In a workshop, I told participants that if they wanted to reduce their waist line and look and feel 10 years younger, they should work on their leg muscles.
Everyone was shocked.
“Ma’am, I have removed hundreds of things from my diet and I take many supplements, yet I keep gaining weight,” one participant said.
Stop eating from packets. Eat fresh, available in your regional area. Walk, do strength training, yoga or exercise.
Women should do more weight training exercise, even 40+, 50+ or 60+ year olds.
“Can you please explain?” she asked.
When we are old, our feet must always remain strong.
Among the signs of 'Longevity', strong leg muscles are listed on the top as the most important and essential one.
If you do not move your legs for 20 days, your leg strength will decrease by 10 years, which corresponds to a 30 year increase in apparent age.
A consistent walking routine along with regular muscle strengthening, flexibility yoga and exercise is important.
The whole body weight is supported by the legs. The feet carry the load of our body and, like the foundation of any building standing tall for years, the pillars of our body must be strong too.
Interestingly, 50% of a person's bones and 50% of the muscles are present in the two legs.
The largest and strongest joints and bones of the human body are also found in the legs.
‘Strong bones, strong muscles and flexible joints.’ These are the keys to longevity.
70% of human activity and burning of energy in one's life is done by the two feet.
When you are young, no matter what you eat, your belly size doesn’t differ much [Stress and other factors are there] but lack of flexibility and weak leg muscles not only increase your belly size but also create problems in your knee.
Your belly muscles are affected by weak thighs, causing fat to accumulate around the belly. Back aches are also caused by weak thigh muscles because the legs are not able to carry load.
The feet are the center of body locomotion. Both the legs together have 50% of the nerves of the human body, 50% of the blood vessels and 50% of the blood present in them.
It is the large circulatory network that connects the body.
Only when the feet are healthy will the current of blood flow smoothly, so people who have strong leg muscles will definitely have a strong heart.
Aging starts from the feet upwards.
As a person gets older, the accuracy and speed of transmission of instructions between the brain and the legs decreases, unlike when a person is young.
In addition, the ‘Bone Fertilizer’ – Calcium, will sooner or later be lost with the passage of time, making the elderly more prone to bone fractures.
15% of elderly patients will die within a year of a thigh-bone fracture.
Although our feet will gradually age with time, exercising our feet is a life-long task.
Only by strengthening the legs can one can prevent further aging.
Steps to strengthen leg muscles:
1. Walk for at least 30-40 minutes daily to ensure that your legs receive sufficient exercise and to ensure that your leg muscles remain healthy.
2. Butterfly exercise - 50 times.
3. Badhkonasana.
4. Squats on body weight and with weight in hands - 10 sets and increase it over time.
5. Lunges and veerbhadrasan yoga pose - 10 sets at the start and increase it as you go forward [ 3 times in a week ].
6. Leg raise against a wall for 10 minutes.
7. Weight lifting using full body weight in guidance.
8. Cycling.
Make your legs strong and stay young forever.