Connecting Exercises

One of the things that’s different about my exercise system is that the exercise sets are joined and flow together to make one continuous routine.  You don’t stop and start, as you go from one set of repeated movements to the next set.  I call them my pass-through, or transitional movements, and consider them the reason my exercise system is so good at shifting weight concentrations from the stomach/ hip areas and proportioning the body as the exercises are developing a strong, healthy body.  It’s what gives you total body control of your muscle network.

People who watch such an exercise session frequently comment that it looks more like a dance routine than an exercise workout.  To which I reply, “You’re right, and it’s what makes it possible for me to say,  put a male ballet dancer next to a football player and you’ll see that the dancer could probably surpass the football player in flexible strength.”

If you’re familiar with my exercise system you can see and feel it as I start with the head/neck stretching that begins the upper body warm-up, adding the arm stretching to the side, then down, engaging the lower body and legs - all in a smooth, connected way without stopping between sets.

If you were in the military, doing a daily workout, your drill sergeant would be shouting out the instructions, and you’d be doing exercises of physical tension – not just to get you in shape, but to train your mind and body to react to commands.  You see the same cadence in many civilian exercise classes that concentrate on the sport conditioning of exercise science.

But you’re at home, and you’re not an automaton.  Turn on the music, engage the whole body, and maintain the movement transitions smoothly through the entire body.  It’s called joint articulation.  More specifically, call it developing flexible strength, which is going to serve you very well as you age, believe me.

Hear the Music

Every once in a while I pick up something from a book that adds dimension to what I know in the subjects that interest me most – like the combination of music and movement (exercise).

Right now, I’m reading “Music Quickens Time” by Daniel Barenboim.  I was up to pages 21 and 22 before I read anything that grabbed me, and then he wrote, “We can close our eyes but not our ears.  Sound penetrates the human body.”  I closed the book immediately so I could think about that simple statement.  No wonder I believe in exercise to music every morning!  The penetration of the music through the body gives me twice as much value as exercise done without music.  Not only that, but it supplies enough energy to meet my needs for the whole day because of the penetration from full extensions with isometric control.

And Dr. Oliver Sachs, in his books, frequently says that music has the power to make a person move in ways he or she could not move without it.  I personally prefer classical music for movement because of the smooth articulations through the joints, but whatever you like should do it for you.

I have written about the power of music in exercise in previous blogs, and will continue to do so when I tell you other wondrous things that can be done with the combination of music and movement in physical therapy situations.

Now if I could only get people to talk more quietly when they’re walking down the streets of the city with those things in their ears, or talking into a cell phone in full voice.  When I realize they’re not talking to me, I feel like I’m listening in on their conversation because I can’t shut my ears.

Winter is No Excuse

It’s hard to get enough exercise in the winter.  Even if you’re a skier, skater or snowshoer, conditions for winter sports aren’t always good enough to count on them.  The weather can even prohibit daily walking.  You could join a gym or use an indoor swimming pool IF you have access to one, but few do, so here are some alternatives that anyone can do.

l.  Find a new interest, or start studying a subject you’ve always wanted to learn.  Mental stimulation and concentration speed the rate at which the body burns its calories, so you wouldn’t have to worry about putting on extra weight for lack of exercise.
I learned about intense mental concentration from The Amazing Kreskin in the seventies when I interviewed him for a book I did on celebrity exercise.  Others have told me the same thing. Working artists also told me that their involvement in making art every day was as healthy for them as regular exercise would be.

2.  Start singing every day.  It doesn’t matter whether you can carry a tune or not.  Most people have a natural urge to sing, and in your own home, no one cares how you sound when you give in to that urge.  Singing can be energizing and physically satisfying, but best of all it helps you lift your upper bodies and breathe deeply, which engages and exercises your inner torso.  The great opera star, Jan Peerce, told me that he marched in place every day before he sang, bringing his knees up as high as possible, because it kept his circulation in top form.  And what about jumping rope?

3.  Best of all, make up your own exercises to do every morning before you get dressed.  They don’t have to be anything special – whatever warms up your muscles and makes you feel good is what you should do, but do it every day.  

