Like many of us, you may be on a weight-loss journey. This can involve several different aspects, like calorie counting, maintaining hydration, and even red-light therapy for weight loss. And while you’ve got all those different moving parts in action, we want to make sure that you get your own parts moving while you’re doing your red-light treatments!
We’ve already told you that there’s no reason to be perfectly still while you’re doing your red-light treatments. Unless you want to, of course, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all.
But for those of you who are looking for every opportunity to move around and burn some calories, we’ve got five exercises that you can incorporate into your therapy routine to help you get the best of both of these fantastic worlds. Here we go!
Let’s get jumping, Jack!
Low-calorie foods that help you lose weight are best when you have simple, but high-quality ingredients. And the same goes for exercise. The jumping jack is such a simple exercise that most of us started doing it when we were children. And like much of what we started doing in childhood, many of us have just forgotten all about it. I know I have!
This simple, yet remarkably effective cardio exercise can be done wherever you are, and in front of your red-light therapy device is a place where, instead of standing in the place where you are—as REM once suggest we do—you can jump in the place where you are while getting all four limbs in on the action.
The jumping jack actually has kind of an interesting history. According to a book called, Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing, a general in the US Army invented the jumping jack as a means of ‘hazing’ new recruits. Here’s an excerpt from the book:
Origins of the technique are obscure, but Pershing’s plan had simplicity and adaptability. He would line up a group of plebes, order them to count off to identify odds and evens, and when he pulled on an imaginary string, all the odds threw their arms stiffly out at right angles to their bodies; then Jack pulled the string in the opposite direction, and the odds dropped their arms and evens jumped their legs out to make a V. Back and forth went the string, arms flapped, legs splayed, while upperclassmen howled at the marionettes in action.
While the general may have gotten people started with the exercise, the name is thought to have come from the once-popular children’s toy of the same name.
The person who is really responsible for popularizing the exercise, however, is OG fitness guru, Jack LaLanne. He incorporated the moves into routines that he helped to popularize over decades of helping people get fit via his fitness programs broadcasted on American television.
How do you do jumping jacks in front of your red-light therapy device? The same way you would anywhere else. Here’s how:
You’re going to start by putting your feet together, arms at your sides, being mindful of keeping your chin high and your back straight. Make sure you are facing your device and that you are at the optimum distance as prescribed by your healthcare professional.
One of the devices that might be best for this exercise is the Rouge Ultimate G3, given its size and full-body coverage.
Now it’s time to jump! Jump up, and quickly kick your feet out to the sides and land with your feet slightly more than shoulder-length apart. At the same time, you’re going to move your arms from your sides to a spot where your hands come together over your head.
Then, just as quickly, reverse what you’ve done to find yourself in your original position. Very good. Try it again!
Now all you have to do is continue for one or two minutes, or for however long you’re comfortable doing it. You may only do a few in the beginning. It’s harder than it sounds! But if you keep at it, you’ll be increasing your time and burning more calories.
Not to mention the overall body benefits you’ll be getting. Your quads, hamstrings, and glutes will all benefit, and you’ll help to build more lean muscle mass. That means you’ll start to have a higher resting metabolic rate, which means you’ll be healthier and—we hope—even happier!
Train like Bruce Lee with the Bethak squat
If you know anything about Bruce Lee, you know that he was a lifelong seeker of the best exercises to improve his body conditioning, form, and ability to move freely. If you did not know anything about Bruce Lee before, you at least know this much now!
Bruce had a remarkably diverse set of exercises that he performed every day. One of those exercises is the Bethak squat (also known as the Hindu Squat or the baithakand), which he learned by studying the regimen of Indian wrestler, Mian Ghulan Muhammad, also known as “The Great Gama.”
A story that is most likely apocryphal, but just as likely to be fascinating, is that of a bodybuilding competition in the 19th century. The story goes that 400 Indian bodybuilders gathered in 1890 for a country-wide physical exercise competition. They all gathered at the request of the Raja of Jodhpur, performing various feats of strength and endurance.
One of these was the Bethak squat. Men did these squats for hours and hours, and as the day progressed, they started dropping out, one by one, all working well beyond their limits. But one kept going longer than all the rest. It was the 10-year-old boy who would become the Great Gama, and he earned the respect of the crowd and the Raja that day. His fans would follow him for the next 50 years in his undefeated wrestling career.
Here’s how Gama, Bruce, and countless others did the exercise, and how you can do it while you’re doing your red-light therapy.
Start by positioning yourself in front of your device, feet shoulder-width apart, your hands on your hips. While keeping your back straight and moving your weight slightly forward so you’re on the balls of your feet, bend your knees and lower yourself as far as you feel comfortable, and then slowly stand up to your original position.
Try to do this for one minute, or as long as you feel like you can keep going without feeling too much pain. You’ll want a little burn in your thighs, but if you feel uncomfortable, take a break!
You’ll primarily build strength in your hips, quads, and glutes, but your entire lower body gets the benefits of this exercise.
Walk the plank, live the plank, love the plank
Just to be clear from the very beginning, no, we are not suggesting that you engage in the 2011 fad that found people posting images of themselves in prone positions in unlikely spots.
What we are suggesting is that you use this fundamental core-building exercise to build more strength and gain extra stability in your abs, lower back, and your shoulders.
This is a great one for red-light therapy because it requires that you maintain a stationary position for as long as you can endure it.
Now, depending on what kind of therapy you’re doing, you’re going to have to position yourself relative to your red-light therapy device in a way that makes sense. For example, if you’re using red light for rosacea on your face, you will want to make sure you can keep your chin up and face the device.
Let’s get started.
Find a nice, clean spot on the floor or put your yoga mat down so you have a comfortable place to be. Get down on the floor with your front facing down.
Now, you’re going to position your elbows directly under your shoulders with your forearms stretched out in front of you while raising your body so that it is a straight line from your head to your heels.
Stay in this position while engaging the muscles in your core. Don’t let your back sag or arch and hold it for as long as you can, from 30 to 60 seconds. You’re doing a great job!
Try to do at least three sets of planks and make sure you keep increasing the time, little by little, as you go along. You’ll have a tighter core, improve your tone, and you’ll most likely end up with better posture as a result!
This is just the beginning for your red light therapy for weight loss journey!
You can read more about how red light therapy can help you lose weight and build muscle in this article that goes into the research behind the treatments and other benefits you’ll get along the way.
You can get the red light therapy device that best suits your needs right here. Are you incorporating exercise into your treatments? Leave us a comment and let us know what you’re doing and how it’s going below!
