With September well underway and rainy days incoming, it can feel tempting to spend more time on the sofa than outside. But health experts, including ITV's Lorraine's resident doctor, Dr Hilary Jones and PT Shakira Akabusi, have urged us to do the opposite.
"If people concentrate, particularly as they get older, on things like muscle strength, flexibility, and hormonal balance, then they can still feel invigorated and get through the winter with that health reset," said Dr Jones, who regularly shares his insights into the importance of strength training for women on the show.
Rather than being a season to step away from exercise, Shakira says that "September is the new January", making it a great time to settle into a longevity-boosting routine.
"Strength training is so important as we get older. Our muscle mass begins to decline, and that doesn't just impact our strength, but our bone health, heart health, balance, metabolism, so many things," she said.
With that in mind, the personal trainer shared a simple three-step bodyweight workout for beginners with Lorraine Kelly and viewers, suited "particularly for over 50s and over 60s" and for those of all fitness levels.
Shakira's 3-step bodyweight workout for over 50s
1. Sit to stand squats
- Take a seat on a stable chair or on your sofa, with your feet hip-width apart.
- Push through your heels and come up to standing, as you would in a squat.
- Hold the standing position for a moment, then return to the sofa.
- Try and do the movement without holding on to anything.
"Looks super simple, but we're working on strengthening the lower body, increasing that muscle mass. It's also a really functional, day-to-day movement," says Shakira.
Squats recruit muscles across the entire body, so it's no surprise they are also one of the best knee exercises and back exercises, too.
2. Step-ups
- Stand at the foot of your staircase or a small platform.
- Step up onto the stair with one foot, bringing the other one up behind you onto the step.
- Make sure to push through your foot on the way up.
- Once standing with both feet on the stairs, bring one foot down to the ground, then the other.
- Repeat the movement.
"Again, it looks simple, but we can't underestimate the importance of this. Not only [is the step-up exercise] weight-bearing as we're getting up on our feet, which is great for our bone health, but we keeping moving," the PT said.
"It also works something called propriocception, which is our brain assessing how it's moving in a space. For example, judging how high we need to step onto a platform," she said.
To make it more challenging, step sideways instead. "This gets our brain working as well," she said.
3. Calf raises
- Standing on the first step of your staircase or on top of a small platform.
- Slowly, push through the balls of your feet onto your tiptoes.
- You should feel the muscles in your calves shortening.
- Hold for a moment, then return to the starting position.
"I love this because not only are we working on balance and stability when we're up on our toes and strengthening our ankles, but we're strengthening our calves," said Shakira.
"The calves are known as the second heart. They help to pump the blood from our lower extremities back up towards our heart, redistributing that blood flow around the body, helping us to feel energised."
How many should you do?
"Let's just start with doing a minute of each of them every morning," says Shakira. "Then, if you can, [do it] again in the evening." That works out to just two minutes a day of resistance training.
"It strengthens the bones, it keeps the tendons and ligaments strong. It makes you feel good," says Dr Hilary.
However, the pair stresses that this bodyweight workout should be done in addition to the NHS-recommended 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week.
Walking, cycling, and swimming count as moderate intensity exercise, whereas hiking, running, cycling or swimming quickly count as vigorous exercise.
"Do your balance exercises, do your muscle-building exercises, and go for flexibility [on top of this], and you'll stay feeling young forever," the doctor said.
Is the workout suitable for everyone?
Yes, most people will be able to do these three bodyweight exercises, but if you have concerns, always speak to your doctor before starting a new exercise routine.
If you already exercise regularly, you might find the workout too easy - but it's designed to encourage a regular routine in the winter months when we as a population tend to do less exercise.
You can make the exercises harder by adding weights, like dumbbells and kettlebells, should you want to turn it into a daily challenge.
For those totally new to exercise, it can be a great jumping-off point and a tick-box way to stay moving during the colder seasons, the experts agree. "Anything is better than nothing," Shakira said.
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