Facial Exercise: Share the Process and Results
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free skin care · Wed Sep 09, 2009 2:47 am

Hello, Songbird. For over 30 years I had a "clicking jaw" it seemed to pop out of joint and hurt when I opened my mouth. The problem has vanished completely since I've been doing the "kiss the ceiling" neck excercise. I bend my head back, jut chin out point it toward the ceiling and chew, chew, chew 'til I feel the burn. I noticed results after about 4 weeks of doing this everyday.
This excercise has improved my sagging crepey neck & jowls with the added bonus of completely curing my clicking jaw.
HTH

free skin care · Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:58 am

What kind of neck/jaw problems? What are your limitations. Off the cuff, I would avoid anything that extends the neck backwards... hyper extending so to speak. And I wouldn't do neck exercises with weights. I suspect however, that strengthening the neck muscles would offer a much needed support to the spine and neck, reducing pain and in addition to improving the appearance. I would talk with your PT, or Doctor about acceptable movement for exercises. With regard to any exercise that works your jaw, you are NEVER to work through pain. NEVER... NEVER...NEVER!!!! If you already have jaw problems, I would again talk to your Dr./Dentist about doing any strengthening of the supporting muscles. Many are split on the idea of working muscles surrounding joints. Mine is quite happy with the idea, he feels it keeps everything in place... and can prevent a person from getting worse. Others are of the exact opposite opinion.... that you shouldn't even risk it... My personal concern would be to wonder what happens to those messed up joints when the supporting muscle continues to atrophy with age.... But again... NEVER work in a painful range...

free skin care · Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:17 am

Hey... I'm filling inbetween the quotes... someone send me a lesson on the best way to quote, LOL... thanks...

cm5597 wrote:

But there is weight involved in a push-up--it's the weight of having to support your body...hence it's a bodyweight exercise, with the weight/resistance provided by one's body. You can see this because some people cannot do full push-ups and have to lean on their knees, which lessens the resistance/load. As long as the weight of your body is heavy enough to provide high enough resistance, then you should be able to tear down muscle and re-build much bigger muscle...it's only when you become strong enough that your own bodyweight doesn't feel so heavy anymore that your own bodyweight alone won't build much size and you need the additional weight of, say, a child. Would you agree with that more precise statement, or am I missing something?

No, you're not missing anything... that's my thought process too... So, like the face, you will take a while to fully engage the muscles... but without adding weight, neither the body nor the face will tear up to the max...

I just meant the standard definition of a set--a continuous number of repetitions followed by a rest. So the idea of a rest between each set was implied, as is the convention when mentioning the number of sets one performs. Hope that clarifies what I meant Smile

With that clarified, what are your thoughts on this?

I think this is just yet another great way to mix things up... GO FOR IT!!!

I think what I am still confused about is why we don't aim for enough intensity in training a particular facial muscle such that we can't train it every day... In training the body muscles, we aim not to train them every day so that we can train them harder, and the formula of more intense training + longer rest brings the most gains... So I would think that if you were going for maximum build in facial muscles, rather than doing one set and training every day, you'd want to do maybe 2-3 sets of 10 reps (or less) with more resistance applied by your fingers and train every 2-3 days.

Hope this clarifies what I meant! Sorry, I'm having trouble describing what I mean Smile

This is fine... this will prevent plateauing... We just don't generally recommend this, especially for the newbie, it would be overwhelming. Especially when they wake up the next morning and their face not only looks like they worked hard ('cause they will quickly expose how out of shape their face really is..), but their muscles ache... Oh yeah... have done that...

In the beginning, when we first introduced FE, we were lucky to get people to even touch their face. We've really had to introduce our level of aggression SLOWLY! Bodybuilders are the ONLY group of people that have caught on quickly, and make the sort of leap you are making...

Thanks so much, Claudia!!

