home » Medicine » Squats with a straight back according to Bubnovsky. Professor Sergei Bubnovsky: “Push-ups, squats, and abs are the three best exercises for health. What do daily squats do?

Squats with a straight back according to Bubnovsky. Professor Sergei Bubnovsky: “Push-ups, squats, and abs are the three best exercises for health. What do daily squats do?

Professor Sergei Bubnovsky once barely escaped the tenacious clutches of illness. Not with drugs. He created his own healing system - kinesitherapy, based not on pills, but on movement, and today he puts even hopeless patients on their feet. And he advises everyone not to rely on miracle pills, but to use the internal reserves of their body. Moreover, it is not difficult to do this.

It is enough to remember the simple exercises of morning exercises. And also about squats, which the professor recommends doing every hour.

Instead of blood pressure pills, use your body's resources

Ed.: Sergei Mikhailovich, do you always do exercises in the morning?

S.B.: By itself. I take a cold bath, work out on exercise machines... Sooner or later everyone comes to do gymnastics. My patients with serious cardiac diseases, having started doing exercises according to a certain system, were surprised at the healing phenomena that happened to them.

Of course, the simplest thing is to swallow a blood pressure pill. The most difficult thing is not to swallow, but to use those resources of the body that will help get rid of the constant increase in pressure. Not a single cardiologist in the world can show me a patient who has recovered from hypertension by taking medications. That is, they first put you on one pill, then on a whole handful...

Ed.: Some kind of conspiracy!

S.B.: Yes, as soon as a person gets sick, after 40 years, cardiologists say: it’s time to take cardioprotectors. That is, you have pain in the chest, and instead of figuring out why it appeared, you dutifully go to the pharmacy and get hooked on drugs that supposedly prevent coronary heart disease. In fact, no prevention occurs; the disease worsens. Because pain behind the sternum is a consequence of the body’s malaise, and not the cause. We need to figure out what is happening to the heart and blood vessels.

I didn't see healthy people leaving the hospital, I saw survivors. And he himself went from a disabled person to today’s completely healthy person.

Ed.: But when we all get sick, the first thing we do is, of course, go to the doctor...

S.B.: And if you are already 40, he says: what can you do, dear, it’s time to get sick! And prescribes pills. And the person drinks them and notices: it doesn’t help! And there is not enough money for medicine! And then he begins to read books on alternative medicine and discovers other medicines - movement, breathing.

It’s a paradox: our doctor exempts children who have had an illness from physical education! For some reason, it is believed that while moving a person will certainly get sick, but lying in bed will get better. But, as you know, water does not flow under a lying stone.

I wouldn’t like to mention it, but my good friend Lev Valeryanovich Leshchenko (singer - Ed.) once came from a tour, where he injured his shoulder by falling. The Germans carefully stitched everything up, but it was impossible to raise a hand: the pain was hellish. I explained to him: “If you don’t do special exercises, your shoulder will shrink. Do you need it? And he courageously, through the pain, did the exercises.

Daily squats with a straight back will help get rid of many problems

Ed.: But pain is the hardest thing to deal with.

S.B.: For acute pain, we apply a cold compress to relieve swelling and improve microcirculation. Pain is always swelling, accumulation of fluid. And you need to do exercises that would pump fluid from the joints. Angina is also an inflammation of the inner lining of a blood vessel. And pain appears behind the sternum. And we, instead of doing exercises, pumping this part of the vessel, go to bed and start swallowing pills. But I have not seen a single person who would “pump out” while lying down, swallowing pills.

Patients ask me: “So what, now do gymnastics all my life?” And this is like brushing your teeth and washing your face. Doing gymnastics when you are out of pain, out of disability is a pleasure. For me, the only truly happy hour of the day is when I do gymnastics in the morning. Because you are not getting old, but getting younger. In a person who exercises regularly, young cells appear instead of old ones.

Ed.: What do you recommend doing for this?

S.B.: I have this triad: squats, push-ups, abdominal exercises. I met with the long-lived artist Boris Efimov, who lived 108 years. He was such a little old man, lively! I ask him: “What are you doing to live so long?” “Nothing,” he answers, “I squat 450 (!) times a day.” And this is a universal way to drive blood through the body!

If you squat daily with a straight back (10 times - a sip of water, 10 times - a sip of water) many problems will disappear. This is especially important for those who sit at the computer a lot - accountants, designers, programmers.

Make it a rule: after working for an hour, you sit down 30 times.

It would also be good to start the morning with a cold bath - 5 seconds. And be sure to plunge headlong into it. You can take a shower, but it's worse. A shower breaks up energy, a bath collects it.

