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This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in July of 2021. For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wGH54vd8Lg
Bob: So, are you over 50? Here are the five exercises you can do. You can do these if you're under 50, too. We're not going to exclude anybody. So, as you get older, strength really becomes important because your strength starts to wane.
Brad: Wax and wane.
Bob: Wax and wane, yeah. As you get older, you know, if you don't do anything or if you do things the same way, your strength is going to go down, so that's really a bummer.
Brad: Yeah, it's the aging process. That’s one of the ugly facts.
Bob: And that's true if you're 60 too, so we'd like to see you lifting some form of weights, maybe body weight, which we're going to show you today, or bands, or kettlebells. I'd like to see you doing it twice a week, at least.
Brad: Twice a week? Okay. That's doable.
Bob: Maybe three if you're ambitious.
Brad: If you don't like the word "weights," don't worry. I strength train and I do not use weights. I have no interest in weights.
Bob: You use bands.
Brad: Yeah, and it works very well. There are some advantages either way.
Bob: So, we're going to start off with squats. Squats are so functional. You're bending over throughout the day to pick things up off the floor or anywhere, and you've got to maintain that leg strength. So, you can start off by doing squats without holding onto anything for extra weight.
Brad: Just body weight.
Bob: Now, one thing I want to show is don't bend your knees first. Bring your hips back first and then go down.
Brad: So, when you do that, you are kind of arching the back. The low back, right?
Bob: You're arching the back a little bit and you're not bending your knees as much, which I'm fine with you bending your knees now. I've become a knees-over-toes guy. All the great weightlifters tell you, for squats you want to go headfirst and bring your hips back and then squat down. And you're trying to keep your back straight.
Brad: Yeah, so, if you look at this. There! There you go, the Booyah Stik is touching in three places. You know, if you have a stick that's long enough, this could be a great way to force your body into good body posture while you're squatting. We call them "posture squats."
Bob: And once you get that down, then you can add weight. I've got a 30-pound weight here. And you can do goblet squats with it. You actually bring the kettlebell up to your chest, like here, and actually add some weight to it. And Brad's going to show another way.
Brad: Yeah, if you don't want to do weights and you want to do bands, this is the way I do mine. I stand on it and I squat. The nice thing about bands is as you go up, the resistance gets more and more, which is actually functional for strengthening. And if you drop this on your foot, it doesn't hurt.
Bob: Yeah, you don't scream. Now, this is actually a loop, or I guess we call it a pull-up assist band. You can also, we'll use the loop or the band for the next one, which is the band pull-apart. So, this is a great one for posture and strengthening the muscles in the back that help hold your posture. So, you want to be in a good posture when you're doing it. And then you can just grab the band like this and pull it apart.
Brad: You know, with the bands, there are the handles, which come in handy for a lot of things. But for this particular exercise, they're too far apart. You know, unless you're going to use the anchor that goes in the door or the wall anchor.
Bob: You want to show, Brad, what I'm doing here?
Brad: Squeezing! Those shoulder blades coming together is so critical. I always tell my patients, I say, "Squeeze your shoulder blades together and think about your sternum or your chest going out in front of you." And you really want to emphasize that. Feels good, too. You can tell it's good exercise.
Bob: Yeah, yeah. It's a really portable one, too, you know? You can bring the band along with you almost anywhere. You could almost fit it in your pocket. All right, the next one is the split squats. I like to hold on to the edge of a bed or something.
Brad: Anything for balance.
Bob: Yeah. So, basically, you're going to get into the lunge position and you're going to bring the leg down like this. Now, if you want, you can train to have the knees go over the toes. I don't want any pain at all, though. If this hurts, you don't do it this way! Then you might do it where you go straight down and keep the knee behind the toes. Because if you don't have pain, you're strengthening your knee so that when this does happen when you do go knees-over-toes, which happens when you're going down stairs, it won't hurt as much. Because you have the strength in that position. So, obviously, you're going to do both sides. And it's interesting, Brad. I actually get up off the floor using the other leg up first too, and this one is really a lot weaker on this side. I really must start working on this.
Brad: Because you've always done it without thinking about it, right?
Bob: Right, right, exactly.
Brad: If you wanted to, you could have a chair on both sides if you felt more stable. I like to use the Booyah Stik. Whatever so you feel stable with.
Bob: Right, right, exactly, safety first. So, Brad, do you want to show a pushup?
Brad: A pushup? Of course!
Bob: Okay. So, we're going to actually do it, you want to do knees first?
Brad: Sure. This is an excellent place to use Pete's Choice pad, because it hurts, especially if you have a hard floor. This is much more comfortable on my knees. All right. So, when you're doing these, you want to try and get your body straight. Have someone else look at you to make sure you're not arched. Because a lot of times, people are unaware of that, including us. And so, we're going to go down, and tighten up your core and keep that tight. And this takes practice, I think, is that you need to learn to breathe while you're doing your pushups and maintaining a tight core. So you breathe out when you push up, breathe in when you go down. And when you're talking, you do whatever you can do to get it done.
Bob: And for a more advanced push-up, you can squeeze your buttock a little bit. That gives you a little more push, believe it or not. According to Pavel, the strength coach. You strengthen your abdominals and your buttocks and that helps get more pushups.
Brad: Get those glutes going!
Bob: Now, Brad, what is your record again so far?
Brad: Well, my goal is to get 59 of them when I turn 59, which is in October.
Bob: Sure.
Brad: So, I'm at about 53 right now at max and I only do that once a week at the most. Usually, it's every two weeks and then I break it up. It's just more fun.
Bob: Sure. Now, we're going to do side planks here. And we'll just reach down and reach up with it. Now, you can obviously do them on your knees.
Bob: For more advanced, get up on the legs. Now, I wouldn't do them on this type of surface.
I wouldn't do it on a bed. I would possibly do it on the floor or on a mat.
Brad: You can't see it very well, but there is a gap there.
Bob: I'm feeling it! We do it on both sides, of course, 10 to 15 reps or 10 to 20 reps, depending on what you're doing. Take it to fatigue, but there's also the philosophy, don't do it to fatigue. Go half of what you could do to fatigue. So, let's say you could do 20 pushups. You only do 10. But you do them more often throughout the day. Which is harder for people because I think they forget.
Brad: You know, if you're doing pushups, you could just do 10 in the morning right after breakfast or before, and do 10 later, you know, say you could do only 20 maximum. Do 10 before you eat and do 10 after, even if you're out to eat, just get right down on the floor.
Bob: There you go! Do it on the table. Why not? Get up on the table. Make a spectacle of yourself. All right.
Brad: Tell them we told you to!
Bob: Keep strong! Was that it?
Bob: Yeah, that's it. That was five
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