I really appreciate all your help! Smile

You're welcome.

free skin care · Wed Sep 09, 2009 2:56 pm

Hi Ladies,

Thank you very much for all of your responses. I have been dealing with TMJ issues for the past 12 years and it has basically had a chain reaction effect down my neck and into my spinal area between my shoulders. (also, a car accident in 2004 didn't help anything either). I know I need to have braces/jaw surgery, but am waiting for insurance issues to be resolved. It's going to be a long journey, but am praying it will be worth it.

I guess I probably knew better than to do too much around my jaw joints. I just thought maybe some of the exercises might actually help, but you ladies are right and I should ask my dr. before trying anything.

I'm wondering, would the exercise programs be worth looking into just to work my eye area and forehead muscles?

Thanks again to everyone Smile

free skin care · Wed Sep 09, 2009 7:21 pm

Flex Effect has some good exercises for the eye area - very effective.

Your TMJ difficulties sound serious. I know many patients who have had orthodontics to improve their bite (which can in turn positively effect the mechanics of the TMJ) and more than a few who have had jaw reconstruction for similar reasons. Long, painful process I'm afraid but worth it.
I would be very cautious about using facial exercise to improve a TMJ that is having the type of difficulties you are experiencing.

If you don't have difficulty, it may prevent them (who knows?) The TMJ is considered to be somewhat a mystery in dentistry.

The cheek exercises are great from FE also and I doubt they would cause you discomfort or add to your problems.

free skin care · Sat Sep 12, 2009 9:31 am

Claudia and Sean--Thanks so much for your answers!!

So it sounds like you are saying, that from experience, Deb found that training every day for one set was optimal for building muscle...is that correct? Out of curiosity, what were the other alternatives that Deb tried and found were less effective?

To be honest, not training a muscle group every day is just so ingrained for me that it's hard for me to believe the face would be any different. Clearly, you both know much, much more than I do about facial muscles, and a couple of the points you brought up, such as it's not possible to engage the full fibers in facial exercises, were new to me. It's so ingrained that I think I'm going to have to experiment for myself to prove it...I'm thinking of trying training once every 1, 2, and 3 days for the cheeks, with more intensity the less frequently I train. I'll let you know how it goes (though I suspect this experiment will take months)!

ClaudiaFE wrote:

This is fine... this will prevent plateauing... We just don't generally recommend this, especially for the newbie, it would be overwhelming. Especially when they wake up the next morning and their face not only looks like they worked hard ('cause they will quickly expose how out of shape their face really is..), but their muscles ache... Oh yeah... have done that...

In the beginning, when we first introduced FE, we were lucky to get people to even touch their face. We've really had to introduce our level of aggression SLOWLY! Bodybuilders are the ONLY group of people that have caught on quickly, and make the sort of leap you are making...

Good points! I've been doing FlexEffect for 14 months now...and I have a bodybuilding background...so I feel ready and have no qualms about experimenting and taking risks...and I have no problem with training hard or resting long... nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?! Smile

free skin care · Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:33 am

Songbird wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I have been considering trying the facial exercises, but have neck and jaw problems. I'd like to hear from some of you that have similar problems and have used these exercises. Did it help your pain or make it worse Question

Thanks for any input Wink

Dear Songbird,

I had TMJ and even visited with a physical therapist for months to help with the jaw pain and clicking I had. That helped only minimally. However, once I started using Carole Maggio's Facercise program ~ in particular the Jaw Strengthener exercise those problems disappeared. The muscles of my face and jaw are now strong and I no longer have any of those those symptoms! However, when you perform the exercise you need to use your mouth corners, NOT your jaw hinge. Results are fast and awesome!!! Aprile

free skin care · Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:47 pm

Has anyone ever improved their under eye area with facial exercises? I just hate the no fat area under my eye and above my cheeks I have already and can only see it worsen with years.

free skin care · Fri Sep 18, 2009 3:28 am

LOL the alternatives that Deb tried (and continued to try) varied so much. But basically her suggestion is to aim to train every day. Life has a habit of throwing things in your way as it progresses and your not likely to be able to train every day for the rest of your life, but in aiming to do so you will progress. The exceptions to this rule are if you have an immune disorder or an endocrine condition where your body’s ability to repair is hampered somewhat. Think of things like thyroid conditions or diabetes for example. You may not be able to train daily, but may find that your body is able to respond every other day for example.

