When you’re beginning exercise, it’s a great idea to start with very simple exercises that activate muscles around the major joints and build up some core strength. At the same time, your body is in a stable position to reduce the risk of falls and injury. You can do plenty of excellent gentle movements with just your body weight in the comfort of your own home. These can be done while you’re standing in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil and gives you the kitchen bench to hold onto for support if needed. Standing exercises are just a little step up from seated exercises because now you have to support and balance the weight of your whole body. You start to include more of your core/stabiliser muscles. An excellent progression if you’ve already mastered some basic seated movements!

Standing hip extension – Standing with a wall or chair for support, shift your balance to one leg, and lift the opposite leg up to the back. Squeeze at the top and repeat.
Standing hip abduction – Standing with a wall or chair for support, shift your balance to one leg, and lift the opposite leg up to the side. Squeeze at the top and repeat.
Standing hip flexion – Standing with a wall or chair for support, shift your balance to one leg, and lift the opposite leg up to the front. Squeeze at the top and repeat.
Leg swings – Holding a wall or bench for balance take once leg at a time and swing it front-back first gently and then increasing in force for about 10-20 reps, repeat the same movement but side-side.
Standing Arm raises – Standing in a comfortable location, lift arms out to the front then down, repeat to the side, and then to the back (like the picture but without weights)
Standing arm circles – Standing in an open space, use arms and shoulders to make big circles in the air both forwards and backwards
Bench/wall push ups – stand with your hands on a wall or bench. Hands should be about shoulder width apart, stand up on your tip toes. As you lower yourself down into the pushup your hands should be about the mid-chest level (NOT up by your face or down by your tummy) – keep your body strong and straight, then push back up to starting point.