Do you get locked-up when you reach for a seatbelt? Do you ever get that nagging twinge in your lower back when you twist to get out of the car?

Well, you're in the right place because in this post, we'll unpack why maintaining trunk and thoracic rotation exercises as you age beyond 50 is vital for protecting your discs, easing pain, keeping you balanced, moving well, and enjoying lives adventures. 

Unlike my husband who discovered trunk rotation weakness the hard way, when he was using his new stand-up paddle-board for the very first time. He did a couple of rows through on either side and then he locked up in his lumbar region and couldn't move.

Glad to say that today he's doing okay, he's spent quite a bit of time on mobility and strength in that area.

Watch: Thoracic Rotation Exercises for Women Over 50 (16mins)

Press play or keep reading, either way, you’ll master this essential ADL move in under 15 minutes.

Ready, let's jump into the 'Fix Your Twist: Thoracic Rotation Exercises for Women 60+' lesson:

So, in this post along with the why, you'll learn some key trunk twisting exercises with a band and fit ball you can do at home, and then we'll wrap up with a simple five-minute at-home workout that keeps you moving well and pain-free.

Why Trunk/Thoracic Rotation Matters: Real-Life Examples

So you may ask me, why is this trunk rotation movement pattern so important? 

Because when we rotate or twist side to side, the mid-back is able to rotate freely, so the lower back doesn't have to twist beyond its safe 5 to 10 degrees of rotation. So then we can take better care of our discs. These twisting movements are in our everyday life with whatever you do.

It might start in the morning for when we reach across to turn off our alarm clock, then we might be doing up the seat belt of the car.

However, it's generally the simple everyday things that sometimes highlights any trunk rotational mobility weakness' we have. 

• Sitting and turning behind to look
• Looking behind out of the car window
• Reaching for something thats fallen under the couch, or
• Spending time in the garden and digging to turn the veggie patch soil over

So all of that is rotation. We might be vacuuming, going from side to side, raking, sweeping, the list goes on. I personally love kayaking, and this requires a big rotation with every stroke.

So we rotate and twist our body every single day, and most of the time we don't even think about it until something goes wrong. So let's have a look at these strengthening and mobility moves.

Exercises #1: Anti-Rotation Band Hold

The first exercise we're doing today is we're going to have our band attached to something securely so it won't come off.

• And then we're going to take one hand, the outside hand first
• Then the inside hand's going to come over the top
• And we're just going bring the arms to hold this out in front of us 

• Now if you see me from the side, this is easier if i hold my hands close in
• Then harder mid way out
• And much harder with arms fully extended

• All of this is an anti-rotation, so when we step out far enough, this band is going to want to pull us back in.
  So we're going to resist this. It's an anti-rotation exercise where we're just trying to resist that pull
• Now you can either hold this close in
• Or you can press it out
• And back in, out and back in, and you're holding that core on the whole time, nice little belly button pressed into the spine, and we're taking these arms out and in, or you can just hold it there.

Exercise Repetition: Maybe today you might only be able to hold it here for 20 to 30 seconds. In another week or two, you may be able to hold it further, further, further out. So just think about just trying to stop that rotation.

Remember: When you do one side you do the other. TIP - Do the weaker side first.

Exercises #2: Still Using a Band

Band Weight Shift & Band Twist 

Exercise number two, as before in exercise 1, we're going to take that outside hand first, put the inside hand over the top.

• And we're simply going to just leaning side to side
• So taking my weight into one leg
• Then into the other leg
• I'm trying to hold this band out to the front (NOT rotating my trunk at this stage, this is building the trunk/core strength) as I weight shift from one leg to the other
• NOTE: If hold arms out fully extended is too hard, bring them in. You can even start with arms against your chest as in previous exercises, and then progress out as you get stronger

• And then when I've got that right, then I can start to rotate, like bringing that back and rotate as I go side to side
• These arms can have a slight bend in them, almost straight, not quite straight
• NOTE: If you've just started to do this, then it's probably okay to bend those arms a little bit more or have a lighter band. But every time we bring that around, we're doing a nice big rotation around
• I've got this at kind of chest level at the moment, but you can be doing higher ones and lower ones which we'll look at next
  

Band Rotation - High to Low

Now I've moved the anchor into a higher and safe position, the door jam at the top of the door.

• And from here, doing that same move
• So I'm just rotating these down toward the knee from high to low
• So this just works a few different ways with that back and bringing that down to that knee
• Making sure you've got a little activation of that core on
  

Band Rotation - Low to High

Now I've moved the anchor into a lower and safe position, the door jam under the door.

