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Benefits of training the elderly and older adults

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Benefits of training the elderly and older adults

We have already analyzed a lot about training and physical exercise for seniors, but we had to talk about the benefit of doing it, so if you still have not convinced yourself to start exercising, let me help you!

Benefits of training the elderly and older adults

It is already known that physical training brings with it innumerable benefits for our body, and this is not limited to the body of a young person, regardless of age you can enjoy countless benefits even if you are an older adult.

Obviously, you are not going to perform the same exercises as a younger person, in fact, you should not even perform the same volume of training.

You must adapt the exercises and the amount of training to your age, this we already talked about in this article: EXERCISE IN THE ELDERLY AND OLDER ADULTS.

So, let’s skip this and move on to see what would be the main benefits to your physical and mental health when starting any exercise routine that is appropriate to your age.

BENEFITS OF EXERCISE IN OLDER ADULTS FOR PHYSICAL HEALTH

EXERCISE AT AN ADVANCED AGE HELPS YOU MAINTAIN OR LOSE WEIGHT. As metabolism naturally slows down with age, maintaining a healthy weight is a challenge.

Exercise will help you increase your metabolism and build some muscle mass, which has many benefits among which is the fact of helping you burn more calories.

IT ALSO REDUCES THE IMPACT OF CHRONIC DISEASES AND DISEASES. People who exercise tend to have more optimized immune and digestive functioning, better blood pressure, and even better bone density.

Not counting a lower probability of suffering from diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, among many others.

PHYSICAL EXERCISE IMPROVES MOBILITY, FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE IN OLD AGE. Exercise improves your strength, flexibility, and posture, which in turn will help with balance, coordination, and reducing your risk of falling.

And as I said before, strength training also helps relieve symptoms of chronic conditions like arthritis.

BENEFITS OF EXERCISE IN OLDER ADULTS FOR MENTAL HEALTH

PHYSICAL EXERCISE IMPROVES SLEEP. Quality sleep is vital for better overall health. Regular activity can help you fall asleep more quickly, sleep more soundly, and wake up feeling more energetic and refreshed.

PHYSICAL EXERCISE INCREASES MOOD AND SELF-CONFIDENCE. Exercise is a great stress reliever and the endorphins produced can help reduce feelings of sadness, depression or anxiety. Being active and feeling strong will help you feel more confident.

PHYSICAL EXERCISE DOES AMAZING THINGS FOR THE BRAIN. Activities like Sudoku or crossword puzzles can help you keep your brain active, but these activities are far from the beneficial effects of exercise on the brain.

It can help brain functions as diverse as multitasking and creativity, and can help prevent memory loss, cognitive decline, and dementia.

An active life can even help slow the progression of certain brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

CONCLUSION ON THE BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE IN OLD AGE

To achieve all the benefits I named earlier, we must overcome certain obstacles in order to stay active as we age.

The truth is that starting or maintaining a regular exercise routine can be challenging at any age, and it doesn’t get any easier as you get older.

We may have more time now, but one is also likely to be discouraged by health problems, aches and pains, or worries about injury or falls.

If you’ve never exercised before, you may not know where to start, or you may think you’re too big or weak, and you’ll never be able to meet the standards you set when you were younger. Or even think exercise is boring.

While these may seem like good reasons to slow down and take things much more slowly, I think they’re even great reasons to get moving.

Becoming more active can energize your mood, relieve stress, help you manage the symptoms of some diseases or certain pains, and best of all, it optimizes your overall sense of well-being.

And the best thing is that to reap the benefits of physical exercise in old age you do not have to perform strenuous workouts or long trips to the gym.

You can reap many of these benefits by adding more movement and activity to your daily life, even in small doses.

No matter your age or physical condition, it’s never too late for your body to move, improve your health and your outlook on life. That, yes! Always with the approval and support of your doctor, who is the one who can help you the most at this stage.

