I’ve been a personal trainer for almost 40 years, and since 1998 I’ve been director and co-founder of TRAINFITNESS, the UK’s leading provider of in-person and online personal training courses. Across that time, I’ve watched many clients over 60 write off the strength they’ve lost around their middle as inevitable. It isn’t, and there’s a simple way to find out where you actually stand.

The deep muscles of your trunk work with your back, hips and pelvis to keep your spine steady. As you age, muscle mass and nerve function decline unless you keep challenging them. Many people over 60 lose the ability to brace, hold a straight line, and control rotation, and that shows up in everyday life: getting out of a chair, carrying shopping, or playing with your grandchildren.

A simple self-test with four classic floor exercises can show you exactly where you stand, and the results point clearly to what to work on next. Each one measures a different job your middle has to do, so you might hold a front plank just fine but struggle with a side plank, and that pattern tells you exactly where the gap sits.

This is a self-test, not a medical diagnosis. If it hurts, or you can’t get down to and up from the floor, stop and check with a professional first. Here’s what each movement measures, what a good result looks like for your age group, and the first step to take if you miss a target.

Front Plank

The front plank measures the endurance of the deep muscles that hold your spine steady and stop your lower back from sagging, an action known as anti-extension.

How to Do It:

• Place your forearms on the floor, elbows under your shoulders.
• Extend your legs straight behind you and lift up onto your toes.
• Brace your belly gently and keep your body in one straight line from heels to head.
• Hold the position and breathe steadily.

Avoid These Mistakes:

• Don’t let your hips sag toward the floor, or your bottom lift up into a peak. Your body needs to stay in one line the whole time.

Sets and Reps: Hold for 30 seconds for a good result at your age; 45 seconds or more is strong.

RELATED: 5 Home Exercises That Rebuild Knee Strength Without Joint Pain After 60

Curl-Up

The curl-up, a controlled version of the classic sit-up, measures the strength of the muscles at the front of your middle that flex your trunk.

How to Do It:

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Rest your hands on your thighs and tuck your chin slightly.
• Lift your head and shoulder blades off the floor by sliding your hands toward your knees.
• Lower back down under control.

Avoid These Mistakes:

• Don’t yank on your neck with your hands, and don’t throw your body up with momentum. Lift with the muscles at the front instead.

Sets and Reps: 15 to 20 slow, controlled reps without stopping.

Side Plank

The side plank measures the muscles down the side of your trunk that stop you from toppling sideways, known as lateral strength.

How to Do It:

• Lie on one side with your forearm on the floor under your shoulder.
• Stack your feet or stagger them, whichever feels steadier.
• Lift your hips so your body makes a straight line from head to feet.
• Hold, then swap sides.

Avoid These Mistakes:

• Don’t let your hips drop toward the floor, or let your body roll forward or back out of line.

Sets and Reps: Hold for 20 seconds on each side.

RELATED: 5 Daily Exercises That Reverse Aging Better Than Gym Workouts After 60

Bird-Dog

The bird-dog, done with opposite arm and leg, measures your control and your ability to resist twisting through the middle while your back muscles work, known as anti-rotation.

How to Do It:

• Start on your hands and knees, hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
• Reach one arm forward and the opposite leg back until both are level with your body.
• Hold briefly, then return under control.
• Alternate sides.

Avoid These Mistakes:

• Don’t let your hips rock or twist, and don’t let your lower back arch as your leg lifts.

Sets and Reps: 10 slow reps on each side with no wobble and no twisting.

Making Sense Of Your Results

Each of these four exercises gives your core a different job. The front plank checks endurance at the front, the curl-up checks strength at the front, the side plank checks strength down the sides, and the bird-dog checks control against twisting. You can pass one and struggle with another, and that pattern is useful. A weak side plank points to your lateral muscles; a wobbly bird-dog points to your control and anti-rotation.

Completing all four without stopping is genuinely better than most people over 60 manage. If you miss one target, it doesn’t mean something is wrong. It simply means that area of your midsection needs more work, and now you know exactly where to start.

RELATED: The 12-Minute Morning Routine That Builds More Strength Than Lifting Weights After 65

Where To Start If You Fall Short

The first thing to do is regress the exercise you failed to an easier version, then build from there:

• Plank from your knees, or with your forearms on a worktop.
• Curl-ups with a smaller range of movement.
• Side plank from bent knees.
• Bird-dog holding just the leg before you add the arm.

Train that easier version two or three times a week, and add a few seconds or a single rep at a time.

Progress only when the movement stays smooth and controlled. Getting down to the floor and back up again is itself a good piece of training, so keep that in your routine. And if you have back pain, recent surgery, or trouble getting down and up, skip the floor tests or check with a professional first.

The post If You Can Complete These 4 Classic Exercises Without Stopping After 60, Your Core Is Stronger Than Most appeared first on Eat This Not That.