Q: I'm only 37, but I feel like my arms and legs have turned to jelly! My muscles have no strength, but I'm too intimidated to go to a gym and lift weights. I'd much rather do something at home, but I really don't want a weight set or some other expensive home gym. I do want stronger, more toned muscles -- what do you suggest?
A: Good for you for wanting stronger and more toned muscles! Transforming those "jelly" arms and legs will help you feel better, as well as lessen your risk for back injury and age-related diseases like osteoporosis.
But like you said, lifting weights in a gym (or at home, for that matter) can be intimidating. Having to learn how to handle those heavy weights could dampen anyone's desire for stronger muscles.
Here's some good New Productss, though: You can boost your muscle strength and tone without pumping iron. Reach for an easy-to-use, inexpensive muscle medium that's actually been around for a long time (though used for something entirely different): surgical tubing.
When you stretch and pull this thick rubber tubing using your arms or legs, it provides resistance against your muscles, and resistance is what stimulates the muscles to build strength and develop tone. (The same principle applies when you lift a barbell -- the weight provides resistance against muscle movement.)
You don't have to go to a hospital to get rubber surgical tubing. Several manufacturers now design tubing with
"no-weight" weight lifting specifically in mind, offering different thicknesses (color-coded) for varying levels of
resistance. The tubing comes with handgrips and Velcro cuffs to make it easier to target various arm and leg muscles, and you can order it from any number of fitness catalogs, both online and in print.
Virtually any weight-lifting exercise you can do with weights, you can also do with tubing. Many tubing makers offer a video or instruction booklet to help you get started with some basic lifting moves. Once you become familiar with those, you'll be able to move through a series of resistance exercises that will strengthen your arms (biceps, triceps), shoulders, chest, back, and legs (calves, thighs, buttocks).
For building strength, your goal is two to three workouts per week, each consisting of eight to 10 different exercises,
with two sets of 15 repetitions for each exercise. The advantages of surgical rubber tubing over heavy weights are tremendous -- safer, easier, more versatile and no need for a partner for spotting.
You can also take your tubing along when you travel. Even on overnight trips, I always take mine so that I can fit in a strength workout in my hotel room.
Once you get started, you'll notice changes after four to six weeks. I think you'll find surgical rubber tubing more than capable of firming up your "jelly" limbs. |
