“I have people do a lot of exercises with their eyes closed when it’s safe,” says Michiel. He finds that this helps them get in touch with their bodies, as not everyone has good kinesthetic awareness, or understanding and control over how their body works. body parts move.
To help clients engage their core, Michiel asks them to press their hand against their stomach and push against it by squeezing the muscles. Then, after releasing them, he tells them to gently place their hand on their shirts and repeat the engagement motion, but without the hand pressure. When clients can feel their shirts loosen, he says that’s when they know they’ve found their essence.
A senior trainer since 2006, today Michiel leads a network of more than 30 trainers working with seniors in Southern California. She is also active. Her love of dance and movement has always inspired her, and music is a big part of her workout routine for her and her clients.
But he recently started focusing on core work specifically to help ease back pain and says he’s seen incredible results. The key to this success was abandoning the idea of having a “flat stomach,” which she says is something that comes from genetics, not exercise. Instead of working on those six-pack muscles through movements like sit-ups, she focuses on the inner, lower, and lateral core muscles.
“We’re not looking for six-packs when we’re older,” says Michiel. “The lower abdominal musclesthe ones closest to your navel, those are the ones that have a direct correlation to your lumbar spine.”
In addition to combating back pain, Michiel says she implements this type of core work for herself and her clients to improve balance and prevent falls.
“Balance is the most important thing,” says Michiel. “Imagine someone is walking their dog and their dog is pulling them. If you have good core strength, you can stand up straight without tripping or falling.”
To develop this body awareness and strengthen these muscles, Michiel likes to do standing abdominal exercises. They are simple, effective and do not require getting on the floor. Although she stresses that you can work your abs “just by thinking about them” and tightening them, she says, a little bit of resistance will help improve core strength.
Here’s how to do Lori Michiel’s standing core exercise for seniors.
- Stand up straight and hold a single dumbbell in your hands in front of your hips with your arms straight. The weight should be light: the goal is to use it to work your abs, not to challenge your shoulders and arms.
- Keeping your arms mostly straight (a slight bend at the elbows is fine), raise the dumbbell directly in front of you, to about chest height. Make sure not to go over the shoulders.
- As you raise your arms, contract your abs.
- Lower your arms and release your abs.
- Repeat 10 to 20 times.
Add some rotation: For an added challenge, instead of raising and lowering the dumbbell up and down, rotate it to the side as you lift and to the center as you lower. This will help engage your obliques on the sides of your torso.
Play with the rhythm: Michiel also suggests mixing up the rhythm of your exercises. For example, try raising the dumbbell slowly (for three seconds) and then quickly lowering it back down, or vice versa.
For more standing crunch action, check out this 10-minute workout.
