Beginning a workout at any age or skill level

Talk with your doctor about healthy ways to incorporate fitness into your routine. For individuals recovering from an injury, consider seeking advice from a physical therapist who may identify areas requiring special focus.

Squats

A familiar movement, bending and lifting to pick up a grandchild or a bag of groceries requires training to help avoid back injury. Fine-tune your form by trying this move that can build muscle strength in the glutes, abdomen and leg muscles.

Push-ups

Drop and give us two, or 10 or 12. No matter how many push-ups you can muster, making time for this all-star exercise offers a high return on investment - building strength, balance and stability. For beginners, push-ups can be done against a tall counter, rather than all the way down to the floor. Stand with your palms on a counter and feet flat on the floor.

Single-leg balance drill

Boost your stability and balance by including this exercise into your at-home workout rotation. It can even be done while brushing teeth or washing dishes. Start by removing your shoes so your foot muscles can feel the floor. Stand with your feet flat on the floor, then shift your weight to your left leg and slowly bend your right knee, aiming to get your thigh parallel to the floor. Hold for five to 10 seconds, depending on your strength and stability, then, return that foot to the floor.

Planks

Side, center, forearm or - you guessed it - all of the above! Planking is a great way to engage your abdominals while strengthening and lengthening spine, back and shoulder muscles. Begin on all fours, with your hands under or slightly behind your shoulders. Extend your legs straight behind you and come up onto your toes.

Yoga

If you haven't already, it's time to give yoga a go. This holistic practice blending exercise and mindfulness is time-tested, has few age or ability barriers and offers benefits ranging from increasing flexibility to reducing falls. Two good starting positions are downward dog and warrior one. For downward dog, start the same way you start a plank but push your backside to the ceiling rather than toward the floor, so your legs are straight and your torso is straight. Keep your heels down and head relaxed. The

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