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TRAIN YOUR CORE WHILE STANDING UP

15 min - DONE & DUSTED

A free follow-along workout with one dumbbell and five standing moves. No crunches and no floor work.

This workout is for you if:

You have lower back pain
Your lower back has been injured before
Lying on the floor feels uncomfortable, or you simply don’t want to

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Just saying.... You might need to hear this today.

Women leave the gym sore, tired, hungry.... but never, ever miserably unhappy. The hardest part is the way between home and the gym. Once you're in, it's all just grand, as we say in Ireland.

Changing your mindset is a difficult part of the whole process too, I'm not gonna lie to you. We're shaped by the environment we're already in, the family beliefs passed on to us, how we see ourselves, what role food plays in our lives, whether we have addictive tendencies because we use food as a coping mechanism. That all plays a role and influences us. Some women naturally lean towards movement of any kind. Some have to find, or better said build, that relationship. I belong to the first category myself, but I never had a relationship with barbells and the Gym Bro environment. Never. I had to build it.

And what started as a challenge for me in the summer of 2021 gradually and slowly became a habit. Then my life started to revolve around it, and now I can't imagine life without it. A slow process that took me years.

If I could do it, so can you.

x
Silvia ☘️

How much fibre did you get today? I hope you're aiming for something like 25 to 30g.

Fibre isn't only a digestion tool for your happy gut. After 45 it helps clear excess estrogen, steadies blood sugar, lowers cholesterol, and keeps you full so you can easily resist the 4pm biscuit raid. I can see you now... been there 😁🤗

Let me help you out if you have no clue where on earth you're supposed to get it. Just to make it easy.

🍎Apple (skin on)
Around 4g per apple. Mostly soluble. It slows digestion, holds you full, and feeds the good bacteria in your gut. Eat it whole. The fibre sits in the skin. Peel it and you're left with sugar and a bit of crunch.

🧋Psyllium husk
Around 5g per tablespoon. Almost all soluble. It brings cholesterol down and keeps you regular when nothing else will. Start with one teaspoon, not a tablespoon. Put it in a big glass of water and drink it fast before it turns to gel. Follow with a second glass. Skip that and you'll bloat for two days. I learned that one the hard way.

🌰Milled flaxseed
Around 4g per two tablespoons. Soluble and insoluble both. It also brings omega-3 and lignans, plant compounds that help hormone balance after 45. Stir it into porridge, yoghurt or a smoothie. Ground, never whole. Whole seeds go straight through you.

➡️Add the three up and you're near 13g. Half your daily target from three small habits.

The other half comes from vegetables, beans and whole grains.

The number worth knowing:
If apples were your only source, you'd need six or seven a day. Nobody eats like that. That's the whole case for mixing sources.

x
Silvia ☘️

📌Save this for the days when you'd like a good core workout but don't fancy a mat. I know these days very well...

Or maybe there are rocks on the ground, or you want to work out in the backyard, or the floor feels too hard today, or too dirty... you name it 😁

➡️Aim for 3x10 reps, or set a timer for 20 seconds on, 5 seconds rest, back to back.

Pick a dumbbell you already train with, because you will feel this in your shoulders. There is no point pushing to tired arms, because then the body starts looking for shortcuts to compensate. Most often you start to lean, or bend forward or to the sides.

For a strong, well-functioning core, we need the full range of muscles: the front, the sides, and the ones that support your lower back. Give them all the work they deserve, and your daily errands start to feel much easier.

x
Silvia ☘️

Life trajectories can take so many shapes.
And each one is right, if it suits you.
Do not let society, the patriarchy, or other people decide what is good for you or who you should be.
BE YOU.

This one is such an underrated exercise out there.
Shoulder stand is great for calming down swollen legs. Your core works hard to stabilize, your shoulders work to keep you up, and if you have a weak core you probably won't be able to hold it long.

It's easy to fold into a core routine, especially if you're already doing reverse crunches and lifting your legs, so why not push the last two a little harder and higher?

This one doesn't give you perfect abs. It gives you more mobility, stability, and control over your body.

Not all good exercises have to involve obsessing over 20 kg dumbbells. Some good stuff happens when you swing your legs up and hold.

You'd be surprised how many people can't hold their legs up for more than 10 seconds because of poor balance and mobility.

x
Silvia ☘️

I love coffee because of coffee, and I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a bit of a coffee snob. 🙌HUH! 🤷‍♀️
Love the smell of it, love having a big coffee machine at home, love frantically spinning round the county to hunt down the richest, most rich-roasted beans.
Well, hello there! 😁

Coffee is my guilty pleasure and my obsession at the same time. Before midlife, 5-7 cups a day was my norm.

When I hit perimenopause, the first thing to go was my sleep. I've always been a light sleeper. Jealous of anybody who can drift off in the middle of a techno party.
I struggled with sleep for years, stubbornly refusing to touch my coffee habit.

Then one day a serious medical article landed in my hands, and I finally understood how our bodies process coffee, and how long caffeine runs around our system like a lunatic.

