AboutAnything | Greg McComb
A chair, a hose with handles and a knob; a door and a pole. This doesn't look like much but it's actually my home gym.
Let me fill you in. This photo captures all-you-need to set-up a home gym for resistance exercise. I bought the orange resistance band for about $25, but the pole is from my kayak (with the paddles removed) and well, the door and chair came with the house.
You may ask: How can I use this stuff to do a serious exercise routine? It's nothing like all-the expensive equipment we've seen in slick telemarketing commercials or the complicated weights and pulley systems at your local gym.
No payment plan...
This relates to a central question of this
blog: Do you really need all that expensive equipment to work out? My
view is that you don't. You can build
your own home gym very cheaply and efficiently. Use hoses, bars, chairs, doors, a yoga mat, and whatever else works for you. That's all you
need. Total cost: less than a hundred dollars. No payment plans or heavy
weights to lug around.
The photo above shows how I use the orange rubber hose to do curls, an exercise that isolates and strengthens your bicep muscles (circles) so you can lift things easier. More about that later.
Along with being cheaper and more compact, another important aspect of resistance bands, as opposed to free weights, is that their use makes it much easier to isolate specific muscle groups, such as your chest, biceps, shoulders, or back. The overall goal of my workout regime is to cover all the important muscle groups in a full-body workout. Not to bulk up my chest or arms to impress people. My view is that 'bulking up' specific muscle groups to make yourself look good doesn't really improve your fitness. And I've seen a lot of this online. Working your core, not a fad
That said, health professionals have been talking up the benefits of working your 'core,' so I'd include at least three exercises for this muscle group, which includes your lower back, abs, and hips. Strengthening your core muscles doesn't improve your appearance that much (forget about washboard abs), but they do contribute to better balance, stability, and posture, making everyday tasks a lot easier. As you age, stability is important for walking, something you should do lots of to improve your cardio health and longevity (see my blog on cardio). So, working your core isn't a fad; it's the real deal.
Benefits of home gym
So, I have been known to preach a bit about setting up a home gym; there are a couple of reasons I do this.
An important upside to working out in a spare bedroom or office (or living room if you have a small apartment) is that you don't
need to waste time driving back-and-forth to a downtown public gym; time better
spent doing... well, just about anything else. Lessons we've learned from
the pandemic. Because of this, you only have to set aside a
small amount of time three or four times a week, and it's more likely you'll persevere with your workouts over the long term. A second reason is that I used to get intimidated by all the muscle-bound people
strutting around public gyms and have quit in the past. None of that in a home
gym. Only a mirror can track your progress.
Multiple benefits of building muscle tone
Don't get me wrong, I am no featherweight (that's me above 60); there's nothing wrong with developing good muscle tone and strength. And yes, it does make you look better
and help build your confidence and mental wellness. As I discussed, the main benefit is that it helps you do tasks much easier throughout the day - anything from lifting a bag of groceries to building a shelf in your garage - and any cardio sports you may pick up as part of your fitness regime, like bike riding or hiking. My view is that muscle strength helps you do just about anything easier; it's one of the main building blocks of a healthier lifestyle. Just as important - perhaps even more so - is that strengthening muscles around your joints is a really good way to prevent and treat arthritis and other joint pains. And those aches and pains only get worse as you get older.
Let me explain. My view is that as you age, the cartilage in your joints gradually breaks
down, and little tears and injuries in your joints - like knees and shoulders - compound over time. So, you need to build muscle around those joints to support them.
Over the past twenty years, I've wrecked a lot of my body, either by accident or sports injury. Here's a list:
1) I injured my shoulder or rotator cuff during a bike accident. As people who have experienced this injury know rotator cuffs (see diagram above), are very complex, slow to heal, and require specialized treatment from a physiotherapist; (see exercise above with a circle around the shoulder; more on that later).
2) I also messed up my back by golfing so much, a common injury (click link) in a sport in which you repeatedly turn your upper body like a corkscrew. I periodically tweak my back, and along with exercise, massage therapy helps relieve pain; and
3) I tore the meniscus in my right knee when I fell through the ice and strained muscles in my left knee while curling, a popular Canadian sport. As you can see from the photo (left), the 'crouch' I use for my tuck-slide really puts pressure on my left knee. That knee would often hurt during curling tournaments, or 'bonspiels,' when I played several games in a row. Accumulated wisdom
Seriously, the resistance exercises that I will present in this blog are the accumulated wisdom of numerous physiotherapists I have consulted for my injuries over the past twenty years, with input from fitness trainers. Physiotherapists were the ones who introduced me to resistance bands and exercises and got me hooked. I can still remember when my first physiotherapist pulled out a rubber hose. I said, "What's that?" Little did I know...
