It’s not your imagination. It’s much easier to gain weight and harder to lose it after a certain age. Many experience hormonal and metabolism issues that seem to come on suddenly without warning, even if you have a healthy lifestyle and good genetics on your side. While it can be discouraging, that doesn’t mean you have to accept weight gain as part of the aging process. There are hurdles to overcome, but it’s not impossible, and there are plenty of stars who serve as fitness inspirations to get motivated.
Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, and Hugh Jackman are just some of the stars over 50 who have sculpted physiques and we’ve rounded up the exercises that help them get so toned. From planks to Russian twists, read on to learn about their most effective workout moves, and how a fitness expert says they can work for you.
If you need motivation to kick up your workouts a notch, look no further than Halle Berry’s Instagram account. The 56-year-old ‘s chiseled abs are a force to be reckoned with and often flashes her toned tummy to her 8.5 million followers. She works out regularly with her trainer Peter Lee Thomas, who revealed how the Oscar winner gets her six-pack on The Doctors.
What the Expert Says: Rose McNulty, a NASM-certified personal trainer, and NASM-certified nutrition coach tells us “This ‘H2O Twist’ is a variation of a Russian twist that uses a jug of water as weight and includes shoulder presses between Russian twist reps. This combination helps tone the abs overall, including the obliques that run up and down the sides of your torso, by demanding core strength to rotate back and forth. During the press, you’ll work your upper body while building core endurance. Aim for 10 reps while maintaining good form, or go for longer if you can.”
It’s hard to believe that Padma Lakshmi eats bacon and chugs bourbon for a living. For 17 seasons, the 52-year-old served as a judge on Bravo’s Top Chef where she ate nonstop, especially during the elimination rounds, yet her rock-hard abs never showed signs of an expanding waistline. To stay fit and work off the numerous bites of food she ate daily while on the show, the TV host hits the gym hard and does everything from battle ropes, to boxing and flipping a tire, which she shows off her hard work in this video.
What the Expert Says: “In this video, Padma Lakshmi flips a tire, which works both the lower body and abs,” McNulty says. “Squatting with good form helps strengthen and tone the legs and glutes but also demands core stability. The core comes further into play when you hinge at the hips and reach down to pick up and flip the tire, which requires both upper and lower body stability and strength.” She continues, “The appropriate amount of reps depends on the weight of the tire and your experience level, but try working up to sets of 10-12.”
Jennifer Lopez’s head-turning abs of steel are enviable. To get a sculpted core like hers, hard work, determination, and commitment are a must. The 54-year-old is incredibly disciplined and it shows. A go-to ab move she does is overhead medicine ball sit-ups, which you can see her doing in this video. She also does medicine ball sit-ups with a Russian twist that tones the entire core and obliques.
What the Expert Says: McNulty states, “J. Lo performs an overhead medicine-ball situp, which mainly works the core but also requires upper-body strength and stability.” She adds, “Holding the medicine ball overhead throughout the movement will help build endurance in your upper body while completing the situps. If you’re new to this move, aim for 8-10 reps with good form, and work up to 12-15 reps.” As for the Russian twist: “The combination of twisting at the waist and hinging at the hips hits every angle of your abdominals, and holding onto the medicine ball requires upper body strength and close attention to posture,” McNulty explains.
READ RELATED: 7 Must-Try Exercises for a Slimmer Core in Just 30 Days
It’s not easy being Wolverine and for the 10th time, Hugh Jackman is reprising his role. The 54-year-old is getting ready to take on Deadpool and to get into fighting shape, Jackman is going through intense training. In a recent Instagram post, he posted a video sharing one of his challenging moves–a slider plank with a weight plate on his back.
What the Expert Says: According to McNulty, Hugh Jackman is doing a slider plank, also known as a body saw plank, with a weight plate on his back. It’s an effective move that works core stability as you plank, as well as shoulder strength as you slide back and forth while holding the plank.” She adds, ” This move is challenging even with just your body weight, so make sure to master the move before adding additional resistance. Work up to 12-15 reps with perfect form over time.”
Whether you know her from her iconic role in Friends or many of her other unforgettable characters, one thing everyone knows her for is her chiseled physique. The 54-year-old works hard at maintaining her toned body and recently revealed in an Instagram video how she stays in such great shape.
What the Expert Says: “Jennifer Aniston reps out bridges in the video, lying on her back and using her core and glutes to lift her hips up,” McNulty says. “The bridge is a classic core exercise that works by engaging the abs, glutes, and other posterior chain muscles. Doing this movement slowly and with control is important, as is thoughtfully engaging your abs and glutes throughout the exercise. Aim for 15-20 reps.”
Berry isn’t one to shy away from a challenging ab exercise and Thomas showed another move the star does to sculpt her abs–partner planks.
What the Expert Says: “The partner plank is an effective, fun way to work the core, upper body, and lower body,” says McNulty. “The partner performing the squat portion gets a total-body burn, and the partner performing a plank gets a killer ab and upper-body workout. Aim for 12-15 reps with each movement, and 2-3 sets to start.”
Victoria Beckham posted a cable machine workout recently, with her daughter joining in. Cable machine workouts offer a versatile and effective form of strength training that targets multiple muscle groups through a wide range of motion. By providing constant tension throughout exercises, cable machines engage stabilizer muscles, improve coordination, and reduce the risk of injury. Beckham uses it to work her core.
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