Everyone – well, almost everyone – wants to be lean, mean, and in prime condition, and as you age, keeping fit is more important than ever. The problem is that most of us think it takes expensive gym memberships or bulky (and also expensive) equipment.
The fact is, though, that you can achieve a fantastic level of fitness and improve your health at the same time, and all you’ll need is a mat to work out on – a carpet will do, 30-40 minutes a day, and your body weight.
The following exercises utilize the weight of your own body to build strength and resilience. If you add two to four miles of vigorous walking a day, you’ll soon find yourself losing excess fat, sleeping better, and feeling much better about yourself.
One of the body areas that needs to be a point of focus is the core, or midsection. This includes the lower back and stomach. The two exercises I’ve found helpful in reinforcing the core are the push-up and the plank.
The push-up, which was a favorite of the military during my army days, also works the shoulders and arms. A proper push-up is performed with the body weight on the toes, legs straight, and palms flat, with arms straight. Lowering the upper body until the chest touches the floor, and then pushing back to the starting position, starting modestly with ten repetitions, and increasing as your strength increases.
Variations of the push-up for older individuals or those who don’t initially have upper body strength include balancing the lower body weight on the knees or doing standing push-ups at an angle with the hands flat on a table and the body at a forty-five-degree angle.
The version of the plank that I do is similar to a push-up, except that the upper body weight is on the elbows, with the forearms straight in front of you. Like push-ups, start slowly, with ten repetitions, and increase the repetitions as strength improves.
If you’re at the age where you have arthritis, like me, it’s probably your knees that bother you the most. Healthy knees are essential for getting around, and in addition to walking, doing squats is one of the best exercises that will also tone and firm your backside. A squat is performed by bending at the knee and lowering your buttocks straight down until the upper and lower legs form a forty-five-degree angle. Start with fifteen repetitions and work up to fifty.
Do you have that annoying loose flesh on the backs of your arms? One way to reduce it is to build up the triceps. A good exercise for that is the triceps dip. Balance on a straight-back chair with your palms flat and your buttocks in the air just in front of the edge of the seat. Start with five repetitions, slowly lowering your body as far as you can go, and then push back up to the sitting position.
My final exercise is called the mountain climb by some, but I prefer to call it the hill climb. Start in a regular push-up position, and then, balancing your body weight on your arms, begin a walking motion. I recommend starting with twenty-five repetitions and increasing it by five each week until you reach a hundred. This exercise targets the arms, legs, and core, and is also a good aerobic workout.
Working out at home might sound intimidating at first, but if you set a schedule and stick to it, the results can be surprising. To get started, choose a convenient time to exercise and stick to it. Thanks to growing up on a farm and then spending twenty years in the military, I’m an early riser, so my basic bodyweight exercises are part of my morning routine. You might want to start with doing them every other day to give your muscles time to revive, and then work up to making it a daily routine. The same applies to walking, which I do every day after breakfast.
If these exercises sound like simple, no-brainers, that’s because they are. There’s nothing wrong with starting with the basics. What matters is the results, and I can assure you that the regimen mentioned above will help you achieve your fitness goals in less time than you might think. Don’t delay, start today. | NWI
