I used to ask myself this question. Does exercise really help? Through all the items I read, and proof I saw, I wasn’t sure is exercise would wear out the body in the long term. I mean, really… You see professional athletes who wear out knees, hips, and many other areas. People have sports injuries often. Or so it seems.
In the past I had injuries I related to being from exercise. Then again, I have had injuries that came from not enough exercise and too much computer work. Many years ago, sitting at a poorly ergonomic desk at the office, I sprained my chest muscles. The injury may have not happened if I had been able to make time and do exercise. But, instead I worked all the time.
Almost ten years ago, I had a leg injury from non exercise. I was working such long hours at a computer that eventually my legs were falling asleep more often. They would tighten up. I was working more than 10 hours a day at a computer for the office. The leg muscles tore easily one day when out and about doing normal things.
If I had been doing stretches and working out even once in a while, my body would have been a more “well oiled machine”. And these injuries would have been less likely to happen.
This video with Eric and Sarah includes examples how to do perfect push ups. A number of styles of push ups are covered so that depending on skill and ability, there are options to choose from. Push ups are an important component to arm and chest exercise.
This video presents Eric and Sarah showing how to do correct forward lunges. Forward lunges are excellent leg and core exercises to include as a component to a fitness program.
In this video, Eric demonstrates regular as well as crossover crunches. Crunches are a great exercise for the ab muscles in a core fitness exercise program.
Yoga can be a wonderful part of fitness and stretching. Downward facing dog is one of our favorite exercises to stretch out many muscle groups and tone the body. Watch the video below to learn downward facing dog.
I’ve tested Shiatsu with excellent results when used as part of a fitness program. It works on muscle issues and healing, healing of disease, stretching muscles and joints, and improving energy patterns. Shiatsu once or twice a week in between workouts helps sore muscles to heal faster, circulation to improve, and tense parts of the body that have been worked out too hard to relax.
Shiatsu in Japanese comes from shi for finger, and atsu for pressure. Shiatsu hands on therapy is great as either part of a fitness or rehabilitation program as it is regulated as a licensed medical therapy in Japan by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. In shiatsu, stretching and pressure are the most important components. A shiatsu practitioner uses their elbows, feet, palms, fingers, thumbs, knees, and knuckles to target accupucture points on meridians to increase energy flow, help blocked or unbalanced energy, and strengthen the muscles, joints, and organs. Shiatsu is meant to address the physical to the spiritual in the body.
I have found that Thai Massage can be an incredible component to a fitness program as it is almost more similar to yoga than a massage. Thai Massage is unique in that it involves various stretching movements as well as deep tissue massage. I’d personally call it assisted yoga. Thai massage can assist in a rehabilitation program. No oil is used, clothes remain on, and it is usually done on the floor on a padded mat or cushions.
The most important thing to note when using Thai Massage for fitness is that you will need a talented person to do the massage each time. The person doing the massage will stretch muscles, use acupressure, compress muscles, mobilize joints, move blood throughout your muscles and joins, and relax tired muscles. The massage therapist uses his or her legs, knees, hands, and feet to move the body into a series of stretches. It is more rigorous and energizing than most kinds of massage. This helps muscles repair and heal faster.
Originally, Thai Massage was done by monks as part of Thai medicine. This kind of massage originated in India and was based on Ayurveda and Yoga. It was brought to Thailand more than 2500 years and is practiced quite a lot in Thailand as well as throughout the world.
When using Thai Massage for a fitness program, I feel it is one component. It is used to stretch, circulate blood, and heal muscles and joints. This means the next exercise workout can be done with optimal results since muscles have been given such assistance in repairing and lengthening. Search for thai massage on Amazon.com.
The Lateral raise exercise started out by standing facing forward, away from the wall. In each hand I would suggest a dumbell of 2-5 pounds in weight. Feet should be together, hands at the sides, elbows and knees slightly bent. Palms of hands should face the body. The movement for this exercise is to raise hands/arms until parallel to the floor at the sides of the body. It should be as if there is a straight line through the arms. Hold for two seconds and then lower the arms. This exercise can be done for 5 reps the first time. A good goal would be to eventually increase to 12 reps. Over time, it could be ideal to reach two to three sets of twelve.
TheDumbell Kickback Exercise is done by starting out with a bench or table. Rest the right arm and right knee on the surface. The right arm should hang directly below to the bench, straight. The left arm should hold a dumbell, folded in towards the chest. The right calf is 90 degrees to the thigh of that leg. The left leg is almost straight. The movement for this exercise is to extend and straighten the left arm directly up and back to be parallel with the torso, using the arm muscles. After doing 10 of these exercises, flip to do this exercise for the other side. When ready in future weeks, increase number of sets to two or three. This is a terrific arm exercise.
The towel fly exercise is a terrific exercise for the chest muscles. To do this exercise, start out in a push up position where arms are straight and hands are more than a shoulder width apart below the body on a towel. The towel should be tight between the arms under the body. The movement for this exercise is to use the chest muscles to bring the arms together. Following that, use the chest muscles again to push the arms apart. This exercise is best done on a slippery floor so the towel can easily slide. I would suggest 5 reps of this exercise the first time. In future weeks, increase to 10 reps, and then increase to two or three sets of this great chest exercise when possible.
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