[[{“value”:”Surprisingly, less than 15% of older individuals perform strength training twice a week, yet it’s one of the most essential workout modalities to prioritize. As you age, you naturally lose lean muscle mass when you may need it most in life. We get it—life gets busy and working out tends to get pushed to the back burner. But we asked Domenic Angelino, MS, MPH, CSCS, CPT, Chief Exercise Scientist at FitCraft, for something quick, and we’re here with a six-minute morning routine that can help restore muscle faster than weight training after 60.
Standing Toe Touches
“Doing a dynamic warm-up before your workouts can improve the range of motion that you can safely go through during your actual warm-up when you’d be doing actual resistance training,” Angelino explains. “Standing toe touches are a great way to work on your hamstring flexibility, it’s something that most people have very little of by the time they hit 60. The more flexible your hamstrings are, the less likely it’ll be that you end up accidentally injuring them.”
Stand tall with your feet hip-distance apart.
Hinge forward at your hips, maintaining a straight back.
Reach toward your toes with the goal of touching them.
Allow your head to hang naturally.
Release.
Perform 1 set of 15 seconds, resting for 5 seconds.
Overhead Arm Swings
“This is an easy dynamic stretch that can help you improve your overhead mobility. This directly prepares you for one of the exercises you’ll be doing in this workout, the overhead press,” Angelino points out.
Stand tall with your feet hip-distance apart and knees slightly relaxed.
Lift both arms overhead, making sure your shoulders are relaxed.
Then, swing your arms forward and slightly back with control.
Continue this swinging movement.
Perform 1 set of 15 seconds, resting for 5 seconds.
RELATED: 6 Standing Exercises That Build More Strength Than Traditional Dumbbell Exercises After 40
Cross-Body Arm Swings
“This dynamic stretch can be helpful if you’re dealing with rounded shoulders, something that is pretty common in people over the age of 60,” Angelino notes.
Stand tall with your feet hip-distance apart and arms at your sides.
Start to gently swing both arms across the front of your body, alternating which arm crosses on top.
Make sure your arms swing out to the sides before crossing them again.
Perform 1 set of 15 seconds, resting for 5 seconds.
RELATED: 7 Simple Bodyweight Exercises That Keep You Stronger Than Most 30-Year-Olds After 50
Bodyweight Squats
“Squats are a simple and effective way to train your most important lower body muscles all at the same time,” Angelino explains. “Having [this exercise] as a cornerstone of your quick routine can provide you with a lot of flexibility in the future to adapt to your changing exercise needs.”
Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Extend your arms ahead of you or place your hands on your hips.
Bend at the knees and hips as you lower into a squat.
Descend until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
Press through your heels to rise back up to standing.
Perform 2 sets of 30 seconds, resting for 20 seconds between sets.
RELATED: Over 45? If You Can Wall Sit This Long, Your Body Beats Your Age
Overhead Presses
“Overhead pressing lets you directly train the muscles that enable you to lift your arms overhead—specifically targeting muscles that don’t get organically used enough in most people’s daily life to actually maintain their strength,” Angelino says.
Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level, palms facing inward.
Press the weights overhead, extending your arms.
Use control as you lower the weights to shoulder height.
Perform 2 sets of 30 seconds, resting for 20 seconds between sets.
RELATED: 5 Standing Strength Moves That Reverse Muscle Loss Faster Than the Gym After 45
Dumbbell Curls
“Since you’ve just made it through a workout with multiple compound movements, it can be helpful to finish off with an easier exercise that involves you focusing on just one muscle group and one joint: your biceps and your elbow. The biceps are muscles that aren’t involved in other resistance training exercises you’re already performing today, so the exercise helps fill in that important blank,” Angelino explains.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides with a supinated grip.
Bend your elbows to curl the weights up toward your shoulders.
Squeeze your biceps at the top.
Use control to lower.
Perform 2 sets of 30 seconds, resting for 20 seconds between sets.
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