Stretch and Slim in the Morning Part 2

Slim and Tone with Modified Planking

Planing seems to be all the rage right now but maybe not suitable for us over 60 or those who are unfit and overweight. I have adapted it to my own version that I include in my morning routine.

relaxing feet from freedigitalphotos.net

It is taking me longer to write these than it even does to do the exercises so I hope you bear with me. Today I want to explain the second part of my morning stretching routine.

If you have done the first part of the stretches, let yourself rest for a few minutes. Just flop, lying on your back, completely relaxed. You will probably find you are becoming used to holding your stomach in more than usual - again -- DON'T clench tightly, just hold in.

You may be beginning to realize that holding a position increases its effectiveness. Build that up over several weeks as your muscles strengthen.

Move slowly and smoothly and STOP immediately if you feel any pain whatsoever. You are aiming for a gentle ache in your muscles to let you know they are working but never pain.

Head and Neck Plank

I discovered the effectiveness of this when I was having physiotherapy for neck problems. I happened to have my hands resting on my tummy while the physio was telling me what to do and I noticed how it tightened my abdomen. The important thing about this exercise is not to lift your head too high - it is a VERY subtle movement, you shouldn't even leave any space between your head and the pillow. 

1. Lie flat on the bed without a pillow or with only one. Bring your feet together and rest your arms on your upper abdomen.
2. Take a deep breath in, press your back into the mattress and hold in your stomach muscles.
3. Breathe out completely flattening your abdomen even more.
4. Taking a deep breath in, raise your head very slightly. Breathe out completely.
5. Hold that position for 3 shallow breaths - in and out counting as one.
6. Relax and take 3 breaths.
7. Repeat. Start with 3 and build up over several weeks.
8. Over several weeks build up how long you hold the position for - 4 breaths, 5 breaths - up to 10 but do make sure that is over several weeks to allow your muscles in your back and neck to strengthen. For as many breaths you hold, rest for that same number of breaths between each repeat. 
9. Flop for a few minutes. 

Muscles used in this toning exercise
Upper part of abdominal muscles	lower back	chest	shoulders	neck	waist

 Heel Plank

1. Lie flat, feet together and your hands resting on your lower abdomen.
2. Take a deep breath, press your back into the mattress and pull in your abdomen.
3. Empty your lungs completely, flattening your abdomen even more.
4. Pull your toes up toward you.
5. Taking a deep breath in, raise your heels off the bed and breath out completely.
6. Hold that position for 3 shallow breaths.
7. Relax for 3 breaths. 
8. Over several weeks build up how long you hold the position for - 4 breaths, 5 breaths - up to 10 but do make sure that is over several weeks to allow your muscles in your back and neck to strengthen. For as many breaths you hold, rest for that same number of breaths between each repeat. 
9. Flop for a few minutes. 

Muscles used in this toning exercise
abdominal muscles	lower back	thighs	calves	ankles	waist

 Head and Heel Plank

Yes you guessed it - all together now.

1. Lie flat, feet together, arms by your sides.
2. Take a deep breath in, pressing your back into the mattress, pull in your stomach.
3. Breathe out flattening your stomach even more.
4. Pull your toes up toward you.
5. Breathing in, raise your heels off the bed and breathe out.
6. Breathing in, raise your head VERY slightly and breathe out.
7. Hold in that position for 3 breaths.
8. Relax and rest for 3 breaths.
9. Repeat.
10. Be sure to rest for the same number of breaths as you hold as you build up.
11. Flop for several minutes when you finish. 

Bed from Amazon.co.uk

I have a bed with a metal frame like this one so I can reach through the bars to touch the wall, you may have to use your headboard so make sure it is secure.  Slip down the bed until you can raise your arms above your head to touch the wall and still be flat on your back.

Full Stretch

1. Lie flat and bring your feet together.
2. Take a deep breath in, pressing your back into the mattress and pulling in your stomach muscles.
3. Breathe out, flattening your stomach even more.
4. Breathing in, raise your arms straight above your head, your hands in fists pressed against the wall.
5. Breathe out.
6. Breathing in press both fists against the wall and hold for 3 shallow breaths.
7. Relax for 3 breaths.
8. Repeat.
9. Flop. Let the muscles relax, you might even feel them twitching a bit on rest. 

Alternatively you can do repetitions by

1. breath in as you press your fists onto the wall
2. breath out as you relax
3. repeat immediately.
4. build up over the weeks until you are doing around 30.

