Saggy bottom, back problems, aching joints: 21 exercises for midlife bodies

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Once into midlife, it can feel as if you are suddenly susceptible to a whole host of niggles and pains — from a bad back to frozen shoulders and dodgy knees. But if you think you have to accept this as the start of a shuffle to old age, you are wrong.
These common aches are often caused by a lifestyle that involves lots of sitting, being hunched over devices and a busy schedule that doesn’t include purposeful exercise to keep muscles strong, joints mobile and your heart healthy. Take action, though, and you can quickly turn things around.
The key is to do simple exercises often that focus on building strength and improving mobility. Strength exercises are key because as you pass 40 you lose muscle far more quickly if you don’t use it. That’s because as we age we start experiencing anabolic resistance — meaning that our bodies don’t respond as well to signals for muscle growth such as protein or exercise as well as they do in young people.
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This reduction in strength is partly due to the rapid decline with age of the “fast-twitch’’ muscle fibres that facilitate powerful movements such as jumping, sprinting and lifting heavy things. And it’s a vicious circle. As you lose strength and muscles become weaker, you move less efficiently and joints wear down faster. You also tend to put on weight, because as you lose muscle you burn fewer calories at rest.
“Muscle is a very metabolically hungry tissue and our body doesn’t want to be too inefficient,” explains Dr Richie Kirwan, lecturer in exercise physiology at the Liverpool John Moores University’s Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Science. “If it doesn’t need to have muscle [because we don’t use it for exercise], it isn’t going to keep it around.”
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Mobility is just as important. If you move less as you age, joints start to lose access to their full, active range of motion. This is what results in stiff, achy, restricted movement. Mobility exercises work to free up joints by strengthening them at their end ranges of motion, getting all the blood and restorative juices moving around that nourishes them and keeps them healthy.
Some of the exercises below focus on mobility, are quick to do and ideally you would do them every day. Others focus more on building strength and can be as challenging as you make them, depending on the weights you use, albeit ones that are appropriate to your level.
Helps restore movement to tight shoulders. Sit or stand tall with your arms out to the side, elbows in line with your shoulders. Externally rotate your biceps so that the palms face upward. Then internally rotate the shoulders until palms are down. Do two sets of five repetitions each way.
Frees up a stiff back. Sit tall with arms forward. Reach one arm around your body in an arc, keeping your eyes on your hand. Breathe out as you do this and breathe in on the return. Do two sets of five reps each way.
Activates your posture muscles, helps restore shoulder mobility and frees up a stiff upper back. Stand with your back against the wall, with your arms in a W position and the back of your hands touching the wall, or as near as you can get them. Move your arms upward into a Y position, trying your best to keep contact with the wall. Return to your start position. Do two sets of five reps each way.
Stretches the deepest hip muscles that can free up a range of motion. Sit in what is called the 90/90 position with your right leg forward, knee bent at 90 degrees to the left, and your left leg to the side, with that knee also bent 90 degrees. Lean shoulders forward with a flat back until you feel a stretch under the hip of the front leg. Do this for two minutes on each side.
Helps stretch the inner groin muscles. Start on all fours. Spread your knees and turn out your feet. Lower down on to your elbows. Do this for two minutes.
Stretches the hip flexors that get tight from sitting. Adopt the lunge position. Tuck hips, lower chest and lunge forward until you feel a stretch across the front of the back thigh. Do once on each side for two minutes.
This gently mobilises the back. Start on all fours. Round your back and breathe out as you do so. Then arch your back as you breathe in. Do two sets of five to eight reps.
Stretches the deep hip muscles that connect to lower back pain. Sit tall on a chair. Cross one ankle over your knee, supporting the lower leg with your hands. Lean forward slightly, keeping your back straight until you feel a stretch under that hip. Do this for one minute on each side, then repeat.
Activates the core muscles to provide relief to a tense back. Start on all fours. Brace your core. Straighten one leg, keeping the toes pulled up and lift 2in to 4in off the ground, keeping back straight. Hold for ten seconds. Lower and return. Then repeat on the other side. Do two sets of five alternating leg lifts.
Strengthens your anterior core muscles — the stuff on the front. Lie on your back with your knees bent and arms straight. Tap one heel to the ground and resist the lower back popping up off the ground. Repeat the other side. Do two sets of six to eight each way.
Strengthens your lateral core muscles, ie your side muscles. Lie on your side with knees bent. Drive the hips up and forward until there is a straight line between knees, hip and shoulder. Hold this position and maintain your breathing. Do two sets holding for 20 to 30 seconds at a time on each side.
Strengthens your anterior and oblique core muscles, ie blitzing the whole core. Start in a straight arm plank position, hands under shoulders and feet together. Lift one leg, tap the foot out to the side about 2ft from your start position. Return and repeat on the other side. Maintain a straight lower back as you do this. Do two sets of five each way.
Strengthens the muscles around your knees and glutes, which have a beneficial impact on knees. Start in a split stance with your torso slightly leaning forward. Squat down and up, keeping most of your weight through the front foot. Do two sets of eight to ten. You can do this with body weight or add a dumbbell as you progress, starting from 5kg in each hand.
Strengthens muscles around your knees and glutes. Stand on a low bench. Slowly lower your foot down to the ground, while leaning forward, to keep weight over the top foot. As your back foot hits the ground push up again through the front foot to come back up. Do two sets of eight to ten on each side.
Strengthens hamstrings that support the muscles around the knee. Lie on your back with your feet on a bench. Your knees in front of your hips. Push down to raise your hips until there is a straight line between knees, hips and shoulders. Hold for 20-30 seconds then repeat.
Builds up your glutes that will counteract the look of sagging (and help with posture too because strong glutes support the lower back). Lie on your back with your feet 12in from your bottom. Push through your feet to raise your hips. Hold for a second or two before lowering and repeating. Do two to three sets of 10-20.
Strengthens your glutes and hamstrings and lower back. Stand with dumbbells by your sides, starting with 5kg. Push your hips back to stretch and load your hamstrings and glutes. Keep your back flat and head in line with your spine. Then drive your hips forward to stand up again. Do two to three sets of eight to ten.
Strengthens your lateral glutes. Lie on your side with knees bent and legs stacked. Lift your hips up and forward and open up your top knee as you do so. Return and repeat. Do two to three sets of 10-15.
Tones and builds shape to outside shoulders. Stand tall. Raise dumbbells outwards to the side. Pause at the top when your hand is level with your shoulder before lowering. Do two sets of 12-15.
Tones and builds shape to the back of your shoulders. Bend over with a straight back until your body is at a 90-degree angle. Using a very light weight, raise the dumbbells outwards. Pause when your hands are in line with your shoulders. Slowly lower the dumbbells. Do two sets of 12-15.
Builds shape to your shoulders, improves shoulder stability and strengthens the core. Walk in a controlled way, holding heavy dumbbells or kettlebells by your sides. These should be heavy enough that they are challenging to hold by the end of the 60 seconds. Walk for 60 seconds, twice.Jack Hanrahan is a fitness and health coach and founder of PGRM fitness app. jackhanrahanfitness.com