Basic rules for squats

Beginning athletes need to breathe properly when squatting. Breathing must obey certain principles:

A short warm-up is required. This will help the muscles and lungs prepare for the main loads.
It is correct to inhale only through the nose - passing through the receptors of the mucous membrane, oxygen sends signals to the brain, all internal organs begin to work intensively. Inhalation is done in the starting position.
Exhale through the mouth while squatting. Beginners should exhale through their nostrils while clenching their teeth tightly. Later it will be possible to master the technique of professional athletes, breathing according to Bubnovsky.
Inhalation and exhalation can be held for a maximum of 1-2 seconds; holding your breath for a long time is especially dangerous when doing exercises with dumbbells and barbells.

Sports necessarily include learning breathing techniques when performing exercises

To avoid constantly focusing on how to breathe, master breathing exercises. This will help increase lung volume and strengthen the intercostal muscles.

Training should be done outdoors or in rooms with good ventilation. High concentrations of carbon dioxide will negatively affect health.

Breathing from the diaphragm

Diaphragmatic breathing provides oxygen supply

Professional athletes breathe through their diaphragm (stomach) during squats. This allows you to increase the volume of your lungs when you inhale. The diaphragm expands the chest from the inside, the body receives more oxygen.

Beginners need time to master breathing techniques correctly. This requires regular training and a desire to learn.

When doing abdominal breathing, when inhaling, it is necessary to direct air not only to the lungs, but also to the stomach area. In this case, the stomach should be protruded as much as possible.
When exhaling while ascending, carbon dioxide must be released through the mouth (nostrils).
The abs should be tensed as much as possible, and the abdominal muscles should be pulled in. If the stomach is not pulled in, the abs will begin to protrude forward, which will give the girl additional volume.

This approach allows you to provide the body with oxygen and pump up your abdominal muscles.

Professor Bubnovsky recommends supplementing diaphragmatic breathing with a long “HA” sound. This principle of cleansing the respiratory system is used in yoga. The sound allows the diaphragm to open. Otherwise, you will only be able to breathe through your chest.

How to breathe during classic squats

Girls who decide to improve their figure should start with simple squats without weights - barbells and dumbbells. Weighting can be added after 10 repetitions, when the muscles are warmed up. Women require deeper squats than men.

In the starting position, you need to exhale sharply to remove all carbon dioxide from the lungs.
Slowly begin to squat, press your lips tightly, inhale air through your nose.
Inhalation stops when the pelvis reaches the level of the knees. You can start exhaling.

If you are performing the exercise correctly, your arms should not hang along your body, as this prevents the chest from expanding. They should be raised or pulled forward or to the sides.

Light Load Squats

By doing squats with a barbell and dumbbells correctly, you can give an attractive shape to your buttocks and thighs, strengthen your back and abdominal muscles. The main rule when doing squats with dumbbells and a barbell is ideal posture during the exercises. You need to start with weights in the form of dumbbells, gradually moving to a barbell.

Hold dumbbells correctly in outstretched arms - this allows you to feel your own center of gravity and not lose balance. When squatting, your knees should never extend beyond your toes.

Using dumbbells increases the load on the muscles

When doing squats with dumbbells to lose weight, you need to carefully control your breathing. You need to breathe continuously, synchronously.

When returning to the starting position, you should not rest; your knees should always be slightly bent. So the load on the gluteal muscles will be constant. You should look slightly upward - this will ensure the correct anatomical position for your back.

How to breathe at maximum effort

Before barbell squats, you need to do a few simple squats to warm up your muscles.

Take the barbell and take a stable position. The back is straight, legs are straight, shoulder-width apart. If you have a lot of weight, you can spread your legs a little wider. Inhale deeply without holding your breath.
Begin to bend your knees, while lowering your pelvis strictly parallel to the floor. The body can be tilted forward, but the back should remain straight, the deflection can only be in the lumbar region. At the midpoint, you can hold your breath for a while.
At the lowest point, do not rush to exhale. You can begin to slowly return to the starting position. Exhale midway through the ascent. The exhalation can be sharp to facilitate the upward movement of the barbell. The exhalation ends in the starting position, you can inhale again.

At maximum loads, you need to watch how you breathe

To get results, it is important not only to breathe correctly during exercises, but also to rest between approaches. The duration of the break is 1-6 minutes. You should breathe exclusively through your nose, taking as deep breaths as possible. Exhale slowly until the chest is completely free of carbon dioxide. You can return to exercise after your heart rate returns to normal.

While performing basic exercises, you need to breathe correctly. Inhale with relaxed muscles, exhale with tense muscles. This technique will not only allow you to quickly achieve the desired shape, but will also protect you from serious health problems.

19.04.2017, 07:20

“Diseases of age” make you younger – that’s a fact. And now osteochondrosis, arthritis, arthrosis and other diseases of older people are diagnosed in those who are just over forty. Why is this happening? What are we doing wrong? And what awaits a modern person if he does not rethink life and learn to be friends with his body? The famous doctor, professor, doctor of medical sciences, author of popular books on improving the body, Sergei Bubnovsky, told us about this.

