Volume 1, Number 40 • December 2011

Habit #40:
Tone Your Muscles Every Day
Every morning, I do my three-part exercise.
Part One: For 10 to 15 minutes, I do my body-breathing exercise. That’s the
simple movements I explained in Habit #39.
Part Two: After that, I go out of our gate and start walking for 30 minutes
(Habit #13). I just go around our tiny village.
Part Three: After the walk, I go home and spend 10 to 15 minutes for my
muscle toning exercises.
Let me tell you why that is important…

We’ve Stopped Exerting Effort!

Centuries ago, we used to hunt for our food. Till our soil. Plant our farms. Harvest our produce. We used
our muscles constantly.
Today, the most strenuous thing we do is tap our phones. And type on our computers. And press buttons
on the elevator.
Face it. You sit down for long stretches of the day. Every day! Sure, you might get up to the restroom,
water cooler, and canteen. But that’s it.
Your muscles pay the price for this constant sitting. Your joints get stiff. Your muscles get weak. And this
is not because of age!
It’s simply because you’re not using them.
Here’s a law of the universe: What you don’t use, you lose.

Old, Weak, Frail People… at 50!

Haven’t you noticed? People are getting old at a young age.

Here’s a fact: When you hit 50 years old, you lose 1.5 percent of your muscle mass every single year.
That’s scary.
This is the reason why you find old people who can’t even lift a glass of water. They simply allowed their
muscles to atrophy because they didn’t used them.
Use your muscles.
Do some push ups. Crunches. Dips.
I bought myself a chinning bar—the one that you can screw between a door frame.

Disclaimer:
Neither the author, the publisher nor any of their respective affiliates make any guarantee or other promise as to any results that may be obtained from using this Report.
No reader should make any health decision without first consulting his or her own personal physician and conducting his or her own research and due diligence. To the
maximum extent permitted by law, the author, the publisher and their respective affiliates disclaim any and all liability in the event that any information, commentary,
analysis, opinions, advice and/or recommendation in this book proves to be inaccurate, incomplete or unreliable or result in any detrimental health condition.

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 Volume 1, Number 40 • December 2011

I also got myself a unique suspension belt system created by my friend Monty Mendigoria. (I’ll be telling
you more about it at a future date.) I just sling it behind my front door and I can do all sorts of exercises, using my
own body weight as resistance.
Why do I do all these?
Here’s my goal: I still want to be strong at 100. I still want to walk tall, walk straight, and walk fast. I still
want to be able to carry my own luggage. I still want to climb stairs on my own. At 100, I still want to have the
strength of a 50-year-old.
Do you want that too?
Or would you want to grow weaker and weaker, just like other old people you know?
Choose your future!

Why Do You Need to Tone Your Muscles

You need strong muscles.

Strong muscles mean your bones and joints are stronger.
Strong muscles mean the non-fat parts of your body are increasing, and this directly helps with raising
your metabolic rate and burning more calories.
And hey, it makes you look good and feel good too!
Here’s what happens when you tone your muscles regularly…

1. Strong Abdominal Muscles

Your toned abdominal muscles help, not only with your posture, but also with digestion and the efficient
flow of oxygen and blood throughout your body. Crunches help define abdominal muscles. Push-ups strengthen
abdominal muscles too. These two simple exercises can keep your core toned and strong. A strong core can help
you carry out other activities easily, whether it’s simply lifting one week’s luggage or just lifting your two-year-
old baby.

2. Coordinated Movements

Having strong and toned upper body muscles can help you do daily activities and movements with more
control. Push-ups, dips, and crunches work on your chest, shoulder, abdominal and back muscles. Increased
muscle tone and strength in these areas means you have good balance and coordination as well as strength.

3. Stability and Balance

When you’re able to regularly do your toning exercises, your muscles (abdomen, back, shoulder, arms,
hip muscles) are trained to work together. This means more body stability and balance. A strong and solid upper
body and core means you move with more agility, balance, strength, and of course, confidence. You can now join
in Pilates or Yoga with confidence since their routines incorporate exercises that make use of upper body and core
muscles.

4. Good Health and Appearance

A regular exercise routine will create defined muscles (not necessarily that six-pack you have always
dreamed of having but certainly a flatter abdominal area). Incidentally, your toned abdominal muscles will not

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only give you a leaner appearance, it also helps improve oxygen and blood flow throughout the body, helping with
digestion, and protecting your body from injury and illness.

What Exercises Can Tone Muscles?

When we talk about toning muscles, we usually think about going to a gym and lifting a few weights.
You can do that. But you don’t have to. I don’t.
Toning muscles just means that your muscles need to exert force. You can tone your muscles without
having to buy any weights, expensive gym equipment or a trip to the gym.
Here’s the key: Use your own body weight. Using your body weight, you can tone your muscles and
get your heart pumping. For example, squats, crunches, lunges and push-ups help tone and develop lean, strong
muscles.

Squats

This is a great exercise for building strength and toning your thigh muscles while using the weight of your
body. It may look quite easy to perform but it’s actually an effective exercise to get your heart pumping and your
legs burning after just a few squats.
To do squats, stand on your feet, shoulder width apart and fold your arms on your chest. With a straight
back and facing forward (pick a spot in front of you and keep your eyes on it the whole time), bend your knees
until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Now stand up again and repeat as many times as you can.

Push-ups

Push-ups work both the upper and lower body muscles, and are good for helping you maintain overall
stamina. It works to create more body stability and balance so that you can do other exercises with more agility
and strength.
The traditional push-up supports the weight of your body on your toes and palms, with your body in a
straight line as you raise and lower your body. If you find this difficult to do, you could start with supported push-
ups (supporting body weight on knees and palms) first then gradually work towards traditional push-ups.

Lunges

Lunges are a little bit difficult to do at first because you exercise one leg at a time. It is good for toning
your thighs and your gluteus maximus muscle (bottom).
To do this, first pick a spot on the wall in front of you. Stand first with your feet together. To begin, step
forward with one foot while lowering the knee of the other leg to the floor and step back again to the original
position (this is done in one fluid motion). Then, do the same motion again but this time starting with the other
leg. Alternate your feet and perform as many repetitions as you can.

Dips

This exercise makes good use of your body weight. It strengthens and tones the triceps muscles at the
back of our arms. When we build and tone these muscles, we have more strength and stamina doing activities that
require lots of arm action (cleaning the floor, playing badminton, etc).
To perform dips, you will need to look for a stable chair, bench or a reasonably high step. Stand in front of

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 Volume 1, Number 40 • December 2011

the bench (or chair) so that it is right behind you. Now, as a starting position, place your hands on the front edge
of the bench (palm on the bench and fingers over the edge pointing down to the ground). Then place both feet
forward, heels resting on the ground (legs in front of you). Gently lower yourself until your bottom is just above
the floor. After around two counts, carefully raise your bottom to your starting position. Try to do as many dips
as you can.

Crunches

This exercise tones the abdominal muscles.

To do crunches, lie down on your back, bend your knees, feet flat on the floor and cross your arms in front
of your chest. Now lift your upper body by flattening the arch of your back and curling up slowly (using your
abdominal muscles), lifting your shoulders off the floor a few inches for two counts then returning to the starting
position.

Get to Work!

I don’t dream to have the body of a body builder.

I just want to tone my muscles daily so I remain strong until I’m 100 years old.
Reason? So many people to love. So many people to serve.
Join me.
Live until a hundred.

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez

P.S. Next week, I’ll focus on the “software” of our health. Program this well, and you’ll always be in top shape.
Watch out for this…

Not yet joined 52HealingHabits Program? Join at www.52HealingHabits.com now!

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