This weekend’s challenge involves almost the entire body, with a focus on hip bones and arms.
The Balance And Muscle Memory Enhancer challenges many muscle groups in unique ways, and it also enhances your balance and “jogs” your muscle memory.
We’ll also take an in-depth look at a fascinating study thats sheds light on the long-lasting benefits of exercise. It confirms the role of variety in building muscle strength and memory, which leads to stronger bones.
So let’s get started!
Why:
Exercises that challenge neglected muscle groups are fantastic at building balance and forming muscle memory, offsetting the effects of declining activity and muscle atrophy associated with age. The reason for this phenomenon is muscle memory.
In essence, muscle memory goes beyond just learning how to perform an exercise. Each time you perform a new move, your brain forms new pathways with your muscles, bones, and tendons. But the amazing thing is that when you exercise, even after you stopped for a while, your muscles will “remember” and will quickly return to their stronger state. And when you regularly use these newly-formed pathways, your muscle memory will solidify, providing your bones with the strength they need to build and maintain density.
This is why both repetition and variety are important for optimal muscle memory, since these two seemingly opposing concepts work together to form new pathways and reinforce old ones.
You can see how this dovetails with balance. Working key muscles involved in balance means that pathways get formed and ingrained, greatly facilitating a quick response between brain and muscle in the case of balance loss (such as a slip or a stumble).
And today’s exercise does, in fact, work the muscles involved in balance and gait.
How:
You’ll need a small dumbbell or weight for this exercise. A can of soup or water bottle is fine if you don’t have a dumbbell. For the sake of clarity, we’re going to start with the weight in your right hand.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- While holding the weight in your right hand, place your left hand on your hip.
- Bring your right leg back and cross it over to the left, as if taking a huge step backward.
- Your right leg will end up to the left of your left foot. To make this easier to imagine, think of a clock: if 12 is right in front of you, your right foot is placed at approximately the eight o’clock position.
- Bend your knees into a partial kneeling position, with your left knee at approximately a 90-degree angle.
- As you’re bending your knees, bring your right arm straight out in front of you. Don’t go any higher than shoulder level. Your left hand stays on your left hip.
- Come back to the starting position, and repeat 8 to 10 times. (It’s fine if you want to do less or more.)
- Switch sides and repeat 8 to 10 more times, or as many times as you comfortably can.
As you include this and other bone-building exercises in your routine, your muscles will “remember” the motions, which may well save you from a fall in the future.
At this point, you may be wondering how muscles remember. The answer will amaze you.
Larger Muscles Have More Nuclei
Remarkably, your muscles actually increase the number of nuclei in their cells as they grow. So when you exercise and build muscle, you’re also increasing the number of nuclei within the muscle cells.
Previously, it was thought that this nucleic increase was strictly temporary, with nuclei decreasing in number with muscle atrophy. But amazingly, science shows that the number of nuclei does not decrease when you stop using the muscle.
According to a 2010 study,
“The old and newly acquired nuclei are retained during severe atrophy caused by subsequent denervation lasting for a considerable period of the animal’s lifespan. The myonuclei seem to be protected from the high apoptotic activity found in inactive muscle tissue.” 1
The research reveals that rather than reducing the number of nuclei during periods of inactivity, the nuclei simply reduce their protein synthesis when the muscle stops being used. These nuclei can be quickly reactivated by exercising on a regular basis, even if you stopped for a while.
Densercise Combines Variety And Repetition
The Densercise™ Epidensity Training System is the perfect balance between memory-ingraining repetition and stimulating variety. With four weeks of bone-building moves, your body has a whole month to form new muscle memories. When you begin again with Week One, your muscle memory will kick in, and you’ll be pleased to find yourself remembering the moves easily and building your muscles faster than you thought possible. And of course, repeating the exercises reinforces the pathways.
Take Exercising For Your Bones to the Next Level!
Learn the 52 exercise moves that jumpstart bone-building – all backed by the latest in epigenetics research.
Densercise™ is far more than just building bone and muscle. It’s an investment in your future, because every time you practice the moves you are also building your muscle memory and fitness level.
Enjoy the weekend!
References:
1 Bruusgaard, J.C., et al. “Myonuclei acquired by overload exercise precede hypertrophy and are not lost on detraining.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. August 24, 2010. 107(34):15111-6. Doi: 10.1073/pnas.0913935107. Web. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20713720
Comments on this article are closed.
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Just tried this great exercise! Will work to get better at it. Happy to hear about the benefits it has. Thanks so much!
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ALSO HAVE BROKEN MY BACK TWICE, SO I WALK VERY CAUTIOUSLY . AFRAID TO FALL AGAIN.
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Wow! Maxine Hirschel, I hope to be active as you are when I’m your age! Since you can do this, I know I can also, so here I go!! Thank you so much for sharing.
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AT 86 ALMOST 87 I NEED TO DEVELOP STRONGER BONES AND BALANCE… EXERCISE , ONLY SOME WALKING,NOT A GREAT DEAL
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Is Vivian going to be commenting on the new medical news that we should not be taking calcium. I’m sure her followers would love to hear from her before too long, as it’s confusing what to do now.
I would like to stay tuned, about new approach about calcium, intake. I am getting confused about what I should do or not do.