As I said in my last post, we were invited to a friend’s motor yacht last week and all I can say is that Göcek was just beautiful; thanks Faruk and Mirsad.
That’s Faruk and Mirsad (you may remember them from the Candida post), Atilla and Gülbin (you met them with the post on migraines, and Pinky and I.
Everything was great until the virus Pink passed on to me, and my stupidity in handling it prolonged the usual sniffles and discomfort. What did I do wrong?
I USED A DICONGESTANT FOR A SHORT TERM REPRIEVE FROM CONGESTİON
When you do this, the decongestant nasal spray stops the body’s production of mucus in your nasal passageway and you no longer have a stuffy nose for a certain time span. But, mucus is very important in the battle against the virus.
Even though I knew this, and even wrote about it in the blog, I opted for instant relief and just prolonged my misery.
We came back to Istanbul on Friday, because a very important obligation awaited us; helping Serap and Arif (Pink’s older brother and his wife) take care of Uzay, whom I’m absolutely crazy about, while his mom and dad were travelling. That’s my little rascal below.
OK, Pinky just looked over my shoulder and commented that I really did not need to write all of this. She’s right, but I still did.
You may recall from the last post on Alzheimer’s that the only exercise recommendation I agreed with was that of Dr. Fortanasce; namely Isometric Training.
I will give you a program you can do at home.
ISOMETRICS: THE SECRET TO GAINING STRENGTH – WITHOUT MOVING A MUSCLE
You basically, try to move against an unmovable object. Since you’re not relying on movement to fatigue your muscles, you’ve got to squeeze them hard. As Dr. Fortanasce put it, “squeeze until you no longer can”, i.e., you’re exhausted. That’s when the body produces Human Growth Hormone (HGH).
Take a deep breath for 5 counts and exhale for 5 counts while doing the movement. Repeat if you can still push/pull/resist, etc.
Here we go:
1.Bent-Over Press Against Wall
Start in a low lunge position and place your hands on the wall at about chest level. Lean into the wall and push.
- Common mistake: forgetting to breathe
- Muscles worked: shoulders
- Prayer Pose
Place palms together and press.
- Common mistake: Raising your shoulders
- Muscles worked: chest
- High Plank
Get into the top of a push-up position, making sure your spine is straight. Focus on tensing your upper back muscles as tight as you can.
- Common mistake: keeping your butt too high or loo low.
- Muscles worked: core, back
4. Self Arm Wrestling
Bend your right arm at a 90-degree angle. Grab your right hand with your left and push them together as hard as you can. Repeat with the other side.
- Common mistake: tensing your shoulders
- Muscles worked: biceps and triceps
5. Triceps Extension Against Wall
Get into a lunge position with your fists on the wall at head level. Use your triceps to push your fists into the wall.
- Common mistake: tensing shoulder and not breathing deeply enough
- Muscles worked: triceps
6. Forearm Plank
Get into a forearm plank position, making sure that your spine is straight. Tighten abs as hard as you can, this is very important for working your core.
- Common mistake: keeping your butt too high or too low
- Muscle worked: abs
- Low Squat
Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Squat down so thighs are parallel to the floor. Instead of just holding this position, try to squeeze your feet together. This will force your inner thigh muscles to contract even more.
- Common mistake: not sitting back far enough. Don’t allow your knees to go over your toes
- Muscles worked: glutes, quads, adductors
Perform 3 reps of each of the above exercises, counting for 10 seconds on each rep. Rest 20-30 seconds between sets.
As I’ve stated before, you can make up your own routine; just push or pull against an immovable object.
That’s it for today, see you all next week.
