A crisp and youthful gait ——Mr. Tanatamae, an exercise and health instructor. Mr. Tani, who turned 77 in August 2022, is unaware of the “knee and waist pain” that many reader generations have! I heard the secret of Mr. Tani’s “knees and hips”.
Table of contents
- Profile of Tani Tamae
- The secret to “clear knees and hips” is to “move”!
- Training should be “walking”
- How to move your body to prevent pain in your knees and lower back
- If you walk on your own feet, you can go anywhere you want!
Profile of Tani Tamae
Born in 1945 (Showa 20). Health exercise instructor. In 1985, he opened a gymnastics class in Aoyama, Tokyo, and for about 30 years since then, he has taught people how to build a healthy body and lifestyle habits that correct “distortion of the pelvis” through manipulative treatment, acupuncture, and diet exercises. At the age of 70, he closed his classroom and continues to teach at lectures and courses.
The secret to “clear knees and hips” is to “move”!
Mr. Tani, who is 77 years old, does not feel pain in his knees or lower back. When I asked him why, he said “exercise”.
“In my case, I do muscle training at the gym 2-3 times a week. 5-6 types of legs and buttocks, 3-4 types of arms, 2 types of stomach, etc. It takes a little over an hour.”
Hard training as you can see! I think I was trained from a fairly young age…
“No, no, I started in my 40s. It was around the time I opened a gymnastics class in Aoyama. I realized that in order to increase my muscles as I got older, I had to put weight on myself,” says Tani. . He points out that when muscle strength declines and muscle fibers weaken, it eventually leads to knee and lower back pain.
“As we age and lack of exercise, muscle strength gradually declines. In addition, if you are in a bad posture for a long time, your muscles will become distorted.In that case, the muscle balance of the whole body will be lost, and you will not be able to hold on. Then, as if to compensate for the weak points, load is applied to certain parts of the body, such as the lower back and knees, leading to pain.”
I see, it is necessary to grow muscle fibers thicker and stronger in order to prevent pain and discomfort in the knees and lower back. But even though it’s to keep my knees and hips looking youthful, I can’t train as hard as Mr. Tani! Many people think so, but…
“You don’t need hard training that you can’t keep up with. The important thing is to move, and it’s okay. But the most important thing is the desire to ‘do it.’ Muscles can be trained at any age! ”
That is a hopeful word! So, for those who are not used to exercising, what should we start with?
Training should be “walking”
“The easiest way is to walk. A good rule of thumb is to walk 3,000 to 4,000 steps for 30 to 40 minutes. Walking about three times a week is good,” says Tani.
“After the age of 50, the muscles in the inner thighs tend to weaken and it becomes difficult to walk quickly, so it is very important to walk. Strictly speaking, it’s about 3.5 to 4 km/h.It would be nice to use a smartphone app and measure it.”
If it’s 30 minutes, such as going to a supermarket that is a little farther away when shopping, or walking one station, it seems that you can do it with a little ingenuity while going out.
“Another way to do it on a daily basis is to put pressure on your stomach all the time. Not only when you are walking, but when you are on the train or at home. Just by doing this, the effect will change considerably,” says Mr. Tani.
It’s an easy workout that you can do anytime! It seems difficult to keep putting in effort all the time, but I want to put in effort even when I notice it. In addition, it seems that there are “knacks on how to move” even in scenes where people tend to feel uneasy about their knees and hips on a daily basis.
How to move your body to prevent pain in your knees and lower back
Points to remember when going up and down stairs
Readers often ask me about anxiety when going down stairs. I’ve heard that when you go down stairs, your knees put about 3 times your body weight in the load.
“When going up, hold on to the handrails and pull yourself up with your hands. Imagine putting pressure on your buttocks and going up from your buttocks. Leaning your body slightly backwards as you descend helps prevent strain on your knees.” (Mr. Tani)
When standing or squatting, use furniture to distribute the load!
As the time spent at home increased, the pain when standing or crouching increased. It’s an essential action when doing housework, so I want to do something about it.
“When standing, put your hands on the table if you have one. If you don’t have one, place your hands on your thighs while you stand up to distribute the load on your knees and lower back. When squatting, it’s best to get on one knee. Normally, you shouldn’t squat down when you’re in pain, but if you have to, prepare a low table and sit down. For example, when you’re mowing weeds, take that table with you and sit down.” (Mr. Tani)
When standing all the time, the point is the stance of the stomach, buttocks, and legs.
The end is standing. Especially when I’m working in the kitchen, I sometimes stand for dozens of minutes…
“When standing, try bending your knees a little. Tighten your stomach and tighten your buttocks so that your core stands upright. By the way, if you’re in the kitchen, it’s easier if you put one foot on the stool in the bathroom.” (Mr. Tani)
Spats are recommended if you want to make every movement easier!
Even so, there are people who feel pain at random moments every day, or who say, “I want to walk more crisply,” even if it’s not painful. In such a case, a simple care is to wear “compression tights” or ” support spats “.
“Because the support distributes the load on the lower body, all movements become easier.
It helps the correct movement of muscles and bones, so normal movement seems to be a good exercise. Instead of the so-called tight leggings for sports, there are leggings that are easy to wear on a daily basis for the generation of readers, so it’s a good way to try them out.” (Mr. Tani)
If you walk on your own feet, you can go anywhere you want!
Finally, a message from Mr. Tani.
“It is very important to be able to move on your own feet for as long as possible. When you have to use a cane or cannot go where you want to go, you gradually become withdrawn, which can lead to dementia and senile depression. ) can also occur at the same time.It also prevents osteoporosis and prevents you from becoming bedridden.Moving by yourself allows you to spend your days comfortably and causes trouble for your family and relatives. It will lead to nothing!”
