No Equipment, No Problem

  The critical mistake most (elderly) people make is in thinking that in order to exercise and improve their fitness (health), they have to have certain equipment and instruction (experience) rather than realizing that the body itself is designed for that self-maintenance and optimization. That accounts for the wide-range of things a person can do — and achieve proficiency in, which in their younger years serve as that measure of their fitness, but as they get older, are less likely to remain so specialized at those metrics, but value greater versatility and generality for doing all the various things one needs to enable their lives. Then, whether they can open a jar or medicine bottle, become the necessary requirements for living a full and fulfilling life. Likewise, standing, squatting, getting up from any position, is their Super Bowl — not requiring them to make it any more difficult than it already is.

Most exercise equipment, is actually designed to make movements harder — rather than easier, and then are instructed to make the difficult, impossible by increasing the resistance to failure — after five repetitions if possible. The problem is not that most elderly (untrained) people will do too many pullups and squats, but that such movements will be impossible to do even one — and so equipment that makes it increasingly harder, is not the direction you want to go — but to make that movement possible, and even easy — so that one can do it countless times without quitting — and that is obviously the problem when one is insistent that one should never do more than five repetitions of any movement — and if one does, then one immediately must add more resistance so that is not possible. That kind of training becomes negative reinforcement — rather than the positive reinforcement one should receive to encourage them further.

One does not need to program premature failure; that is the default — yet there is this kind of perverse psychology and conditioning — that predictably discourages people from exercise rather than engaging it as a lifelong necessity. Exercise is not something one does because they can do it easily and tirelessly beforehand — but is what is necessary to get to that point — much more importantly. That can be done just to be able to get out of bed, a chair, off the ground — without specialized equipment to do so. That would be an easy thing to do if one always had a chair or walker to assist them — but in lieu of that convenience, one makes do with whatever equipment is available — which is always the case with the body. One is not likely to go anywhere without it. That is the rationale and genius of movement strategies like yoga, tai-chi, dance, floor exercises, chair exercises, and bed exercises.

The important thing to know is that a muscle contraction begins at the insertion (distal) end of a muscle back towards the origin (proximal) end closer to the center of the body — without exception, and that is why the most valuable muscle contractions will begin at the furthest axes of movements — at the hands, feet and head doing the most to enhance the circulation — by contracting the fluid (blood) out of those areas to reduce the swelling (inflammation) caused by that buildup in the tissues which is the debilitating and disease effect.

One can argue about that endlessly to no conclusion, but one can immediately verify that by simply moving at those axes in which few do because it is no longer a requirement in modern life — which has as its objective, the elimination of as much effort and movement as possible from daily life. That has unintended consequences — of reducing the circulatory effectiveness of ordinary movements. So unless one reprograms back in such movements, they will virtually never be done, or articulated, which is self-maintaining to health, and in its absence and omission, becomes non-functional and/or dysfunctional. That could include such things as getting up and walking a short distance to use the bathroom or kitchen. There is simply no need to maintain those abilities — if they are no longer required.

Exercise machines often require one to maintain those skills — but are they the most useful and versatile movements to become proficient at? That is the problem with treadmills, stationary bikes, and even rowing machines. Are those the movements that actually loom large in one’s daily activities? — or are they movements and activities one would not do otherwise? — or more than a minute just to ensure one still could. But 30 minutes every day? What else could one be doing with that time — and energy? Probably one could easily do 30 different movements — not requiring 30 different exercise machines.

Those are the simple articulations of full-range head, hand and foot movements — that activate the rest of the musculature because they the insertions of those muscles that instigate those integrated movements. One frequently hears it referred to as compound exercises involving the most muscles possible — without understanding its fullest implications. The engagement of the muscles is not lateral but vertical — which is to note that the change in the position of the foot, bending the fist, turning the head — activates and engages all the muscles in that pathway back towards the center of the body near the heart.

So making a fist and simply bending it in a knuckleward or palmward direction causes all the muscles from that point to contract or relax — and that alternation of muscular states, like the heart, produces a pumping effect, which is the circulatory effect by adding those pumps to the extremities at which have the greatest effect — particularly if one suffers from the many problems of poor circulation (swelling/inflammation) at the hands, feet and head — and their related conditions — including brain functioning.

