- All right, if you're 55 or older,
and you're really concerned about your arm health,
maybe they're getting a little flabby,
you're getting those bat wings,
or they're just starting to feel flabby,
and they're not as functional,
we've got some answers for you.
- We're gonna show you four, possibly five exercises
to help build up that arm muscle,
and make that flab go away.
- That's right, and look at this guy.
He is an expert at it.
He's got pipes the size of- - I got a PhD in arms.
- (laughing) Let's go at it.
(gentle music)
All right, now research has shown time and time again
that elderly people, seniors,
if you're 60 and over, you can build muscle,
get stronger, and get a little more massive if you want to.
If you're a woman, you don't have to worry,
you're not gonna get these big massive muscles.
But it can happen, and we're gonna,
Mike, you tell 'em the why and hows of this.
- So there are three key components to this.
First off, you need to have intensity with the exercises.
Then you need to have volume,
meaning more of the exercise.
And overall you need to have more consistency.
Those are the three important things you need
to build muscle in any area of the body.
But we'll explain it a little more detail
later in the video.
- Yeah, 'cause I really don't know
what you're talking about, Mike.
- just throwing words out there.
- Actually, yeah, it's gonna be very clear,
very simple in just a little bit.
But first we've got one important point to clarify.
All right now, for this to be an at-home program,
I'm talking about my personal experience,
I really think you need to use bands.
And the reason is we're gonna show you five,
or tell you five reasons.
And it's very simple,
and I think you'll actually agree with them.
The number one, they offer functional benefits.
In other words, when you work bands,
when I'm working my first exercise of my arms,
it doesn't just strengthen my arms,
but it strengthens my core, and it works my balance.
So it's gonna help improve your balance,
get your core stronger, while you strengthen your arms.
- Yes, many of the exercises we're gonna show
are called compound movements,
meaning they work numerous muscle groups at once,
versus the isolated one muscle group exercise.
We'll explain each when we're showing them,
explaining which one is which.
But another good reason to have bands
is they're much cheaper than weights.
Weights are heavy.
When you try to buy 'em, they're very expensive.
Bands are much more reasonable,
and you can bring 'em anywhere with you.
- That's right, as far as floor space,
now I have bands, all my bands on one wall.
They take zero floor space,
except for when you use them,
and when you're not using 'em, they hang there.
I take 'em traveling, easy to go in my suitcase.
And good benefits that are,
well, go on to the next one,
I'm getting tongue tied by that.
I'm getting excited. (Mike laughing)
- Resistance bands are also very easy
to change the resistance you're having.
Each different color represents more or less resistance,
and you can add numerous bands to one pair of handles.
It's just quicker and more convenient to change,
versus having a whole weight system to deal with.
- That's right, so the bands come typically,
like this is a set of five bands, different colors.
There's typically a door anchor,
which you'll show exactly how to use.
Sometimes they come with ankle bands,
that actually adds leg exercises,
which we're not getting into,
so we're not gonna talk about 'em.
So let's get into the exercises, right Mike?
- Yeah. - Okay then.
Okay, so once you get your set of bands,
five bands and your door anchor,
I believe they're somewhere around a $30 range.
They work very well.
Alls you need is a door.
Now Mike's gonna show you how the door anchor works,
and then we'll show you how the exercises work
with the door anchor.
- So all you need is a door, open it up.
If the exercise is supposed to be at arm level here,
you're just gonna put it on the side of the door.
Make sure the door closes firmly, and does not open up.
You do not want the door to fly open during exercise.
You can also position this on top,
or you can position it down below as well,
depending upon the exercise,
and where you want the force to come from.
- That's right, now we've been using these door anchors
for years with patients,
or you can use it around a doorknob,
you can use it around a bed post.
And what Bob and I actually came up with
was a system that made this much easier.
We did invent the wall anchor.
I'm gonna demonstrate on the wall anchor.
You do not need wall anchors, it just makes it more simple.
Door anchor works just fine.
I would suggest using that.
Once you know you really like this system,
you can buy this if you want,
and you'll see why they're a little easier.
All right, we do need to go through the critical part
the studies refer to,
in regards to how many sets and reps and whatnot.
So we're gonna put the magic formula on the screen.
You can look at it, Mike will talk about it,
and put it on pause if you wanna write it down
on your notes.
- So the first key to the magic formula is intensity.
This refers to how much resistance you are using.
If you're using dumbbells, it would mean more weight.
For bands, it would mean a darker color,
there's more resistance.
Another way to add intensity
is to stand further away from the band.
It's gonna increase how hard the exercise becomes.
You should feel a slight fatigue or burning sensation
in the muscle group
on your last couple reps of the exercise,
as long as you're performing them with good form.
You don't wanna compensate that.
The next part of the magic formula is volume.
So that refers to how many sets and repetitions you do.