So I have cut it down. 7 to 5. Then 5 to 3 over the following months, I fixed the timing too. My last coffee is now at 1pm. That's it.
Better deep sleep. Less anxiety. Fewer wake-ups in the night. I still drink strong Italian black shots.
Timing is the thing I had to change because it's not always about all or nothing.

x
Silvia ☘️

The fact is that metabolism over 45 slows down, and that's a natural biological process as estrogen declines.
But our bodies are genius machines, so we have tools to restart it.
Muscles. That's all you need.

Muscles are energetically hungry tissues. Math is mathing here: bigger muscles = bigger hunger = better energy burning.

What I mean is you don't necessarily need huge huge muscles. In the body we already have naturally large muscles, so it's good to focus on the big muscle groups first. Glutes, quads, hamstrings. These are the strongest muscles we have, because they carry us every single day.

So let's grab a dumbbell and give them a pump. I'd recommend going for heavier dumbbells, like 5kg or 7kg...etc... but it depends on your fitness level. The squat and swing are far more effective with a heavier load in general.

The reason I chose this combo is that it's highly effective and time-saving at the same time. You work multiple muscle groups at once. Great for a 30-minute Sunday workout.

➡️Suitcase Squat. Aim for 8 reps with the heaviest dumbbells you can manage. Don't let your knees fold inward, and don't stick out your bum (arching back). Your spine should stay long, as if you swallowed a ruler. All the muscles in your legs, plus your shoulders and grip, are working right now.

➡️ Renegade Row. Not my favourite, but it works. Lovely plank position. You're fighting for stability here. Shoulders, lats. Aim for 8 reps each side.

➡️ Dumbbell Swing. Such a funny exercise. It seems easy, but it's highly effective. Stand with legs wide apart, like a sumo squat. Your inner thighs will thank you for this one. Swing the dumbbell, but don't arch your back. Shoulders, spine, lower back, legs, core. GREAT!

x
Silvia ☘️

Hormonal shifts and perimenopause are real. There is no doubt how much they can affect women's life, bodies, and moods.
Me included! I'm no exception. I went through hell with anxiety and depression. And that little Mrs. Depression, as I call her, still comes to me and tells me something...

But the worst thing you can do is use it as an excuse. An excuse to struggle with weight, an excuse for drinking, an excuse for neglect, an excuse for not watching what I do to my body. I see it every single day.
"Oh! That's hormones!"
"Oh, you know, it is how it is, that's hormones!"

Well. Yes and no. What is going on in your body is 90% a reflection of what you eat and how you move.
Sugar cravings, snacking, bloating, crankiness, low mood, low energy. You can help manage all of that. Particulary in midlife sitting on that life rollercoaster...

Some of these things are just your body screaming for better nutrition. Screaming for movement.
Feeling good in your body is not a seasonal thing. It's a lifestyle, built with habits, and it is meant to stay with me and you for the rest of our lives.

x
Silvia ☘️

📌SAVE THIS for your next shopping run.
35g of fibre daily, that's the baseline for good gut health. But how on earth do you get it?🤷‍♀️

Well, with a little bit of planning and knowing what to eat. I'm not ashamed to admit that I use Psyllium Husk as well. Great stuff.
But natural food is my staple, as there are different types of fibre in each one, and each type has its job in our gut.

➡️So here are my favourites:
Oats
Broccoli
Banana
Potatoes with the skin on
Apples
Chia seeds
Flax seeds
Lentils
Leafy greens

x
Silvia☘️

✨️••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I'm Silvia, 48. Getting my PT cert and training women 45+ to build real strength. Building bodies that last decades, not summers.
➡️ Monthly essays and training tips: Check my BIO.

⭕️First things first, let's clear this up. You cannot force your body to spot-reduce belly fat, or any fat you'd like to reduce first. Body fat is completely under your body's control. Your body is the boss of what goes first. You have zero influence. Well, good to know.
But what you can do is build muscle. That's your job.

Having a strong lower belly also means having a strong pelvic floor. If you're afraid to sneeze in public in case... we all know this one.🤷‍♀️
If you're anything like me, then you definitely don't usually carry spare pants in your handbag, anyway.

SO.

Crunches are fine, planks are fine, but there's more than one muscle in our abs. The lower part runs from the bottom up to about a third of the way, somewhere near your bellybutton.
So if you're doing crunches, this lower part is resting on its laurels. To wake it up, your movement should start from the bottom. And let the upper muscles rest on their laurels for a change.

➡️ Reverse crunches:
I love them. Grab the leg of a sofa, or get on a bench. If you're on the floor, it's always good to hold onto something behind your head.
Extend your legs up, then go a little further, lift your hips towards your ribs, and slowly lower down.
Aim for 10 reps.

➡️Leg Raise:
Great on the floor, but again, hold onto something. That way your energy goes into lifting your legs, not into stabilising yourself when you're not grounded properly.
Raise your legs up and slowly lower down. Do not arch your lower back. Your lower back should be glued to the floor or bench. Aim for 10.

➡️Dead Bug is such a nice one. Opposite arms and legs working, lower back glued. Aim for 10 each side.

