Daily Exercise
Written by Julie Taylor
Daily Exercise...
First, before we actually do any exercise, watch this video from the 1950's with me! It's not politically correct but it's great... Jack LaLanne is now 94 and he looks great. I think he's earned the right to be listened to? Just watching him makes me smile! I love this...
And here is a young Jack photo... And a photo of him several years ago when he was 90 with his wife Elaine - do you think it's worthwhile to keep fit and eat well? I'm sold.
The is just one book that I can find by Jack Lallane called Revitalize Your Life and it's available from Amazon for just under $13 with free shipping... "It's never too late to get in shape..." ReBuildingYou depends on your support to grow - BUY HERE - the prices are exactly the same and you'll be supporting your RBY at the same time.
Exercise? On top of everything else there is to do when you are ReBuilding, taking time to exercise seemed too much to me... Unless, perhaps, it could be worked into some of the daily activities and chores I have to do anyway... and be effortless? This is something I worked on with my physiotherapist - we used fun dance moves and exercises that I could do while I was stading brushing my teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil.
A book of simple and practical exercises is this one: American Heart Association Fitting in Fitness: Hundreds of Simple Ways to Put More Physical Activity into Your Life (Mass Market Paperback) by American Heart Association - "When you think about physical fitness, what comes to mind?..."
ReBuildingYou depends on your support to grow - BUY HERE if you decide to buy - the prices are exactly the same and you'll be supporting your RBY at the same time.
Some exercises were fun - like going for a walk and adding a few feel-good stretches? All exercise is valuable and helped me gain stamina and 'wellness' - right from when I could only sit in my chair for an hour when I first got out of bed (which starts to tone so many unused muscles) to going for a walk to an hour of gentle aerobics.
At times when I am particularly in need of picking up my stamina a bit, I go to exercise classes a couple of times a week, which totally exhausts me. After a few weeks of this I find that I am no longer so exhausted. But it's tough to hang in there sometimes.
This is a neat DVD - ostensibly for seniors but good for anyone who's not just into weight loss and who's a little fragile: Senior, Elderly Sitting Chair Pilate's Exercise DVD with Resistance Bands (Comes with 2 Resistance Bands) Great for Strength, Balance & Basic Rehab- Certified by ACE The American Council On Exercise & AIFE American Institue of Fitness Instructors.
ReBuildingYou depends on your support to grow - BUY HERE if you decide to buy - the prices are exactly the same and you'll be supporting your RBY at the same time.
I like the idea of being fit but I don't seem to be able to stick with most of the programs I come across. Until I found these exercises and very informal 'program' - and one repeat a day is better than none and it still 'counts'... You don't have to do the whole program or more than one repeat... It's entirely up to you.
When I do these exercises - and I seem to do some every day without even thinking consciously about it now - I don't get anywhere near the same amount of general aching and I feel much better. When I'm feeling overly tired and achy, I often realize that I haven't exercised for a while.
To begin with I was totally unable to follow these moves and certain muscles didn't want to move. More than anything, I wanted to find some exercises that I could incorporate into my daily life and not feel like I was doing ‘yet something else’ – let alone anything that remotely resembled a chore. I want to be fit but without having to do fit…
Over the years I have constantly been on the lookout for fun, easy exercises. These are some of what I have come up with - in fact my physiotherapist agrees these are excellent exercises - she recommended some of them! Toning up your core muscles will improve your balance, help with better posture, tone your midsection, improve balance and (eventually and with other exercise) increase your stamina. If you’re lucky these exercises could even slim your waistline!
1. The first exercise, which I call the treadle, involves keeping your body above your waist perfectly still. Sometimes I try (it’s not easy!) to do it while I'm brushing my teeth – adding a cognitive multi-tasking exercise too. You'll see what I mean!
For this exercise, start by standing tall and hold your hands with your palms facing downwards, level with your chest and with your elbows sticking out in a straight line from your shoulders, parallel with the ground. (Alternatively, you can bring your hands in so that your hands are in front of your chest, palms down. This is easier.) This will help to exercise your arms – in fact if you keep your arms ‘up’ like this you may notice that they soon start to ache.
Suck your belly button in towards your spine – your pelvis will tilt slightly forward when you do this. Take care to maintain your posture and tummy tone during this whole exercise.
Imagine the vertical muscles at the side of the body between your hip and armpit contracting and pulling your leg up off the ground. Your hip and butt should come up and rotate slightly; hold that position for a second or two and then return your foot to the ground and repeat the series of movements with the other leg/foot. Take care not to push the foot up from the floor but rather pull it up with the muscles described.