— Sergei Mikhailovich, it is known that age-related diseases are not acquired in one day. How does a person develop a whole bunch of diseases of the joints, spine, ligaments, and muscles by middle age? What is the reason?

— The reason is simple: we forgot about physical education. “Phys-ra” - as the children call it - is available in schools, but there is no physical education in the country. There is not a single professional institution that teaches health. In 1954, the USSR had the Institute of a Healthy Lifestyle. Then he was gone. And in America, for example, there is the Institute of Alternative Methods of Natural Treatment. There they teach you not to take pills, but to breathe correctly, move, and do gymnastics. Our people are “dark” in matters of maintaining physical, and then mental health. To see a doctor, our person must first become so ill that he is no longer able to move. But we have an arrogant attitude towards gymnastics and physical education. Now, fortunately, many street sports have begun to appear. Young people, although still a small part of them, have broken away from gadgets and began to train on the horizontal bar and on the uneven bars. It makes me very happy. Perhaps those who do not give up their sports hobbies will have a different old age, different from the one that their grandparents and their parents “earned.”

— It turns out that a generation has grown up “weaned” on physical education, and they have not been able to instill it in their children?

“Moreover: my colleagues and I bring to school a physical education program approved by the Department of Education, but parents are opposed: “Why do children need such stress, why do they need exercise equipment?” They don’t even understand that the load is their own body weight, not provided by muscles. That is, the weaker you are, the harder it is for you to carry yourself. And in the end, people who are not yet old die in the bathroom, getting up from the toilet! Their muscles are so weak that blood does not have time to flow to the heart and brain.

“In 1954, there was an Institute of Healthy Lifestyles in the USSR. Then he was gone. And in America, for example, there is the Institute of Alternative Methods of Natural Treatment,” notes Bubnov.

— That is, over the course of our lives, we bring ourselves to a state where we cannot lift ourselves from the sofa, chair, or even the toilet?

- Exactly! Moreover, we have growing entire cities of pensioners who are unable to care for themselves. It seems that the average life expectancy has increased. But at the expense of whom? At the expense of sick people!

— What are the main mistakes people make in the process of life?

— The very first mistake, as I already said, is that they don’t know what to give to children first. As a result, they give what is fashionable - foreign languages, music education, but not physical activity. And they rush around with children like they’re carrying a bag, protecting them from everything in the world. Meanwhile, a child under the age of one year, according to the laws of age-related physiology, is more resilient than an adult. And he can more easily endure stress such as hunger, cold, heat, and lack of water. Nature made him a “universal soldier” so that he could survive. Of course, you need to treat it correctly, take care of it. But the adherents of our pedagogy said this: until the child is seven years old, you need to deal only with physical education, and then invest in it the necessary knowledge, instill culture. The main thing is that by these years he should be healthy. This increases his chances of growing up to be a healthy adult.

— What is “ill health” in childhood?

- This is poor blood flow, weak muscles, back pain, spine pain, headaches. The brain has no muscles, but it consumes 25 percent of the oxygen that enters the body through the work of the muscles of the arms, legs and back. And they are weak, undeveloped. And now there is pressure at school age, and chronic fatigue syndrome, and early strokes, and dementia. And all because the muscles do not pump blood! But it is the muscles that “feed” the body. They deliver as much nutrition to one or another organ as needed. And they remove metabolic products from the body. That is, metabolism is entirely muscle work! Pills that restore metabolism are a myth.

“But people don’t prescribe pills for themselves, they are prescribed by doctors for some reason...

— First, people themselves bring themselves to a state where, at the age of 40, they need antihypertensive drugs to lower blood pressure and prevent heart failure. These pills are prescribed by a cardiologist. Your blood pressure starts to rise frequently - take your medicine! And also, take care of yourself, don’t overexert yourself physically. What is load? With a minus sign - this is when you cannot walk, you have constant shortness of breath. And the load with a plus sign is when you have done exercises, “pumped up” yourself and it’s easy for you to run and jump. And without such a regular load it is impossible to ensure the normal functioning of the body, that’s the thing! And if you don’t constantly strain yourself, from childhood, and don’t engage in physical exercise, an unhealthy child will grow into a sick adult who has diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, and, as a result, dementia...

— Nowadays, a healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition are quite actively promoted, and they talk about the benefits of running, walking, and physical exercise. For example, you also hosted an interesting program - “Traffic Rules” with Anna Semenovich. That is, there are no secrets - go and study. And the majority continue to lie on the sofas... Why do you think?

— I spent more than 20 years of my life on crutches. And he restored himself with the help of a system of exercises. I had a goal: to become a healthy person. And I went to her. Unfortunately, when I started working with others, I realized one sad thing: the average patient is lazy, cowardly and weak. Most people think that their time has not yet come - they can still lie on the couch. But sometimes it’s too late to study...

