Top 5 Muscles To Train As You Age

0:00 If I had to work just five muscles in order to age successfully, these are the five that I would work on. >> Okay, welcome to Talking with Docs. I'm Dr. Paul Zal. >> I'm Dr. Brad Weing. We're going to go descending order. We talk a lot about this as you as we age. Yes. You want to say strong, right? >> To reduce the risk of bad things happening to maintain independence. >> Independence so you can live alone in the community without having to be institutionalized or something like that, >> right? And these are often basic things that prevent people from being able to do this. And honestly, you should start doing this as early as you can. Yeah. Yeah. >> So, sorry to any of our viewers that are older than 30, which is really when we think our muscle probably peaks and then slowly starts going down for a bunch of different reasons. >> And if you're thinking, I don't have time to go to the gym. I don't have time to do all exercise my whole body, that's fine. These are five muscles that you can work out at home without any special

0:47 equipment. >> Yeah. We're going to try to give you suggestions for working at home as well as if you do go to the gym and want to do some of the more specialized stuff. >> All right. >> Okay. and we're going to go through the muscle and tell you what it is, why it's important, and how to work out that muscle. >> Okay, I love it. Let's start at number five. >> Let it rip. >> Number five is your core. And so, we're not talking about your core like your six-pack, not your rectus abdominis, those muscles that are in the front, but really the the deeper ones. So, your transverse abdominis and your obliques. >> Okay. So, basically your Yeah. your ab muscles pretty much. Yes. >> And core is important because it keeps you balanced, right? In all the things that you do. If you're sitting, getting up out of a chair, if you're walking, if you're turning, if you're twisting, if you're picking something up off the ground, your core is crucial. Without your core, you won't have good balance. >> You don't have good balance. And if you don't have good balance, you're at high

1:33 risk of falling. So, what's probably the number one exercise that people could do at home with no equipment to maintain their core. >> It's and it sounds easy to do, but it can be it can be hard to do. >> It's a plank, right? >> Okay. It's basically it's an isometric exercise. Isometric means you're not changing the length of the muscle. You're in like a push-up position or you might be down on your elbows >> and you're looking like you're going to do a push-up, but you don't, >> right? You want your body to look like a plank. You want it to be straight. So, you don't want your bum hanging too low or your bum too high. >> And you just sit there and how you >> don't sit there. You kind >> plank there. >> And how and how you increase the intensity of this is the time really. That's the only variable you have is the time and how long you can hold it for. And then every day you try and hold it for just a little bit longer. a little

2:19 bit longer and a little bit longer. >> And you'll feel this not only in your core, you'll also feel it in your shoulders. If if you do have sore wrists, I certainly would recommend going down on your elbows as opposed to going all the way up on straight wrist. But you can kind of modify a little bit. You can even start something as low as 15 seconds and then try to get to 30 and then some people do it for for minutes on end. Oh yeah. >> And then you can do multiple sets as well. >> And if you do go on your elbows, use some padding so you don't get a burcitis on your elbows. >> Yes. >> All right. That's the plank. You got any other ones in case someone's like, "Hey, I want to go a little deep bit of a deeper dive on my core." So, it's something called the paloff press where you actually have a resistance band that's tied say off to the side and you hold it on your chest and then you slowly extend your arms and you resist the band's attempt to rotate you. So, essentially it's an anti-rotation exercise. Okay. >> The other one that I think sometimes people use is a farmer carry which people think, well, that's more about grip strength than shoulder strength,

3:05 but it's actually not because as you're walking with two heavy weights essentially like carrying two grocery bags, your muscles of your core are still stabilizing those. >> Yeah. And you can see how that's something that's going to help you later in life when you're trying to carry your own groceries. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Number four, uh I'm going to go with the back extensor muscles. Okay. So, the muscles in your back that help you extend your back. >> If you've noticed, uh as we age or if you've seen some elderly people walking, you might notice they have what we call kyphosis where they're sort of hunched over. That that as it gets worse, you lose the horizon and now you're looking down on the ground. That's dangerous for a lot of reasons, right? Right. Hey Brad, there's a cliff approaching. I didn't see it. Right. So, but not necessarily just for a cliff, but for tripping hazards and other things like that. So, you always want to be able to

