Exercises to keep you mobile into old age

Here are three exercises, which if you try to perform daily for the rest of your life will help you stay mobile and allow you to perform activities of your daily life.

These exercises will train the muscles that you need to stand, walk and lift and help you recover from a fall.   

If you practice these exercises daily, you will have a better chance of remaining active and independent throughout your senior years.

Sit to stand

This is an exercise involving movement from a sitting position to a standing position. 

Why is it useful? 

One of the most common activities of daily living is standing up. We spend much of our time sitting; at a desk, on a bus or train, in a car, on a sofa, at the table.

Unless you take action, as you age, your glutes will weaken. You will have issues with back pain. Eventually, you will lose the ability to stand and be dependent on others to help you. 

If you practice moving from a sitting to a standing position for the rest of your life, you will delay your loss of independence.

How to perform the exercise 




Start by sitting on a seat. Push down through your heels, extend your hips to stand straight and engage your quads. 

Keep you back straight and your eyes looking straight ahead. Keep your arms folded, unless you have issues with your balance. 

Try to perform the exercise for at least 1 minute. 

Increasing the intensity 

You can increase the intensity by performing more repetitions, moving slowly during the eccentric (lowering phase) and by carrying a weight. You can also transition to lifting weights off the floor. 


Lifting objects from the floor and placing the objects at a height. 

With this exercise, you lift a heavy object off the floor, carry that weight a short distance and then place it at just above shoulder height. You will need a heavy object and a platform to place the object on.

Why is it useful? 

We often have to lift objects as part of our work or our activities of our daily life. Many objects are heavy - boxes, suitcases, furniture and electrical equipment, containers full of food or water and so on.  

Improper lifting technique or being too weak to lift heavy objects are common causes of acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries. 

If we do not train our body to keep lifting, we will not be able to lift heavy objects and also the risk of an injury will increase as we age. 

The exercise will help to strength all your muscles: your core, legs, glutes, back, shoulders, arms and pectoral muscles. The exercise will also improve your grip and improve your stability. 

If you practice picking up heavy objects off the floor for the rest of your life, you have a greater chance of growing old strong, with reduced risk of injury and independent -  able to undertake essential activities of daily living.

How to perform the exercise 





Place an object on the floor. Use a front squat technique to lift the object. You should maintain a straight back with your eyes facing forward. Push through your heels and then extend your glutes and finally engage the muscles of your legs. 

Lift the object to about shoulder height and carry it to a ledge and place the object on the ledge.

Pick the object up from the ledge and return it to the starting position. You should lower the object using  the reverse actions that you used to lift the object.

Sandbags, kettlebells and heavy slam balls are suitable heavy objects. 

Resting between lifts is fine. The objective is volume - being able to lift a heavy object many times.

Increasing the intensity 

You can increase the intensity by lifting and carrying a heavier weight, performing more repetitions, moving slowly during the eccentric (lowering phase), or walk a longer distance.


Get back up 

This exercise involves moving from a prone position (lying down on the floor) to a standing position. The exercise was invented by Dan John 

Why is it useful? 

As you grow older, you are at a greater risk of falling. This exercise will help you train your body to get back up after a fall. The exercise trains you to focus on using your legs and glutes and rather than your arms as the main drivers of your recovery from a fall. 

How to perform the exercise 


Lie down on the floor. You can lie face down, on your side or on your back. At the start of the exercise, move to the face down position.

Use your arms to push your upper body up and then move your legs so that your lower body is supported by your knees. Your knees and hands should roughly form a square.

Use one leg to push yourself up and with the other leg providing support. Use your glutes to enable the your whole body to move upwards. 

Increasing the intensity 

You can increase the intensity by increasing the number of repetitions and by using only one arm to push up your upper body. This will simulate an injury to the arm.

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