And if you need some help getting started try my “Rise and Shine” video, which is a series of seven different exercise segments, 2-4 minutes each, for each day of the week, done to delightful music.  I think you’ll like it.  

Enough people did when it first came out that it hit #l on the Amazon.com best selling exercise video in 200l.  

And it’s still available!   

Learn From Watching Others

Emotions are expressed in posture – both sitting and standing - and they interact with breathing and circulation.  Here’s your chance to do some research on your own…

The next time you sit in a public place and watch people as they pass by, pretend you’re in your own private laboratory, privvy to observing who’s happy or sad, feeling good or not so good.  You should even be able to figure out how those imperfect postures you’re seeing could be adjusted to improve their carriage and lessen the fatigue that’s unknowingly accumulating in those bodies.  (I’m guessing you’ve unconsciously lifted and straightened your own sitting position, even though you really sat down to “take a load off your feet” and rest a bit.  I know because I’ve caught myself doingjust that.)

Good!  We can learn so much from each other.

As you’re sitting there observing the variations in human walking styles, visualize the spine – the inner, mechanical, bony infrastructureof the human body.  Even though the perfect outer body position looks like a capital T making a straight vertical line from top of head to the floor, and a straight horizontal line if arms are outstretched, look from the side with x-ray eyes and you’ll see the flexible spine balancing that perfect T through three slight curves – neck, rib cage and lower back, with the muscles doing their job of balancing the curves of the spinal column.

If tension, discouragement, unhappiness and other negative emotions are at work in the people walking by you’ll see a tightly held mouth, facial wrinkles and a slumped upper body – a self defeating, negatively cumulative body expression that’s easily corrected.      

It would be intrusive to walk over to that person and suggest that if they lifted their chin and upper body to correct the imbalance of their infrastructure they’d have a happier, healthier day.  They’d be offended. And if you walked over to that person and thanked him or her for making it possible for you to learn something, they’d think you were crazy.  

But you CAN learn from your observation of other people and apply it to yourself without them knowing. I’m not one to get tangled up in too much technical information, so think of posture, balanced gait and walking posture as basic body subjects, which advertise your mood.  Negative “advertisements” don’t send a positive message.   

Gravity is constantly trying to take us back down to wherever it is we came from. Maybe the people walking by who are looking at the ground and letting their shoulders slump have just given in to gravity.

Resist!  You’ll have a happier, healthier life.

 

Recreational Exercise: Swimming

Sometimes I think the exercise scientists are too obsessed with sport conditioning as the perfect form of exercise.  It IS the best exercise if you’re going to participate in competitive sport, but not everybody is
engaged in competitive sport.

Right now, because we’re into summer, I’m concentrating on summer recreational sport – bicycling, golfing and especially swimming.  But the exercise scientists downgrade swimming as good exercise because it’s not weight bearing.  (Weight bearing exercise simply translates to exercise forms that are done standing.) But you’re getting your weight bearing exercise walking to and from wherever you’re going for a swim so what’s the big deal?

What the exercise scientists miss in their criticism though is the wonderful, relaxation and therapeutic value of swimming.  Also, it’s exercise that uses the entire body; there’s movement from fingertips to toes. Feet flutter kick and arms reach forward through the water, one at a time, and the waistline becomes smoothed out because of the muscle stretch action through the center of the body.  But the real value is the stress relief that swimming offers.

If you don’t know how to swim, it’s never too late to learn.  And if you don’t have access to a body of water, try your community YMCA.  Otherwise you can join the league of pretenders and go swimming on the top of your bed every day, duplicating the action of the crawl stroke (as pictured).  Safely supported by your bed, you can even go slowly -since there’s no danger of sinking – and exaggerate the stretching movement of the exercise so that you get a little extra benefit from your simulated swim.  With an exercise like this simulated swim session you have complete control, for even though you are trying to extend your stroke to the maximum, there is no danger of muscle strain.

After your phony swim on top of your bed, “float” awhile, fully outstretched, totally relaxed, with a delightful feeling of bouyancy.  Then please the exercise scientists with a brisk walk around the block.