3:50 hold yourself up straight. And one of the things that helps you hold up straight is your back extensor muscles, >> right? So, the the two muscles are erector spine and then one that's deep to that is called multipetus. And when we were in res when we were in residency, there's one of our one of our mentors, Dr. Doug or shout out to Dr. Doug or he went to the Cleveland Clinic. I think that's where he ended up. So Doug, if you're out there, we used to always tell the med students, if Dr. Or points at a muscle and asks you what it is, just guess multipetus because that's probably what it is. That was one of his favorite kind of stump the student questions. >> Yeah. Even if he's pointing at the bicep, say multip >> multipetus. Um, and the other thing that's neat about the extensor muscles, not only do they help um reduce your loss of horizon, but they also reduce your risk of getting a vertebral fracture. So because of the way that your spine is loaded, if it's more

4:35 symmetrically loaded, it supports it throughout the entire vertebral body and prevents that collapse of the front of that bone that we see so often in orthopedics. >> Just thinking about it makes you want to sit up straight, >> right? So how do we work these muscles? So I'd say that probably the easiest one that you could do at home would be a would be a deadlift. And a lot of people are intimidated by this, but this is actually lifting a barbell. Could be very very light or theoretically you could do dumbbells um bending or hinging at the hips with your knees bent and then straightening up. >> Other ones that are a little more I would go with bird dog. >> You would the bird? >> I would say the bird dog cuz you don't need dumbbells. >> No, but I think it's harder to do though. No, >> not a lot of people can get down on their hands and knees is what I >> You're already down there for your plank. >> Yeah, fair. >> Stay there, right? >> And all it is, you lift your left arm forward, your right leg back. Hold that for as long as you can. >> And and this is named because of the

5:21 classic bird dog, like the pointers. >> Pointer dog. >> Yeah. So they would find actually the birds, not not after they were shot. It was they would show the hunters say, "Hey, here's where the birds are. Let's get ready to flush them out." And then and then you would shoot them. >> Yeah. Uh oh. Yeah. Exactly. So point one arm out, one leg back, switch other arm, opposite leg back, and you just look like a bird dog. >> The other one that I think is a great exercise, if you go to a gym that has a Roman chair, if you're lucky enough to have a Roman chair, I actually got one a we got one a couple months ago. >> Um >> from the Romans. >> From the Romans. Yes. Amazing. So what you do is you put there's a cushion that's at the level of your pelvis and then you lean forward on it and then extend up. So, the height of the cushion determines whether it's more lower back versus glutes, but you you slowly extend to your spine being straight. You can really feel the slow tension in your

6:08 lower back. Amazing. >> Okay. So, we've covered the front of the core, the back of the core, abs. >> We're going to the lower body now. >> Let's go. >> Okay. So, number three for me is your calves. So, your calves are made up of two muscles. Your gastro muscles, which are the big juicy superficial ones, and then your solius muscle, which solus like a fish. It's flat. It's deep against the back of your of your >> tibia. And so what these muscles are responsible for is a couple different things. So one, that pushing off. So when you first start your gate, your calf muscle strength really is predictive of your gate speed. And we know from a bunch of those tests we talked about in some of our other videos, your ability to walk quickly is predictive of your frailty and your risk of a fall as well as your mortality. >> Yeah. So really, it does increase the efficiency of your gate. >> Uh like you said, it's for your push off. And now calf muscles aren't just to

6:55 look good. >> No, >> they are really functional. Nice calf small. >> Yeah. >> And it doesn't count if you get calf implants. >> No, it does not cheating. No, that's for sure. >> It's not going to make up. >> So, what exercises can you do to work on your calf? >> These are probably I think one of the easiest exercises you can do for any of the muscles we're talking about today. >> Just engage your calf muscles. And probably the easiest one is just some calf raises. You're standing there. Go up on your toes. Come down again. Go up on your toes. Come down again. Right. >> Put a little bit of weight in your hands if you get really good at it. Yep. >> Go up on your toes, come down again. If you get really good at it, you have good balance and something to lean on. You can do it on one leg and then the other leg. And that's actually one of the things that I check for when I have someone with an Achilles tendon rupture. >> Sure. >> I kind of keep them in my in my clinic until they can do a single leg calf race. And once they can do that, I'm

