Revitalize Your Core: 4 Exercises to Boost Strength Faster Than Pilates for Seniors 65+

Enhance your core strength and stability with these straightforward bodyweight exercises that can easily be integrated into your workout routine.

While Pilates is renowned for providing a comprehensive full-body workout by utilizing the reformer to build muscle, enhance posture, and decrease body fat, not everyone has access to such equipment or classes. To address this, we consulted with Jill Brown of Jill Brown Fitness & Coaching, who recommends four simple exercises you can perform at home to effectively regain core strength, especially after the age of 65.

Brown explains, “Pilates is fantastic and I teach it, but it does come with a steep learning curve. If you’re not already familiar with it, you might spend too much time trying to perfect its choreography or performing small, precise movements that may not translate into practical, functional strength. Strength and flexibility are different concepts. These four exercises aim to build stability. They cut through the complexity and focus on generating total-body tension that strengthens your core like a corset, which is essential for moving more efficiently and swiftly.”

Here, Brown details four effective exercises that can rapidly enhance core strength, offering an alternative to traditional Pilates.

Below, Brown breaks down four productive daily moves that help boost core strength quicker than Pilates.

Bird Dog

1. Start on all fours on a workout mat.
2. Extend your left arm and right leg.
3. Hold for 3 seconds before returning to the start position.
4. Switch sides and continue to alternate.
5. Aim for 3 sets of 10 reps on each side.

“Tips: Don’t let your hips wiggle. Imagine you’re balancing a tray of wine glasses on your lower back and you don’t want to spill them,” Brown says.

Forearm Plank

1. Assume a forearm plank: Place your forearms on the ground with your elbows under your shoulders and arms parallel to your body, shoulder-width apart.
2. Keep your body straight from head to heels.
3. Activate your core, legs, and glutes.
4. Complete 1 to 3 sets, holding your planks for 20 to 60 seconds.

“If that’s too much, drop your knees to the floor. Just make sure your hips aren’t poking up in the air— don’t let the hips pop up.  That means you’re using your arms, not the core,” Brown explains. “Squeeze your glutes like you’re trying to hold a quarter between them. That’s how you really ‘turn on’ the core.”

Half Side Plank

1. Begin by lying on your side with your knees bent to 90 degrees.
2. Prop yourself up on your bottom forearm/elbow.
3. Lift your hips up high while bracing the core, keeping your chest open, and keeping your shoulders stacked vertically.
4. Perform 3 sets of 20 to 30 seconds on each side.

“Don’t let your top shoulder roll forward toward the floor. You want to feel this right in the side of your waist (your obliques),” Brown says. “The working side is the side closer to the floor. Imagine squeezing a tennis ball between the bottom side ribs and hips.”

Dead Bug

1. Lie flat on your back, arms extended toward the sky and knees lifted in a tabletop position.
2. Press your lower back into the floor and engage your core.
3. Lower one arm and the opposite leg.
4. Hover for a moment without allowing your arm or leg to touch the ground.
5. Return to the start position.
6. Repeat on the other side, and continue to alternate.
7. Perform 3 sets of 10 alternating reps.