BENCH PRESS WITH HANDS TOGETHER

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BENCH PRESS WITH HANDS TOGETHER

Let’s analyze how to perform the Bench Press with hands together to train your pectorals, plus some training tips to take this exercise to its maximum level.

BENCH PRESS WITH HANDS TOGETHER

In a previous report we presented the classic flat bench press, so today we continue with a similar exercise to exercise our pectorals, it is the flat bench press with hands together.

It is basically the same exercise as the previous one, the only difference is that the grip is much narrower.

Now, you will wonder why we do not put everything together as if it were a variant of the previous one, right? It is that in this way we work a critical area, and very important, for what are the pectoral exercises.

Adding this type of press to our gym routines we can mark the area of the sternal groove, which is the groove that is at the level of the sternum and divides the pectorals in two.

That is, it will help us define and shape the chest, not directly since this area is not muscle but when developing the pectorals as a whole it is easier to notice the sternal groove.

Even a variant for this exercise is to do it keeping the elbows apart, with which we move a little effort from the center of the pectorals to the triceps.

HOW TO PERFORM THE FLAT BENCH PRESS WITH HANDS TOGETHER?

  1. We lie on a flat bench, taking into account to keep the buttocks supported on it and the feet on the floor.
  2. We take the bar in pronation and in this case, we maintain a separation of arms of between 15 and 40 cm, depending on the flexibility of the wrists.
  3. We breathe in and lower the bar to the chest while still controlling the movement.
  4. To finish the movement, we extend our arms and exhale.

TRAINING TIPS FOR APPLYING TO THE PRESS WITH HANDS TOGETHER

Let’s see a few general tips to make correct use of the technique in this exercise for pectorals and triceps.

First of all, as with all variants of the chest press, whenever we use a very high load it should be lifted with an observer present in case something goes wrong.

Make sure to lift and lower the weight in a constant and controlled way, without making any type of bounce when raising the bar to the maximum.

Don’t let the bar descend too fast, again, control the movement.

Avoid putting your hands together too much as they can put too much tension on the wrists, the ideal is to look for a position that is comfortable for you and at the same time feel the effort in the pectorals, not in the triceps.

This exercise can also be performed with an EZ bar using the inner handle, and can even be performed with dumbbells, in which case the palms of the hands should be facing each other.

BARRA KNEE PUSH-UPS

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BARRA KNEE PUSH-UPS

This type of knee bends should be performed on a fixed bar and will serve to strengthen the abdomen and hip flexors. Let’s see how it is done correctly!

BARRA KNEE PUSH-UPS

Now, being an exercise that involves a set of larger muscles, apart from the abdominals, knee bends are not an exercise for everyone.

You must have a good level of previous training before trying to perform the technique correctly so if you are just starting out you can see and look for other more basic exercises for abs in the Total Bodybuilding guide.

HOW TO PERFORM KNEE PUSH-UPS ON A BAR?

  • Start by placing yourself under the bar with your feet together.
  • Then inhale and slowly raise your knees toward your chest, wrapping the spine from the bottom up, not just by raising your knees.
  • Try to climb as high as you can with your legs, and come back down in a slow and controlled way without letting go of the bar obviously.
  • Exhale at the end of the movement.
  • The main muscles used for leg elevation are the psoas and iliac, usually grouped under the name of iliac psoas.
  • The psoas is located deep in the abdomen and embedded in the hip next to the psoas muscle inside the pelvic bone (or hip bone).
  • The main abdominal muscles that are requested are the rectus abdomen (a long muscle that extends vertically from the pubis to the sternum) and the small, large oblique muscles that cover the sides of the rectus abdominis muscle and latissimus dorsi.

