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Over 60? Add this strengthening exercise to your daily routine

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Over 60? Add this strengthening exercise to your daily routine

What do JLo, Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Aniston all have in common? As well as stellar careers, amazing hair and impossible fortunes… They all credit their toned physiques to planking.

And it turns out, the super simple bodyweight move isn’t just for A-listers who already have killer bodies – it’s also the perfect workout more for mere mortals, especially those of us over 60, according to fitness expert Lucy Charles-Barclay, who just so happens to be the current world Ironman Champion and performs planks every day.

Planking is an excellent exercise for seniors because it’s a low-impact, full-body workout that strengthens the core, which is crucial for balance and stability,” Lucy says.

© Instagram
Lucy Charles-Barclay is the current world Ironman Champion

“It also engages multiple muscle groups without putting strain on the joints, making it safe and effective for maintaining overall muscle tone and supporting joint health.”

What are the benefits of planking?

“The benefits of planking for older adults include improved core strength and stability, enhanced balance (which can help reduce risk of falls), better posture, and possibly alleviation of lower back pain,” Lucy explains.

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“Additionally, planking can contribute to a stronger pelvic floor, improved metabolic rate and even had mental health benefits due to the focus and concentration required to maintain the position.”

Building your strength

If the idea of planking sounds beyond the realms of possibility, don’t fret. There are ways to add it into your routine, as the move can be modified for your fitness level.

 READ: I look better at 70 than I did at 30 – here’s how

“You can gradually build your strength for planking by starting with modified versions,” Lucy confirms. “Begin by planking on your knees, and remember that consistency is key, so incorporating short planking sessions into your daily routine and gradually increasing the duration as you become stronger will yield significant improvements.

Woman in her 60s doing pilates at home on a yoga mat. She is balancing on her forearms and looking down towards the floor.© Getty
Planking is a great exercise as we get older

“Additionally, incorporating other complementary exercises such as yoga or Pilates can further enhance your core strength and overall planking ability.”

Expert reassurance

For anyone wary of adding something new to their routine, Lucy has some solid professional advice.

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“Planking is so adaptable to your fitness level,” she reassures. “It’s important to start with what feels comfortable for you, even if that means beginning with very short durations or modified positions.

Full length of young female with curly hair doing plank in living room. Fit woman wearing sportswear practicing yoga. She is at home.© Getty
Planking has many health benefits

“Success with planking, like any exercise, comes from gradual progression. Your ability to plank will improve over time with patience, persistence and practice.

“It’s also beneficial to consult with a fitness professional who can provide personalised guidance and adjustments to ensure safety and effectiveness,” she adds.

Introducing HELLO!’s Second Act

Two women out shopping for the day, taking a break and sitting down on a couch in a clothing store together.© Getty

HELLO! wanted to create a space dedicated to sharing incredible stories from midlife; somewhere you can find inspiring stories of like-minded women, living their best life beyond 45.

Enter, Second Act…

For too long, we were expected to fade into the background when we hit 45, but we’re here to reframe your Second Act as a celebratory, exciting new chapter with endless possibilities ahead.

From women who embarked on new careers in their fifties, to those who travelled the world alone after their children left home, to women who finally felt confident when they reached their forties, Second Act is devoted to celebrating the incredible stories of midlife, and we’d love to have you along for the journey – because being part of a community makes everything more enjoyable.

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Visit HELLO!’s Second Act hub 

Lucy is competing in T100 Triathlon World Tour, a global eight-stop series featuring the best triathletes in the world competing against each other in iconic locations including Singapore, San Francisco, London, Las Vegas and Dubai during 2024. The races are over 100km triathlons, which include a 2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run.

 

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Fitness

'We need to be really concerned': How fitness influencers are creating 'a false sense of the world' for young boys

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'We need to be really concerned': How fitness influencers are creating 'a false sense of the world' for young boys

“Alright dumba**, welcome to lesson two here at fat f*** university.”

So begins one of the countless fleshy blurs of locally-produced fitness content pumped algorithmically into the feeds of Australian Instagram, TikTok and Facebook users.

It’s the sort of engagement-baiting approach that yields viewers and followers — designed to push men out of some apparent masculine malaise and into retaking control of their body and masculinity, usually via paid workout programs, products or supplements. 

