7 Best Standing Ab Moves To Start This Week After 50

Having toned, sculpted abs is a goal of many fitness enthusiasts. But alas, dreams don’t magically come to life by simply snapping your fingers. However, they can come true with the right workout, diet, and lifestyle habits in place.

Strong abs are essential in daily life, as they help you lift, bend, twist, and move seamlessly. They help you stay balanced and support solid posture.

Some common machines in ab workouts include the abdominal crunch machine and cable machine. But you don’t have to go to the gym in order to build a defined midsection. In fact, we learned a routine you can do anywhere, anytime.

We spoke with Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Hilliard, a Certified Pilates Instructor and the Founder and Owner of Hilliard Studio Method, and learned seven of the best standing ab moves to start this week after 50.

“Standing abdominal exercises train the core the way it’s actually used in daily life by stabilizing the spine while you move, twist, and balance rather than isolating a single flexion movement like a crunch does,” Hilliard tells us. “For adults over 50, that’s a meaningful advantage. Standing moves reduce the load on the neck and low back, while building the functional balance and rotational strength that reduce fall risk, and they double as light cardio since you’re on your feet the whole time.”

The Standing Ab Routine

Below, Hilliard breaks down her go-to seven-exercise standing ab workout. Here’s exactly how to do it.

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High Knee March

“The high knee march builds hip flexor strength and single-leg balance while raising the heart rate slightly, making it a great low-impact core-and-cardio starter move,” Hilliard explains.

1. Stand tall with your feet placed shoulder-width apart and your knees soft.
2. Make sure your spine is long and your hands are at the back of your head.
3. Then, lift one knee up toward your chest.
4. Lower it.
5. Lift the other knee up toward your chest.
6. Continue to alternate in a marching fashion.

RELATED: 5 Body-Sculpting Moves To Build a Lean Waistline

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High Knee March With Twist

“Adding the twist engages the obliques and improves rotational control, which translates directly to everyday movements like turning to look behind you,” Hilliard explains.

1. Stand tall with your feet placed shoulder-width apart and your knees soft.
2. Place your hands at the back of your head.
3. Then, lift one knee up toward your chest.
4. At the same time, rotate your torso to bring the opposite elbow toward the lifted knee.
5. Lower.
6. Repeat on the other side.
7. Continue to alternate in a marching fashion.

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Standing Oblique Crunch

“This isolates the obliques without any spinal flexion pressure on the neck or lower back,” Hilliard notes.

1. Begin standing tall in a wide stance, toes facing forward and hands behind your head.
2. Hinge laterally to one side, contracting through your waist between your ribs and hip bones.
3. Engage through your center abs to draw back up to stand tall.
4. Slowly alternate to each side.

RELATED:​​ 5 Chair Exercises That Flatten Belly Overhang Faster Than Planks After 50

Standing Woodchops

“This move trains rotational and anti-rotational core strength that mirrors real-life movements like reaching across the body and playing golf or tennis, while also improving shoulder and hip mobility,” Hilliard tells us.

1. Hold a dumbbell with both hands and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Lift the dumbbell toward your right side, keeping your arms straight.
3. Twist your torso, and carefully rotate your legs to bring the dumbbell down to your left.
4. Bend at the knees while dropping your hips to bring the dumbbell toward the ground.
5. Repeat by lifting the dumbbell back to the right and overhead.
6. Repeat on the other side.

RELATED: 5 Standing Core Moves That Flatten Your Stomach After 40

Low Lunge Hinge

“This combines hip flexor stretch with glute and hamstring engagement, building the hip mobility and posterior-chain strength that support everyday bending and balance while stabilizing primarily with the abdominals,” Hilliard shares.

1. Begin by standing tall with your hands behind your head.
2. Step into a low lunge.
3. Slowly hinge your torso forward from your hips—toward your front thigh—while maintaining a flat back.
4. Gradually stack your shoulders back over your hips by pulling your abs in.
5. Repeat on the other side.

Low Lunge Hinge With Twist

“The twist layers in oblique and thoracic spine mobility work on top of the hip, hamstring and core benefits of the previous move,” Hilliard says.

1. Begin by standing tall with your hands behind your head.
2. Step into a low lunge.
3. Rotate your torso toward the front leg, drawing your opposite elbow toward the front knee, opening your chest toward the ceiling.
4. Repeat on the other side.

RELATED: This 8-Minute Standing Routine Builds More Core Strength Than 30 Minutes of Crunches After 50

Squats on a Bosu Ball

“This builds functional leg strength alongside proprioception and balance, both key for fall prevention as we age,” Hilliard says.

1. Begin by standing tall with your feet shoulder-width apart on the flat or dome side of a Bosu ball.
2. Place your hands on your hips.
3. Bend at the knees and hips to lower into a squat.
4. Descend until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
5. Press through your heels to return to standing.

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