- In which cases?

- There are processes that require consciousness, which a person no longer has - for example, with dementia, Alzheimer's disease. Exercises and physical activity are ineffective in severe forms of osteoporosis, when the body practically falls apart. Many people come to me after 80 years. That is, they have already tried everything in life: all the pills, all the procedures - and finally decided to take up gymnastics and physical exercise. But more often than not, even they are satisfied with the result.

Sport helps even 80-year-olds

— Will the effect of playing sports be at any age?

- The effect will be colossal! I have patients that I am proud of. For example, a front-line soldier, a doctor, an operating surgeon, at 84 years old, came to me with 30 years of headaches and high blood pressure, with osteochondrosis, osteoporosis of the spine. She said that she started studying from my books because she was afraid that I myself, having learned about her “sores,” would abandon her. At first the blood pressure returned to normal. Then the headaches went away. As a doctor, she understood what beneficial processes were occurring in her body and continued to practice. There was also an 82-year-old woman with osteoporosis. Sneeze - broken ribs; pull up - broken spine. Severe demineralization of bone tissue! But she was so cheerful and cheerful - she won me over with her optimism. At first I did the exercises while lying on the floor. A month later - already standing. When her condition was satisfactory, I gave her a set of exercises, and she did them at home... I always encourage older people: understand your body, learn the rules of prevention, and exercise even when you already feel good! There was also an illustrative case when I worked in a nursing home; elderly people from their families ended up there. For most it was a terrible stress, and everyone dreamed of returning home.

One woman was nearly 80 years old. Very intelligent, reasonable, she cried because she ended up in a nursing home. She could not move around the room independently even on crutches, and she was sent to a boarding school by children who were constantly on the move and could not care for her. I diagnosed her and found the cause of the pain. And he started doing gymnastics with her. She was thin - bones and skin, and could no longer walk. And so, lying on the floor, the woman did exercises. When the children arrived a few months later, she met them in the hallway. I got there myself, without crutches. Of course they took her home. And she left with her head held high. It was her feat - I can’t say it any other way. Therefore, I never tire of repeating: load your muscles at any age! This is the first guarantee of health!

Health triad

— Where to start for those who have been too lenient on themselves for many years?

— To begin with, I would advise you to look at some of my books - I talk about many important points in detail in them. For example, the book “Osteochondrosis is not a death sentence” contains simple exercises that can be done at home. Now a wider version has been released - “60 irreplaceable exercises”. By the way, I talked about them in the “Traffic Rules” program on the “Russia” channel. But in general, I recommend the so-called health triad. These are push-ups, squats, and abs. But I want to draw your attention: older people can only squat with an emphasis on a fixed support if there is definitely no arthrosis of the knee and hip joint. Therefore, before you start exercising, you need to go to the doctor and take a picture of your joints.

— Why are these three exercises a priority?

— Squats improve the return of blood to the heart, to the brain - this is a kind of pump. And even hypertension can be gradually eliminated with just squats. They are also useful for organs located in the pelvis: in women it is the prevention of fibroids, in men - prostatitis. Push-ups are good for the heart, lungs, and for women they prevent mastopathy. If you want to save yourself from this problem, start doing push-ups. Ten times, twenty, a hundred - after all, it’s just ten times ten. From the floor, from your knees, from the sofa - whatever you want, as long as the muscles of the thoracic region work. Abdominal exercises - with their help we use the intestines, liver, kidneys. And when we work on the floor, we raise our legs and lower them - we improve the peristalsis of the intestines, the gallbladder, and the functioning of the kidneys.

— How many times should you do these exercises optimally?

- You can start with 5-10 times for each exercise. After two or three days, if there are no changes, do two times five, three times five, or even ten times five. This is actually not much - it’s 20-30 minutes of training. There is no need to go for a record from the first day. Important note: all exercises are done while exhaling; at the moment of tension you need to say: “Ha!” - and then there will be no increase in intracranial, intrathoracic and intra-abdominal pressure. After finishing classes, you need to take a cold shower or rub yourself with a cold wet towel. But just don't get warm! And then rub the body dry, this will increase blood flow and tissue nutrition. Agree, everything is very simple!

I spent more than 20 years of my life on crutches. And he restored himself with the help of a system of exercises.

— Some honestly admit that they have weak willpower and cannot force themselves to do exercises regularly. What advice can you give to such people?

— Willpower is a passive concept. She obeys reason. If you don’t want to study, lie down. Bedsores, constipation, hemorrhoids will not let you die in peace. Or start practicing right in bed - spin the “bicycle”, raise and lower your legs. The main thing is to turn on the hormonal zone so that you want to move. And now you’re already up. Walk around the room, do a few push-ups, do some squats. Made it to the gym? Well done! Walk on a treadmill, spin the pedals, and you will feel how “the appetite comes while eating.” Adrenaline is produced - and you can no longer leave without working out until you sweat. I worked out for an hour and started to respect myself! And somehow I don’t want to disrespect...

