Couch Potato Workout

Just Get Moving!

Couch Potato Workout

Strong Legs Critical to Health

Strength, Endurance, Balance

NEW: February 2011 -
While traditional Chinese exercise for toning legs requires no weights or exercise equipment, there are many excellent Chinese-style exercises that can tone, firm and strengthen your legs from your thighs to your ankles. SOURCE

Cirque du Soleil
 
NEW: 24 September 2010 -
from Matthew Scott, Chinese Health Exercises

According to traditional Chinese medical wisdom you are only as old as your legs.

Chinese medical wisdom also says if you strengthen your legs you can slow down the affects of aging and stop certain health problems.

Naturally, there are many traditional Chinese exercises to strengthen your legs. These are done using your bodyweight only. Some are so easy anyone can do them, while others you may need to build up to.

The benefits of strong, flexible legs include:

1. Better support for your whole body

2. Better balance

3. Less chance of leg and lower back pain

Traditional Chinese leg exercises do more than this though. They stimulate important energy meridians in your legs and these meridians are linked to certain internal organs like your spleen, liver and kidneys.

Do the exercises and you benefit your legs AND your internal organs.

Exercise in the traditional Chinese sense also includes techniques like self-massage and acupressure. These techniques involve pressing and rubbing specific points and areas on your legs (and other body areas) to improve circulation, stop pain, increase flexibility and more. 

There are two programs on the site showing you on video traditional Chinese exercises for the legs. There is the Long Life Exercise Programfor overall better health and the Knee Exercises Program aimed specifically at the legs.

from January 2010 - Do You Have Strong Legs?

Lower-body strength translates into good balance, flexibility, and endurance.

As you get older, those attributes are key to reducing your risk of falls and injuries -- particularly hip fractures, which often quickly lead to declining health. Up to 20% of hip-fracture patients die within 1 year because of complications from the trauma.

"Having weak thigh muscles is the number one predictor of frailty in old age," says Robert Butler, MD, president of the International Longevity Center USA in New York City.

Here's one of many suggestions to strengthen them, I know this exercise as "wall sitting".

"Target your quads with the "phantom chair" move, says Joan Price, author of The Anytime, Anywhere Exercise Book. Here's how: Stand with back against wall. Slowly walk feet out and slide back down until you're in a seated position, ensuring knees aren't beyond toes and lower back is pressed against wall. Hold until your thighs tell you, Enough! Do this daily, increasing your hold by a few seconds each time."

I do some sort of leg strengthening exercise daily because, as a writer for most of my time, I do a lot of sitting.

One resource I like is http://www.chinese-holistic-health-exercises.com/

And there's more here.

Exercise 180+ minutes weekly for better bones

Exercise Forestalls Bone Loss

Exercise can forestall osteoporosis

ScienceDaily (2010-05-08) -- The stage for osteoporosis is set well before menopause -- but exercise can help rewrite the script, according to researchers. They hypothesize that higher levels of follicle-stimulating hormone decrease bone mineral density by influencing the production of cytokines. ... > read full article

Aging and Your Health

One very interesting item I came across in my research about 6 years ago was regarding maintinaing muscle mass as you age.

"ELIXIR GIVES ELDERLY MUSCLE" - Senior citizens could avoid aches & pains by taking athletes' natural amino acid supplements. These also help prevent muscle wasting after chemotherapy.  Contact us for excellent quality Natural Amino Acid Supplements

Prof. Melinda Sheffield-Moore led the research at University of Texas. She said that a burden of ageing is weakness & muscle wasting. Muscle mass increased by 2-4% in the elderly given small amounts of amino acids, even without additional exercise. She said that with exercise this would strengthen muscles even more. While there isn't necessarily one age where you wake up feeling old, 45 does seem to be an important age when it comes to cardio fitness. In one study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers studied over 20,000 men and women from 1974 to 2006. They looked at lifestyle variables such as body mass index, self-reported aerobic exercise, and smoking while measuring their cardio fitness by using a treadmill test. Researchers found that cardio fitness declines over time, but goes down hill at a faster rate after 45 years of age, at least for those participants who didn't exercise.