Ace exercises ...even with tennis elbow
Q I HAVE suffered from the pain of ‘tennis elbow’, on and off, for a long time. To avoid exacerbating it, I’ve been told by my physiotherapist not to lift weights, which is fair enough. But I’ve lost lots of tone in my upper arms, especially. Can you help with any suggestions?
A IN THE short term, when you first have a flare-up of tennis elbow – pain on the outside of the elbow, caused by overuse (not just tennis!) – you should rest to allow any inflammation to subside. However, it is wrong to suggest that you shouldn’t do training for that area.
Allow three to six weeks for pain to reduce to ten to 20 per cent of its peak level. Then you need to start to develop the supporting muscle structures around the elbow, primarily the bicep, tricep and forearm muscles, and you need to stretch them.
You can do the following routine if you feel a low level of pain:
Hammer curl: Stand with a dumbbell in each hand with your palms always facing towards each other (effectively, your thumbs pointing up). Keep your elbows close t o your body and t hen bend the elbow for the bicep curl, lifting the weight towards the middle of your sternum. Repeat 20 to 30 times with a moderate weight.
Tricep extensions: Sit upright, holding a light dumbbell in one hand, with the arm straight above the head. Bend your elbow and reach the dumbbell down the back of your neck and upper back, then straighten the arm and reach back towards the ceiling. Do 15-20 reps with a moderate weight. Repeat both these, alternating, for four to five sets in total.
You also need to make sure that your forearm is flexible. Reach your arm straight out ahead of you and flex the wrist upwards. Grab your fingers with the other hand and gently pull t he fingers back towards your arm so that you feel a stretch underneath the forearm.
Hold this for 15 to 20 seconds and then reverse it by dropping the hand downward and pulling the fingers towards you that way, so you feel a stretch on top of the forearm. Do this two to three times every day. By increasing mobility and increasing stability, you will, hopefully, have a better chance of keeping the inflammation at bay.
Q CAN you suggest an exercise regime for the over-70s lady – a great number of whom suffer from the ‘spare tyre’ problem? Remember, we have problems getting down to and up from the floor.
A MOST of these exercises can be done standing up. However there are a couple of floor exercises too, and while I know that getting up may be trickier, I can guarantee that the effect on your figure will make it worthwhile.
Half-lunge: Start with one foot a stride distance forward ahead of the other, and then bend your knees to around halfway down before returning to your start position. Repeat 10-12 times for one side and then the other.
Wall press-up: Stand with your hands against the wall or against the edge of the kitchen worktop, with your body at an angle. Perform a press-up. Do 10-20 reps.
Wall angels: Stand with your back against the wall and your arms in a crucifix position but with your arms bent. Next, keeping your arms in contact with the wall, reach both arms above your head, without allowing your arms, back or bottom to come away from the wall. Great postural exercise this one. Complete 10-15 reps. Repeat this whole sequence up to four times Next, lie down with your feet on the floor and knees bent. Now, keeping your shoulders and feet on the floor, raise your body and bottom off the ground. Press through your heels to do this. Repeat 10-20 times. This is fantastic for conditioning the buttock muscles, which are massive energy-burning areas.
Do this for three to four sets, and if you can’t get up, have a little lie down and give yourself a round of applause for a job well done!