EXERCISE FOR STRENGTH

From Marian Eure,
Your Guide to Senior Health

For strong bones and muscles
Even very small changes in muscle size can make a big difference in strength, especially in people who already have lost a lot of muscle. An increase in muscle that’s not even visible to the eye can be all it takes to improve your ability to do things like get up from a chair or climb stairs.

Your muscles are active even when you are sleeping. Their cells are still doing the routine activities they need to do to stay alive. This work is called metabolism, and it uses up calories. That can help keep your weight in check, even when you are asleep! To do most of the strength exercises, you need to lift or push weights, and you need to keep gradually increasing the amount of weight you use.

You can use the hand and ankle weights sold in sporting-goods stores, or you can use things like emptied milk jugs filled with sand or water, or socks filled with beans and tied shut at the ends. There are many alternatives to the exercises shown here. For example, you can buy a resistance band (it looks like a giant rubber band, and stretching it helps build muscle) at a sporting-goods store for under $10 to do other types of strength exercises. Or you can use the special strength-training equipment at a fitness center.

Strength Exercise
Arm Rise – Strengthens shoulder muscles. Sit in a chair, with your back straight. Your feet should be flat on the floor, spaced apart so that they are even with your shoulders. Hold hand weights straight down at your sides, with your palms facing inward. Take 3 seconds to lift your arms straight out, sideways, until they are parallel to the ground. Hold the position for 1 second. Take 3 seconds to lower your arms so that they are straight down by your sides again. Pause. Repeat 8 to 15 times. Rest; do another set of 8 to 15 repetitions.

Summary:
Sit in a chair.
Feet flat on floor; keep feet even with shoulders.
Arms straight down at sides, palms inward.
Raise both arms to side, shoulder height.
Hold position.

Strength Exercise
The Chair Stand Exercise strengthens muscles in abdomen and thighs. Sit toward the middle or front of a chair and lean back so that you are in a half-reclining position, with back and shoulders straight, knees bent, and feet flat on the floor. Be sure to place pillows against the lower back of the chair first, to support your back and keep it straight. Using your hands as little as possible (or not at all, if you can), bring your back forward so that you are sitting upright. Your back should no longer be leaning against the pillows. Keep your back straight as you come up, so that you feel your abdominal muscles do the work; don’t lean forward with your shoulders as you rise. Next, with feet flat on the floor, take at least 3 seconds to stand up, using your hands as little as possible.

As you bend slightly forward to stand up, keep your back and shoulders straight. Take at least 3 seconds to sit back down. Your goal is to do this exercise without using your hands as you become stronger. Repeat 8 to 15 times. Rest; then repeat 8 to 15 times more.
Summary:
Place pillows against back of chair.
Sit in middle or toward front of chair, knees bent, feet flat on floor.
Lean back on pillows in half-reclining position, back and shoulders straight.
Raise upper body forward until sitting upright, using hands as little as possible.
Slowly stand up, using hands as little as possible.
Slowly sit back down.
Keep back and shoulders straight throughout exercise.

Strength Exercise
This exercise strengthens upper-arm muscles.
Sit in an armless chair, with back supported by the back of the chair. Your feet should be flat on the floor, spaced apart so that they are even with your shoulders. Hold hand weights, with your arms straight down at your side, palms facing in toward your body. Take 3 seconds to lift your left hand with toward your chest by bending your elbow. As you lift, turn your left hand so that your palm is facing your shoulder. Hold the position for 1 second. Take 3 seconds to lower your hand to the starting position. Pause, then repeat with right arm. Alternate until you have repeated the exercise 8 to 15 times on each side. Rest, then do another set of 8 to 15 alternating repetitions.
Summary:
Sit in armless chair, with your back supported by back of chair.
Feet flat on floor; keep feet even with shoulders.
Hold hand weights at sides, arms straight, palms in.
Slowly bend one elbow, lifting weight toward chest. (Rotate palm to face shoulder while lifting weight.)
Hold position.
Slowly lower arm to starting position.
Repeat with other arm.

When you do your strength exercises, add these modifications to plantar flexion as you progress: Hold table with one hand, then one fingertip, then no hands; then do exercise with eyes closed, if steady.
Summary:
Stand straight, holding onto a table or chair for balance.
Slowly stand on tip toe, as high as possible.
Hold position.
Slowly lower heels all the way back down.
Repeat 8 to 15 times.
Rest a minute, then do another 8 to 15 repetitions.
Add modifications as you progress.