— Many people cannot start classes becausebecause something hurts all the time—either my back or my legs. What should such people do?

“First you need to stop stuffing yourself with painkillers. I have not seen a single person whom they have cured. It relieves pain for a while, it’s true. But what is pain? This is our friend who reports that problems have appeared in the body and need to be solved. Does your back hurt and you can't bend over? Get on all fours and walk around the apartment like a cat. And now it doesn’t hurt so much, and at the same time I wiped away the dust on the baseboards... You always need to make only the first move - towards health.

— Describe the ideal elderly person from your point of view.

“It’s very simple: this is a person who does not suffer from pain. He doesn’t take handfuls of pills and leads a fairly active physical and mental life. It’s nice to communicate with such a person; he will go hiking for company, take a steam bath, and drink a little. I generally respect mature people, they are very interesting conversationalists! Old age is a wonderful state if it is not decrepitude, but wisdom.

— How to independently assess your health?

— There are simple tests. If a man can do 30 push-ups with a straight body on the floor, if a man or woman can squat 30 times with a straight back and not have shortness of breath, if sitting on the floor with straight legs they reach the tips of their toes without bending their knees - they can count feeling more or less healthy. If a person cannot do push-ups, sit down, or bend, even if nothing hurts, he can no longer be considered healthy. Old age is not age, it is the loss of muscle tissue. For some, this process begins after 20 years. Therefore, it depends only on each of us until what age we remain strong, healthy and independent.

A healthy lifestyle is (still) more important than it seems

It has long been known that the main risk factors leading to high blood pressure are excess weight and smoking. Research confirms that a healthy work, nutrition and rest schedule is extremely important. The reports note that all modern guidelines from professional societies unanimously recommend the so-called “lifestyle modification”.

Events

Ten squats after brushing your teeth in the morning and a cup of coffee, frankly, do not solve anything. A patient with hypertension can only be helped by a complete lifestyle change. Regardless of the form of therapy. The most important measures relate to weight loss, dieting, muscle activity, and reducing the consumption of table salt and alcohol. As a result, the risks of myocardial infarction and apoplexy are expected to decrease, as well as savings on medications that lower blood pressure.

Unfortunately, these measures and their consequences are not flawless, however, with consistent lifestyle changes, it is quite possible to reduce the systolic index by 30 or more millimeters of mercury.

Reducing high blood pressure using non-drug means

Weight loss - minus 5-20 mmHg. Art. for every ten kilograms lost.

Low-fat, fiber-rich diet - minus 8-14 mmHg. Art.

Physical activity - minus 4-9 mmHg. Art.

Reducing table salt consumption - minus 2-8 mmHg. Art.

Reduced alcohol consumption - minus 2-4 mmHg. Art.

What are the symptoms?

High blood pressure does not cause pain! Therefore, hypertension is sometimes called the “silent killer.” However, there are symptoms that indirectly indicate a possible increase in blood pressure: headaches, visual disturbances, a suddenly reddened face and cardiac dysfunction.

"Normal" pressure

Previously, the basic rule was: age + 100 = systolic pressure. This is a simple but imprecise rule. Today, blood pressure is no longer divided into normal and high. The borderline value of hypertension and additional degrees of severity expand the existing classification, making it possible to more accurately describe and select appropriate therapy. Until recently, exceeding the value of 160/95 mm Hg. Art. (upper/lower) was already considered hypertension.

Increased normal 130-139 to 85-89

Hypertension

Grade 1 (mild) 140-159 to 90-99

Grade 2 (moderate) 160-179 to 100-109

Grade 3 (severe) 180 to 110

What medications help?

The regulation of blood pressure involves numerous messengers, enzymes, and control centers located in the brain. Medicines target different components of this complex system. The following groups of drugs are used to treat hypertension: beta blockers, alpha1 blockers, alpha2 blockers, calcium antagonists (slow calcium channel blockers), ACE inhibitors, AT1 inhibitors, diuretics and nitro drugs.

All medications must be given strictly according to prescription and are not intended for self-treatment. Prescribed medications must be taken regularly. Stopping voluntarily can be dangerous.

What else can be done?

There are special medicinal herbs for many diseases; unfortunately, there are none for hypertension. You should not trust various “miracle remedies”, plant extracts, tinctures. In folk medicine, hawthorn or mistletoe are used to reduce high blood pressure, but their effect cannot be accurately determined experimentally. Regular light and moderate physical activity makes a contribution to the prevention and treatment of hypertension. Moderate sports aimed at developing endurance are ideal for this purpose: walking, running, swimming, dancing, golf, rowing, gymnastics and skiing.