I know what you mean re training muscle groups – but hundreds if not thousands of people have (and continue) to train daily and get results. I think initially its good to aim to train daily for a year to really ensure you have a strong foundation, and then you can experiment.

Re muscle fibres, think of it this way – if you were able to engaging your facial muscle fibres 100%, you would basically rip the muscle and we don’t want that, however in aiming to do so, you will engage a much larger percentage.

cm5597 wrote:

Claudia and Sean--Thanks so much for your answers!!

So it sounds like you are saying, that from experience, Deb found that training every day for one set was optimal for building muscle...is that correct? Out of curiosity, what were the other alternatives that Deb tried and found were less effective?

To be honest, not training a muscle group every day is just so ingrained for me that it's hard for me to believe the face would be any different. Clearly, you both know much, much more than I do about facial muscles, and a couple of the points you brought up, such as it's not possible to engage the full fibers in facial exercises, were new to me. It's so ingrained that I think I'm going to have to experiment for myself to prove it...I'm thinking of trying training once every 1, 2, and 3 days for the cheeks, with more intensity the less frequently I train. I'll let you know how it goes (though I suspect this experiment will take months)!

ClaudiaFE wrote:

This is fine... this will prevent plateauing... We just don't generally recommend this, especially for the newbie, it would be overwhelming. Especially when they wake up the next morning and their face not only looks like they worked hard ('cause they will quickly expose how out of shape their face really is..), but their muscles ache... Oh yeah... have done that...

In the beginning, when we first introduced FE, we were lucky to get people to even touch their face. We've really had to introduce our level of aggression SLOWLY! Bodybuilders are the ONLY group of people that have caught on quickly, and make the sort of leap you are making...

Good points! I've been doing FlexEffect for 14 months now...and I have a bodybuilding background...so I feel ready and have no qualms about experimenting and taking risks...and I have no problem with training hard or resting long... nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?! Smile

free skin care · Fri Sep 18, 2009 5:53 am

I have had some good results with facial exercises and using my vaculifter. I also do a mini massage thing that was recommended to me and it has really thickened the skin and muscles in my lower eye area. I have been using both the vaculifter and doing facial exercises for the same amount of time so can’t give you a “its definitely because of X” answer, but am sure the combo has had a result.

Theresa

Vor wrote:

Has anyone ever improved their under eye area with facial exercises? I just hate the no fat area under my eye and above my cheeks I have already and can only see it worsen with years.

free skin care · Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:20 am

TheresaMary wrote:

I have had some good results with facial exercises and using my vaculifter. I also do a mini massage thing that was recommended to me and it has really thickened the skin and muscles in my lower eye area. I have been using both the vaculifter and doing facial exercises for the same amount of time so can’t give you a “its definitely because of X” answer, but am sure the combo has had a result.

Theresa

Vor wrote:

Has anyone ever improved their under eye area with facial exercises? I just hate the no fat area under my eye and above my cheeks I have already and can only see it worsen with years.

What kind of exercises? Can they compete with "Ageless if you dare's" one orbilaris oculis exercise where you pinch your eye corners and start squeezing your eyes shut as strong as possible?

free skin care · Sat Sep 19, 2009 4:23 pm

SeanySeanUK wrote:

LOL the alternatives that Deb tried (and continued to try) varied so much. But basically her suggestion is to aim to train every day. Life has a habit of throwing things in your way as it progresses and your not likely to be able to train every day for the rest of your life, but in aiming to do so you will progress. The exceptions to this rule are if you have an immune disorder or an endocrine condition where your body’s ability to repair is hampered somewhat. Think of things like thyroid conditions or diabetes for example. You may not be able to train daily, but may find that your body is able to respond every other day for example.