It’s also the type of content increasingly filtering into the phones of teenage boys.

Meme culture is a big part of fitness and gym content.(Supplied: Instagram)
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While there is a more developed conversation about idealised images on social media and body image pressures on young girls, experts say research is less advanced when it comes to boys.

“I think boys are now objectifying themselves like never before and we do need to be really concerned,” said Danielle Rowland, Head of Prevention at national eating disorder charity the Butterfly Foundation.

“The intensity of training advice, nutrition and misinformation is greater than ever.”

Feeds serving up different diet 

When Anthony Lee started high school in regional Victoria six years ago, social media had a different feel to it.

“In Year 7, it was just basically a way to keep up with your mates,” he said.

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Young man wearing white shirt stands in dappled light beneath tree with river and grassy banks in the backgrounf

Anthony Lee says social media came to mean something very different by the end of high school.(ABC News: Jeremy Story Carter)

By the time he finished Year 12 last year, the feeds of his classmates had changed. So too, the surrounding culture.

“There is a growing problem with men having that feed of perfect body content,” he said.

“There are people who will see influencers on social media and say, ‘I’ve got to have bigger arms, toned legs, I got to have calves the size of mountains’.”

Two screenshots of instagram posts featuring content by young men about going to the gym

Engaging with fitness content online will generally see a user receive more and more of that type of content.(Supplied: Instagram)
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Linger on one Instagram reel showing off a set of dumbbell exercises, and you’ll likely get five more videos zeroing in on how to get “boulder shoulders”, or some protein-heavy diet advice from a shirtless influencer.

Josh Ward travels to schools in Sydney and around regional NSW, hearing from young boys as part of his work as a facilitator for men’s mental health organisation Tomorrow Man.

“There’s been a huge jump in the last two to three years in the amount of boys opening up in workshops around their body,” he said. 

Man stands at front of classroom presenting to group of young boys seated on plastic chairs.

Tomorrow Man facilitator Josh Ward runs school workshops around ideas of masculinity and mental health.(Supplied: Josh Ward)

Mr Ward believes there’s no coincidence it’s occurred alongside a “big spike” in the amount of fitness and gym influencer content turning up in their feeds. 

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“If someone was in school walking around with a fitness mag in their pocket, bringing it out every recess or lunch, you’d think ‘that is some strange behaviour’. But that’s what [teenage boys] are celebrating now,” he said.

“The danger for young people is they don’t realise they’re actually the pioneer generation in terms of that exposure.

“In the last five years there’s been a crazy amount of fitness content, but that’s just what they’ve always been exposed to, so they don’t realise how strange it is.”

‘It creates a false sense of the world’

For many teenage boys on the path through puberty, working out in gyms has long represented an accelerated part of the journey into manhood.

Images of muscle-ripped celebrities and athletes serving as aesthetic inspiration, if not an unattainable physical ideal, is nothing new either. 

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A man rests with his hands on the floor of a gym, with dumbbells near him and a woman walking past.

Going to the gym can be an important and healthy part of puberty for teenage boys.(ABC News: John Gunn)

But it’s the nature of that exposure — the type of content and the saturation of it — that has experts concerned. 

“It’s that ‘in-your-face, all-the-time’ aspect of it,” said Associate Professor Ivanka Prichard from Flinders University.

“It’s seeing something on Instagram when we’re perhaps not in that frame of mind, making a comparison to this really fit person and have that influence the way we might feel about ourselves.

“We’re fed a whole range of things through those algorithms that we would never have had exposure to before and would never have sought out.”

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Two screenshots of instagram posts featuring content by young men about going to the gym

Experts report seeing digitally altered and AI-generated images in fitness content.(Supplied: Instagram)

Multiple experts the ABC spoke to reported seeing digitally-altered and even AI-generated images of supposedly naturally-fit bodies on social media.

Ms Prichard, a former fitness instructor whose research sits at the intersection of psychology, social media and exercise science, believes the constant barrage of perfectly sculpted bodies could destabilise the mental health of some teenage boys.

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Fitness

Always Typing On The Keyboard? Try This 3 Minutes Exercise To Relieve Your Wrist Pain!

