An Internal Gym for Couch Potatoes David F.

Maas (Revised 4-13-2013)

Some of us would like to stay in shape, toning and strengthening our muscles daily without investing in an annual health club or purchasing an expensive Nautilus workout self-contained gym, or even buying an inexpensive set of ropes and pulleys. I have a weight set with barbells out in my carport, but I find all kinds of excuses not to use this equipment on a regular basis. The extremes of hot and cold temperatures keep me from regular exercise. In the meantime, over a number of months, my 67 year old body has become flabby and out of shape. My ankles were becoming stiff and unresponsive, like an 80 or 90 year old man. As I climbed up the steps everyday to my office, my ankles and knees forced me to move like a handicapped man. I would instruct people to go around me and let these arthritic knees go at their own pace. One afternoon, I saw Harrison Ford, a man of my age on a television talk show. He looked remarkably in tip-top shape for a man in his late sixties. When the interviewer asked him the secret of his fitness, he attributed it to stretching exercises. Immediately, I recalled strolling through the Descanso Gardens in Montrose, California when I started a conversation with an elderly gentleman I would guess to be in his eighties. He was doing some calisthenics, in which he would extend his right leg out in front of him at a 90-degree angle to his upper body, and then did the same thing with his left leg. I made a mental note to start doing the same kind of calisthenics as I approached middle age. Earlier as a teenager, I was fascinated with the body building advertisements of trainers such as Ben Rebhuhn and Charles Atlas, the inventor of Dynamic Tension. In one of his advertisements, Charles Atlas gave a fascinating description of a lion in a zoo, developing his muscles:
Well, sir, I was standing there in front of a lion's cage, and the old gentlemen was lying down asleep, and all of a sudden he gets up and gives a stretch. Well, he stretched himself all overyou know how they do, first one leg and then anotherand the muscles ran around like rabbits under a rug. I says to myself, Does this old gentlemen have any barbells, any exercises? No Sir. Then what's he been doing? And it came to me. I said to myself, he's been pitting one muscle against another.'

For an occasional weight-lifter like me, this concept seemed like a Godsendan internal or virtual gym for couch potatoes. While I do not use this as my exclusive form of exercise, it works splendidly as an ancillary exercise, and is one I can consistently follow on a daily basis. For the past four months, I have been using the following plan and have gotten splendid results. My ankles and knees are no longer stiff and I do not clump

around like an 80 or 90 year old man. If I couple this exercise with walking or weight lifting, it is totally complementary. Here is the method: As I climb into bed and before I get out of bed, I practice the following: (01) I totally flex my lower leg until it almost turns into a Charlie horse. As I started the exercise four months ago, I did occasionally bring about painful muscle cramps which sent me howling. After a week of flexing, the pains gradually subsided. I would flex my lower left leg, ankle, and foot for 25 seconds and then relax. (02) I would then flex my right leg, foot and ankle, flexing it for 25 seconds and then relax. (03) I would then flex my upper right arm, forearm, wrist and hand for 25 seconds and then relax. (04) I would then flex my upper left arm, forearm, wrist, and hand for 25 seconds and then relax. A variation of this sequence would be to flex each group 20 seconds and then add the following procedure: (05) Place the palms of the hands together in front of the chest, pressing hard for 20 seconds. This exercise is the classic Charles Atlas dynamic tension exercise to tone and build the chest, by flexing the lats and pecs. It is inadvisable to do this one while driving the car. This sequence I repeat 10 times until I have counted to 1,000, a workout which lasts approximately 15 minutes.

Alternate 25 Minute Workout (01) Totally flex left leg, counting slowly to 60 while relaxing rest of the body (02) Flex right leg, counting slowly to 60 while relaxing rest of the body Repeat above procedure ten times for a total of ten minutes (03) Totally flex left arm, counting slowly to 60 while relaxing rest of the body (04) Flex right arm, counting slowly to 60 while relaxing rest of the body Repeat above procedure ten times for a total of ten minutes (05) Press palms together, but consciously put pressure to the baby or pinky fingers, counting slowly to 60. (06) Continue pressing palms, but consciously put pressure to the ring fingers, counting slowly to 60. (07) Continue pressing palms, but consciously apply pressure to the middle fingers, counting slowly to 60. (08) Continue pressing palms, but consciously apply pressure to the index fingers, counting slowly to 60. (09) Continue pressing palms, but consciously apply pressure to the thumbs, counting slowly to 60 The total workout for this alternate procedure lasts approximately 25 minutes

For the last 24 months, I have been doing this exercise before going off to sleep and before getting out of bed. Paradoxically, it works both as a relaxant before I drift off to sleep and as a stimulant before I get up. Incidentally, this exercise works equally well if performed in a recliner, chaise lounge, air mattress, or bed. I have performed this exercise while driving my car on the freeway. In effect, it can be used everywhere. Try that with a Nautilus.

My knees and ankles have become as limber as they were in my 20s and 30s, and I feel inspired to do more ambitious tasks such as mow the lawn, or walk around the lake. When I see 60 something colleagues grab their canes, walkers, or Amigos, it makes me more grateful for the Internal Gym for Couch Potatoes. DFM