Mature Moms Can Do at Home

Now that I’ve turned the big 6-0, I have re-focused on my health quite a bit. I’ve known for years that muscle mass decreases as you age, but have only felt the direct impact of that fact via injuries and pain more recently. So this new commitment to my health now includes strength training as a bigger part of the plan.

The Planet Fitness I visit just started having a trainer on staff, and allowing members to schedule as many sessions as they want. What a great benefit. If you are a member, I encourage you to take advantage of it! I did, and met with a trainer several times to fully understand the muscle groups to work, as well as the machines and weights that are ideal for me.

When I’m not going to the gym, I find the following exercises to be perfect for older women like me to do at home.

No equipment is necessary, no pressure, and you can modify the exercises however works best for you.

Tips Before Starting

Be sure you don’t do them too fast. I usually put on an upbeat workout playlist to put me in a positive frame of mind. This is an awesome idea, however, I made the mistake recently of trying to keep the beat of a really fast song with my arms weights. And, as a result, I pulled a chest muscle which hurt pretty badly for about 2 weeks. Plus, this type of strain makes you very nervous you might be having a heart attack, and you do NOT want that.

Stretch a bit before starting these exercises. Hold each of the stretches below for about 10-20 seconds, and repeat for 3-5 reps. These stretches help prevent the type of injury I mention above.

Doorway stretch. Stand in a doorway with your arms at right angles. Put pressure on your arms and feel a nice stretch in your chest.

Calf Stretch. Move into downward dog position (see my post on The 5 Best Yoga Poses for Mature Moms!).

Alternate bending your right and left legs while pushing your heel down toward the ground. You should feel this in your calf muscles. Some time spent in this position also gives your shoulders a great warm up before using arm weights.

A Runner’s Stretch is wonderful way to energize your quads and prepare them for some squats or leg lifts. I cannot personally do this one standing up, so I modified it by doing the same stretch lying on my stomach. You definitely feel this!

Have water on hand. It’s an obvious one, but we sometimes forget this is important. In my Tips for Older Travelers post, I also talk about Liquid IV (or a similar generic brand) that is a super hydration packet you can add to water. It has electrolytes which are great for when you’re exercising, and also comes in some juicy flavors. (I love watermelon.) I find using packets like this makes plain water more palatable, and I ultimately drink more.

Now for the Exercises!

Three sets of ten reps each gives you a well-balanced, full body workout.

Squats. I’m one of the few people, I think, who actually enjoys squats- ha! I have pretty strong quads (compared to other muscle groups at least), so they don’t bother me a lot, at least until I’m on my third set of ten.

I really like to use a bench, which is where I keep all my equipment anyway. I highly suggest using a bench or chair. I just squat down until my butt hits the bench, which feels to be like the exact height to get a low enough squat to feel it without it being so low it’s uncomfortable. Keep your legs at least hip-width apart.

I like using a chair for balance and doing several variations. You can lift legs out to the sides and also behind you. Do 10 reps on each side for one set.

Planks. I find these to be pretty difficult, since my core is weak. You do the low plank by starting on hands and knees, then balancing on your toes and resting your weight on your forearms. The ideal is to hold this for 30 seconds for one set, but I might get to 20.

Bird Dogs. I also do a variation of this in my morning yoga routine. Just start on all fours, and extend opposite arms and legs out in front and behind you like in my demo below.

In yoga, I generally hold each side for several breaths, but when doing them as part of a strength sequence I alternate each side quickly, completing 20 (10 on each side) per rep.

Bridges. I love these because anywhere I’ve researched or otherwise experienced exercise that’s great for your back and butt (including sessions with a physical therapist), they always have bridges on the list.

Lie on your back with your knees bent. Slowly lift your butt at high as you can off the ground. Hold for ten seconds each. You can modify these using a yoga block if it’s difficult for you to get much height. See my post on using yoga props!

Crunches. We’ve all done sit ups most of our lives…I remember doing 100 each night when was in high school. 😜 I like the modification of keeping your hands next to your body instead of clasping them behind your neck. Make sure you look straight up at the ceiling and do small pulses, reaching toward your legs.

Push Ups. They are the best all around exercise to get all muscle groups in your arms. Since they heavily utilize your shoulders, I find them very difficult. To modify, complete your push ups on your knees, like the woman on the right below, instead of starting in a high plank position like on the left. It is easier this way, but still challenging!

Free Weights

I have them at home, and thought that five pounds was a decent weight to use, giving myself a good workout. Then I went to the gym and the trainer started me at 12 pounds!

Bicep Curls. These are the classic pumping of the weights from your waist to your chest. You can do them with both arms together or one at a time for a more challenging workout.

Overhead Press. This is wonderful for your shoulders. Start with the weights at chest-height with your palms facing forward. Lift up until your arms are extended above your head, but keep a slight bend in the elbows.

Tricep Squats. Sit on the ground in front of a sturdy bench or chair with your knees bent. Place your hands behind you on the chair about hip-distance apart. Push up and raise your body up and down, feeling it I’m the back of your arms.

3 x 3 x 3

If you want to challenge yourself, try the 3x3x3 workout. Review all the exercises above, and put together a selection of core, arms and legs for each circuit of three.

This is what mine looks like.

The idea is to do three sets of each exercise in circuit 1, then three of each in circuit 2, then circuit 3. It’s 27 sets altogether so it NOT easy. But it might take 20-30 minutes (again, do not rush), and you literally have a full body workout and feel amazing. Sometimes I can only make it through 1-2 circuits, but aim for three!

Chair Yoga or Pilates

This is definitely something to try if you are interested in trying yoga or pilates, but have some balance issues. I’m happy to see this gaining in popularity now; it’s such a great option for seniors or those with disabilities, since you remain seated yet get a terrific full-body workout. You can find instructions like this below online that make it easy to follow along and learn quickly. Give it a try!

I hope if you’re a mature person like me, that you are dedicating some time to a strength training routine regularly. Workouts like these just two days a week work wonders for preventing loss of muscle mass.

Do you have any exercises you do at home? I’d love to hear!