I know what you mean re training muscle groups – but hundreds if not thousands of people have (and continue) to train daily and get results. I think initially its good to aim to train daily for a year to really ensure you have a strong foundation, and then you can experiment.

Cool, thanks for this, Sean! I will and do aim to train everyday but I think I will experiment now with increasing the resistance and training every 2-3 days, similar to what I (and most body builders) do with weight training when going for maximum build in muscles. I've got 14.5 month now under my belt, so I'm up for the challenge and the experimentation Smile

I curious to see if there is a difference...will let you know!

SeanySeanUK wrote:

Re muscle fibres, think of it this way – if you were able to engaging your facial muscle fibres 100%, you would basically rip the muscle and we don’t want that, however in aiming to do so, you will engage a much larger percentage.

Oh, yes, but by that definition, that's the same thing that is true to your body's muscles...Did you say that it was harder to engage the same fraction/percentage of muscle fibers in facial muscle than in body muscle, or did I misunderstand you...?? Question

That's what I thought you were claiming and hence what I was trying to ask is why you think this is so.

Thanks so much! Smile

free skin care · Sat Sep 19, 2009 7:15 pm

Hello All -
I've been trying something new lately with my facial exercise regime....

I've read of some facial exercise guru's promoting doing facial exercises while lying down so I gave it a try. For the past 10 days I have been doing Lou Lou's cheek exercises in bed every morning before I get up and lo and behold there is definitely more pump - it is temporary but I know that is to be expected. At least initially - and hoping it will hold longer the more I do it.

Anyone else want to give this a try and let us know if it works the same for you???

free skin care · Sat Sep 19, 2009 7:24 pm

I used to do Carolyn Cleaves Facial fitness and her regime is to do them lying down. I think Carole Maaggio has some too. The idea is you will create more of a workout in a prone position. One thing about it.....it is a way to start the day if when you have gotten out of bed, your exercises are already done Wink

free skin care · Sat Sep 19, 2009 7:28 pm

Yay! Toby has reached 1000 posts. congratulations girlfriend! Cool

free skin care · Sat Sep 19, 2009 8:06 pm

Congrats, Toby!

Interesting idea to lie down. Some of the FE neck exercises are done in that position, but it makes sense that you'd get more impressive results because you're working against gravity as well as against the resistance created by your hands.

free skin care · Sat Sep 19, 2009 8:43 pm

sister sweets wrote:

Yay! Toby has reached 1000 posts. congratulations girlfriend! Cool

Yay Toby...Rah, Rah, Rah!

free skin care · Sun Sep 20, 2009 4:42 am

One thousand posts=spending lots of money

thanks for noticing my numbers guys

Toby

free skin care · Sun Sep 20, 2009 6:25 am

I think Maggio was the first one that suggested it before Carolyn. Its not so much your working against gravity, but that gravity is providing an extra stimulous to your facial muscles.

You can do almost any facial exercise system lying down, it has benefit for sure. I do FE sometimes lying down, but other times standing up. Both work the muscles differently and I like challenging my muscles as much as reasonably possible Laughing

Congratulations Toby on the 1000 posts!

Toby wrote:

I used to do Carolyn Cleaves Facial fitness and her regime is to do them lying down. I think Carole Maaggio has some too. The idea is you will create more of a workout in a prone position. One thing about it.....it is a way to start the day if when you have gotten out of bed, your exercises are already done Wink

free skin care · Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:17 am

Hope you don't mind me saying this, but since I am physicist...in the lying down position, gravity will help with neck exercises where you lift up, but not with virtually any other exercises (e.g., cheeks, eyes) due to the angle. Gravity will only provide more resistance if you are contracting a muscle up towards the sky, not parallel to the ground. So you want to get in a position--whether that meaning standing up or lying down that makes you contract your muscle up towards the sky. I hope what I am trying to convey is clear. So for most facial exercises, to take advantage of gravity, you should be standing or sitting up.