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Always Typing On The Keyboard? Try This 3 Minutes Exercise To Relieve Your Wrist Pain!
This video provides an easy and effective way to prevent wrist pain and injury. In just three minutes, viewers can learn simple exercises that can help improve flexibility and relax the muscles in the wrist. No equipment is necessary to complete these exercises, making them perfect for those who are always typing on the keyboard. With regular practice, viewers can keep their wrists healthy and free from pain.
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Fitness

Creating Immersive Experiences at Your Fitness Facility

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Creating Immersive Experiences at Your Fitness Facility

According to Fabiano, new clubs are allocating between 600 to 2,000 square feet to recovery spaces.

West Wood Clubs, which has six locations in Dublin, Ireland, recently opened a new recovery room with heated hydrotherapy massage and cryotherapy beds at its Sandymount location. At the Clontarf Club, the company gutted its existing spa to build a bigger space that includes two giant Jacuzzis, a larger sauna and steam room, an ice room, a salt room, heated loungers, and a cold plunge pool.

“Members absolutely love the new spa area, and usage is out the door,” says Karen Polley, the managing director at West Wood Clubs.

Longevity Club created a dedicated stretching and recovery area, and also now offers acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, and functional medicine in-house.

“We built our brand on hospitality, where people feel cared for,” says Jennie Brooks, the owner/president of the Longevity Club. “So, we offer convenience in as many ways as we can, including a variety of curated services that we know members appreciate having under one roof.”

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Healthworks Fitness Clubs in the Boston area debuted the Restore Spa after refurbishing its 19,000-square-foot flagship facility in Cambridge. It features a cold plunge pool, infrared sauna, eucalyptus steam room, whirlpool, spa showers, and restorative massage services.

“Recovery and longevity technology and services are just as important as cardio and strength,” observes Mark Harrington, the president of Healthworks.

Because recovery also encompasses mental health, some clubs are incorporating meditation pods, quiet rooms, and spaces with a strong connection to nature to help members release stress and relax.

Accentuating Ambiance

In addition to recovery spaces, locker rooms represent a haven and are a frequent target for upgrades.

“Members now expect more spacious grooming areas, increased privacy, and larger showers, and upscale clubs are offering heated shower floors, full-body dryers, and private dressing niches,” Fabiano says.

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Carter adds that unisex bathrooms with private showers are becoming more common among studios and smaller clubs.

Equally as important are club lobbies and reception areas, which today are viewed as places to showcase the brand and linger.

“Lobbies have become much more inviting and less intimidating,” Carter reports. “Rather than offering sightlines to a mass of exercise machines, these areas are being designed to make a great first impression that is welcoming to both new and existing members.”

West Wood also unveiled a new reception and café area in Clontarf, which Polley describes as “a bright, beautiful, and friendly hub of the club.” Healthworks likewise designed a new reception area and lounge where members can relax and socialize.

At the Longevity Club, Brooks focuses on sensory appeal and making a stellar first impression when members enter not only the reception area, but also each floor of the multi-story facility.

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“Taste has a big effect on memory, so we offer amenity bars with complimentary mints, fruit, tea, and coffee at the entrance and exit of each floor so that members come in and leave with a lasting pleasant impression,” she explains.

Co-working spaces have been limited to large, multipurpose facilities to date, but some clubs are placing communal tables with charging stations in the lobby as a convenience for members.

“The integration of co-working areas reflects a broader, more holistic approach to member services, acknowledging evolving lifestyle needs that blend work, fitness, and wellness,” Fabiano observes.

Lighting, colors, and flooring all contribute to fostering a custom environment that differentiates brands, attracts customers, and encourages repeat visits.

“There’s a trend toward creating visually stunning and immersive environments through thoughtful lighting, color schemes, and overall design as consumers increasingly expect higher quality in fitness facilities,” Januszek says.

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Return on Reinvestment

Design upgrades and remodels are an ongoing cost of stimulating growth amid competition.

“We are always busy, and the facilities get old and tired every few years,” Polley says. “It’s a constant cycle of reinvestment, which is essential to meeting the evolving needs of our members and keeping us ahead of the curve.”

Januszek acknowledges the worth of engaging spaces. “By offering a comprehensive experience that goes beyond traditional workouts, clubs give members more reasons to value their membership and return.”

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