No Pain, All Gain

Build muscle, lose weight, and injury-proof your body.
By Steve Mazzucchi, Best Life

Physical therapists are increasingly encountering a new kind of "40-year-old virgin": active men in their forties who are finding themselves on the physio table for the first time. "When a man enters his forties," says physical therapist Kim Caspare, owner of Body Architects NYC, "his metabolism slows down, so he has to work out harder to maintain his physique. At the same time, his joints become less lubricated, and his muscles, tendons, and ligaments become less elastic, setting the stage for his first workout injury."

In fact, men 35 and older rack up more than a million sports injuries a year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The solution: Strengthen your stabilizers. These muscles, which surround and stabilize your joints, are the key to transforming your body and keeping your name off the disabled list. "Think of the following exercises as 30-second warm-ups. Each one activates a specific set of stabilizer muscles." The payoff: a leaner, stronger, more unbreakable you.

Resistance-Band Walk

Benefit: Works the outside hip muscles to protect the knees during lateral moves

When to do it: Before any leg exercise

Technique: Loop a resistance band in a figure-eight configuration around your ankles. Keep your back straight and feet shoulder-width apart. Sidestep for 20 yards to the right and then 20 yards to the left. Repeat twice.

Stablity-Ball Scrabble

Benefit: Hits the lower traps and rhomboids, stabilizing the shoulder complex so that you can swing a bat with ease and beat your kids at tug-of-war

When to do it: Before any back exercise

Technique: Hold two light dumbbells and lie facedown on a stability ball so that your back is flat, your chest is off the ball, and your arms hang toward the floor. Glide your shoulder blades down and back, bringing them together behind you while moving your arms toward your thighs to form the letter A with your torso. Next, turn your thumbs toward the ceiling as you pull your shoulder blades in toward your spine and extend your arms to your sides to create a T. Finally, glide your shoulder blades toward your waist as you lift your arms above your head to form a Y. Repeat each movement 10 times.

Shoulder Rotations

Benefit: Strengthens the rotator cuff, which stabilizes the shoulder joint so that you can hoist weights, pitch a baseball, or nail hook shots

When to do it: Before shoulder and chest exercises

Technique: Stand next to a lightly weighted pulley positioned slightly above hip level. Tuck a rolled-up towel in your armpit (to keep your arm in position) and bend your elbow at a 90-degree angle. Grasp the pulley and, engaging only your shoulder muscles, rotate your arm toward your navel. Do 20 reps. Next, face the opposite direction and rotate your arm away from your stomach for 20 reps. Repeat with your opposite arm.

Plank

Benefit: Engages the stabilizers of the shoulders, knees, hips, and back, as well as the transverse abdominis, increasing core strength and back stability

When to do it: Combine the plank with any of the aforementioned moves for a total body warm-up prior to any exercise

Technique: Get into a modified push-up position, supporting your weight with your forearms and the balls of your feet. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your heels (shoulders should be away from your ears). Hold for 20 to 60 seconds.