Upper-body strength and mobility are crucial to maintain independence as you age. You use them every day: when you’re lifting bags, opening heavy doors or getting out of a chair, while weakened back or shoulder muscles can also lead to back pain as they cause slouching and a misaligned spine. Natural age-related muscle loss (also known as sarcopenia) and bone density decline have also been shown to disproportionately impact the upper body if you don’t actively work to preserve it.
@carrielynnsisson//Instagram
They’re factors of fitness that wellness advocate and founder of barefoot shoe brand Peluva Carrie Lynn Sisson has prioritised for 50 years – and her approach has paid off. She says she’s now the strongest she’s ever been at 70, thanks to practicing the below ‘simple and effective’ exercises since she was 20. ‘I promise you don’t need all the fancy exercises,’ she says. ‘These moves have made it into every single one of my programmes over the last 50 years and are a huge reason why my upper body feels so strong at 70.’
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All the moves can be done at home, with just a pair of dumbbells and a bench or sturdy step. Carrie’s biggest piece of advice when it comes to maintaining functionality with age? Don’t overthink it.
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She says it’s as simple as getting your blood flow going: ‘Circulation is one of the most important foundations of health and vitality, and one of the most powerful drivers of circulation is movement. When you move your body, your muscles act like a pump helping push blood through your body and back to your heart. That increased blood flow then delivers oxygen and nutrients to your brain, skin and organs, and helps carry away metabolic waste. Your body was designed to move, and when you do, everything works better.’
Below, find the 12 exercises Carrie recommends, and how to do them with proper form.
Upper-body with weights exercises 
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Kneel one knee on a bench, then hinge at the hips with a flat back, holding a dumbbell in one hand and one hand placed on the bench. Pull the weight towards your ribs, squeezing your shoulder blades together, then lower with control.
Sit tall with a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height. Press the weights overhead until your arms are straight, then slowly lower back down.
Lie on your back holding one dumbbell with both hands above your chest. Keeping your elbows slightly bent, lower the weight behind your head, then pull it back to the start using your triceps, keeping elbows in place.
Lie on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand at chest level. Press the weights straight up until your arms are extended, then lower slowly.
Upper-body and core bodyweight exercises
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Stand tall, hinge forward to place your hands on the floor, then walk them out into a high plank. Walk your hands back to your feet, stand up and repeat.
Place your hands on the edge of a bench or chair behind you. With slightly bent knees, lower your body by bending your elbows, then press back up to straighten your arms.
Lie on your back with your arms overhead and legs extended. Lift your shoulders and legs off the floor to form a hollow hold, then gently rock forwards and backwards while keeping your core engaged.
Place your hands on an elevated surface, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Lower your chest towards the surface, then press back up to the starting position.
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Thoracic rotation
Start seated. Place one hand behind your hips, rotate your torso towards the hand behinds you, then return to the start. Repeat on both sides.
Crossbody shoulder stretch
Sitting tall, bring one arm across your chest and use your opposite hand to gently pull it closer to your body. Hold, then switch sides.
Overhead lat stretch
Sitting tall, reach one arm overhead to catch the opposite elbow and bend at your elbow. Gently lean to the opposite side until you feel a stretch along your side and under your arm. Repeat on the other side.
Upward dog/cobra
Lie face down with your hands beneath your shoulders. Press through your hands to lift your chest while keeping your shoulders relaxed and opening through the front of your body.
As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.