The Essential Boomer

The Baby Boomer's Guide to Adding Years of Optimal Health to Your Life.

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The high-to-low chops

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This week I’m going to share one of my favorite exercise. The High-low-chops. This is a killer full-body exercise which targets the core and oblique muscles. I will be using the JC Predator bands to demonstrate the exercise.

Place the anchor point of the band about a foot or so above head level. Hold both handles of the bands together in both hands and position yourself far enough away from the anchor point so that you have some resistance to start. Face your body perpendicular to the anchor point with your legs a bit wider than hip width.

I like to place the hand of the arm furthest away from the anchor point over the top of the other hand. This makes for an easier, to keep your arms straight when twisting your body during the chop. Try each way and you’ll see what I mean. Before starting the exercise rotate your entire upper torso to face the anchor point and adjust your resistance so you can do a set of 10 of the chops. Twist your entire torso, while keeping your arms straight and shoulders locked. Your torso should be the only part of your body moving side to side. Start off standing relatively straight up and then do a slow squat while moving in a downward, chopping motion. Stop the motion when you’re about 45 degrees to the opposite side. Then return in control without snapping back to your starting, standing position.

The most common mistake with these chops are Bending your arms: When you bend your arms, you immediately involve the triceps, shoulders and even your lats to a degree, which lessens the move’s effectiveness for the core. You may have to lighten the resistance by taking some bands off or moving closer to the anchor point. Also, keep your arms as straight as possible throughout. If you can’t keep your arms straight than you have too much resistance. Make sure that you don’t stop short of the movement’s complete ROM. After doing 10 in one direction. Turn around and do the other side.

You can do chops with cable machines or bands. I like to use the JC predator bands over the cable machines because the bands develop power due to the fact that the bands provide an increase in resistance as you move to the end of the exercise movement.

Well, there you have it boomers. The High-to-low chops. Give em a try.

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How to Give Yourself a Great Haircut in 5 minutes

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In this video, I’ll show you how to easily give yourself a killer haircut in 5 minutes. You can save yourself hundreds of dollars a year. Check it out!

If I wait for more than 2 weeks to cut my hair I start to look like Ed Grimley, Martin Short’s character on Saturday Night Live.

hair clipper Here is the clipper that I use and LOVE!

I highly recommend that you get yourself a fog-free shower mirror and keep it in your shower. It’s great for haircuts and also for shaving in the shower, which I always do. If you don’t already mirror shave in the shower than you’re missing out on one of the great joys of life. Here’s the link to the mirror I have and I LOVE it. It’s pricey but has lasted me for over 10 years of daily use.

Jim’s 10 Minute Cardio Workout

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I LOVE this workout! It only takes 10 minutes and it’s very effective. Heck, you even get to walk half of it. This workout isn’t just an excellent workout for your cardio-vascular system. It also is great a developing balance and agility. Just start off slow until you get the footwork down a bit and then slowly work up the speed. By the time you get to the sprints you’ll think they’re the easy part. Check it out!