7:40 like "Okay." >> Which often is like 6 to 12 months. >> Well, no, it is absolutely. It's beyond 6 months, >> right? And the single one actually is a good balance test. So, actually, you require some balance unless you have something to hold on to. Um, if you really wanted to focus on your solius muscle that is more engaged when your knee is bent. Yeah. So, you could do a seated calf raise. I thought, why am I gonna do a seated calf raise? Well, put some weights across your knees and then raise your calves and that isolates the soius. And the gastro is more for power and the soius is more for endurance. >> Yeah. Okay. Or if you're Santa Claus, you could just do it at work. >> That's right. >> What do you want for Christmas, kid? Just do the calf raise is all you do. >> Okay. Now, we're into the heavy hitters. >> Okay. Yeah. These and these are the big ones. These are we're getting into the really important muscles. These are the big ones. Uh the one I'm going to mention is your quadricep. Okay, those are the muscles in your thigh in the

8:27 front of your thigh. Okay, >> and these are really your stability muscles when you're walking, right? These are the things that lock when you're going into extension part of your gate. And they stop you from falling. They help you from they help you walk. >> And these are the ones that help you get up out of a chair. Okay, >> if you can get up out of a chair without using your arms, that's all quads. All right. And in fact, that's one of the exercises you can do to work these out is you just sit in a chair, stand up, sit back down, stand up. And again, as you mentioned earlier, these are one of the predictors of longevity is just how many sit to stands you can do out of a chair. >> Right. >> So that's going to be one of my most important muscles that I think you should keep working out is your quads.

9:12 >> Totally agree. And also when you're going downstairs, quads are what stabilizes when you plant or or if you are starting to fall, it's that thing that kind of stops you from falling. So totally agree. Quads are critical. So you said sit to stand. That's a nice easy exercise. All you need is well theoretically you don't even need a chair. You could just you can just sit in the air all sit. I guess >> really the sit to stand exercise is the only benefit of the all you can eat buffet >> cuz you're getting up and coming up and going. >> Get the dessert plate or like the bun plate. you know that little tiny little plate they have off to the side just keep getting up over and over. I would say don't use a plate. >> The other things you could do is you actually could do squats. You could do squats with either uh dumbbells or you could use a barbell or even a Smith machine if you're if you don't have a spotter or you're worried about you want to try to push some heavier weight. You could get fancy and salute the Eastern

9:58 block and consider a Bulgarian split squat. >> Okay. >> Um remember back in like the 70s when like doping in Olympics was was like so widespread and people just didn't even look human. and you're like that, how is that person not on anabolic steroids? Because they often had um governmental level sponsored doping programs. And so, so the Bulgarians gave us the split squat. And so >> you can just do a regular split squat where your leg goes back, your say your right leg goes back and then you squat on the left side or you can do a Bulgarian split squat where that right leg goes up onto a bench. So it requires much more um much more balance and you go a lot lower. So you get a lot more focused and more resistance in that squat. >> Like we said, just chair spots. get up out of a chair without using your arms. >> Okay, >> give us a number one. >> Number one is the single biggest muscle in your body. >> It's the glutius maximus. It's a

10:45 it's a gladiator. >> I AM NOT ENTERTAINED. >> MAXIMUS. >> That's it. >> So, this is the muscles of your of your bum. >> The butt muscles. >> Yeah. The muscles that allow you to stand up, climb stairs, um walk long distances, >> look good in your tight jeans. >> Big strong muscles. And there's good evidence to show that as your glutes get weakened, often as we get older, how often do you joke about like probably us is that you know your bum's not there and your where'd your bum go? Your bum's not in your jeans anymore because cuz we start to lose that that muscle. >> Hey, nice calves, Brad. >> That's right. >> Oh, that's my bum. >> So, you have slower gate. You have increased fall risk. You lose your independence when your glutes get weak. So, it is absolutely critical to work on your glutes. And probably the easiest

