As we get older, it seems we find more excuses not to take care of ourselves. The lack of routine, the thought that it’s too late, or the ever-classic “I don’t have time” come up to justify not moving. Then, obviously, and as we’ve discussed several times at THE OBJECTIVE, we pay the price of a sedentary lifestyle.
The problem is that this bill is more burdensome the older we get. What in youth might be a slip with room to recover, in maturity becomes a recurring nightmare. Especially if time constraints and a diminished physical capacity appear… if we haven’t addressed it earlier.
But, fortunately, hours and hours of functional mobility at the gym are not required. If you have them, great; but if you don’t, you can also tailor routines to fit into a shorter timeframe. Especially for strength training, which, believe it or not, you can blend with your daily cardio routines.
Finding a Routine at 60 for Everyday Life
Thinking that moving and carrying out daily activities are incompatible with exercise is illogical. Nor does it make sense to believe that stretching won’t contribute anything. Precisely, Julie Ellis, one of the most popular fitness educators in the United States when it comes to aging gracefully, made that clear.
From her account @sixty_strong, Julie Ellis frequently shares training routines and nutrition tips for women, though those guidelines are also applicable to men over sixty. In that framework, she repeatedly emphasizes the need to maintain not only strength but also mobility and flexibility, two factors that, when combined, are key to promoting a high-quality longevity.
It’s not a minor matter. Other fitness specialists, such as Marcos Vázquez or María Casas, delve into the necessity of performing strength exercises that also offer functionality. It isn’t about becoming gym-chiseled in the way people used to dream decades ago; it’s about using this work to feel better in daily life.
That is precisely where a large share of Julie Ellis’s efforts concentrate, as she shared her ten-minute mobility routine. You don’t need hours at the gym or a lot of time in general. In fact, it can be done right before you head out for a walk or a short while after waking up.
Stretching and Strengthening: Julie Ellis’s Routine at Sixty
Although for many years it seemed routines should be more aligned with aerobics and cardiovascular exercise, the reality is that it has always been advantageous to combine strength and cardio. That’s why some of the exercises in Julie Ellis’s daily routine can help preserve mobility as the years go by.
In her case, she mentioned six daily exercises that aren’t particularly demanding. However, when kept up over time and performed consistently, they can yield results. Moreover, focusing on practicality, her tips also aim to improve the range of mobility we tend to lose with age.
- Deep squat: it’s not just about performing squats, but about holding the position for a period, which, according to Ellis, helps “gain mobility in the hips and ankles.” It’s not a minor issue, because these are “joints where many people begin to lose range of motion with age.”
- 90/90 stretch: as seen in her videos, this exercise offers great functionality because it promotes “internal and external rotation of the hip,” two movements that are common and highly relevant to mobility.
- “The best stretch in the world”: although Ellis’s name for it may sound grandiose, the reality is that it’s particularly practical because “works the hips, spine, and shoulders in a single movement.”
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
- Prone Y stretch: when our day-to-day life often involves sitting for long hours —something our bodies aren’t particularly prepared for— strengthening “the upper back,” as Ellis explained, is key. In this case, simply lie face down on a mat and lift the arms extended to form a Y, feeling the tension in the upper back.
- Runner’s lunge with rotation: although it may seem like a complicated exercise, it’s easier than it sounds. The trick is that “it combines hip opening with spinal rotation.” In this way, it works “movements that tend to lose mobility more than we tend to think.”
- Supine rotation: a beginner-friendly exercise that “helps mobilize the lumbar area and the spine before starting the day.”
