Fitness instructor, cookbook author and entrepreneur Nadja Piatka is ageing with strength – and wants to help other women do the same.
‘A strong core isn’t about age – it’s about how you train,’ she recently wrote on Instagram. ‘That matters – because with age, we lose muscle (Sarcopenia)… unless we train it.’
Sarcopenia is the scientific term for age-related muscle loss, which can start to affect us as early as 30. After that, researchers have suggested that muscle mass then decreases by around 3-8% per decade, with that rate of decline increasing after the age of 60.
But as Piatka highlights, that’s if you don’t train it – there’s a whole lot that we can do to significantly slow, manage and sometimes even reverse sarcopenia.
And by training, she isn’t necessarily referring to hours of sweaty, gruelling gym work. Rather, she means simple, consistent habits that you can embed into your daily routine – like the below core exercises.
Why is core strength so important?
A strong core is crucial for extending your healthspan (the years of your life spent in good health) because as Piatka flags, it ‘supports everything: your posture, your back and your confidence in how you move’.
One recent review published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Public Health found that core training significantly improved older adults’ balance performance – vital for reducing fall risk with age.
The exercises
In her Instagram post, Piatka highlighted four simple plank variations that she recommends doing daily to both build and maintain core strength.
‘These plank variations fire up your entire core while improving balance and control,’ she captioned the post.
Keep your stomach pulled in to engage your core as effectively as possible, aiming for smooth, controlled movements.
1. Knees apart, tap together x 10Hold your plank position, engaging your core.Bring your knees together so that they touch before bringing them out again.2. Knee taps x 10 Hold your plank position, engaging your core.Bring your knees towards the floor before coming back up to your plank.3. Diagonal knees to chest x 10Hold your plank position, engaging your core.Bring your right leg up and diagonally across your body, roughly to hip height.Return your right leg to its starting position before doing the same with your left leg.Continue this movement, alternating between legs. 4. Controlled walking x 10Hold your plank position, engaging your core.In a walking motion, alternating between each foot, rise up onto your toes before driving your heel back into the floor.
One of our most frequently asked questions here at Women’s Health? How to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. So, we asked superstar trainer Oyinda Okunowo exactly how to do it. In this 4-week plan – created exclusively for Women’s Health COLLECTIVE members – you’ll get the workouts and nutrition guidance needed to help you on your way to better body composition. Tap the link below to unlock 14 days of free access to Oyinda’s plan and start training today.
Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women’s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner’s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She’s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.