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Use Your Body Weight
For Strengthening
By Wayne L. Westcott |
 Quincy
- It is indeed hard to beat a sensible strength training
program for increasing muscle function and fitness.
Progressive resistance exercises develop and maintain a
strong musculoskeletal system.
People over age 60 can attain the ability to leverage their
own body weight in a few classic exercises. In addition to
training on exercise machines or with free weights, here are
some progressions for performing pushups, which are good for
the chest, shoulders and arms, and chair dips, for
strengthening chest, upper back, shoulders and arms.
Progressive Pushups
Begin by performing wall pushups. Place your feet about
a yard from the wall with your hands equally spaced just
below shoulder level. Keeping your body straight, bring your
chest slowly to the wall, and then push back until your arms
are fully extended. When you can complete 10 wall pushups,
you are ready to do table pushups.
To do table pushups, place your hands about a yard apart on
the edge of the kitchen or dining room table. Keeping your
body straight, bring your chest slowly to the table, then
push back until your arms are fully extended. When you can
complete 10 table pushups, you are ready to do chair
pushups.
The key to chair pushups is placing two sturdy kitchen or
dining room chairs firmly against a wall and touching each
other. Place one hand on each chair seat. Keeping your body
straight, bring your chest slowly to the chairs, then push
back until your arms are fully extended. When you can
complete 10 table pushups, you are ready to try regular
floor pushups.
Floor pushups are best performed by placing your hands about
a yard apart on the carpet, slightly below shoulder level.
Keeping your body straight, lower your chest slowly to the
floor, then push your body up until your arms are fully
extended. When you can complete 10 floor pushups, try doing
a second set after a two-minute rest.
Progressive Chair Dips
The first phase of chair dips is to place both hands on
the front edge of a sturdy kitchen or dining room chair,
with the heels of your hands on the top of the seat and your
fingers wrapped around and underneath it.
Begin with the bent leg chair dip. With your hands in place
and your arms straight, move your hips forward until they
are off the chair seat. With your knees at a right angle,
slowly lower your hips toward the floor, then push back up
until your arms are fully extended. When you can complete 10
bent leg chair dips, you are ready to do straight leg chair
dips.
Straight leg chair dips are executed in exactly the same
manner as bent leg chair dips, with one exception. As you
move your hips forward off the chair seat move your heels
forward on the floor to maintain a straight leg position.
This will provide more body resistance as you slowly lower
your hips towards the floor and push back to the
armsextended position.
When you can complete 10 straight leg chair dips, you are
ready to try parallel leg chair dips.
To perform parallel leg chair dips, place your heels on a
second chair, so that your body is supported by the heels of
your hands and the heels of your feet with your legs
parallel to the floor. Slowly lower your hips toward the
floor, then push back up until your arms are fully extended.
When you can complete 10 parallel leg chair dips, try doing
a second set after a two-minute rest.
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About The Author
Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., teaches exercise science and
directs fitness research at Quincy College. He has authored
or coauthored 24 books on strength training, including
“Strength Training Past 50” and “Strength Training for
Seniors.” Rita La Rosa Loud, B.S., teaches exercise science
and codirects fitness research at Quincy College. |
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