The One Exercise You Need to Do After 60 to Keep Your Body Strong
Are you looking for exercise you can do to strengthen your entire body in your 60s?
As you age, the importance of keeping your body strong, flexible, and mobile increases greatly.
It’s essential if you want to remain independent and injury-free.
According to the CDC, regular exercise is one of the most important things you can do for your health as an older adult.
It can prevent or delay many of the health problems that seem to come with age. It also helps your muscles grow stronger so you can keep up with the day-to-day activities without becoming dependent on others.
While any exercise is better than none at all, some are more beneficial in helping you strengthen your body.
Throughout the week, perform a combination of resistance training, cardio, and flexibility exercises.
A simple daily habit of walking combined with stretches is a great way to keep your vitality, mobility, and flexibility.
For strengthening, safe, joint-friendly exercise that challenges your full-body offer a great start.
This is one area many older adults tend to lack in their daily exercise routines.
But it’s also one critical component of keeping your body strong.
Not sure where to start? Don’t fret.
This one strengthening exercise can be particularly helpful in adding core strength and working your legs and arms.
It’s a safe, full-body workout you can do just with your body weight with no equipment.
The exercise is called the bird dog.
It’s a balance and stability-enhancing exercise that also strengthens your whole body.
What Is The Bird Dog?
The bird dog is a safe, joint-friendly bodyweight workout that improves your balance and strength.
It encourages the use of core strength to keep a neutral spine and releases pressure from your back.
You’ll be starting this exercise on all four and slowly lifting one leg and arm to add balancing work on the remaining leg and arm.
In the top position, this workout requires stability and balance.
Also, the dynamic moves of your arm and leg encourage the use of your upper and lower body. It also promotes a great range of motion and mobility in your lower body.
Performing this exercise properly will improve almost all parts of your body.
This bodyweight workout is suitable for people of all fitness levels, and it’s also joint-friendly.
Perform this workout 2-3 times a week to strengthen your body, avoid injury, and relieve back pain.
How to Do a Bird Dog
- On a yoga mat, get on all fours with your knees and hands on the floor. Adjust your knees so they are directly under your hips and your hands under your shoulders.
- Keep a neutral spine and engage your abs and core before you start. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and slowly lift your right arm and left leg at the same time. Pause when they reach your shoulder and hip level.
- Hold this pose for 2-3 seconds and return to the starting position. Switch sides and repeat. That’s one rep.
- Complete 2-3 sets of 10 repetitions.