bradyweb

I can assure you that you are mistaken. I'm not big on sit ups and crunches being super beneficial but holding a plank routinely for any length of time will strengthen the core as efficiently as any of the movements you listed. And people are more likely to do it since you can simply drop to the floor at anytime and get busy. It's simple, quick, and requires no equipment such as a tire, sledgehammer, or fork lift

bakerjw

Hard being 43????

I recently had some back issues and went to a chiroquackter. I learned some very useful exercises to help limber up my back vertebrae quite a bit. If I keep up with them the compression between my L4 and L5 vertebrae is not a problem.

Any exercises are good IMHO. Front planks, side planks, situps, etc... As we age, we get sedentary. We've all seen old men shuffling about unable to twist, straighten, etc... I never want to be in that kind of shape.

dmark 

+1 on planks.
I am 62 and started doing a 2min plank once a day Mon-Fri (at work) and they help tremendously.
I also do (2x week) bench press and added deadlifts 3yrs ago and my back and core is much improved. Also rows from TRX type straps in the basement ceiling. And a few situps, crunches and pushups 6 days before morning shower.
I have had patella/femoral surgery on both knees and C2,3,4 are not so hot either but my program works for me.

Lemond1985

I like to back out of my planks, into a hamstring stretch, and then hold that for 10 seconds or so (no additional tools needed). Probably a habit from my yoga days. My hams get very tight riding, and I need to stretch 'em constantly to avoid back problems.

burnthesheep

I’m not old at all but had some crap running form. Aka, a weak core. It caused me to bend at the waist too much running.

This led to other run form issues and nearly an injury.

I did the work similar to that GCN corr video twice a week for two months and the difference was awesome.

Now in off days from the bike I do a basic strength routine with core.

So I can advocate for those exercises. It also helped me hold my aero position on the road bike much longer. Now I can do decently long threshold sets in it.

drewguy

This one?

https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com...r-core-workout

guachi

Yes, that one. Every exercise is awesome. There's also a GCN video from when it was new with some of the other exercises I mentioned.

I do all of those exercises that don't require equipment with my out of shape Sailors in the Navy - people who have failed their fitness test or are marginal. I mostly lead cycling as I like cycling and most of them do cycling for their aerobic portion of the test. But cycling on a stationary bike does nothing for upper body or core fitness so I incorporate all of those exercises. I love it. Very useful.

rbent

Do CrossFit consistently; you won't have old-man-back. I've been doing it [CrossFit] three days a week for the last eight years and I turned 70 in March :-)!

Dr.Lou

Yep, my porn career and Viagra really help with doing planks.

as7710423

<!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->The Plank Pose is the best cardio workout, builds good core strength, and exercises the whole body. The most common plank is the front pane in a push-up-like position, in which body weights are produced on the forearms, elbows, and toes.

rsbob 

At 6’1” I have not be able to touch my toes since I was a pre-teen. Ankles, if I am lucky. Leaning forward, my hands still hover at ankle height. My wife would have to give me a shove on my bum to get my hands on the ground. Am envious of that gymnastic level of flexibility. Will stick with planks, and alternate hand/leg lift planks.

flyjimmy

I’m 55. This past spring my 12 year old pointed out that my drop bars were tilted to far up. I pointed out that he was 12 and I was 55. Anyway I adjusted them to match his. After a short ride I put them back to where they originally were prior to the meddling 12 year olds comments. Last spring do to my new found spare time do to the pandemic I started taking kayaking a bit more serious. Kayaking to me was always a toy I brought camping or just a way to relax out on the water a bit. I started reading about proper paddling technique. I’ve kayaked about 1.5 hours per day since the spring. My road bike bars are now in the position suggested by the boy. It’s amazing how comfortable I am in a much more aero position then just a few months back. As the weather gets colder and the kayaking slows I will definitely incorporate this into my daily routine.

rsbob 

These exercises were taught to me by a physical therapist three years ago to relieve chronic back pain after a severe injury. They got my life back and man do they ever work. Still do them 4X a week. The ones in the video present really good detail. Thanks for posting.

GlennR

My 3 year old grand daughter does a daily workout with my son and they "plank".

kayakindude

I was a distance runner in my younger days and had the same flexibility issues you mention. Been active in yoga for about four years. First 3-4 months were really hard, but I gained the ability to touch not only my toes but the ground just in front of my feet. Also has minimized injuries (into multiple sports and workouts).

Something to think about. Btw...I'm 6'3"

rsbob 

I tried yoga last year but dropped after two sessions because the instructor was getting to woo woo with shooting heart arrows, embracing the universe and some other odd things. I should take your lead and find some YouTube yoga videos. Injury reduction is a biggie. Thanks for the tip!

Road Fan

I have a yoga teacher here in Ann Arbor, who is not at all like that. It's very businesslike, focussed on getting a stretch, learning to feel when you're close to going too far (at this time), and some gentle tricks for achieving as much of the position as you can. I think having a teacher, even in group lessons like these, is very helpful. Dave (my teacher) watches everyone in the class, even on Zoom, and provides comments to show you where form is bad, and other pointers. The kind of Yoga is Iyengar, which is itself strenuous, though it is not necessariy fast or a "Power Yoga." My strength for all activities has significantly improved. If you go the the Iyengar site (iynaus.org) you can use their online directory of teachers to find someone in your area. I'm sure there are several in Seattle, since there are at least 10 in Ann Arbor.

Iyengar teachers are very concerned about safety. This is really important, you CAN hurt yourself.