TIPS FOR PERFORMING KNEE BENDS ON A BAR CORRECTLY

  • Let’s now look at a series of training tips to get the most out of the knee bend on the bar and thus achieve a safer and more efficient training.
  • To request much more from the abs, elevate your legs to the maximum. The first part of the exercise is mainly controlled by the hip flexors, while the abdominals intervene isometrically.
  • The abdominals begin to play a more important role when the thighs reach an angle of approximately 30 to 40 degrees with respect to the vertical.
  • Basically, the higher the knees are and the rotation of the pelvis is more pronounced, the more focus is achieved on the abdominal area.
  • Don’t swing your body. You should be very still when you start to raise your legs.
  • You can start with bent legs; this is a variant of this exercise that makes it easier to perform.
  • What we do keep is the previous advice, the more you can raise your legs bent above the horizontal, the exercise will be more difficult and more effective, do not stop trying this way.
  • Although the involvement of hip flexors has been criticized by many experts, it should not be feared. The abdominal muscles and hip flexors work very closely. You cannot eliminate the contraction of one or the other in the movements of legs or pelvis.
  • As the legs extend and weight is added, either by putting on the shoes or placing ankle weights, the exercise becomes increasingly hard, however adding additional weight is usually not necessary.
  • To increase the difficulty of knee bends on barbell, you must stretch your legs, with this you will gain in difficulty and effectiveness, so it is not necessary to add weight to the ankles.

ALTERNATE HAMMER TYPE CURL

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ALTERNATE HAMMER TYPE CURL

Today we present a very interesting variant of the classic curl, the Hammer Alternate Curl, a very interesting arm exercise for the great effect it has when working the Long Supinator muscle.

ALTERNATE HAMMER TYPE CURL

It is similar to one of the variants we saw before in the Alternate Curl with Dumbbells, but unlike that, it is executed standing so it will require a higher level of practice and coordination to correctly perform the bodybuilding movement.

As we said before this is one of the best exercises for arms to develop the long supinator muscle, although it also exercises the biceps, the anterior brachial and to a lesser extent the first and second radials.

In short? Not only will we be working Biceps but also a significant number of muscles of the forearm, which will help us to increase it in mass and definition, so from Total Bodybuilding we fully recommend it to include it in your gym routines.

HOW TO PERFORM HAMMER CURL?

  1. We stand up, with a dumbbell in each hand and taking them with a grip in semipronacion (palms inwards).
  2. We inspire and perform the flexion of the forearm.
  3. Exhale at the end of the movement and then go down the forearm in a controlled way, that is, do not let it fall freely but relatively slowly.

This movement can be done both alternately and simultaneously by flexing both forearms together.

Perhaps this last movement is a little more difficult for those who are just starting to train so we recommend starting with the alternating movement.

TIPS FOR TRAINING WITH THE HAMMER CURL

  • Let’s now see some training tips to get the most out of this exercise to develop the forearms.
  • Make sure your elbows stay in place throughout the movement.
  • If you drop your arm and then give a boost in the next repetition, what is achieved is that the exercise is easier but reduces muscle development, so avoid doing it and go down in a controlled way.
  • Do not lean back and do not push your hips forward at the beginning of the movement. This is what usually happens when you exercise with too much weight. Use a load that allows you to train correctly.
  • Don’t twist your wrists during lifting, hold them steady, and make sure you have a neutral grip throughout the exercise.
  • If you rotate your wrists so that your palms face the end of the flexion, you will most likely reduce the action of the long supinator in favor of the biceps. If you put your palms down, the long supinator and round pronator will be more involved.
  • You can flex both arms simultaneously or one after the other. But if you use both arms at once, you may lean back as you go through the repetitions. If this occurs and the angle is very pronounced, train with only one arm at a time to maintain correct technique.

HOW TO PERFORM THE HAMMER CURL WITH PULLEY?

  1. Attach a pulley handle down to a pulley machine, placing your palms in a neutral position (facing each other), your knees slightly bent, and your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Take the rope at its ends, not higher, to make sure you can perform the exercise through the full range of motion. In other words, hold the rope with your thumbs against the end of the string.
  3. Raise your arms, keeping your elbows fixed to your sides while you do so.
  4. Bring your hands up to your shoulders (as close as you can without moving your elbows forward) and pause for a second at the top.
  5. Now lower the load following the same path used for the upward movement.
  6. Stop going down just before fully extending your arms to always keep constant tension on your muscles. At this point you can go for another repetition by following the same steps.