Repeat this movement up to10 times (but once or twice is fine too) and try and do at least 3 sets of these exercises during the course of the day – perhaps when you are waiting for a bus, waiting for the doorbell to be answered, waiting for the kettle to boil or any one of a dozen different times during the day when you have a few moments to fill.
You can also do a variation of this exercise while you are still in bed, in a swimming pool or sitting at your desk. In fact, any one component of these exercises is a worthwhile exercise in itself.
2. For the second exercise or 'upper body slide', stand with your feet hip-width apart and knees slightly bent. This time keep everything lower than your waist completely still.
Hold your arms out, much like the wings of an aeroplane, in a horizontal plane, parallel with the ground. (Alternatively, hold your arms out in the same position as in the last exercise). As before, the muscles of your arms will also be exercised, albeit passively.
In this exercise you are going to slide your upper body first to the right, in a horizontal plane, whilst keeping your lower body still. Then you are going to slide through ‘center/straight’ and continue over to the left.
At the same time, draw yourself up to your full height and suck your belly button in towards your spine – your pelvis will tilt slightly forward when you do this.
As you move from side to side imagine that you are reaching for something slightly out of reach and level with your shoulders. Take care to keep your tummy muscles drawn in tightly and remember not to move your lower body.
3. The third exercise - the cat stretch - can be done when you wake up in the morning or any time when you can lay on the floor. Imagine there is a belt around your waist and that you are 'piggy-in-the-middle' to two people, one above and one below you.
For the first part of the exercise, arch the small of your back up as high as you comfortably can - as if the person above you were pulling up on your belt. Hold that position for 20 seconds.
Handy tip:
(It has been shown that holding a position for 20 seconds is as effective as holding it for 30 or 40 seconds - but that not holding it for long enough does not stretch the muscles sufficiently. (So longer than 20 seconds is a waste of time!?)
The second part of the exercise involves sinking the small of your back into the floor and pressing down - as if the person below was now pulling hard on your belt. Hold this position for another 20 seconds and repeat these exercises between 5 and 10 times.
4. The fourth exercise - finger stretch - is very easy and is good to do before you get out of bed in the morning. It involves stretching your fingers and pressing the tips of each finger in turn against the thumb of the same hand. You can also safely pull each finger straight out with your other hand - sometimes you will hear a 'crack'. I have heard that we should avoid bending the fingers 'backwards' in order to get them to crack as this could cause unnecessary wear and tear on the joints.
5. The fifth exercise - arm stretch - is good to do before you get out of bed in the morning. I reach out as far as I can, above my head with a straight arm. I do this once with my hands facing one way and then twist my hand at the wrist to face the other way. Roll over on to your side and repeat these stretches with each arm.
6. The sixth exercise - windmill - is the last that I'm going to talk about here. You can also do this in bed or lying flat on your back on the floor. Bring your knees up until the soles of your feet are flat on the bed/floor. Drop your knees together over to one side, as close to resting on the floor as possible.
Keep the small of your back resting on the bed/floor and both arms at right angles from the body - reach out with the arm on the opposite side to the knees and turn your head away from your legs.
Hold this stretch/twist for 20 seconds and then change to the other side. Repeat as often as you need - if it feels good.
All of these movements have come from various classes, from magazines and physiotherapy and I've checked each exercise with a professional to make sure they are safe and efficient. You should never do any exercise that feels uncomfortable or painful and they should all be smooth and fluid. I often do these exercises while I'm in bed or while I'm waiting for the microwave, for the kettle to boil or laying or standing on the floor. Music goes very well with all of these movements and makes everything more fun.
Try and do at least 3 groups of 10 or so repeats each day - except for the windmill exercise at the end, which is a lovely spinal twist. The reward is better posture, a toned midsection, improved balance and increased stamina.
At every opportunity – when you remember – pull in your tummy muscles toward your spine, straighten your back, hold your head up straight and make sure that your shoulders are relaxed and ‘down’. This will reduce physical stress on your back, shoulders and neck and after a while it will become second nature.
You can also do slow neck stretches by dropping your head toward the right shoulder. Return your head to center, eyes forward. Then drop your chin to your chest. Back to center... And drop your head to the left shoulder. Separately, turn your head to the left and look over your shoulder and hold and then turn to the right. Each stretch should be held for 20 seconds.
Dance is a wonderful way of exercising and the above exercises are actually some of the exercises used in salsa and bachata and designed to improve style, along with other Latin and general dance. I will devote a couple of pages to actual dance steps – complete, eventually, with links to the right music and videos!
Above all, exercise regularly – until it’s no longer exercise but just part of you and the way you move. The ‘be’ rather than the ‘do’…