This is another post in our series of Fitness Saturday exercises and workouts appropriate to women in the second half of life.  Personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and professional athlete Cassidy Watton, based in Malibu, California, is our fitness guru.

Fitness is multifaceted. It is a combination of strength, conditioning, flexibility, power, balance, speed, and endurance. Perhaps the two most important components for women over 50 are strength and flexibility. Muscle is critical for a functioning metabolism and maintaining bone density. Flexibility directly dictates how mobile you will be as time goes by. A vibrant and active woman’s mobility is of the highest importance! This week’s exercise takes care of both.

Sumo Stance Good Mornings stretch and strengthen the posterior chain. Some people fear exercises related to the back, but they are indispensable, and, when performed correctly, carry no risk. This exercise predominately works the hamstrings, the gluteus maximus, and the lower back. It can be performed any time, anywhere, with or without weight.

• Start by standing with your feet wide—about six inches outside of your hips. Point your toes outward at a 45-degree angle. You can do this weightless, with your hands on your hips, or holding a bar on your back. The weight should be something that allows you to do the exercise with perfect form for 10 to 15 repetitions.

• Next, with only a slight bend in the knees (no locking out), drive your hips directly backward. Naturally your chest will fall forward. Make sure that your stomach is held tight and your back is flat. When you feel a tight pull in your hamstrings, or your chest is parallel to the ground, engage your hamstrings and glutes in order to squeeze up to standing. You want to be faster on the way up than on the way down, and end standing tall with your glutes squeezed. Perform 3 sets of 10 to 15, with plenty of rest in between, up to a few times a week.