OTHER VARIANTS OF THE HAMMER TYPE CURL

Hammer Curl at Scott Bench or Inclined Bench

Hammer Curl with Grip Disc

ALTERNATE BICEP CURL

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ALTERNATE BICEP CURL

One of the most basic and effective arm exercises is the Alternate Biceps Curl, let’s see how it is done plus some training tips.

It can be very interesting that we adopt it in our gym routine because it is very versatile when it comes to working the different muscles of the arm.

ALTERNATE BICEP CURL

Just by changing the grip and position of our hands we will be aiming the effort to different muscle groups, which will allow us to focus much better the work of the muscle and its definition.

In addition, it is not only versatile, but also economical; In case we use our home as a gym we will not require large facilities or gym equipment.

With only two dumbbells and the necessary discs to perform the type of work we want to do; we can already assume that we will soon obtain incredible results.

Now if, let’s see in depth what this first article is about with which we start this page and that we hope will be to your liking.

HOW TO PERFORM THE ALTERNATE CURL WITH DUMBBELLS?

  1. To carry it out we must be seated, taking a dumbbell with each hand in semi-pronation; that is, with the palms of the hands facing each other.
  2. We inspire and bring the forearms energetically towards the arms at the same time that we rotate the wrist in the path of movement.
  3. At the end of the movement, we must exhale and descend the forearm in a controlled manner until resuming the initial position, and then repeat with the other arm.

Repetition can be taken in particular for each arm.

THE CURL VARIANTS WITH DUMBBELLS

Below you can find 3 variants for this arm exercise, so that you can add them to your routines and thus complement your arm training.

Training focused on the Long Supinator muscle: Alternate Hammer Curl

Work focused on the Biceps and the lower spinal cord

TIPS FOR PERFORMING ALTERNATE BICEPS CURL

The start of the most effective exercise for the biceps is the “anatomical or neutral” position of the arm. The biceps can thus offer a strong initial contraction. This makes it possible to use relatively heavier loads.

When performing the Curl keep the elbows back so that the work of the biceps is maximized and that the shoulder does not participate in the movement.

The Curl of biceps in supination is more effective for the complete development of the biceps. Keep in mind that the main action of this muscle is supination when the elbow flexes at 90°. Just make sure your chest stays upright.

For the “1 Maximum Repetition” test, do not use a load that forces you to do wrong or cheat the movement. When the load is too heavy, you tend to start giving momentum with your shoulders and back. This means that the biceps do not work as they should when it comes to gaining strength and volume.

Performing the correct technique is the best way to develop biceps. Take fewer weights, but make sure you are doing this arm exercise correctly.

The flexors of the forearm and wrist help the flexion movement of the elbow. To take advantage of this plus, they can flex their wrist during biceps exercises. This will cause the muscle to shorten and compress to lift heavier loads.

Adductor Stretching Exercises

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Adductor Stretching Exercises

Let’s look at a series of exercises to stretch the adductors that will allow you to gain greater flexibility and prevent avoidable injuries.

Adductor Stretching Exercises

Today in Total Bodybuilding I will explain a series of exercises and stretching tips for adductors that will allow you to gain flexibility in this important muscle area.

Don’t forget that groin and adductor injuries are common in sports that require flexibility in hip movements, particularly in sports such as basketball, tennis, running or soccer for example.

So, if you practice some of these sports you have no excuses for not implementing some of these adductor stretching exercises, choose a few and build your own daily routine.

LET’S REVIEW THE ANATOMY OF ADDUCTORS

Muscles in the adductor area include:

  • The pectineus
  • The gracilis
  • The adductor longus
  • The brevis
  • The magnus

You can see them in the image below.

