This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in February of 2023. For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJu5uBWA1tY
Brad: All right, if you're 60 years or older, and you want to maintain your independence, be active, and stay self-reliant as long as you can, these three exercises that we're going to show you will maintain and get you there if you need to get there. Does that make sense?
Bob: Yes, it does.
Brad: Okay, there are three muscle groups we need to focus on. The first one is grip strength. It's incredibly important. You may just need to start by opening and closing your hands to loosen them up.
Brad: Then for getting stronger, Bob's got a squish ball or stress ball. You can get those anywhere, online, and that could be a nice way to grip, particularly if you have arthritic and painful joints in your hands. Once you get stronger then you're going to go into something like our hand grip strengthener.
Bob: And it's adjustable.
Brad: Yeah. This comes in a kit with a ball, a ring, and finger strengtheners, and it's actually quite inexpensive.
Bob: So, if you have one weak finger.
Brad: Yep, this is really good for individual finger strength.
Bob: Or if you play the trumpet.
Brad: Oh yeah. If you have an instrument like a trumpet. Then they have a squishy ball here, and a ring that is rather interesting. It squeezes so many pounds one way, and it's a little more difficult the other way, so it's nice to work with.
Bob: There we go.
Brad: A couple more options, this one's really good. Simply roll up a towel. Squeeze and twist.
Bob: Take out my anger.
Brad: Yep. It's like if it's full of water and you're trying to wring out that water. Do those 10 times. With all of these, 10 is a good option. The next one is a grip strengthener. This is what I use, actually, it's the Bob and Brad grip and forearm strengthener. It is a good product. I love it because it really works strength on my forearms and my fingers and I can do lateral flexing, radial deviation, and extension, and change the resistance by using more or less bands. Using one band is much easier. If it's too easy just use more bands.
Brad: All right, moving on. The next muscle group you would need to work on is quadricep strength. One option is simply to stand up from a chair. You're going to have different options. You may need to push off the armrests of the chair to get 10 reps in. If that's too easy you can cross your hand over your chest. Do not do hands out, Bob. We have a story about that one. Or if you need some help, you could have the counter or the sink in front of you and have that for stability, so when you stand up, you have good balance. Depends on your strength level.
Brad: The next one, we call these split squats or lunges. Make sure you have something to stabilize. This is a little more advanced, so make sure you feel stable with this.
Bob: You can do shallow ones, even.
Brad: Yep, you don't have to go all the way down. There you go. Bob, this is one of your go-to’s, isn't it?
Bob: Yep. I do them every morning. Barely awake.
Brad: Every morning, Bob's doing the split squats. Just be careful. Do you ever go down and bump your knee on the floor?
Bob: Yep, I have.
Brad: Yeah, that hurts unless you have carpeting. 10 of those as well. Simple step-ups are the next one. They do recommend that the height of the step be less than 9 inches so you don't stress your knee. So, simply put your hands on the rails to relax and balance yourself, and you can do them one foot at a time like, do 10 on a leg then do the other leg. Or if you want to do it alternating so that you don't get bored, then you're going to count 20 that way, however. There you go, good for quad strength.
Brad: And the last major muscle group is ankle strength. A simple exercise, get something for balance, a Booyah stik, a chair, cupboard, and go up on your toes as high as you can. Come back and rock back on your heels. Be careful, rocking back so you don't fall backward. Very important, obviously. Do 10 of those, or you can do more if it feels strong enough.
Brad: You can actually combine this with the previous exercise, with the quad, and do stand-ups from the chair, and go up on your toes, then rock back, and sit back down and do 10 of those, and then you put both of those muscle groups together.
Bob: Very efficient.
Brad: Yeah, very efficient. If you're looking for efficiency, and that's your personality it's great.
Bob: So remember, we can fix just about anything.
Brad: Except for.
Bob: A broken heart.
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