Add in the oblique abdo muscles

1. alternate pressing one hand then the other. Breath in, and breath out in rhythm with your movements.
2. relax completely for several minutes when you finish. 

Illustration of the oblique muscles - wiki public domain

Fingers to Toes Stretch

I can stretch out completely on my bed with my fists on the wall above me and toes curled on the top rail of the bottom of my bed.  See if you can too.

1. Lie flat, take a deep breath in, pressing your back into the mattress and pulling in your stomach muscles
2. Breathe out completely flattening your stomach even more. 
3. Breathing in, raise your arms above your head, hands in fists to touch the wall behind you.
4. Breathe out.
5. Breathing in, raise your feet so you can curl your toes around the top of your footboard.
6. Breathe out.
7. Take a deep breath in - press with your fists on the wall above you and down with your feet.
8. Breathe out.
9. Hold in that position for 3 shallow breaths.
10. Relax for 3 breaths.
11. Over several weeks increase the number of breaths you hold and relax for. 

Add in the obliques

1. Follow steps 1 to 8 as above. Holding some tension in your arms.
2. Breathing in rhythm with your movement, alternately press down one foot while relaxing the other in a stepping movement.
3. Repeat 5 steps on each side increasing the number over the weeks until about 30. 
4. Flop on you back, hands by your sides for several minutes. 

Muscles used in this toning sequence
abdominal muscles including oblique muscles	lower back upper back	thighs calves ankles	waist	chest	arms and shoulders

Your muscles should know you have been working them, but you should NOT be in pain with any of these. I can't emphasise that enough - ALWAYS protect yourself against injury.

Tomorrow I move onto the final part of my morning routine. I hope you join me.  

Stretch and Slim In the Morning

Ease Into Toned Muscles : Wakey Wakey 

 Let me introduce you to stretch and slim in the morning. Here are the first of my toning exercises, the breathing stretch, how to flatten out your back to prevent injury, some abs toning with 'paddling' and 'stepping.' More suggestions follow in future posts, there are too many to include on one page. Enjoy and let me know how you get on.

from freedigitalphotos.net young man relaxing in bed

My toning exercises start when I wake in the morning, unfortunately not with the eye-candy here, but by stretching in bed. I'll explain why he is there in just a minute. 

I am assuming you were like me a few weeks ago, and you have not been doing any form of exercise for a while. So I advocate you start slowly - only do a couple of repeats at a time. If you like, start with one exercise and work up to including more as you progress. 

This is not something that will give you a sylphlike figure fast, it is a start. It will only work if you are taking measures to get rid of the fat underlying the muscles by changing to a healthier diet. You really do need to take in less calories than you burn - there is no getting away from it but it doesn't have to mean starving yourself either. 

That said these exercises are less about burning calories as about toning muscles. That you burn up a few calories is an added bonus.

Like the changes in you diet, starting slow with toning exercises, you are more likely to keep going than if you start with knee jerks and a 30 minute workout that you are not even tempted to repeat more than once.

NOTE: As always - protect your back!

1. These won't work well on a soft mattress - you need to have one that supports your back. Mine is a memory foam one and works fine. 
2. Pay attention to the instructions that tell you to press your lower back into the mattress.

These stretches should give your muscles a bit of an ache but NO pain.

For best effect follow the breathing instructions. If you do the toning in time to your breathing it will be slow and steady - if it isn't, your are hyperventilating!

The resting periods when I ask you to flop are important too - they give your muscles time to recover, you may even find them twitching a little bit when you stop. Rest as long as you like but take at least a minute between each set of stretches.

Do these in no particular order - read them all through several time until you have the idea imprinted in your brain. You will eventually find the order that makes you most comfortable.

Start off doing only a few as described and build up over several weeks until you are doing around 30. As you strengthen the muscles, especially those in your back, you can run all these exercised together to form one unit. Then rest.

See the guy up there - he is lying back relaxing, but note how his stomach muscles are pulled in - he has done that by taking a deep breath in as he pulls in the abdominal muscles, breathing out and letting the abdo muscles flatten, then holding with shallow breaths. Let's try it - it is as good a place to start as any.