SHORT ADDUCTOR STRETCH WITH KNEE TO THE GROUND

  • Kneel on your right knee and put your left foot in front so that your left knee is 90 degrees.
  • Inhale and slide your right knee to the side, and without bending your back exhale to finish.
  • Repeat with the opposite leg.

STRETCHING OF SEATED ADDUCTORS

  • Sit on the floor with your knees apart and the bottom of your feet together.
  • Keep your chest and back straight.
  • Lean forward while keeping your pelvis fixed
  • Now apply a slight pressure on the knees pushing them towards the floor.
  • Relax and keep stretching the appropriate amount of time.

STRETCHING OF LONG ADDUCTORS

  • Separate laterally the leg you want to stretch, keeping the knee in extension while the other leg forms an almost right angle with the first.
  • Regulates the stretch by resting the arms on the flexed leg.
  • Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds.

STRETCHING OF LONG ADDUCTORS SITTING

This stretch also includes the hamstrings.

  • To stretch both parts sit at the same time with your legs open and stretched in front of you always keeping your back straight.
  • Slowly stretch your legs apart as much as possible.
  • Exhale and lean forward with your hips, until you feel more resistance.
  • Be sure to keep your chest and maintain lumbar lordosis (normal inward curvature of your lower back).
  • Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds.

STRETCHING ON THE WALL

  • Lie down in front of a wall against your legs against them.
  • Get as close to the wall as possible, maintaining a comfortable (not painful) stretch of your hamstrings.
  • Keep your legs straight as you slowly open them until you feel a stretch between your legs (groin).
  • Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds.
  • Relax and repeat 2-3 times.

ADDUCTOR FOOT STRETCH

  • Start by standing with your feet apart at a distance of approximately 1 meter away.
  • Direct your support to the side allowing the knee to bend.
  • Keep the opposite knee straight to feel a stretch on the inside of your thigh.
  • Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds.
  • Relax and repeat on the opposite side.

HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE TO STRETCH THE ADDUCTORS?

Hold these positions for an appropriate time interval. Most people can benefit with only about 30 seconds, no more is necessary. Of course, always try at least 2 or 3 sets of each exercise.

PRIORITIZE STRETCHING EXERCISES BASED ON YOUR SPORT

If you use static or dynamic stretching, your body position and movement patterns can affect the stretching exercise, making it beneficial or not.

For example, track athletes and gymnasts can get more benefits from stretching their adductors in a standing position instead of stretching on the floor.

This is based on the principle of specific adaptation to imposed demands, which states that your body improves and adapts specifically to what you teach it to do.

By this I mean that you should include in your stretching routines the exercises that are closest to the type of sport you practice.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO STRETCH THE ADDUCTORS?

In general, groin injuries are the result of a sudden lengthening of the groin muscles beyond their normal flexibility.

This frequently occurs in sports that involve quick stops, climbs, and control movements such as basketball, soccer or in the case of bodybuilding exercises when performing squats for example.

A bad base flexibility, generates oppression in the adductor muscle, and in turn a bad technique when performing the exercise can predispose to one to an injury in the groin.

Stretching the adductor muscles allows us to have a greater range of motion before we resent the connective tissues of these muscles.

Finally, it is good to say that groin pain can be due to other causes as well, such as problems in the hip joints or hernias. So, if you are in doubt, you should always seek the advice of a specialist doctor.

  • Adductor Stretching Exercises
  • Back Stretching Exercises
  • The Best Stretching Exercises for Forearms
  • Quadriceps stretching exercises
  • The Best Hamstring Stretch Exercises
  • The Best Exercises to Stretch Calves or Calves

ABDOMINAL WHEEL TRAINING

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ABDOMINAL WHEEL TRAINING

The abdominal wheel has already earned a place in the world of fitness equipment, used for training and development of abdominal muscles, let’s see how it is used correctly.