Reduce your salt intake! Take no more than six grams per day, pay attention to the salt content in sausage, ham and processed foods. The same minerals as calcium, magnesium and potassium, on the contrary, are useful. Limit your alcohol intake. This way, you kill two birds with one stone, as you also reduce your calorie intake. Stop smoking! Very soon after you stop smoking, the risk to your health will decrease significantly, and your wallet will be happy too. Lower your cholesterol levels. Replace animal fat with vegetable fat. Avoid stress, learn relaxation techniques such as autogenic training, muscle relaxation, yoga, qigong.

When should you see a doctor?

Do not self-treat hypertension! Both diagnosis and therapy should be in the hands of a doctor. However, the patient must be actively assisted to bring his blood pressure levels under control and keep them within normal range.

Squats: not instead, but after

Evgeniy Milner

A reader from Omsk, Sergei Korchagin, thanked us for Heinrich Epp’s article “A Thousand Squats,” published in FiS more than two decades ago. A photocopy of this article was given to him to read by the doctor to whom he turned for help. Sergei became interested in the exercises described in it. And then I found out on the Internet that such photocopies are passed from hand to hand and are very popular.

In the last issue we published a letter from Sergei Korchagin and repeated an article by Heinrich Epp. They also promised to comment on this article from their current positions. Today we are fulfilling our promise.

20 years ago, when an article about squats by G. Epp was first published in the journal FiS, I did not pay much attention to it, since I was well aware that squats, like all other strength exercises, cause a marked increase in blood pressure (BP) and, therefore, are not available to most people over 40-50 years of age. But now, having carefully read the article by G. Epp and the letter of S. Korchagin, I think that the positive results obtained by them require explanation. But let's first look at the theory behind this issue.

The fact is that the nature of the impact of physical exercise on the human body depends on the type of movements and the structure of the motor act. For example, all cyclic exercises (walking, running) affect mainly the oxygen delivery systems to organs and tissues (breathing, blood, circulation) and, to a much lesser extent, muscle strength. Conversely, acyclic exercises (gymnastics, weightlifting, wrestling, throwing) primarily increase the functionality of the musculoskeletal system (muscle strength, flexibility, coordination of movements) and do not lead to training the oxygen transport system.

Moreover, even within one type of exercise there are specific features of their effect on the body. Thus, in the group of cyclic exercises, cycling is characterized by static tension of the muscles of the back and shoulder girdle, skiing - by the presence of a sliding phase, swimming - by a horizontal body position and a state of relative weightlessness in the aquatic environment, etc.

Strength exercises have their own specifics in the same way. For example, squats lead to a marked increase in blood pressure and to a lesser extent increase heart rate (HR). And push-ups while lying down increase heart rate to a greater extent and significantly less blood pressure as a result of the horizontal position of the body and facilitating the flow of venous blood to the heart (“venous return”).

The pronounced increase in blood pressure during squats is explained by the mechanism of the so-called muscle pump, first described by Academician Arinchin in 1957. The essence of the mechanism is that when the leg muscles contract, due to the presence of venous valves that provide one-way blood flow to the heart, the mass of blood entering the right atrium and pulmonary circulation, and then into the aorta, increases sharply - and the pressure rises. Thus, rhythmically repeated squats literally pump blood into the heart, which is the reason for the increase in blood pressure.

During cyclic exercises (walking, running), the muscle “pump” also functions, but to a much lesser extent, since in this case the force of muscle contractions is much weaker than during squats, and the level of pressure increase is regulated by the expansion of the lumen of the blood vessels of the working muscles. Therefore, during cyclic work, the increase in blood pressure is moderate, and after its completion, as a result of turning off the “pump” and residual vasodilation (vasodilation), the pressure decreases. Which is the basis for recommending aerobic exercises for the prevention and even treatment of the initial stages of hypertension.

In addition, during squats, as well as during any strength exercises, there is an element of holding the breath and straining, which leads to increased pressure in the chest cavity, difficulty in “venous return,” and sharp changes in arterial and venous blood pressure, which in older people can lead to various problems from dizziness to stroke.

It must also be taken into account that to achieve the necessary healing effect on the body (significant energy consumption, lowering blood cholesterol and body weight, increasing the level of maximum oxygen consumption, dilating blood vessels, normalizing blood pressure and other healing effects of aerobic training) requires at least 30 minutes continuous cyclic work of moderate intensity. Strength exercises (squats, push-ups while lying down, lifting the body into a squat position from a supine position), as well as working with weights (weights), as a result of stronger muscle contractions and the rapid development of fatigue, stop much earlier. It is impossible to squat without a break for at least 20 minutes without special long-term training, while you can walk and run for hours without much strain.