• So from here with the anchor in the lower position
• And still maintaining that back straight as I pull it up
• Don't round out your back

• So from the lower position with a slight lean and twist
• With arms straight start to bring the band through on a diagonal
• And coming up to the highest position , again rotating the trunk

So these rotations can be done from low to high, from high to low, or straight out. And you will certainly feel that core trunk area working nice and hard.

Exercise Repetition: I would do maybe 10 to 12 reps and do two to three sets of these on each side, with a 30-45 second rest between sets.

Exercises #2: Still Using a Band

I love the fit-ball for what it can do for your trunk rotation. So when we think of all the moves we do in life, like throwing a ball, pushing, pulling, everything's got that rotational move to it. So I love these fit-balls because there's a lot of things you can do to strengthen mobility for those activities.

Fit-Ball Rotations

The first one, we're just going to be rolling out onto that ball

• And we're going to be having our arms up in the air
• And all we're going to be doing from here is bringing this right over to one side
• And right over to the other side
• NOTE: Now you may not be able to go that far when you first start on here. It might be just a little side-to-side rotation, but as you go along, see if you can really come right over to the side

These fit-balls are a great way to work your balance, coordination, strength. They do a multitude of things, and a whole lot of things that you couldn't do if you were just lying on a bench.

Fit-Ball Twist Press

So the second exercise we've got on the fit-ball, I've just got a little hand weight. Well, mine's actually a four kilo, but you may choose to not have a hand weight at all. But we're going to look at some great rotation on the ball.

• Starting with back on the fit-ball weight in one hand racked and other arm fully extended
• So, as I press up with the weighted arm, at the same time I press down with the free arm
• Then the opposite, press up with the free arm and press down with the weighted arm
• So it's a real rotation as I'm turning side to side, pressing one arm, pushing with the upper arm, elbow of the other

That's some great mobility rotation exercises there, which is going to take us into everyday life when we're weeding, pushing, pulling, throwing a ball. We're not just directing in one plane of motion. We are, if we throw a ball, it's a bit of a rotation as we come back, and then we throw and push forward. So everything's rotational.

Workout: 5-Minute Repeatable Routine

Enjoy this twisting mobility workout, that Coach Sheree has put together, to compliment this Fix Your Twist: Thoracic Rotation Exercises for Women 60+ post.

For a WARM-UP do some on the spot marching, with arms moving/swinging for 2-3 minutes before you start the workout. The warn-up intent is to simply get the blood flowing across your body and muscles.

This rotation mobility workout has been designed for those who that struggle rolling, and should they fall, or lying in bed, know they need to gain the strength and mobility to the gain freedom and independence they desire.

Trunk Mobility Stretch Sequence

Well done on the workout. I hope you've been able to see today why it's so important to have that rotation so that we don't lock up that time that we pull something or turn.

Now, we're just going to look at some mobility things before we end off.

NOTE: With All of these mobility stretches remember to do both sides.

• So, from here, we can just turn over as far as we can over one shoulder
• It's really important anyway to do as we're driving along and take it over the shoulder

• We're just going to be taking our arms out to the side
• And taking both of these knees over to one side while we keep this opposite shoulder down and we're going to look the opposite way to our knees
• We're going to be taking these knees over to the other side
• Variation: You can be taking these just side to side without stopping, so that we're just getting some mobility into that back area.

• The next one we're going to do, we're going to lie onto our side.
• NOTE: To support neck you could put a pillow under the head so the head's not lying on the floor. You can put a foam roller or whatever you want to on it
• So, we're going to bring up our knees at a kind of 90 degree angle and we're simply going to be leaving these knees here while we slide this top hand along
• Comes along our chest and we look over towards the elbow
• Those fingers are going to stay on the chest.
• NOTE: We're just trying to take that as far back as we can. Going to slide it forward again. If you can't come back then try each time that you come back to go that little bit further.

• Laying on side knees bent, arms out with one on top of the other
• Taking the top hand up in the air, following the hand with your eyes and letting it land right behind you

• On this last one we're going to be on our hands and knees
• And we're simply going to be taking a hand on our forehead
• We're going to be reaching under
• And then reaching up.
  

Final Thoughts

I hope you've enjoyed these thoracic rotation exercises, workout and stretches. Let me know in the comments if you found that helpful or what you would like more of.

Thanks for joining me. See you next time.