Trainer, author, and fitness model Kirk Charles, NASM-CPT CES, knows that as you get older, life can get more complicated. But that shouldn’t prevent you from being on top of your game. He’ll help to answer the tough training questions that come with age so you too can be Fit Beyond 40.

Strong shoulders are essential for older guys' upper body function and, of course, to fill out a suit jacket well too. One exercise that I’ve recommended for all types of clients to bolster their shoulders is the dumbbell lateral raise. There's one tweak you can make to the exercise that can make it even more effective: get down on the ground.

The floor seated lateral raise gives you more than you might expect from a shoulder exercise. The variation can provide a valuable challenge since your position (with your butt on the ground) eliminates any opportunity to rock your hips to create momentum to lift the weight, which can be a bad habit people develop when they perform the exercise standing up. To top it off, you'll work your core by forcing yourself to maintain an upright posture while sitting and moving weight.

To set up, grab a pair of light dumbbells. Sit on the floor with your legs fully extended in front of you. You should feel your heels, calves, hamstrings and glutes glued to the floor, and your toes pointed up. Hold the dumbbells so your palms are facing the floor, with your arms angled slightly in front of your torso. Make sure you're sitting straight up, with no slumping in your lower or upper back. Squeeze your core and your shoulder blades together.

From the starting position, use your shoulders to raise the dumbbells up (you can maintain a slight bend in the elbows) to shoulder or just below shoulder height. Pause for a second at the top, then lower back down, gently setting the weights down on the ground. Coming to a dead stop on the ground also prevents you from using momentum to cheat your reps, forcing you to reset (and focus on perfect form) for each rep.

Many older men might find that the most challenging part of the movement is maintaining good posture in the seated position, not necessarily moving the weight. Hamstring flexibility and hip mobility come into play while your legs are flat on the floor. Most older men I know (me included) cheat a bit on the exercise by slightly bending their knees, which makes it easier to keep your back upright. That’s permissible to do for the sake of protecting your back, but you must continue to work on loosening your hamstrings and hips for perfect form.

Another great benefit of the floor seated lateral dumbbell raise is that the muscles along your spine (erector spinae muscles) get some needed work, especially if you sit a lot during the day. When standing it’s easier to cheat on many shoulder exercises by leaning, but being seated in the upright position takes that option away, forcing you to maintain better form.

As you lift the dumbbells, you’ll immediately feel your shoulders engaged. If you feel your spine slumping or shifting while lifting, either take a break or use lighter weights. Also, make sure that you don't lift the dumbbells above shoulder height. That could cause injury, especially if the weight is too heavy. Try 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps with a light weight to get started.