OMg can the human body even DO this? and if they can then will they be able to walk afterwards.

ouch.

Mickey - It is actually something good for the body

Here is a picture of some of the progressions


It is called the plow. The first one is called a shoulderstand

I now declare this thread hijacked and respectfully bow out of it.

Sorry, I thought it was closely connected to the original post.

I think what happens is that everything keeps getting re-invented and recycled in their own way... I remember the old bicycle and yeah, the new one is definately very similar, pretty much the same in my opinion.

I am not sure why exactly 10, but if you do enough you will see that jumping jacks are quite a workout. They not only get your heart rate up quickly, but your calves will start to burn. When I was in Marching Band in High School we would do around 100 in time with each other. If someone went over 100, then we would repeat until everyone ended at the same time. With a Band of around 200 people, you end up doing a lot of jumping jacks. And by about the 3rd time, everyone learns to count well, and NO ONE goes over. lol.

I apologize for being short tempered. I was in a really bad mood yesterday, and the slightest things would tick me off.

I was thinking, "Well, I started this thread about useless exercises we used to think were good for us, and instead, I get a debate about an exercise I wasn't even talking about." Nothing to get upset over, but I believe I'm PMS'ing.

So... any other input on exercises from days gone by, that people don't do anymore? Thanks.

One big exercise dinosaur is stationary stretching before exercise - we used to do that in PE class growing up, I remember, before we did anything...the get into a stretch position and HOLD sort of moves. I think the current thinking is that dynamic/moving stretches are better for cold muscles, and stationary stretches are better after exercise, when you're warm.

That is one reason I think we used to do jumping jacks in school to warm us up before we stretched. In karate class, we usually do a bit of jumping jacks and what not and then stretch.

I think most exercises that we used to do are still around in some form or another.

What about straight-leg toe touches? I never see anyone doing them anymore, and in fact, a do-and-don't poster at the Y pronounced it "wrong."

I do a lot of sitting straight legged toe touches. They work the hamstrings and also when I do yoga, there are standing moves that have legs mostly straight touching the ground.

I think there are wrong and right ways to do them like locking the knees and bending your back as opposed to bending at the waist.

When I was in gym class, it was perfectly straight legs, with feet touching. If I were to try this nowadays, I'd fall over like a bowling pin. However, remembering to keep my knees unlocked and my feet at shoulder width, I can almost touch the floor now.

Related is a move I call "the elephant." I bend forward at the waist and just hang there, arms dangling, hands clasped, to stretch my lower spine. I call it the elephant because my arms make me think of an elephant's trunk. The poster at the Y says not to do it.

Another no-no I used to do in gym class was the sitting hurdler's stretch. One leg behind you, bent at the knee, and one leg straight in front of you, and you touched the toes of the leg in front. Ten reps, and change legs. I haven't seen this since 1980. Now they say to bend the inactive leg inward, so that the toes point toward the straight leg, rather than putting it behind you.

Current wisdom also says not let your hands outside your field of vision. There goes the exercise I do with my arms, putting them as far back as possible and trying to make the thumbs touch. They won't, but the motion stretches the upper arm muscles. Is this a no-no as well?

the old bicycle has definitely been in use since the 60s because I remember it and I was born in '85. An exercise (or stretch kinda) that I wouldn't say is useless, but I haven't seen in ages is the bridge-up. I used to love these and we'd compete to see who could hold it the longest. I so can't do that anymore

Strange, the first move is another move in yoga which I do. I remember the hurdlers stretch but I don't do it. I never heard anything about not letting your hands outside of your field of vision because I do sometimes do a pec stretch with my hands clasped behind my back.

Aw man, it's the poses that get my arms behind my back that feel *so* good! Good in that "aaahhhh" kind of feeling you get from massage. It just causes some particular kind of pressure or tension that my body loves.