Therefore, an attempt to convert acyclic strength exercises into cyclic ones due to a greater number of repetitions from the point of view of the physiology of muscle activity is incorrect and unfounded. And apparently, the doctor who told Sergei Korchagin: “Don’t want to run? Squat!”, I didn’t fully realize this. Despite the fact that such attempts took place in the history of the physical education movement. Thus, in Bulgaria, a country with traditionally developed sports such as wrestling and weightlifting, an exercise such as the bench press of a light weight barbell with a high number of repetitions was very popular in classes in health groups for older people. At the same time, a special breathing technique was even developed to eliminate the element of straining: lifting the projectile was performed in the inhalation phase, and not in the exhalation phase, as usual.

However, it should be noted that such classes were carried out, firstly, mainly with former athletes, wrestlers or weightlifters, who were well adapted to power loads in the past, and secondly, with a horizontal body position, which eliminates the need to raise the blood column to a height of about 1 m and significantly facilitates the work of the heart.

In addition to squats and barbell lifts, push-ups while lying down were also popular (the unofficial world achievement in this type of exercise reached three thousand repetitions). And yet, attempts to use strength exercises in the form of long cyclic repetitions in the hope of their aerobic effect cannot be considered appropriate, since the means and methods of health training must correspond to its goals and objectives.

If you want to strengthen the joints and muscles of the lower extremities, pelvis and back, do squats to your health, unless you have hypertension. But for those who are faced with the task of normalizing blood pressure, body weight and cholesterol levels, there are cyclic aerobic exercises. Why reinvent the wheel? And general developmental exercises for strengthening the abdominal muscles, back, shoulder girdle and others, including squats, can be performed after finishing aerobic training, but not instead of it. And before performing them, it is necessary to carry out functional test for predisposition to hypertension- standard test, mandatory in physical therapy - the same 10 squats in 30 seconds. If after this load the systolic blood pressure increases by no more than 20 mm and returns to the original level within 2-3 minutes, then you can safely include squats in your physical training “assortment”. If the jump is 30 mm or more, or the pressure remains elevated for a long time, then it is better to abandon this type of exercise.

This is the theory behind this issue in a nutshell. Now let's turn to practice - very specific results published in the articles of S. Korchagin and G. Epp, the results of which I in no way question. Both authors write that squats helped improve the health of all people, and one elderly woman, Efrosinya Saenko, was even completely cured of hypertension. How can this be related to the theoretical data given above?

The first question that arises in this regard is what were the blood pressure numbers of all these people before the start of the classes and how did they change during the training (there is no indication of this in the articles). If their blood pressure was normal before starting classes, then no questions arise. But if they were all hypertensive, that’s a completely different matter. Sergei Korchagin himself, as follows from his letter, had a decreased (and not increased!) blood pressure level. And Heinrich Epp wanted to use squats to strengthen the heart, get rid of shortness of breath and, apparently, was also not hypertensive.

The positive results of squats described by the authors could also depend on a very slow increase in the number of repetitions of squats: starting with just two (!) and increasing by several repetitions per week. That is, the most important principle of gradual increase in load was strictly observed here. And in this case, the physiological mechanism of smoothing out adaptive reactions to load comes into play, in particular a sharp jump in pressure on squats. During long-term training, this phenomenon can be reduced to minimal numbers. Therefore, the dynamics of blood pressure both for a beginner and for such squat aces as S. Korchagin and G. Epp will be very different.

And one last thing. If you do not have serious medical conditions such as hypertension or coronary heart disease, you can gradually introduce squats into your workout. However, if you are over 50 or are weakened, it is better to start with a lightweight version - half squats with your hand resting on the back of a chair. Be sure to measure your blood pressure: before starting squats, immediately after finishing them, and also 30 minutes, 1, 2, 3 hours after training. If during this time the blood pressure is higher than 10 mm compared to normal, you need to be extremely careful about strength exercises. Personally, in such a case, I would refrain from doing them.

Evgeniy MILNER, Candidate of Medical Sciences

Say goodbye to sciatica and hypertension

I know from myself that sciatica, which is common to most men, strikes at the most inopportune moment. My friends in the service were all in the clutches of this unpleasant disease twice a year. And the reason, it was believed, lay in the early rise due to anxiety. It was necessary to hang ammunition on planes when the person had just been “yanked” out of bed and the body had not yet had time to warm up. To everyone’s surprise, radiculitis avoided me.

Friends joked that I could not escape the common fate. But I already knew that this attack would pass me by. I tried to explain to them the method of salvation, gave them an article to read, which I sent to the newsletter.

This was in 1983. I ran for a minute into my office, where the engineers usually sat and in my absence, a soldier clerk was on duty at the telephone to communicate with headquarters. I noticed that the soldier quickly hid the magazine and pulled out a piece of paper from the typewriter. The guy clearly didn’t count on my arrival.

I silently took out the magazine and saw an article by Heinrich Epp “1000 squats.” Everyone in the room fell silent in anticipation of the punishment. But after looking through the article, I told the soldier to print me a dozen copies for my fellow cycling tourists from Riga.