I also used fitness trainers from time to time as a kind of supporting cast. I would rent trainers for an hour or so and have them review my routine one-on-one, tell me whether I am doing my exercises properly, and suggest a few more. Every few years. Although there are tons of videos on the internet on resistance training, nothing beats getting up-close-and-personal with an experienced trainer.
Tailor exercise to your unique life experience
So, this is my personal journey; yours will be unique. If you have played any sport for a long time, you have probably injured different joints and muscles along the way. So, I recommend doing different exercises to help those joints heal and prevent re-injury.
Or you may not play any sports and do lighter exercises like walking, yoga, or aerobics; or you may be a late-senior (70s and 80s) and taking it easy, just glad to be alive. If any of the above are you, I'd start with light bands while sitting as shown in this video. At the very least, light resistance exercise will provide late-seniors with the strength to lift their grandchildren onto their knees.
At the other end of the spectrum, you may be
young and play several 'extreme' sports like marathon running, hockey (eh?!), kite boarding or rock climbing. If that's the case, select 'strong' bands; they come in all shapes and sizes (click here). The point is, the set of resistance exercises I will present are mine, and mine alone. I have a middle-of-the-road body type, and my routine is designed to maintain decent muscle tone with a focus on building muscle around injured joints. It will be up to you to develop and tailor a set of exercises that suit your unique life experience and past injuries. I am a proponent of resistance exercise, but if you feel like adding some bench presses or squats with heavier free weights to increase your muscle strength, go for it. Whatever floats your boat.
The only broad-brush recommendation I have is to just do it, (like the 90's Nike slogan) any kind of exercise regularly, three or four times a week - something you can sustain over the long term, preferably in your own home or apartment.
My resistance exercise routine
In this section, I will describe the resistance exercises I do every second day. For each exercise, I will present a side-by-side (or top-to-bottom) diagram, provide a 'how-to' description and then describe the muscle group that is being worked on. I will also provide a link to a video with someone doing the actual exercise. So, let's go!
1) Biceps curls
I start my routine with a simple bicep curl using a resistance hose with handles, (see left). As I discussed, it will be important to choose a resistance band with a tension that you are comfortable with, not too strong, not too weak, just right (like Goldilocks!). Loop the hose around your feet, and step on it as shown. Even though you have chosen a band strength, you can adjust the strength further by moving your feet farther apart (stronger) or closer (weaker), or even one foot (weakest).
This is a simple two-step exercise, up and down like the diagram shows. I alternative between 15 reps of curls and 15 reps of a rowing exercise, (next). Click here for a biceps curl video. 2) Bent over row
A fitness trainer added this exercise; he identified a gap in my routine: I was doing a lot of 'core' exercises but nothing for my upper back.The set-up for a bent over row is very similar to the bicep curl; it uses a rubber hose with handles and you step on the hose the same way. The big difference is you bend over and then then pull the handles toward your chest, 15 reps, twice. This exercise is a bit complex to get right, so I would recommend viewing this video before you give it a go.
3) Trunk rotation with pole
Technically, this an a exercise that works your core, but I like it because the motion is very similar to the 'cork screw' action of a golf swing. So, it's great at preventing back injuries common to golf. When I do it, I can feel it slowly-stretching out my spinal column as I rotate.
To do the exercise, find a pole, any pole; I use a retractable kayak paddle with the blades off. Put it on your shoulders as shown in the diagram, and slowly rotate your upper body clockwise then counterclockwise. Click this link for a demonstration. I usually do one set of 25 or 30 full rotations. 4) Knee bends (partial squats)
I had problems with my knees for decades, from my curling tuck-slide (above) and a fall through the ice. It wasn't until my teenage son hyperextended his knee on a trampoline (ouch!) that I discovered a great exercise while visiting our physiotherapist. Seriously, if I do this exercise every second day, (15 reps on each knee) I have no pain in what were otherwise problematic joints.
As explained to me (and my son) by the physiotherapist, from a standing position you hold onto a chair, then slowly squat until your knee just goes past the end of your toes, then rise up. I do this one knee at a time, while lifting the other leg; but I'm sure bending both knees (see photo) at the same time is okay.
You need to be careful; don't go any deeper or you might injure your knee muscles, your meniscus. If you feel any pain, don't go any deeper.
I find this exercise to be a great example of building and warming muscles around an injured joint to help it heal and prevent further injury. I am a firm believer that exercises like this are for a lifetime, and at 65 I've seen a lot of life.
