“Butterflies” strengthen your upper body and help improve your posture
They work almost every muscle in your upper body, especially back and chest muscles. In addition , the Butterfly strengthens arms and shoulders.
As we get older we tend to slump with our shoulders moving forward. Sit for a moment and let your shoulders move forward as when you are very tired. They will be rounded and pushed forward.
Can you visualize how the muscles in your chest can become shorter and tighter when you sit like this? Now pull your shoulders back and pretend you are trying to make your shoulder blades touch behind your back. Feel how the chest muscles are stretched and lengthened. You cannot maintain good posture when your shoulders are slumped forward–that’s why we need to work on strengthening the upper back–to make the muscles strong enough to be able to hold your shoulders back.
In addition, when you slump forward your internal organs are crowded–no wonder we begin to have health problems–organs like your liver and pancreas are so crowded they do not have room to function correctly. Lungs also suffer from not having enough space to properly inflate.
Let’s begin:
Sit on a straight chair, near the front edge of the chair. This is to allow room to bring your elbows behind your body. Sit up straight, feet flat on the floor, shoulders back.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand. For beginning women, 3 or 5 pounds; for men, 5 or 8 pounds. The weights are held in front of your chest in an upright vertical position, close to your chest.
Ready? Lift the weights straight up in front of your body as high as you can. Your arms should be extended to their full length over your head.
Now lower the weights back down to the original position. Pull the weights around your body by pulling your shoulders back and attempting to make your shoulder blades touch behind your body. Obviously nobody can actually make their shoulder blades touch, but we pretend we can in order to create the stretch across our chests. Feel the stretch.
Now return the weights to the original position n front of your body.
Pay attention to the muscles in your upper body. You should be able to feel all of them working as you do this exercise.
Repeat for a total of 8 to 10 repetitions.
Phyllis Rogers is a senior citizen, Certified Fitness Trainer and Specialist in Fitness for Older Adults. She has created a strength workout for seniors using dumbbells and has taught over 1500 Strength Exercise classes in the Atlanta, GA area. She is author of “Over 40 & Gettin’ Stronger” — which contains photos and detailed instructions on how to do her workout. To learn more and to order her book, visit [http://www.StrongOver40.com] Or e-mail her at fitness9@mindspring.com