Healthy lifestyle: Let us quote, with slight abbreviations, this article from the magazine “Physical Culture and Sports” for 1983.

The secret of 1000 squats

I took care of my health very late, when I had already reached retirement age. I started with running. I covered the first kilometer in three strides, gasping for air with my open mouth. It was late autumn, and I thought that I would definitely catch a cold. I decided to limit myself to squats to give my heart a rhythmic workout.

The first time I sat down 10 times, the limit was shortness of breath. After 2 months of hard training, I could already boast to my employee that I was doing 25 squats. He reported that his result was 2 times better. And then I heard from a young trainee: “Just think, a guy in our dorm did a thousand squats in a row on a dare.”

This installation gave me strength, and after 125 days I got to a hundred, and a week later - to 200 in 10 minutes! Six months later, I became so strong that I added a new hundred every week, and when I finally reached 1000, I went back onto the treadmill. I easily covered 8 km, my heart rate was 170, and most importantly, no shortness of breath.

If we proceed from the formula according to which the maximum high heart rate should be equal to 220 minus age, then after six months of squats, it turns out that I was 12 years younger, since I was 62 years old at that time.

Later, I trained my heart and myself either by running or by squats. I made sure that 100 squats and 1 km of running in the same time are equivalent. And after conducting many experiments, I realized that the heart rate level is easily regulated by the pace and number of squats.

When squatting, I always try to engage as many muscles and joints as possible, developing endurance, flexibility and strength. For a poorly prepared beginner, you can add push-ups from the edge of the table to the squats, staying a meter away from it. If you throw your arms up, this is training the vestibular system; if you stretch your arms to the floor when squatting, it means developing flexibility. When choosing any combination, you should take into account how much the pulse rises, which naturally comes with experience. Gradually, the time of squats can be increased to 30 minutes. The nature of squats, execution technique, number of movements and tempo are individual, in accordance with the capabilities of the body.

Personally, I settled on 500-600 squats. This is enough for a good workout. As a specialist from the department of physical therapy said, the combination of movements with breathing (at the moment of squatting - exhale) enhances ventilation of the lungs, activates blood circulation and improves metabolic processes. This not only strengthens the abdominal muscles, but also massages the internal organs, which is especially important for chronic gastrointestinal diseases. When squatting, the leg muscles are trained, which play a large role in venous circulation, facilitating the work of the heart.

You need to start squats from 10-15 several times a day, gradually adding 5-10 squats. Self-control can be the pulse and the need to continue exercising. Consultation with a doctor is required.

Heinrich Epp. Novosibirsk

I can’t count how many times I later had to reproduce this article, because the results of 1000 squats turned out to be simply amazing. Even my late mother, who at 82 years old was very shy about physical education, increased the number of squats to 120 times. At the same time, she leaned on the edge of the table. And she didn’t get sick for two years. It's a shame I quit later.

I reached my thousand in less than 2 months. By this time, I ran for 40-50 minutes every other day and considered that I was already prepared. By announcing that I was “going for a thousand,” I stunned my young engineers. They were very proud that they had achieved 180 squats during this time.

I have been looking for a long time for the reason for getting rid of sciatica with the help of squats. G. Epp derived a formula for the equivalence of running and squats. However, among the runners there were many radiculitis sufferers. What's the matter? From my own experience, I was convinced that when running, the spine remains cold. The muscles are tense and do not experience compression and tension stress. In the area of the pelvic vertebrae there is poor blood supply and muscle numbness occurs. Do not look in atlases for the short muscles that connect the parts of the spine. They are not shown there. But it is these hard-working muscles that bear the main variable load. They need to be helped by training them for compression and tension. The best way to do this is squats. If these muscles are healthy, then the intervertebral discs quickly fall into place, intervertebral hernias resolve, and the spine takes on the correct shape. And a healthy spine is the youth of the body, as P. Bragg argued.

When in 2001, at a construction site, I began to explain to workers how you can get rid of radiculitis with 1000 squats, they did not believe me. Moreover, the last time I performed this cycle was in 1983. In a dispute he proved that he was right.

I would also like to note that when practicing 1000 movements, muscle mass does not increase, like in “jocks”, and the heart does not experience extra stress. But muscles with the same mass become more resilient, that is, a person becomes more efficient. And this is what the Zozhevites need.

Having mastered a thousand squats according to Heinrich Epp’s suggestions, I would definitely add “Kalmyk Yoga” by Viktor Ivanovich Kharitonov. This will bring success in the fight not only against radiculitis and hypertension, but also against other diseases.

Garashchenko V.N.

Healthy lifestyle: In his material, Epp gives examples of people who, at the age of “over 70,” took up squats and significantly improved their condition, getting rid of chronic diseases. We “missed” examples, because who knows where these people are now, so many years have passed. But the “1000 squats” idea itself is worthwhile. There is just no need to rush to master it.