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This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in May of 2023. For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSsPuxdmZHU&t=59s
BRAD: How are you doing, Mike?
MIKE: I'm alive.
BRAD: All right. Now Mike and I, and Bob have spent decades, literally, doing low-impact exercises with seniors to improve their strength, their heart health, and osteoporosis, and it just works out well. Now we're going to talk about this during this video, and things are going to be explained very well. Mike, do you have something to say?
MIKE: We are going to show you five exercises that you can do. You can follow along, or watch and do them later, and they're going to help you stay active, make you a little stronger, and help reduce any pain or stiffness.
BRAD: That's right. They are our five favorites, I would say. All right, a little introduction to these exercises, a mindset of what I would like you to think about before you get into them. I want you to do all five of the exercises, but if any of them create any joint pain, any pain at all, that exercise should be eliminated. Overall, you're going to go through five of them, pick out two or three of them that you like the best, and seem like they're best for you, and those are the ones you're going to want to do. You can alternate them day to day, or one week do one, the other week do another.
MIKE: In the exercises, there are going to be two different arm exercises, so make sure to pick one of those for sure. We're also going to show a variation, so a simpler or harder version, depending upon how well you can move.
BRAD: That's right, we want to fit everybody in so that there are options for everyone involved.
MIKE: Let's get to it.
BRAD: All right, the first one, a very traditional exercise, is marching in place. Now you're going to swing your arms and your knees. The higher you bring your knees, the more tired, or more aggressive it is. Same with your arms. If you want to start out small, fine. If you want to start out big, that's even better. It's up to you. Mike, can you talk about how long we're going to do this?
MIKE: We're going to try to do this for a minute. You can work up to two minutes. This is more time-based exercise. I am doing the seated version, which is easier. You don't have the balance component. If you feel unsteady, Brad's is going to be a little more challenging.
BRAD: Yes. Boy, this is nice. I like, this exercise. Think about your breathing and being relaxed while you exercise, it makes a tremendous difference in how you enjoy the exercise and the efficiency of things.
MIKE: I can't swing my arms as much. I feel goofy.
BRAD: Well, be careful with the armrests, or you'll bump your elbow. Alright, the second exercise is sidestepping left and right. This is an important exercise because it works the lateral muscles, which are incredibly, incredibly important for your stability and balance. You may need a stick or a cane, just to make sure you're safe. That's strictly up to you. And you go back and forth, 5 or 10 times. Mike, do you want to elaborate more on this exercise?
MIKE: The first thing to notice is you do not have to do them in red pants. The second thing is to go one to two minutes for time duration. You can hold on to a cane or stick for support like Brad was doing. You can also do these on a countertop or a firm railing. The third exercise is some type of squat variation. I'm going to be showing the easier version first. So you're going to start in a chair, and you're going to stand up, and then slowly sit down. If you need to use your armrest for support, go ahead. If you feel strong enough, you can cross your arms on your shoulders like this. Just make sure you have good control as you're going up and sitting back. Brad, do you want to talk about the variation?
BRAD: Yes. If you would like to have it a little more aggressive and work your balance more, be careful with this. Actually, go up behind a chair and hold that, and we're going to do squats. Now I'm going to back up away from the chair. Use something to hold onto, a chair, cupboard, whatever, cane, or stick, and then we're going to start out with shallow squats. Okay, we're going to go down, and whatever's comfortable, if you feel like you get down so far and you get knee pain, or you feel wobbly, stop, go to the chair. We must stay safe with this. A hand on a countertop, a chair, and the stick can be a really good way to work these. Again, go down as far as you feel comfortable. We talked about time. You can do these for a set time if you'd like. If you want to just do 10 repetitions to start out with and build up, that is also a great technique. This is one of those strengthening techniques that's really going to help you out with your balance, getting out of chairs, into chairs, and negotiating up and down steps, so it's an important one.
MIKE: Yes, it's a very functional exercise. The next exercise is going to be a wall pushup for beginners, and Brad will show the more advanced version next. This is going to be an upper body arm strengthening exercise. So you're going to bring your upper body towards the wall, and then push back out. The further your feet are away from the wall, the more challenging it will be. Since you're not fighting against gravity, this is a little bit easier exercise to do. And again, we're going to do repetitions with this. Start with however many you can do, and progress from there.