Get Ready For Summer With Recreational Exercise

Remember back in childhood how good it felt to run outside and play after sitting in school all day – the  freedom to run, jump, maybe even hop on a bicycle and go for a ride?

So you can’t do that as an adult in the same way, but you can relive the movement, freedom and exhilaration of it as you take a pleasure walk, lifting your chin to raise (and open) your diaphragm, with a deep breathing pattern that exchanges stale, negative air for the fresh, positive air that will stimulate your circulation and make it possible to quicken your pace.

Or, if you have a bicycle machine in your house that doesn’t get used much, place a TV in front of it, and hop on the “bike” to watch a show.  As you pedal, use the muscle action through your whole torso instead of just using the legs, as you pump the wheels in a standing position to “ride away.”  The legs begin a mechanical locomotion pattern; the trunk and arms become involved in moving and controlling the bicycle.  This involvement is muscular teamwork operating one unifying line through the whole body. It’s as though your feet are walking on the pedals as they push down. 

If you were on a real bike outside as the feet push down, the power from the muscles of your thighs and lower trunk would be moving the bicycle forward in space.  You’d then have horizontal movement as a result of vertical effort. You and the bicycle become one, moving together with alternating activity and rest – a healthy inhalation/exhalation process plus good muscular usage through the torso.

Good exercise? YES  Better yet is to get on a real bike and go for a recreational ride, but that’s not always possible for everyone, so USE that old bicycle machine, and just pretend it’s a real bike, but in your zeal, don’t get so carried away that you have an accident.

Today’s 80 is Yesterday’s 70

Those of you who’ve been reading my blogs have probably noticed there hasn’t been a new one for awhile. It’s because I’ve been concentrating on a new DVD. My distributor has been after me to do a “best of” Ann Smith for the last couple of years, so I decided this would be a good time since I turned 80 this year.

I’ve been watching all the films, trying to choose the sections that will give viewers an opportunity to follow a complete class type session like I did in “Stretch Exercise with Ann Smith” (also marketed as “Stretching for Seniors.” ) There’s also going to be a shorter, but complete routine that people can follow, plus even shorter sections that might become favorites for specialization.

Writing a script to tie it all together is a little tricky, because there’s a lot of technical information I’d like to get across without boring people with talk. But I have a good film editor who’s good at keeping me on track. We had hoped to have it out by now, but everything takes longer than planned, and I don’t like to push people. Mistakes are made when you rush.

I do have the title though: “Music, Movement & Longevity – the exercise of Ann Smith” – and someplace on the cover it will also say “Classic Exercise for an Ageless Body.” If any of you have suggestions about it, there might still be time to act on them. If not, I’ll save them for my next video. Each time I film one I think it’s the last one. I can’t imagine what more I can say, and show about the exercise system I devised in the fifties and am still teaching with a few additions and deletions, which accounts for the fact that I’e reached 80 in good shape.

But today’s 80 is yesterday’s 70, and I’m still learning more about exercise all the time so I doubt if this will be the last one.

The Right Exercise for the Right Age

The other day I was one of many presenters at the joint conference of the National Council on Aging and the American Society on Aging in Washington – a group that drew about 4,000 people who work in the field of gerontology.

I’d been a presenter two years ago for their conference in California. My DVD, “Inhale, Exhale, Stretch and Move,” was about to be released, and as I ran it on the screen everyone in the room took off their shoes and followed along. They’d never seen my slow motion, continuous stretching to beautiful, classical music. They all agreed it was wonderful exercise for older people and I was happy to have made an impression.

When the call for presenters was put out for this year’s conference I noticed that “controversy would be welcome.” This is my chance, I thought. For years I’ve been trying to get the exercise scientists to change the sport conditioning exercise they impose on the older population and use more of the classical dance exercise style.

Now that I’m 80, I figured I had nothing to lose. Why not just come out and say, “Please stop having older people sit in chairs and lift weights. I know it’s in right now, but look what it’s doing to them! It’s stressing the lower backs.” And I held up photographs that had been taken in reputable exercise classes, showing men and women sitting on chairs, pulling stretch bands to show that, yes indeed, we can get back lost muscle strength, but clearly showing that the people didn’t have enough inner torso strength to do it without
rolling back on their lower spines to do it.

