Weeks 3 & 4
PreviewExercise, Level 2, Weeks 3 & 4
- Increase weight lifting by adding an additional set per exercise
- Change wall squats to regular squats
- Barefoot balancing exercises
Increasing Your Strength
Welcome back to Pain Free Lifestyle.
For the next 2 weeks we are going to start increasing your strength by adding an additional set to your weightlifting exercises. We are also going to change your wall squats to regular squats. And we are going to add in a balancing exercise called barefoot balancing.
Play Exercise & Stretching Demonstrations
By now you should be pretty comfortable with your weightlifting routine. Now is the time to add on an additional set, per exercise. This means that for each exercise (bent over row, pec fly, etc) you are doing each one 10-14 times, and that is it. Now you want to do each exercise 10-14 times, twice.
We are also going to start changing the weightlifting exercises so that they are more functional. This means that they use more muscles in each exercise.
In the real world you never have the chance to do a bench press. You never use just 1 muscle in the real world.
You use hundreds of muscles just to raise your hand and wiggle a finger. That is why training muscles in complex motions while exercising helps to strengthen and stabilize your body and joints.
But you can’t just jump right into complex muscle motions. You want to ease your way into these exercises to avoid injury and pain. That is why I had you strengthen your muscles first, and had you get into shape, to do these exercises.
Now you will have a much better chance of doing these exercises and getting the most out of it, while reducing your chance of injury.
That is why we are switching from the stability of a wall squat, to a regular squat. Don’t go down all the way. Don’t try to get your thighs parallel to the ground. Go to about a 45 degree angle, and come back up.
The other functional exercise we are going to introduce is barefoot balancing. And it is exactly what it sounds like.
You want to stand near a chair in bare feet. Raise one foot, and balance on the other one while trying to maintain a good arch in your foot. You do this by contracting the muscles on the inside of your calf. Pulling on those muscles will raise your arch.
Stand like that for 30 seconds. And then repeat on the other foot.
If 30 seconds is too much, then do 20. If 20 seconds is too much, then do 10. Stand next to a chair or a wall. That way if you lose your balance you’ll be able to grab onto it to prevent yourself from falling over.
Your balance is controlled by muscles. Most people lose balance as they age because they stop working their balancing muscles.
This exercise will improve your balance and help you to feel confident as you walk. And it will prevent your balance from getting worse as you get older.
I hope that this helps you to have a pain free day.
