There’s a common misconception that a top-tier fitness program that supports healthy ageing, ticks off strength work, betters your balance, and works on your mobility can only be done in the gym. But personal trainers, like Janet Osborne, are here to bust that myth.
“It’s easy to focus on just one area of fitness—strength, balance, or mobility—but the truth is they all matter,” writes the fitness guru on her Instagram page, Janet Osborne Fitness. “Each one supports the other and helps you move, feel, and age well.” But the best bit? “You don’t need a gym or hours of time. You can work on every component of fitness right at home—even in your kitchen,” she adds. And it’s true.
Using just bodyweight and a kitchen counter, Osborne has created an easy-to-follow seven-point plan that will help you “age well” and move your body from home. It’s suitable for beginners, seniors, or anyone who just wants to build strength, flexibility, and mobility without having to venture outside. So swerve your best home gym equipment for now, pop a pair of grippy socks on, and prepare to move your frame from home.
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What are the seven exercises for ageing well?
Osborne recommends completing one to three rounds of the following exercises, depending on how much time and energy you’ve got.
The moves include:
- Hip openers x 6 each side: Tight hips are an extremely common issue that can be caused by muscle imbalances, repetitive movements, or long periods of sitting. But that’s where hip opening exercises can help work on your hip mobility and loosen tight hip flexors.
- Squats x 12: Often hailed as one of the best compound moves you can complete to help build functional strength, squats can help you maintain bone density (a market that’s especially important as we age) and give your flexibility and balance a boost, too.
- Pushups x 12: A humble pushup can help with upper-body strength, but the OG floor-based variation, which essentially sees you perform a moving plank, might not be accessible to all. Thankfully, there are several iterations of this move you can do, depending on your level of strength. For example, there are knee pushups, wide pushups or, like Osborne has included in this workout, countertop pushups, which are the perfect in-between for those unable to complete floor-based variations of this move.
- Bird dogs x 12: Great for lower back strength, bird dogs don’t need to be completed on the floor. Using a countertop, Osborne shows that you can tick off standing bird dogs with ease. Plus, as you become more confident and stronger, you may find that you’re able to ditch the support system.
- Mountain climbers x 12: Perfect for increasing core strength, depending on how fast you do them, standing mountain climbers can also help you up your heart rate.
- Wall angels X 6: Helping you to better your posture and find some freedom in your chest, shoulders, and abdomen, these bodyweight moves will help you strengthen your upper back, too.
- Single leg balance X 10-30 sec each leg: Unilateral training, which involves single-limb movements, can help you train both sides of your body equally without your more dominant side picking up the slack. And in this example, single-leg balance work can help you reduce your risk of falls and futureproof your mobility and independence.
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