Avoiding a stoop isn’t a tall order
QI AM a 67-year-old woman who is trying to avoid age-related height loss and curvature of the back. Can you suggest any exercises to help minimise this? A POOR posture affects most people in some way or another, but it is one of the most easily rectifiable and preventable ‘symptoms’ of ageing. By strengthening the muscles and increasing the flexibility of the back, shoulders and chest, we can help you win the battle to keep upright. Here are some exercises you should do four times a week.
1. THE BRIDGE: Lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent and feet on a chair. Raise your body and bottom off the ground, pushing your pelvis towards the ceiling as high as you can and then lower until you are almost touching the floor again. Repeat 15 to 30 times (reps) in three to four sets. 2. REVERSE FLY: Hold a light weight in each hand – a kilo bag of sugar will do but think about investing in some small 2kg or 3kg dumbbells, which you can get for a couple of pounds. Bend forward from the hips and let your arms drop forward naturally. Now raise your arms sideways so that you move into a bent-over crucifix position. Perform 12 to 20 reps in three to four sets. 3. SHOULDER PRESS: Hold light weights in each hand and stand against a wall with your arms above your head. Bend your arms and lower the weight until you reach 90 degrees at the elbow, with the weights still above shoulder height. Push back up to the extended highest position, keeping your arms in contact with the wall throughout. Perform 15 to 20 reps in three to four sets.
4. STRETCH: Reach above your head and cross your thumbs together. Press your arms back as far as you can behind you (keep your arms straight) and feel the stretch in the chest and front of the shoulder. Next, put your arms into a crucifix position and press the arms back behind you as far as you can, feeling a stretch in your chest. Keep pressing back for ten to 12 seconds and repeat two to three times. Finally, laying down on your stomach, push yourself up off the floor, keeping your hips down to stretch through your abdomen and to stretch the muscles around your spine in a gentle extension. Hold for four to five seconds and repeat six to eight times. QI GO to three or four gym classes a week, doing everything from Pilates to power plate classes, but could mixing these up reduce the benefits? Could doing high-intensity cardio and then much more controlled exercises such as Pilates be cancelling out the other, and should I stick to just one or two class types? A THERE is no danger in doing this. For overall fitness and toning, variety is crucial so that the body keeps getting the challenges it needs in order to get results. Like anything that we do in our lives, familiarity makes the process easier. When you first started driving a car, the chances are that you were tense and had to work really hard. However, as you get more experienced, your body and mind adapt. Exercise can be the same. Repeating the same routine in the same way every time produces diminished returns.
By utilising a variety of approaches, such as highintensity aerobic classes and the stability training that Pilates provides, you will ensure that the body can cope with anything physically. And the constant demands of adaptation mean that you will be burning more calories.
There are circumstances in which combinations of exercises can be counter-productive for a goal. If you’re looking to gain muscle mass, you’ll make life harder if you keep doing high levels of cardiovascular endurance training.