9 ways to get much fitter – without moving a muscle

This variation on the traditional plank hits your oblique muscles – part of your core – harder, while also engaging your shoulders and hips. Start by lying on your side with your feet either stacked on top of one another or one foot in front of the other. You can rest on your forearm or hand. But if you have wrist issues I’d suggest the former. Now lift your hips off the ground until your body is in a straight line, and then hold. If it’s too easy, lift the top leg so that you look like a sideways star: for a simpler version, keep your knees bent or use your top arm for extra support.

Technically, this one is a “contralateral quadruped hold”, but the more memorable name comes from the way it mimics a pointer suddenly sniffing a pheasant. Start on all fours with your wrists under your shoulders, your knees under your hips and your toes pointing down into the ground. Lift one hand and the opposite foot off the ground. You may be tempted to shift at the hips. But imagine you have a tennis ball or a glass of water balancing on your lower back and you need to keep your spine as neutral as possible. Pause for 5 seconds, then repeat on the other side.

This targets all the areas we need to work on as we get older: stretching hamstrings and strengthening shoulders to encourage upright posture, while also building balance. Start from standing, facing forward, then simultaneously bend forward and lift one leg off the ground behind you, aiming to make a T shape with your body. With straight arms to the side, squeeze your shoulder blades back. Imagine your head is the tip of an arrow as it stays in line with the standing foot and your back leg counterbalances. To make this much more difficult, try it with your eyes closed.

This is an excellent way to build up your leg muscles without the balance challenges of the squat. By slightly shifting your weight, you can shift the exercise’s emphasis to the muscle group you most want to work. Find a clear wall and stand with your back against it with your feet shoulder-width apart, lowering your body until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Hold until it’s mildly unpleasant (try min. 30s), remembering to breathe.

The posterior chain, made up of the muscles on the backside of the body – including the back muscles, glutes, hamstrings and calves – is hugely important for most people, but easily neglected in traditional workouts. Fix it with this move, which engages most of those muscles together. Sit on the floor with your feet close to your bottom and hands under your shoulders, then drive your hips upwards until you’re in a sort of tabletop position. Pointing your toes out slightly will help target the glutes effectively. But don’t hyperextend your hips.

For the classic version of the plank, start with your forearms and toes on the floor and your body in a straight line from head to heels. Engage your core and gluteus muscles, and aim to keep your legs as rigid as … well, the clue is in the name. Make the exercise tougher by keeping your heels together and elbows narrowly spaced, so that you’re working harder on balance. The world record for holding a plank is more than nine hours, but you can benefit from the position in minutes if you avoid sagging and stay straight.

This static version of the squat will strengthen your leg muscles, especially the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing slightly outward. Keep your back straight. As you start bending your knees, push your hips backwards and downwards. Go as low as you can without lifting your heels off the floor. Avoid arching your back or letting your knees move inwards.

Start with a basic shoulder bridge: lie on your back with your feet shoulder-width apart and close to your buttocks, then press through your heels to bring your hips up in the air, and hold. You’ll strengthen your spinal muscles, but also combat excessive sitting or forward-leaning posture by opening up the hip flexors. 

Extended plank
This is the toughest version of the plank, and not for the faint of heart or weak of shoulder. Start in a press-up position, then bring your hands slightly ahead of your shoulders – you can extend further if you’re feeling stronger. As with the other plank variations, brace your core and don’t let your hips sag.