Click this link for a demonstration.
5) Chair pushups
This exercise has evolved over the years; I really like it because you only need a chair and your body weight. It's the equivalent of a bench press, without the heavy weights and bench. S0, nothing to lug around; everyone has a chair, just don't use the expensive ones from your dining room set.
The chair pushup works your chest muscles, so if you are dieting and losing belly fat, you will notice the changes after a few months: your chest muscles will stick out more than your stomach when you wear a t-shirt. (I've had the reverse for a good chunk of my life). Great positive reinforcement for your fitness regime.
The chair pushup was taught to me by a fitness trainer, who I hired in the Caribbean. I was struggling, trying to set-up something similar to a bench press with three chairs, a knot of rubber hoses and a bar (Seriously!). He demonstrated the simple chair push-up, and I was sold. Very simple exercise, just look at photos 1 and 2. There's a video for this exercise on this webpage, (click here); you need to scroll down. I do two sets of 15.
6) Rotator cuff (shoulder) exercise
As discussed above, the rotator cuff (shoulder) exercise is what got me started using resistance bands. I shredded muscles inside my left shoulder when I braked too quickly on a rented bike; lurched forward and crashed.
Like other injuries, I thought my shoulder injury would eventually heal if I rested it. Not the case. It persisted for months, and I had trouble sleeping when I rolled on my side.
As people who have experienced a rotator cuff injury know, the best treatment is physiotherapy. By the time I figured this out, several months had passed and my shoulder had 'frozen.' I can still remember the day my physiotherapist jarred my left arm skyward, and ripped the frozen muscles away from the joint. This was painful therapy but after several months of treatment, I was able regain full movement. Along with resistance band exercise, I also had electrical stimulation therapy and ultrasound therapy in her office, and both worked well. I would recommend both.
Even if you've never had a rotator cuff injury, I would still recommend this exercise. As you age, your complex shoulder joints (both cartilage and muscle) break down, and everyday tasks like lifting a bag of groceries may become difficult. Best to strengthen those muscles.
This exercise is fairly straightforward. Get a two handled rubber hose and attach one end to a door knob. As the diagram shows, draw the handle towards your chest and release back to the original position; repeat 15 times for each arm. Click this link for a video of this exercise. A quick search on the internet will turn up numerous variations; pick one that works for you. 7) Leg Lifts
This is a simple exercise to strengthen core muscles, one of three in my routine. You probably did this exercise during gym class in elementary school. I know I did.
The first step is to lay down on a yoga mat or your bed, something soft; as in A. Next, slowly lift your legs as high as you feel comfortable with. In the video, the fitness instructor lifts her legs to a 90-degree angle but I don't go that far. If done correctly, you should feel your stomach or abdominal muscles clench, as you work them. Do two sets of 15. 8) Single Leg Bridge, Lower Back
This exercise was added to my list by a fitness trainer. I told her about my golf-related back issues, and she walked me through this multi-step exercise, which targets my lower back. To start, lay flat on your back with your knees bent as in diagram 'Step 1.'
Next, lift your right leg just above your left leg as in 'Step 2.'
To finish, slowly lift your buttocks off the ground with your left leg and hold it there for about five seconds, as in Step 3. As you hold it, you should feel your lower back muscles clench the same way your abdominals do when you do leg lifts.
Repeat the exercise with the other leg, and do this 10 or 15 times depending on how long you keep your leg lifted.
This exercise is fairly complex so I would watch this video before you give it a go. 9) Standing chest press/fly
This resistance exercise was added by a fitness trainer who identified a need for a second exercise that targeted my chest.
To get started, you'll need a special resistance band with something I call a 'knob,' (see photo). You flip the 'knob' over the top-side
of the door, and close it....so you have a situation like in the Step 1 photo above. Got it!
Next, you need to position yourself correctly: maintain a balanced stance by spreading your legs apart front-to-back, then lean forward a bit and spread your arms apart as in the Step 1 photo; that's the 'fly' part. The muscular guy in the photo does a great job of explaining how to do this, so I would watch this video (at 55 seconds) first before you start.
Once positioned, you pull your arms together as in the Step 2 photo; until your fists touch. Then release to the original position and repeat 15 times; do two sets.
Although this exercise is a bit complex, it's a great band exercise that does the same chest workout as a bench press, without the heavy barbells, metal-weight supports and cushioned bench. I have done bench presses in the past with this equipment, and although it was a bit of a hassle to set-up, I liked the simplicity and feel of the free weights.
August 03, 2023