For the foot, one can simply hold the back of a chair with one foot ahead of the other and shift the weight forward and back to articulate the fullest range of foot movement. That would be superior to walking miles with a limited (non-existent) foot movement — as most people do — thinking speed and incline is more important. But when shifting the weight back, the front foot will lift the toes as much as possible, and then shifting the weight forward the back foot will lift the heel as much as possible — ensuring the change of muscular states that pump the swelling out of the foot. Most older people are notable for having swollen feet, hands and faces for that reason. That is the simple remedy that gets them back on the right path to addressing these vulnerabilities of the aging human body.

Doing the Right Thing(s)

  The glutes, hamstrings, lower back, are all contracted maximally when the thigh bone (femur) moves backwards out of line with the torso, and if the head moves down simultaneously, the abdominal muscles are contracted maximally as well — disputing the notion that muscles work antagonistically — than as is more often the case, complementarily, or synergistically.

The obvious case in point is the contraction of the biceps of the arm. That contraction of the biceps does not produce a relaxation of the triceps — but requires the triceps to be maximally contracted as well. And so It is the case that when the back muscles are maximally contracted, the abdominal (front torso) must be maximally contracted simultaneously — or the maximum contraction in one direction with the complete relaxation of the stabilizing muscles in the other direction, would pose great risk to the spinal column — which has structural strength and integrity by equalizing the pressures to these vulnerabilities in all directions.

That is to note that if one anticipates absorbing a blow to the midsection, one would not simply contract the front abdominal muscles, but all the muscles surrounding the midsection simultaneously for maximum structural strength — which then gets dissipated through all the other muscles of the body. That is one of the greatest reasons for older people to maintain maximum muscularity throughout life — not because they can hit another harder, but they can absorb the blows from any other effectively and efficiently so as to render themselves impervious to those injuries — including the inevitable and dreaded falls — which are more likely than finding themselves in a fist fight.

Muscular people bounce right up — or lie there briefly thinking if everything is still responsive and in working order — and slowly are on their way again. Muscles are not only decorative but highly functional — for many different reasons this way. So while many will think what is the point of developing the gluteus muscle — the fact that it is the largest muscle of the body and likely to remain so the older one gets, probably serves an evolutionary survival purpose — in padding and protecting the well-recognized fragility of the hip structures that have served as a reliable indicator of survival in elderly populations.

In younger people in their most prolific years, the dancers, gymnasts, ice skaters, are probably most notable for their outstanding ranges of motion — by which they awe the competition and judges with their ability to easily move their legs back and even grab their foot above their heads. But most people are not built that way — so moving the leg back even slightly out of line with the torso is likely to produce a maximal muscle contraction and development — and can even be done lying down on one’s side in comfort. In this respect, lying on one’s back or stomach is more problematical because of the pressures against the breathing muscles of the lower torso — when a heavy weight is employed in the traditional machines designed for that purpose.

However, as I’ve frequently pointed out before, maximum muscular contraction is more a function of the range of movement — than weight used in a limited (unchanging) range of movement — with the weight often acting as an impediment to the expression (articulation) of the muscular states from fullest relaxation to fullest contraction. That is primarily a function of knowing in which position the muscle is relaxed and contracted — and not of the resistance and effort of moving from one to the other. It’s like a light switch: it doesn’t matter how much resistance or effort is required to get from the “off” position to the “on” position. What matters is whether it is fully on or fully off — often being the exact same motion. That is the “digital” world of reality.

That is the pumping effect we are trying to achieve — in developing any muscle. If the muscle is not articulating the fullest flow (circulation), then no amount of doing that movement with any amount of weight and resistance will produce the desired effects. No matter how much weight one stands up straight with in the squat or deadlift, the gluteus muscle will remain relaxed — because it requires the fenur to be moving back out of line with the torso to contract, and contract strongly. That is directing the flow to and from any muscle — producing the desired function, form and development (health).

If one does the wrong movement that doesn’t achieve those changes of muscular states, it doesn’t matter how much weight and resistance one uses — though admittedly, one is using more weight and resistance. But if one simply wants the results — without the impediments to it — which is the underlying question of every inquiry, then one has to examine what movement produces those changes — regardless of weight, resistance, repetitions and all the other irrelevant considerations — because time is running out on everybody — and that is why we are exercising as a lifelong practice.