Paying close attention to every facet of any exercise will help us maintain the proper, safe technique; help us better keep our balance, and reduce the risk of any kind of injury.
However we choose to work out, it’s important to do so at our own pace, and do the exercises that we feel safe and confident in doing at that particular time—going at a pace that challenges us, and is suitable for our current health and fitness level—our strength, stamina, and flexibility level.
If a particular exercise doesn’t feel right, is too much of a strain, or causes any kind of acute pain, best to stop; and either do an easier exercise for these same muscle groups, or modify the original exercise by lessening the weight involved and/or decreasing the range of motion. And we can always use a chair for some of the exercises; doing “chair squats” instead of traditional squats, for example. . . . If our stamina is low, or we’re new to this kind of exercise, or have particular health or joint issues, it’s always good to have a chair nearby, in any case—to rest in between exercises whenever we need to.
And speaking of squats, and while doing any kind of squat, we want to maintain a correct squat form, by keeping the torso leaning forward, with the head up and back straight, and our hips going back behind the heels—which keeps the knees directly over the ankles and feet, and the knees better protected and safe. . . . The same goes with lunges: We want to keep the front leg’s knee directly over the ankle and foot of that leg (and not going in front of our toes). And basically, if lunges bother the knees, or it feels too unstable or risky to do them, better to stick with squats, even the easier ones in and out of a chair.
All in all, as we exercise, we should feel an adequate working of the muscles, ligaments and tendons—with a good sense of exertion and warming in the body—without overdoing it, or exercising too strenuously for our current level of fitness or our physical condition. And each of us must discover this for ourselves (or with the help of a trainer): how much and what exercises we can and choose to do in any workout session, and how much we can and choose to appropriately “push ourselves.”
In these “Exercises for Life” we’re following the general principles of what’s called “Interval Training,” by varying the degree of exercise intensity for certain intervals of time. This means doing a workout at a pace that keeps our heart rate elevated, and that our current degree of strength and stamina allows. For most of us, then, we need enough brief rest at various times during an exercise session in order to complete it. And, as we mention a lot here, a most productive way to rest is by stretching, so that we’re not only pausing enough (strength and stamina-wise) to continue the workout, but also helping to improve our flexibility and overall range of motion, as well.
A general rule with regard to stretching, as I see it: hold still in any stretch for at least 10 seconds, or longer if we’d like—relaxing and breathing into the fullest stretch that’s unique to us—without forcing it, straining, or bouncing around. And exhaling fully is particularly beneficial in helping muscles relax, so that we can better find our fullest stretch. And exhaling fully is also what allows us to then fully inhale.
And a good way to end any workout session is with a more prolonged period (of at least 5-10 minutes, or longer, if we’d like) of stretches on the floor, in both the supine and prone positions. This is very beneficial, and plain ol’ feels good and relaxing too! . . . And it’s good to do some form of stretching (or yoga) every day—especially the stretches for the lower back, as this is the best way to ensure a healthy, pain-free lower back.
With weight, or strength, or resistance-training (synonymous terms here): Do enough repetitions of any exercise to adequately fatigue the muscles involved; this is how muscles get stronger and more toned. Generally speaking, this requires enough added resistance to sufficiently tire a muscle at 10-15 repetitions, or so. Doing more repetitions is fine too, 20 or more even, especially if we feel more reps are needed or desired to sufficiently work the muscles involved.
Being able, in time, to do more repetitions (20 or more, or so) at the current weight we’re using indicates that we can gradually add more resistance, if we want. And, know this: It’s better to do more of what we can presently do, than too few of what may be too heavy and cause too much discomfort later. . . . And, for those who are concerned about “bulking up”: doing more repetitions (10-20, or more) with lighter weights is best, in order to avoid gaining unwanted muscle size.
Best to lift, push, pull, or raise any piece of strength-training equipment with attentiveness and control; and, likewise, lowering it, or releasing it in the same careful manner. We want to sustain the muscle contraction for a sufficient period of time, making the muscle contraction do the work rather than pure momentum. “Bring it, don’t swing it,” is a common phrase heard in weight-training instruction. This is how muscles are worked, fatigued, and gaining muscle tone and strength, most effectively and safely. I prefer something like lifting a weight to the count of 3, or so; and lowering it to the count of 3, or so. Some people like to go a little quicker, some, slower. It’s important to find the right pace for us, and to always use the proper, safest technique. . . . And, of course, never strain or force anything to the point of risking injury.
As far as the correct way to breathe while strength-training: Best to exhale on exertion—on the lifting of a weight—and inhale on the lowering of it.
The more muscles that are used at once in any movement-based exercise, the more cardio in nature the exercise becomes, and therefore, the more calories expended. And with our heart rate elevated, the heart muscle is getting stronger—by gradually working harder (within the limits of our current fitness level). Thus, more oxygen is being delivered to the muscles, and our stamina and endurance improved.
Do enough repetitions, or continuous motions of any movement-based exercise to increase the heart rate, body temperature, and pace and depth of our breathing. And how good it is to breathe more deeply, more often! . . . This is part of Interval Training: taking any exercise to a much greater degree of heart rate and respiration, and then pausing enough in order to “catch our breath” and continue the workout. And again, a most productive way to rest is by stretching. . . . We can also simply slow any exercise down, or do an easier exercise that requires less vigorous movement, less strength and stamina. And even these modifications to any exercise will still keep us “keepin’ on” and improving our overall level of fitness.
The same goes with any additional aerobic exercise we might do (like brisk walking, jogging, biking, or swimming, a cardio machine workout or an aerobics class): The general recommendation is to do at least 30 minutes of continuous movement (or longer, if we want), to which we can also apply the principles of Interval Training—increasing and decreasing the level of intensity for certain amounts of time—depending on our fitness level and ability/willingness to appropriately push ourselves.
Exercises that challenge our balance help us improve it, as we’re putting our vestibular system to work; and this is the mechanism in our inner ear that senses when we might start wobbling, so that we can then steady ourselves. . . . And, if our balance is particularly shaky, and we don’t feel very secure or safe at all in doing any balance exercise, it’s good to go slowly and be near something we can grab a hold of, if need be.
So, in doing balance exercises, we’re not only strengthening the muscles that hold us up, but also training ourselves to pay attention, to slow down if need be, in order to find our equilibrium and steady ourselves when we might start to wobble and lose our balance.
If we don’t put ourselves in positions where we’re forced to adjust the body while doing a variety of movements, our “vestibular” sense weakens (as well as our muscles), and our balance most likely worsens. So, it’s imperative that we stay active as much as we can; for the more we move, the more we practice adapting the body to different movements and terrain, and the better our balance is for it. The more overly sedentary we are, the worse our balance becomes, and our general overall health and well-being, as well.
At any time, and especially during the times when we can’t exercise as much as we would like, a good general rule is this: Don’t be too sedentary for too long. If we can, get up at least every 20-30 minutes and move around some.
There’s the old saying: “Use it or lose it.” Or put this way: “Use it—move and use the body—or feel it weaken and stiffen, and get achier and older quicker.” Said either way, it’s a great incentive to keep exercising, however we’re able, and for as long in our life as we can!