So say you do eight repetitions of an exercise,
the next time you do it, a couple days later,
maybe try to do 10 if it was easy.
You're increasing the amount of work you're doing over time.
You don't wanna jump right into it, take it slow.
We'll kind of explain it as the exercises go up.
But you wanna begin easier,
and eventually build up how many sets
and repetitions you are doing.
And the last thing is how many days a week
you are doing this.
We're gonna start with three days a week
and you want at least a day off in between.
So maybe pick Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
This will allow the muscles to repair and regrow,
which is what you want, to build up that muscle strength
and reduce that flab.
- Very good, Mike.
So sometimes there might be two sets of 10,
so you'd do 10, rest a little bit, do 10 more.
I just wanted to clear that up.
If you see that or want to progress,
as you will get stronger.
Okay, should we go to the exercises?
- Yes.
Okay, the first exercise we're gonna do is the bicep curl.
This is a isolation exercise just for the biceps.
So what you're gonna do is grab a band,
stand back at a decent resistance.
You feel some tension in your arms,
and you're gonna face the door.
Again, you want the wall anchor for this
to be on the bottom of the door here,
and you're simply gonna curl your elbows
up towards your shoulders.
As I'm doing this, I'm keeping my elbows close to my body.
I'm not winging out like this,
and I'm also keeping a nice good trunk.
I'm not cheating and using my whole body to rock into this.
Stay stationary, control it.
If you go up for say, two to three seconds,
and then slowly down for three seconds,
that's gonna get a lot more muscle growth
than going like this.
So go nice, slow, and controlled,
and start with eight repetitions.
- All right, now we can go how this works,
if you have the wall anchor.
I'm gonna put that on down there.
And again, it's the same thing.
Now one thing though I like to do with this
is when I do these, I'll actually turn this way,
and you can do 'em this way, offers different.
Now this works my core a little bit more
in the stomach muscles.
Like Bob, he likes to double his up,
and really get the power band in there,
get those biceps growing.
So there's a lot of different ways
you can work angles and directions with this.
So there's a a few of 'em.
So I do wanna mention,
if you really wanna build massive halt muscles,
you're probably not gonna use bands.
You're gonna tone, you're gonna grow muscle mass.
But if you wanna get big massive muscles,
you probably need to use iron.
But anyways, that's not our goal.
Let's go on to the next one.
- The second exercise is gonna work the tricep,
the three muscle heads on the back of your arm here.
Now we're gonna show different variations of this,
depending upon range of motion or limitations you may have.
The first variation, you're gonna have to put the anchor
up top here on the door, make sure it is closed,
stand back so you get some tension,
and then you're gonna push your elbows towards the floor
in a nice slow controlled manner.
And then back up towards the ceiling.
Notice that I'm not lifting my arms way up like this,
I'm keeping my shoulders where they are,
and I'm just extending.
The triceps, all they do is extend your elbow
- So elbow is stationary.
Really think about they're glued in one spot.
- Yes, now, if this is easy,
or you want a different challenge,
and work your core a little bit,
you can face away from the door like this.
Again, your elbows are gonna say stationary,
and you're gonna extend them pushing out.
The resistance is gonna be behind you.
And if the bands are harder,
it's gonna make you work on your balance
and your core a little more as well.
Now, if your shoulders can't get to this range of motion,
the first exercise is perfectly fine.
It'll definitely work those triceps.
- That's right.
Let's go to another option.
Now doing that really works the core and the balance.
This does not, because we're gonna do it
in a seated position,
but it works quite well for the triceps.
You know, we really wanna get
that flab bat wing thing going, and get it to be abolished.
So you sit against the wall, back against the wall,
elbows against the wall.
And that really forces good form.
And just do like Mike mentioned, don't go too fast.
This is not gonna do much good, compared to this.
Now there's a little bonus here, seeing how you're here,
we're gonna also add in,
you don't have to do this, but the lats.
So you're gonna get those latissimus door sized,
and it's just so convenient.
It's really hard to find a place
where you can do this exercise,
because you're pulling down with an overhead thing.
So the door or the wall anchors
really work well for this one.
All right, let's go to the next exercise.
- The next exercise is called a scapular row.
It refers to your shoulder blades for the scapular part.
So you're gonna get a band.
Now, when I'm pulling out, and my arms are straight,
I wanna feel some tension here initially
when my arms are straight.
I don't want it relaxed, it's not gonna do much.
So as you pull back, I'm gonna bring my hands
into my rib cage almost,
squeezing my shoulder blades together like this.
If you struggle to keep your balance this way,
you can certainly stagger your stance-
- Right. - If needed.
But just keep a slight bend in the knees, go back,
squeeze, feel that shoulder blade, and then go forward.
This is more of a compound movement,
like I mentioned earlier.
So I'm primarily working my upper back muscles,
but I'm also working my bicep muscles,
because I'm flexing my elbow.
