The Joy of Exercise

Stand near a wall. Lean out with arms straight, hands on the wall.

Gradually work your feet backward until you can feel the tendons stretching and straining in the back of your leg and ankle.

Keep your feet flat on the floor. Stretch the tendons slightly more by bending your arms alittle and leaning farther forward. Hold this stretching for 20 seconds. Then relax. (more…)

DOUBLE KNEE SWINGS

Lie on your back, arms extended, knees drawn up to chest.

Keep knees together and swing them to the right until knee touches the floor.

Return to start position, pause. (more…)

These are the obliques both internal and external, the transverse muscles, and the frontal muscles.

To start we have a group of eight stomach flattening exercises for you. As with any new physical activity, you should start this program slowly. I recommend that you begin with four reps of each exercise.

Work through all eight of the exercises this way, remembering to strain the muscles involved at their maximum during the exercise for greatest benefit. (more…)

LET DOWN CRUNCH

Sit on the floor and bend your knees up to a 45 degree angle and your hands behind your head.

Lower slowly your torso backwards to a 45 degree angle. You’ll feel your muscles begin to pull.

Hold for four seconds, then slowly return to start position.

Repeat the exercise for the required reps. (more…)

All of these ten exercises are good workouts for your stomach flattening program. It’s just that you can’t do eighteen exercises every day and hope to do much of anything else.

When you substitute one exercise for another, circle that exercise’s number on your workout chart. You may need to reduce the reps on a new exercise and you may not. If you’re at the eight rep step and you get a new exercise, you may want to drop it back to four and work it up to your level on the others. (more…)

Here are a few “off line” exercises that you can do. Some of them you can do sitting at a computer or desk. Some you can do while you’re walking down the hall or in your office with the door closed.

Again these exercises are aimed at your stomach muscles, and at trimming your waistline (more…)

Which is the best of the aerobic exercises? Just how many calories does walking burn, compared to a man running a six minute mile for the same time frame? These estimates are worked out on the basis of a person weighing 150 pounds. For each fifteen pounds more than this, add 10% to the calorie burning figure. For each 15 pounds less than this, take off 10%. (more…)

Wide Knees (Inner-Thigh Stretch)

From supine rest position, draw one knee at a time up into the chest; the knees are wide to broaden the back of the pelvis, releasing the lower back, stretching the inner thighs and opening the hips.

1. Relax here, having a break from the breathing system, allowing the body just to sink and relax into the floor, directing the breath with the mind’s eye to where you feel the stretch.
2. Inhale to prepare. (more…)

Shoulder Lifts

1. Lying in supine rest position, become aware of your neutral spine and center yourself. Tuck the chin into the throat to lengthen the back of the neck, then relax, holding no tension here.
2. Inhale, raise the arms up into the air in line with the shoulders, palms facing each other. Holding this position for a few breaths allow the weight of the arms to sink into the shoulder girdles and onto the floor. Sense the arms just floating and balancing; there is no effort for them to be there. Make sure your facial muscles are relaxed; your jaw is soft. (more…)

Variation

1. Inhale, come back to center, take hold of the ankle.

Exhale, lift the other arm up and lean over to the other side.

Repeat the sequence 5 times. 4. Repeat sequence on other side.

Through stretching the sides of the body, we open the upper ribcage and lung, increasing lung capacity, stamina and circulation. The back is flexed, mobilizing the discs and spine, and opening the joints at the side of the spine, allowing the spine to breathe. (more…)