11:31 exercise you can do for your glutes is the glute bridge. Okay. >> All right. >> Don't eat beans before you try this one. >> Okay. Fair. >> It's basically you're lying on the ground. Y >> and then you arch your back up and thrust your pelvis up into the air. >> You tighten your buns. >> Tighten your buns. Yeah. >> Lower down again. Yeah. >> Not the London bridge. The glute bridge. >> The glute bridge. >> Just And then you're kind of making a bridge with your body. >> Is anyone trying to shut down that bridge? >> Probably. They saw me try and do it. >> Yeah. So a similar version that's become very popular for people trying to get stronger lower bodies is the is the hip thrust which is a modified version. I find it very difficult to do actually I don't do it because it's seems odd. So your back is kind of supported by a bench and then you put a barbell or a dumbbell or even a plate on your pelvis and then are arching back doing the same principle. >> Yeah. >> I would say the other ones you could do

12:17 is you could do what's called a Romanian deadlift. So it's like a deadlift but use typically lighter weight. You don't drop the weight all the way to the ground. >> So you can say lift a Romanian. >> No. Well, I guess maybe you could. Um, you're bending your knees just slightly and then really focusing on your glutes as you extend or as you stand up >> and then even doing a simple step up. So, a step up on like a maybe a stair if you're just starting or a higher step up just because as the more your knees are bent, you're trying to launch your your body upward that really really engages your glutes. And this is a critical critical muscle in order to be stable and to remain independent as we get older. >> Yeah. Glute muscle your biggest muscle. So all the sort of chemical benefits and we know that muscles are putting out hormones and all that. I think about whenever I'm working out my large muscle groups, I think, you know, this is a metabolic metabolically active organ. So

13:04 I'm getting all those benefits that I don't know about that we don't know about that we're going to one day discover. But just by making this big muscle work, >> you're really getting that organ to produce the stuff that you need to make you healthy. >> And what I think is interesting, especially for the younger people, is that you realize like biceps and triceps weren't really on the list. Certainly, I would say your rotator cuff probably gets an honorable mention. >> I get rotator cuff because a rotator cuff helps you get your stuff right. That's going to help you reach up, get stuff off the counter, get stuff off the cupboards and things like that. And it's one of the muscles that a lot of elderly people seem to lose pretty fast. And and with that, you can lose some independence too >> right? Because your your lower shelves are full. Yeah. >> And your upper shelves are empty because you can't get your arms up there. It doesn't necessarily protect the falls, which really is the thing that ultimately leads to the demise of a lot of people's independence and stuff like

13:50 that. But I would totally agree, rotator cuff. But what I was going to say is that you know your biceps, your triceps or even even the abs that you see >> or the pecs >> the beat or the pecs like all those muscles fine if you like working them fill your boots but these are not necessarily going to improve your your independence and reduce your frailty and that kind of stuff. >> All right. Well, that's it, man. Those are five muscles. If you had to pick five muscles to start working on if if you go to the gym, awesome. Incorporate these. If you don't go to the gym, we told you like five easy easy exercises you can do just to keep these to keep your independent and it only takes a few weeks. You know, if you do this for if you do those simple exercises, one for each muscle group for four weeks, six weeks, you will notice a difference in your mobility and how easy it is just to do your activities of daily living. >> And don't focus on perfection. Just

14:36 focus on consistency. Do something as opposed to nothing like we preach all the time. If you like this video, please like it. Subscribe to our channel. share with someone that's wondering, "Hey, should I do another buy day?" Maybe not. Maybe you should look at your glutes. >> Not someone else's. >> Maybe work on your glutes. Don't Don't look at your glutes and your calves. >> There you go. >> And your abs >> and your extensors. >> Okay. >> All right. Remember, you are in charge of your own health. We'll see you next time.