your knees.

Before you consider adding weight in the form of kettlebells, dumbbells, or even water bottles, focus on the fullest range of movement you can during every rep. For example, I would never add weight to a squat until my client can reach adequate squat depth; if the squat is the issue, we'd work on form or variations first.

Control each of these movements and make the most of them, even if that means reducing the sets or reps slightly. And remember, as cheesy as it sounds, mobility really is a journey; you don't notice the progress day to day, but over time, you'll see huge benefits in how your body moves, adapts and responds. So take a moment to assess what did and didn't work, then try again next time.

As with any exercise routine, find length through your spine and draw your shoulders down away from your ears. Engage your core (here's a 5-minute bracing routine to get you going) and always keep your chest proud.

Give these a try, and let us know how you get on in the comments.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

More from Tom's Guide

• I teach people how to be more mobile: 3 low-impact back and shoulder moves that build stability and strength after 40
• According to a personal trainer, this exercise is 100 times more effective than crunches. I tried it and was humbled
• I teach people over 50 to be mobile: 3 low-impact moves that build more stability than a 30-minute walk

So many of my personal training clients suffer from rounded posture, tight pecs, and poor shoulder range of motion. Desk jobs are usually the major culprit, made worse by lots of bench presses and not enough mobility work.

Sometimes I’ll give my clients a few common chest and back stretches, but there’s actually one move I prefer over stretching: quadruped thoracic rotations. This exercise opens up the entire upper body, reducing overall stiffness and enhancing spinal alignment. It’s a movement that almost anyone could benefit from, but especially those who are stuck behind a computer all day.

Below, I’ll go over how to do quadruped thoracic rotations, their benefits, and common form errors to keep in mind. Roll out your yoga mat and give them a try for yourself.

How to do quadruped thoracic rotations

Consult with your doctor before trying any new activity. This exercise can be done by most people, but beginners should consider meeting with a trainer for guidance on proper form.

You’ll just need a yoga mat to do quadruped thoracic rotations. If you have sore knees, you can place a rolled-up towel or pillow underneath them for extra cushioning.

Start by doing 5-8 rotations on each side, 3-4 times a week. As your upper body mobility improves, increase to 10 reps on each side. Gradually work your way up to doing this exercise for at least one set, 5-7 times a week.

Quadruped thoracic rotations make a great addition to your warm-up routine. They can also be done after work or long periods of sitting.

Here’s how to do them:

• Come to all fours on the mat.
• Sink your hips back towards your heels.
• Place your right hand behind the back of your head.
• Place your left hand underneath your right shoulder.
• Rotate your torso and lift your right elbow towards the ceiling.
• Slowly return to the starting position.
• Continue for 5-10 reps, then repeat on the other side.

Benefits of quadruped thoracic rotations

Most of our daily life is forward, from sitting on the computer to texting on our phones. All that time spent in front of us can tighten certain muscles and weaken others. In turn, this can degrade posture, cause chronic pain and stiffness, and make us more susceptible to overuse injuries.

Quadruped thoracic rotations open up the chest, shoulders, and back in a transverse plane of motion. Sitting the hips back towards the heels stabilizes the often vulnerable lower back area, while the “rotation” increases mobility and flexibility throughout the thoracic spine.

Additionally, the “quadruped” formation engages deep core muscles like the transverse abdominis and internal obliques, which help to stabilize and support the pelvis and spinal column.

Done regularly, quadruped thoracic rotations can counteract the negative effects of sitting for long periods, promoting better range of motion in the spine and enhancing overall posture.

Common quadruped thoracic rotation form errors

Quadruped thoracic rotations aren’t hard to learn, but there are a few common mistakes that can make the exercise less effective.

Not setting the hips back towards the heels

While this may seem like a minor part of the movement, making sure you set your hips back is super important. This portion of the exercise stabilizes and protects the lower back as you rotate the torso.

If injury or mobility concerns prevent you from sitting back onto your heels, try seated thoracic rotations instead. Sit tall in a chair, engage your core muscles, cross your arms across your chest, and gently twist your torso to each side.

Moving too fast

I see it all the time: clients use quadruped thoracic rotations as a warm-up, then speed through the exercise so that they can get to the main part of their workout. But going too quickly can mean that you’re relying on momentum, not reaching the ends of your range of motion, and even setting yourself up for injury through uncontrolled movement.

Rotate through your spine slowly, and hold at the ends of your range for at least 2-3 seconds. Towards the end of each set, you can even challenge yourself to go a bit further or hold for an additional second.

Over rotating

You may not get a lot of rotational range at first, and often, beginners will try to compensate for that by shifting their hips instead of keeping them square to the mat. However, that twists the lower back, not the thoracic spine. If your lower back is tight or you’re dealing with disc issues, this can lead to pain or a worsening of your condition.

