{"id":152851,"date":"2025-06-02T19:18:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T19:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/152851\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T19:18:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T19:18:12","slug":"if-you-can-perform-these-5-moves-at-60-youre-in-peak-shape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/152851\/","title":{"rendered":"If You Can Perform These 5 Moves at 60, You\u2019re in Peak Shape"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sixty is considered middle age by today\u2019s standards, which means you could still have plenty of vibrant years ahead. That\u2019s why being in great physical shape should be high on your priority list. But how do you know if you are as fit and strong as you should be at 60? We took the guesswork out of the equation with five expert-approved strength workouts<\/a>. If you can do the below movements at 60, you\u2019re literally decades ahead of the fitness curve.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we age, we need to focus on getting as strong as possible,\u201d Luke Carlson<\/b><\/a>, ACSM certified exercise physiologist, ACSM certified cancer exercise trainer, and founder and CEO at Discover Strength<\/a>, tells us. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to be more active, become more flexible, or increase mobility, we need to get strong \u2026 There is no fountain of youth, but there is strength training.\u201d<\/p>\n

All muscle groups decline pretty evenly. But as we get older, there is more loss of \u201cfast twitch\u201d muscle fibers, which allow forceful contraction of muscles, Luke points out.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo counteract this, we can perform the basic strength training exercises listed above and on the final few reps, when the weight becomes very challenging, we should attempt to lift the weight fast,\u201d he explains. \u201cOf course, the weight won\u2019t actually move fast because we are so fatigued. But this attempt to lift the weight fast taps into these fast twitch muscle fibers (in a very safe manner).\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are the five movements Luke recommends doing to test your longevity and performance<\/a> at 60.<\/p>\n

\tLeg Press or Squat<\/p>\n

\"matureShutterstock<\/p>\n

A leg press trains the glute muscles, hamstrings, and quads.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only do we increase the muscle mass and strength in this area, but we also stimulate metabolic health benefits when performing strength training exercises for large muscle groups,\u201d Luke says.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to do a bodyweight squat.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Stand tall with your feet shoulder-distance apart and arms at your sides.<\/li>\n
  2. Descend into a bodyweight squat, maintaining a tall chest.<\/li>\n
  3. Lower until your thighs become parallel to the floor.<\/li>\n
  4. Press through your heels to rise up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If You Can Do These 4 Bodyweight Workouts, Your Body Is Still Young<\/a><\/p>\n

    \tChest Press<\/p>\n

    \"OneShutterstock<\/p>\n

    A chest press works the chest and triceps. You can perform the chest press motion with dumbbells, a machine, or by doing a pushup.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Lie flat on your back on a workout bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand just outside your chest.<\/li>\n
    2. Keep your feet flat on the ground and maintain an engaged core.<\/li>\n
    3. Press the dumbbells over your chest until your arms are extended but not locked out.<\/li>\n
    4. Use control to lower the weights.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      6 Dumbbell Moves That Melt Fat Better Than Spin Class<\/a><\/p>\n

      \tA Rowing or Pulldown Movement<\/p>\n

      \"matureShutterstock<\/p>\n

      A rowing or pulldown movement works the muscles of the lats\/upper back.<\/p>\n

      Here\u2019s how to do a lat pulldown.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Begin seated at a lat pulldown machine, holding onto the bar with a shoulder-width overhand grip.<\/li>\n
      2. Bring your shoulders back and down as you pull the bar down toward your upper chest.<\/li>\n
      3. Hold at the bottom of the movement before slowly releasing the bar back to the start position.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        If Your Body Can Handle These 6 Tests, You\u2019re Aging Like a Pro<\/a><\/p>\n

        \tShoulder Press<\/p>\n

        \"dumbbellShutterstock<\/p>\n

        The shoulder press will increase the strength of the triceps and shoulders. You can do this exercise using a dumbbell or machine.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Keep your core tight as you stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand held at shoulder height.<\/li>\n
        2. Press the dumbbells overhead until your arms are completely extended.<\/li>\n
        3. Use control to lower the dumbbells to shoulder height.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          The 15-Minute Bodyweight Workout That Replaces an Hour at the Gym<\/a><\/p>\n

          \tLower Back Extension<\/p>\n

          \"FitnessShutterstock<\/p>\n

          The lower back extension is a stellar movement to address chronic lower back pain, as it strengthens the muscles of the lower back.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Position yourself on a back extension bench with your feet locked in and hips situated just above the pad.<\/li>\n
          2. Cross your arms in front of your chest or hold onto a dumbbell for extra resistance.<\/li>\n
          3. Lower your upper body toward the ground while maintaining a neutral spine.<\/li>\n
          4. Lift your torso until your body becomes straight from your head to your heels.<\/li>\n
          5. Pause at the top of the movement before lowering with control.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Alexa Mellardo<\/p>\n

            \t\tAlexa is a content strategist, editor, and writer based in Greenwich, Connecticut. She has 11+ years of experience creating content for travel, lifestyle, fitness, wellness, F&B, home, and celeb news publications.\t\t\t\t\tRead more about Alexa <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sixty is considered middle age by today\u2019s standards, which means you could still have plenty of vibrant years…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[1152,1154,1630,105,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-152851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-aging","9":"tag-exercise","10":"tag-fitness","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114615386437874892","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}