BRAD: That's right. Now, if you have a history of doing push-ups, and you want to go right to the floor and do the typical GI pushups, go ahead, do that. We're talking about people who aren't at that level and want a good option. If you have handrails and a stairway, this is a really nice way you can progress, and it's a little bit more challenging than the wall. Good, solid rails, of course. Bring your feet out as far as you feel comfortable. The farther out, the more difficult it will be. So start out safe, and work those. If your handrails are too far apart, it's not an option, because it's going to stress your shoulders and give you shoulder pain. So make sure you feel very comfortable with this. Again, do the same repetitions. When I do push-ups, I like to do a goal of 10. 10 is a nice number to work towards.
BRAD: Going to a countertop is a really good situation. A good, solid countertop. This is not solid, so Mike is sitting on this, this is a little bit lower than most countertops, so it'll be higher. And just bring your feet over. And again, we just do the pushups here. Unfortunately, the wall is too close, I really am not demonstrating the way I would normally do it, plus Sam's in the way, but you get the idea of how we're going to do it. Same repetitions. Mike, anything to finish up on this one?
MIKE: When you start going into the variations Brad was showing, it's going to engage your core a little more, and there's more gravity, so it's going to be more challenging.
BRAD: That's right. It's a win-win. Okay, the next one, another arm and shoulder exercise. Very important, the first thing you must do, we can do it seated or standing, but good posture. So get the shoulders back, the head up, and everything in line, as we want with good posture. Then we're going to bring our arms out in front. We can go palms down, palms together, that's not really important. Out to the side, nice and wide. Squeeze the shoulder blades together in front, and then overhead. You can do this with both hands together or open. If you happen to have one shoulder or one arm that is weaker than the other arm, grab it. Let the strong arm assist the weak one, it can be a good stretch. And then we're just going to repeat these. Again, we can go for time on this. If you want to count, you can count. Mike, what do you have to say about if this is too easy?
MIKE: If this is too easy, you can try grabbing a resistance band of sorts. It doesn't matter which type you have at home, or you can even use dumbbells. But with the resistance bands, you're going to grab somewhere in the middle and start with the easier band, typically lighter colors are easier. Do the same motion, pull apart, the band will touch your chest, and then you're going lift overhead. You don't have to have it tight when you're overhead. So just apart and then overhead. This is going to really work your shoulders.
BRAD: Yeah, this is great for your range of motion as well as a strengthening exercise. Mike did mention you can use dumbbells, and that's going to work different muscle groups, because the resistance is vertical, down with gravity. And you're going to find these become much more difficult. Yeah, okay, Mike, should we tell them about the advanced method for getting both directions?
MIKE: Sure.
BRAD: Sure. Most people will not do this, but there will be a few of the overachievers. Use the band and a dumbbell, so we get resistance going out, and we get resistance going up. Again, do not try this unless you can do them very easily with just the bands, or without, it is just another option. What do you say, Mike?
MIKE: We have one more exercise for you to show, it's a bonus tip.
BRAD: My shoulders are feeling really good after that. I like it.
MIKE: Good, you need the work. So the bonus tip is just simply walking. It is an important exercise to do, it is low impact, it has a lot of different health benefits, and it's important to start on a nice, flat road or maybe sidewalk to begin. If you've already been walking a bunch, you could try different terrains, and unevenness, making it a little more challenging, but walking is very beneficial.
BRAD: Right. I think one of the big benefits of walking, besides the exercise, is simply doing it outside, particularly in nice weather. It's such a relaxing activity, it lets your mind free, and it's just one of those additional things that make life much better. So, walk away. Oh, I know. I wanted to mention, that I've had people that walk out too far, and then they can't come back. Say they walk a mile out, and they get halfway back, and they realize, I should have limited my walk to one mile, and now I've got a half mile of drudgery and knee pain because they overdid it. It's just an example. So if you have blocks, walk around the block, so you can do 10 laps versus 20, and you get tired at 11 laps, then you're right there by your house, and you can sit down. Or a park where there are plenty of benches to rest at.
MIKE: Or a treadmill.
BRAD: There you go. But that's not outside. No. You could take your treadmill out into the yard, and get a long extension cord. Maybe a 200-footer, and then the neighbors will talk, and life will be exciting throughout the neighborhood. So yeah, that's a good option. Alright, that concludes the exercises. Look at all of them, pick out the ones you want. And remember, feel strong, be balanced, and keep moving.
MIKE: And let us know in the comments section what low-impact exercises you prefer to do because maybe we'll make a video about those.
BRAD: Yeah, that's right. Always something new out there. There are people out there with much better ideas than we have.
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