Older people do not need athletic muscle mass rejuvenation as much as they need flexible strength. They need total body exercise that works through the inner torso (stimulating the viscera in the process) and flows through the joints.

I know that well meaning gerontologists want to help older people maintain enough muscle strength in their arms to be able to carry bags of groceries up stairs and into their homes so they can lead independent lives, but maybe those same gerontologists should go to Iceland and the Scandinavian countries and watch the total body exercise their seniors get from their very popular social dancing sessions. You can be sure they pick up a bag of groceries on the way home and get them into their kitchens quite easily.

So, not only was it an honor to be a presenter at that conference, but what I thought would spark some controversy, didn’t. My point was well received, and I was applauded. I only reached one room full of people, but change takes time.

Stretches for Hip Pain

After some time off for a vacation without computer, telephone etc. (which was wonderfully relaxing, by the way), I came back to discover that people are starting to read my blogs, so I’m eager to get back to writing them.

But before I start firing off some new ones I want to respond to a lady who thanked me for my “WONDERFUL” exercise system because it has helped her with lower back problems. I’m flattered that she took the time to let me know.

This same lady brought up another subject that many people probably also experience – pain in her right hip. She wondered if I could suggest an exercise to alleviate that discomfort. She didn’t give her age, but it’s possible she’s experiencing some of the inconvenience of age related aches and pains.

Coincidentally, my right hip is my vulnerable one. I am right handed, which means I have favored my right leg and hip to lead off, to dig in the garden etc., so it’s probably showing some wear and tear.

Instead of suggesting a specific exercise to help the situation I have three things to suggest that I think are much more effective than specific exercises, which I do when it hits me.

l. Before you do your exercises, and also at various times of the day, stand in front of a mirror with legs slightly spread, and check the horizontal line of your shoulders. It’s very possible that one shoulder will be lower than the other, and if so, raise the lower one so that you have bilateral symmetry (both shoulders horizontally aligned). Try to maintain that bilateral symmetry as you exercise, and check it as often as you can during the day to maintain it.

2. Remembering the statement that “any exercise that stretches AWAY FROM a large area or a PAINFUL area will reduce the size or pain of that area” (i.e. large hips, stomachs and even knees that are starting to wear out), and concentrate on the exercises that do that. You need to carry more of your weight in the upper body, and get it out of the hips and off the knees. You do this by lifting your upper body in an expression of pride, with the chin up.

3. If you need extra help achieving bilateral symmetry, find out if there are any classes in Feldenkrais or the Alexander Technique in your area. Both disciplines are good for helping you establish symmetry if you can’t do it on your own. I’m presuming you will also continue doing my exercises for total body fitness and flexibility.

The Exercise Choice is Yours

In these blog posts I’m trying to get the point across that exercise is
a natural, daily instinct, and help people to think of it that way so
that the subject of exercise is not so boring and guilt-ridden. It
seems to me that if people are given the permission and credibility
to do what they want for exercise that more people would get
moving instinctively, every day.

Quite frankly, even though my profession is exercise, I’m worn
down by the proliferation of information about exercise that we’re
bombarded with and tune it out myself. I don’t really care how
many minutes I should exercise to get my heart rate to a certain
point, whether I should do my cardio work-outs before my stretching
etc. etc. What I do works for me and my lifestyle.

So, in my effort to help you find your own way, here’s what I
suggest. If you’ve decided you want to start exercising but don’t
really know what to do here’s some advice:

l. Decide what you want exercise to do for you – make you healthy
and less heavy and give you a better looking body etc.

2. Then, if you want to look like a dancer, do what we dancers
do – slow, continuous stretching to classical music – alone or in a
class. See available Ann Smith Videos.

3. If you want to look like an athlete and be able to play
competitive sport, do the sport conditioning (push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, curls etc.) and machine work-outs that the gyms offer.

4. If you want to try other movement styles there are plenty -
Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi and all the other things your closest YMCA offers.

5. If you just want to be a healthy, happy you in your own style,
take that walk every day – with or without a friend.

6. You can even make up your own exercises. You’re the only
one living in your body, after all. You can figure it out.