ABDOMINAL WHEEL TRAINING

It allows us to achieve a good toning and strengthening of the muscles of the body core: among them the abdominals, obliques and back.

In case you do not know, the abdominal wheel is a training equipment that has gained a lot of popularity in recent times, and this is not in vain, although it is a bit difficult to use it at the beginning, if you train properly, you can master it perfectly in a few weeks.

To achieve this as quickly as possible, I will explain, in this article, how it is used correctly, you will see that using the correct technique you will achieve the best results, then we will analyze a series of tips that will allow you to extract the maximum benefits.

So, enough introductions, and do not miss any of the content that I assure you has no waste.

HOW TO TRAIN WITH THE ABDOMINAL WHEEL?

  1. Start by resting your knees on the floor.
  2. Bend your torso forward at a 45-degree angle while keeping your spine in a neutral position.
  3. Take the abs wheel from the handles leaving it below your chest (or shoulders).
  4. Keeping your elbows straight, extend your arms forward, allowing your torso to go forward until your body is almost parallel to the floor, but without touching the floor.
  5. Pause briefly and then move your arms and hips back simultaneously: so that your torso rises and returns to the starting position.

WHAT MUSCLES ARE INVOLVED WHEN DOING SIT-UPS WITH A WHEEL?

Not only does the body core intervene in this exercise, as you bring the wheel back to the starting position, you will feel that the muscles of your shoulders and arms are working together with your core.

The muscles involved are the following: the iliac, the iliopsoas, the rectus abdominis, the external and internal oblique, the pectoralis major, the serratus anterior, the Redondo major, the triceps brachii, the rectus femoris and dorsi ampliaus.

A lot of muscles, right? While it is not an exercise that will allow you to develop more muscle on these muscles, at least not if you have been training for a while; if it will make you gain greater muscle strength.

VARIATIONS OF ABDOMINAL WHEEL EXERCISE

·ABS WITH WHEEL, ON TOES

·USING A BAR AS A ROLLER

ADDITIONAL TIPS

The wheel sometimes rolls faster than one expects. That is why it is better to do this on a padded and carpeted floor than on wood or concrete, let’s avoid unnecessary bumps.

If you can’t place a mat or towel under the rollers to reduce friction.

Always take the wheel in a perfect straight line that moves away from you.

Keep your thighs, hips and trunk in line, your body should form a straight line between your knees and shoulders throughout the movement, prevent the trunk from arching or sinking the lower back, you should also prevent your hips from rising during the return phase.

Your knees should remain supported at all times.

Avoid moving quickly or directing movement in any direction.

ABDOMINAL PLANK

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ABDOMINAL PLANK

The abdominal plank exercise helps to tone the core, and whose implementation is within the reach of anyone, let’s see how it is done correctly.

ABDOMINAL PLANK

It is worth clarifying anyway that this does not mean that it is an exercise only for novices, on the contrary.

Extending the time in which they hold the position can achieve a much greater effort in the area.

Let’s see below how the plank and the side plate should be performed this exercise in the correct way.

HOW TO MAKE THE ABDOMINAL PLANK CORRECTLY?

  1. Lie down with your belly on the floor.
  2. Place your forearms perpendicular to the floor.
  3. Your arms, feet, and knees should remain shoulder-width.
  4. Making sure to keep your spine straight, lift your pelvis, and extend your legs without locking your knees.
  5. It contracts the core and abdominal muscles as if it is about to receive a blow to the stomach.
  6. Hold this position for a few seconds and then go back down.

TIPS FOR PERFORMING THE ABDOMINAL PLANK

Don’t let your hip drop. Stay firm, until you meet the exercise time.

If you are a beginner, start by holding the tension for 10 seconds and try to increase a few seconds each week.

This exercise exercises the rectus abdomen, ilius and psoas muscles, and internal and external obliques.

Having toned abs helps the lumbar muscles keep the spine in proper position. So, if you usually have pain in your lower back, proper abdominal training can help eliminate that pain.

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