- And a big thing about this one I like,
and it's what Bob and I really talk about over the years,
is posture, posture, posture.
You know, if your arms look good,
and you have poor posture,
it's not gonna be a very sightly sight to see, if you will.
(both laughing)
Let's go forward, Mike.
I really like the point,
now I've worked with patients in the clinic,
and they'll start with the bands just floppy like this.
And that's really what you wanna avoid.
You have the wrong size band on if that's the case.
So you should always start with some tension.
You know, and this is a yellow band, it's the easiest band.
Most beginners may start with this, but that's right.
Keep resistance throughout the whole motion,
so you get maximum benefits.
- In this exercise, you might be able to do
a darker band right away,
because it works your back muscles more.
You'll probably be a little stronger.
So each exercise, you could pick different bands.
You don't have to stick with the same one.
- Right, and again, you can vary your resistance
by how far from the door.
If you have the wall anchor,
again, we're gonna do the same thing here.
You know, sometimes I will actually
go out like this and do it.
Mike, can you show my scapular position?
When I'm going back, I'm thinking, "Squeeze that."
I'm gonna go towards the camera.
"Squeeze those scapulas to the center of the spine."
That really stretches these muscles,
and gets that posture where you want it.
All right, let's go to the next one.
- And the fourth exercise is a fly.
Now this is gonna work your pecs a bit,
and the front shoulder.
Your arms are involved, but again,
it's kind of a compound movement,
getting a lot of muscle groups at once.
- Right.
- So in order to do this,
I've put the band here at the side.
This is a good starting position.
You can do this exercise up top, or down below as well.
It just pulls from a slightly different angle.
So in order to do this,
you want the band to be taut, and I feel tension here.
And I'm gonna bring my arms back,
so they're almost behind my shoulder,
or shoulder blade level is fine,
whatever posture you have.
Now with keeping a straight arm,
I'm gonna try to basically bring my knuckles together
straight in front of me.
Notice I'm not here close, I'm far out in front of me,
and then I'm going back.
Go nice, slow, and controlled with this motion.
Again, you can start with eight repetitions the first day.
If it becomes easy, eventually, you know,
you can work up to three sets of 12 repetitions.
- I do wanna mention and emphasize,
particularly if you have some shoulder problems in the past,
don't go back too far
because that puts your shoulder susceptible for dislocation.
So be conservative and actually maybe start
not going so far back, and make sure it feels comfortable,
particularly the next day.
If you haven't done these before,
the next day is really gonna answer some questions,
if you went too hard or maybe too much range.
That muscle soreness,
and so we don't want you to have bad experience.
- And when I'm doing this exercise,
since it's working my pecs,
I'm not thinking about my arms bending in.
I'm thinking about bringing my pecs,
and squeezing 'em in together.
So basically it's the opposite of the last exercise,
working the scapula. - Right.
- Squeezing that front pec muscle in.
- Which is nice to get both sides
of the body to be strengthened, so you're balanced.
I do wanna show an option,
if you do it to the top of the door,
it'd be the anchor here.
Now, if you want just a option,
if you want more resistance,
and you're pulling out really far,
and you're afraid the band is gonna break,
it's easy just to put two bands on, like I have here,
a yellow and a red one.
And that offers more resistance,
and brings you into the range
so you don't have to stretch,
and be concerned about the band breaking.
So now it's the same exercise,
but we're working different fibers of the pec muscles,
as well as the arms and the shoulders.
And we're working 'em here.
Again, don't go way back.
Keep 'em in short to start out with,
and make sure everything goes well over time.
Actually, when I do this, as a little bonus, I do this,
and then I go right to my triceps, and it saves time.
You don't have to reset the band or the anchor so much.
And then if you wanna go from there,
you can put the chair down and do 'em here.
There's all kinds of options
that you can work with the bands that I really like,
that make it a nice product
that gives you all the benefits you need.
I just love the bands.
- So I should say pick which arm exercises you like.
This works every different area of the chest,
back, bicep, tricep, shoulder region.
So it's good to try to do all of 'em.
Maybe you can spread 'em out through the week,
if you don't wanna do 'em all in one session.
- That's right.
Once you get used to 'em,
make sure you stick to that three days per week,
build up your intensity, build up your resistance,
and you're gonna find your muscles are gonna start to grow.
You're gonna feel better, your posture's gonna look better.
And there's no doubt about it, it's gonna work.
It's gonna take a few weeks to build, but stay with it.
Just keep on going at it, and have fun, you know?
- And good way to know if it's time to progress
is if the exercise become very easy.
- Yeah. - Very nonchalant,
you're breathing easy,
there's no muscle soreness whatsoever
every time you do 'em, then it's time to progress.
Maybe add more repetitions,
or change the band, or double 'em up.
- That's right, good luck with it,
and you will have success with this, I guarantee it.
(gentle music)