When performing quadruped thoracic rotations, focus less on the degree of rotation and more on the “stretch” you feel. Even if you’re not moving that much, if you feel the chest, shoulders, and back opening up, you’re getting the benefits of the exercise.

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None of us enjoy repeating the same old routine on rinse-and-repeat, do we? Yes, you need consistency to achieve goals like building strength, growing muscle, losing fat, or getting faster at running, but some variety is also key. That could mean variations of exercises you love or adding in new moves to your program.

I've been getting bored with my program recently, so I decided to roll out one of the best yoga mats and add three new dumbbell abs exercises to my routine. Here's what happened when I swapped moves like sit-ups, bear planks and lateral shoot-throughs for something a little spicier.

If you plan to try the routine below, I recommend seeking advice from your trainer or physician first if you are working with an injury or illness, or you're pre- or postnatal.

Watch: Dumbbell abs routine

Here's the routine structure for you to follow from the gym or at home:

• 50s on/ 10s off: 2 rounds
• 45s on/ 15s off: 2 rounds
• 40s on/ 20s off: 2 rounds

I'd opt for a medium-heavy weight so that the last few reps of every exercise feel like a real push. If you're cruising through rather than achieving around 4-8 solid reps per side per move during your shorter working sets, I would recommend adding load. While they're not the most comfortable, if you don't have a few sets of weights to work with, I'd consider a set of the best adjustable dumbbells.

Here are the moves step-by-step:

• Marching dumbbell pass-under: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a dumbbell in your right hand. Brace your core, drawing your navel in while standing tall and tucking your pelvis slightly under. Lift your left knee as if marching, then pass the dumbbell under your raised leg to the opposite hand and return to standing. Raise your right knee, then pass the dumbbell under your leg again from left to right. Continue for as many reps as you can.
• Modified dumbbell windmill: Start half-kneeling with your left leg forward and your right knee resting on the mat. Sit tall through your spine and engage your core. Hold a dumbbell in your left hand and press it overhead so that your weight is directly over your shoulder. Look up at the dumbbell, then slowly hinge forward at your hips and lower your right forearm to the ground, keeping the weight punched overhead. Pause, then drive upward. Remember to switch sides after a few reps to work both sides evenly.
• Inchworms with dumbbell plank pass-through: Place a dumbbell to the front left of your mat. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Slowly roll down your spine and walk your hands forward into a high plank, zipping your stomach in and pressing away with your hands. Grip the dumbbell in your right hand, then drag the weight over to the right, just behind your wrist. Repeat to the left, then walk yourself to the back of your mat and slowly roll up to stand. Repeat for max reps.

Tips for this routine

At all times move with full control over the weights; if your weights control you, it means your form could be harmed, so focus on lots of core engagement and smooth reps rather than hitting more reps. As always, quality over quantity.

Don't be afraid to go heavy with some of these moves, as you can always scale back if you need to. I would use the first round to count reps per side for each move (remember, the timings change!), then try to hit the same number on the second round. Aim to complete a few more reps on those longer rounds.

This workout hits your deep stabilizing core muscles that act as your body's natural corset to protect your spine and pelvis, but also the abs and obliques and other muscle groups like your hips, quads, shoulders and arms.

If you have tight hamstrings, bring more bend to your knees during the inchworms, but try not to rock from side to side; keep your hips square and stable and allow all the work to go through your core to draw the weight from side to side. You can always place your knees down if you prefer.

Here's what happened when I tried it for one week

I tacked this onto existing workouts for one week, gradually increasing my dumbbell weight, and man, I was humbled. These abs exercises don't look like much, but they are killer when you get your reps and load correct, which is why I recommend a practice round or two before you hit the workout for real, so you know how each move feels and what you're working with.

London is pretty hot right now, so I found I worked up a sweat even quicker than normal, but regardless, I felt this one in my core muscles for days. After a week, I was using slightly heavier weights and still loving it. However, my core didn't look any different, which I expected, of course, as core definition is pretty complicated.

If a toned midsection is your goal, there are factors like genetics, lifestyle, diet and overall energy expenditure, including how you train, to think about. Check out this handy guide on body recomposition if that's your goal. If it's not, this workout, over time, will get you a stronger, more stable core.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

More from Tom's Guide

• No, not planks or sit-ups — here's the one abs exercise you need for elite core strength and stability without weights
• Child's pose is fine, but here are the 4 mobility exercises I use when my spine and shoulders get stiff from desk sitting
• I'm a 35-year-old personal trainer trying to build (and maintain) muscle and strength as I age: 3 essential moves I swear by