Breathing Stretch

1. Stretch out in bed, your whole body in line from top to toe, legs and feet together.
2. Taking a deep breath in - raise your arms and put your hands behind your head pulling in the muscles of your stomach. Smoothly and steadily pull them in, you are not clenching them, just holding them tighter than normal. 
3. Breathe out completely letting your stomach flatten even more.
4. Hold that position for four shallow breaths.
5. Flop - let all your muscles relax completely. If you are going to repeat the stretch, keep your hands behind your head, if not bring your arms down by your side. Let your legs and feet fall apart. Rest for 1 minute before repeating. 
6. Start with one or two of these and build up over the weeks.  

Muscles used
Abdominal – especially the upper portion of the rectus abdominis. This is the big muscle that runs from the ribs to the pubic bone - you might think it is in two pieces, upper and lower but it is only one.	upper back	shoulders	chest	arms

young man stretching from freedigitalphotos.net

Variation: - Follow our young man's example and stretch out. 

1. Keep your back flat on the bed - breathe in and pull in your stomach muscles. Raise your arms above your head.
2. Breath out completely flattening your stomach more.
3. Tighten your hands into fists.
4. Hold the position for three shallow breaths.
5. Flop - let the muscles relax but keep your arms raised.
6. Breathing in, tense arms muscles again, hold for 3 shallow breaths and relax.
7. Repeat 3 times building up over the weeks.
8. All the time you are doing this, keep you stomach muscles tense.

Muscles used
Abdominal muscle	upper back	shoulders	chest	arms

Flatten the Back

By the nature of your spine, your back has a bend that leaves you with a little hollow space between your back and the mattress. To protect your lower back you need to flatten out that hollow and press your back into the bed. Here's how you do that. I recommend you do this before you start any of the stretch and tone exercises.

1. Lie flat in bed.
2. Taking a deep breath in, pull your knees up to your chest.
3. Letting your breath go, put your feet on the bed then slid your legs flat. 
4. This should push your lower back into the mattress. 

muscles from freedigitalphotos.net

Abs Tone

1. Lie flat in bed, legs and feet together, head flat or on one pillow. 
2. Press your lower back into the mattress. 
3. Place your hands on your abdomen so you can feel the muscles moving while you do this. At first it may seem very little is happening but it is. Remember there are deeper layers of muscle you will not feel.
4. Take a deep breath in, pulling your stomach muscles in, breathe out flattening them even more.
5. With your feet together and your heels on the bed, take a slow deep breath in, pull your toes up toward you pulling in your stomach muscles. Again, not clenched to the point of pain, just tightened.
6. Breathing out point your toes downward.
7. Use slow breaths, breathe in and pull your toes up toward you.
8. Breathing out, point your toes downwards. 
9. During your first week, repeat three times and over the weeks build it up to any number you are comfortable with. I usually do 10 because I do other exercises as well.
10. Paddle is a natural progression which brings the oblique abdominal muscles into play. 
11. Continuing with the steady breathing in time to each movement, point the toes of one foot while pulling up the toes of the other. 
12. At first repeat 3 times then build it up over the weeks. 
13. Breathing in, pull both sets of toes up toward you and hold that position for 3 shallow breaths. 
14. Flop - let the muscles go and relax and rest for at least one minute but as long as you need to let the muscles recover. 

Muscles used in this toning exercise
Abs including oblique muscles	lower back	thighs	calves	ankles

Abs Tone Extra - Stepping

Tag this onto the end of the exercise above. At first when you start these, take time to rest in between the different elements.

1. As above - steps 1 to 5.
2. Heels flat on the bed. Breathing in pull your toes toward you, breath out and hold that position for a couple of shallow breaths.
3. Use the rhythm of your breathing alternately lengthen each leg in a sort of lying-down stepping motion. 
4. Repeat 3 times on each side. Build up the repetition over several weeks.
5. Bring both sets of toes up and hold for several shallow breaths.
6. Flop and rest.

This exercise really does use the oblique muscles and more importantly perhaps, the muscles of your lower back. If you are not fit take it easy.

Muscles used in this toning exercise
Oblique abdominal muscles	lower back	thighs	waist	calves	ankles

 

woman with measuring tape from freedigitalphotos.net

So you are on your way! These simple exercises are designed to get you used to toning muscles without hardship. Plenty more to come so be sure to join me on my wellness journey. 

You might like to take measurements of your chest, wrist and hips on your first day - the measure you again one week on. Don't be tempted to measure every day - you only set yourself up for disappointment.