Good, effective training doesn't have to be complicated at all.

x
Silvia ☘️

✨️••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I'm Silvia, 48. Getting my PT cert and training women 45+ to build real strength. Building bodies that last decades, not summers.
➡️ Monthly essays and training tips: Check my BIO.

📌SAVE THIS for your next shopping run 🙂
Getting 100g of protein takes a little bit of planning, honestly speaking. It's definitely not just randomly eating whatever's in the fridge.

What's useful is to create your own list of favourite staples and note down the amount of protein each one contains. So you always know what to toss in the basket while shopping.

➡️ Here are a few of my favourites that are always in my fridge:

Greek yoghurt
Cottage cheese
Smoked salmon
Chicken breast
Minced beef
Tinned tuna
Eggs

x
Silvia ☘️

✨️••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I'm Silvia, 48. Getting my PT cert and training women 45+ to build real strength. Building bodies that last decades, not summers.
➡️ Monthly essays and training tips: Check my BIO.

If your knees hurt, there's a good chance your inner thighs are weak (assuming you don't have a knee injury, that's the situation I'm talking about).

Inner thighs, along with quads, support and hold our knees together. The stronger they are, the easier it is to get up from the floor or up the stairs.

Sumo squat is such an underrated exercise, but I was a dancer for 13 years, believe me on this one.
We didn't train sumo for nothing.

➡️Try to go as deep as possible with the widest stance, but still keep your stability. Engage your core. Without your core, there's no sumo. Extend your hands in front of you for stability.

Imagine you're sitting down on a chair, but there's no chair, so you have to hold it. Hooooooooold, hoooooooooooold... start with 15 sec and then build it up.

All the muscles in your legs are busy now: bum, quads, hamstrings, calves, core.

Training doesn't have to be complicated, Christ almighty.... You can sumo down while walking your dog and play a game of how many sumos you can do from this lamp post to that one.

x
Silvia ☘️

✨️••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I'm Silvia, 48. Getting my PT cert and training women 45+ to build real strength. Building bodies that last decades, not summers.
➡️ Monthly essays and training tips: Check my BIO.

Round back by 3 pm? Well, it has more to do with a strong back than with posture.

Stretching a weak back doesn't work, but having a strong back along the spine is a completely different game.

The good news is that you don't need 20 exercises. Just a few right ones.

➡️RDL - I know how this one is promoted, as a bum shaper. But beyond your glutes, it is perfect for hamstrings and quads. All these fellas that support the whole back chain from the bottom. If you struggle with lower back pain, I bet you have weak glutes and legs.

➡️Face Pull - great one for your shoulder blades. It is literally pulling your scapulas back where they belong. Aim for 3 x 8.
If you are at home without a bench, lean forward with a neutral spine, do not round into a cat back. In the gym, get a bench to support your torso from the front.

➡️Dead Bug - boring for most people, but great for a strong core. You need a strong core first to have a strong back. A strong core is your inside ruler keeping you up. Great for coordination too. Arms and legs work hard while your core keeps your body still.

Strong back, happy life!
x
Silvia ☘️

✨️••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I'm Silvia, 48. Getting my PT cert and training women 45+ to build real strength. Building bodies that last decades, not summers.
➡️ Monthly essays and training tips: Check my BIO.

How independently your life will be at 60 and beyond is being decided right now. In midlife. When it feels like the body is starting to betray us.

⭕️ 7 functional movements.
That's all you need and that's how our body works in everyday life. Simple, right?
And every one of them needs muscle.

➡️ Without muscle, you simply can't sit down on …anything…, even if your head thinks about it 100 times.

➡️ You can't climb the stairs. You can't lift the shopping.
Muscle is what makes an independent life possible.

And we lose it fast after 45. On top of that, women have far less testosterone than men, so building it takes more work.

➡️ Muscle is also our factory for burning calories. The more you carry, the more the factory burns, the more energy you have. Simple physics.

➡️ Muscle pulls on bone and forces it to become stronger. Muscle protects against diabetes by clearing excess sugar from the blood.

After 45, building muscle isn't about fashion. It's about who gets to live independently at 60. And who doesn't.

x
Silvia ☘️

✨️••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I'm Silvia, 48. Getting my PT cert and training women 45+ to build real strength. Building bodies that last decades, not summers.
➡️ Monthly essays and training tips: Check my BIO.

Strawberry season is here, and so is this fresh, protein-packed breakfast with crunchy chocolate on top.
🍓
40g oats
Milk of your choice
Chopped fresh strawberries
Chia seeds
3-4 spoons of Skyr
85% dark chocolate, melted, on top
~300 kcal, 20g protein, 45g carbs, 14g fat

Happy Summer!
x
Silvia ☘️

✨️••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I'm Silvia, 48. Getting my PT cert and training women 45+ to build real strength. Building bodies that last decades, not summers.
➡️ Monthly training tips to your inbox: Check my BIO.

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TRAIN YOUR CORE WHILE STANDING UP

WANNA ME AS YOUR PT?

FOLLOW A GOOD STUFF

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