Flexible Stuff - Article 6, Sunday, June 9, 2024
Use your hands!
Every day, we move our bodies a fraction of what is possible and for many of us, not moving much is how we spend most of our days. Movement, of course, is what keeps our muscles toned. Moving in the same daily pattern, however, creates uneven results.
How uneven? Think about the truck drivers who regularly rest an arm outside of the drivers-side window. That arm gets sunburnt, while the other remains untouched. Essentially, that is how our daily habits effect our muscle structure.
Our skin overlaps muscles like furniture covers draped over chairs. As our muscles shrink from lack of use, our skin changes its draping patterns, forming that sad or angry look so common in the elderly.
While skin tone is important, it’s drooping skin that really triggers that look of aging. Some people try to save their youthful look with plastic surgery to cut away what they don't like and pump the rest of their face with fat.
The good news is that easy-to-use isometric exercises can help us tone muscles throughout our bodies, especially around our faces.
Isometric exercises can be performed at any time, do not need equipment, or special routines.
Isometric exercises involve contracting a muscle or group of muscles without causing any visible movement in the surrounding joints. They simply require creating muscle tension by loading (pressing on) the muscle, and after a few seconds, releasing it.
The picture of my hand demonstrates a simple isometric exercise that strengthens my upper left arm and shoulders. Place one or better, both hands on a ball, press down, hold for a few seconds, then release.
Rather than counting reps, simply do this for one minute, every now and then. To stay on track, use your cell phone, tablet, or computer timer for the countdown, or buy an inexpensive ($3) timer for use in keeping track of your exercise periods.
This series is about face lifting, all of which are based on isometrics. According to The History of Isometric Training, "Isometric muscle contraction training has been around since the early 1920s when scientists tied down one leg of a frog and discovered that straining against its bonds made the tied-down leg stronger." Since then, isometrics have been used to tone every part of the body from the top of the head to the toes.
I recommend all the tutorials by Doctor Alekseev, a Ukrainian/American chiropractor, neurologist, and kinesiologist on YouTube. Why? Because many of his techniques resemble mine and possibly better, he's humorous as presented with dubbed-in English. Click here for two of his best videos on face lifts: Wrinkles will Disappear and You'll Become Too Beautiful and You Will Be Stolen!
YouTube is loaded with ideas on isometric exercises, including face-saving techniques. Do these techniques work? Through the magical world of taking selfies (including selfie videos), you can judge for yourself. If before and after pictures don't convince you, nothing else will. Best, there is no cost to you other than trusting "what you see is what you get" which, of course, is based on your own judgement.
Upcoming blogs . . .
I post every Sunday. Feel free to contact me with questions at Karen@Littleviews.com.
By Karen Little, June 9, 2024