But lying on the ground position will encourage more blood flow and circulation to the head. Plus, it may help some people concentrate better or better stabilize their necks and heads, and hence get better contractions that way. So the perceived results are likely due to other factors. HTH Smile

free skin care · Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:46 am

I'm not a physicist, but was thinking the exact same thing CM. Well put. Also, I think you are right about stabilizing the head/neck. I've often noticed myself straining my head against my hands and almost giving myself a neck cramp! Although it was a similar thing to some exercises a physical therapist gave me to strengthen my neck: basically providing resistance with your hand against pressure from your head on different angles...

free skin care · Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:22 am

LOL posture is also something else that I constantly have been known to mention, and you wouldn't believe how many people I have met who demo when they do their exercises, and often do it slouched down, or hunching over - and in my opinion thats a mistake.

Many of the greats I have known, always say to become cautious of your posture. So for example if you are doing them sitting down, to make sure your sitting tall, with the shoulders back (activating your lats), legs uncrossed etc - so your body is actually stable. Same thing with lying down. I think Carole was the first lady that I ever read of suggesting her ones to be done lying down (which she offers as a variation).

People often say bad things about gravity, but gravity actually does us a lot of favours. Sitting down, or lying down, if your focusing on working your muscles against resistance, and you can even be using energy visualisations in your mind - your going to get results but naturally having good posture is a part of training that many people neglect. Even in our day to day lives, the number of office workers who I see who slump into their chairs is such a large number its no surprise to me that we have so many structure problems with our bodies.

free skin care · Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:27 am

LOL of course its great to get other views.

In my experience many people though have found that initially they are unable to contract the target muscle sitting up (or contract three cheek muscles whereas an exercise is going after just one - take Wink for example) and whilst this can be purely a mental belief, if they find that lying down it enables them to activate the muscle, then I often have them do the select exercises a couple of months initially until they gain great control over it.

For me as its really about the placing of resistance (as you know from FE). When you place the resistance on the origin (or as close to it as you can get) by its very nature it begins stressing the muscle before you even move it. So providing the muscle is working against the resistance - you can build lying down or sitting up - so I think people should really do whatever makes them comfortable.

cm5597 wrote:

Hope you don't mind me saying this, but since I am physicist...in the lying down position, gravity will help with neck exercises where you lift up, but not with virtually any other exercises (e.g., cheeks, eyes) due to the angle. Gravity will only provide more resistance if you are contracting a muscle up towards the sky, not parallel to the ground. So you want to get in a position--whether that meaning standing up or lying down that makes you contract your muscle up towards the sky. I hope what I am trying to convey is clear. So for most facial exercises, to take advantage of gravity, you should be standing or sitting up.

But lying on the ground position will encourage more blood flow and circulation to the head. Plus, it may help some people concentrate better or better stabilize their necks and heads, and hence get better contractions that way. So the perceived results are likely due to other factors. HTH Smile

free skin care · Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:17 pm

Just adding my 2 cents here about Carole Maggio's exercises lying down ~ It's not just the prone position that creates the resistance. She often times has you pushing your feet against a wall to create resistance and that really does work well! You get more bang for your buck performing certain exercises in the prone position. (Others just work better seated). YES Toby ~ You do have the added benefit of getting them done before you even get out of bed!!! Laughing

Best regards, Aprile

free skin care · Tue Sep 22, 2009 5:08 am

Good point Aprile - thanks for reminding me of that! Its so true, Carole does recommend the feet pushing against the wall/floor for resistance. Actually in a live face to face session she really has little tricks that intensify that - and I imagine that will be shown on her newer dvd

aprile wrote:

Just adding my 2 cents here about Carole Maggio's exercises lying down ~ It's not just the prone position that creates the resistance. She often times has you pushing your feet against a wall to create resistance and that really does work well! You get more bang for your buck performing certain exercises in the prone position. (Others just work better seated). YES Toby ~ You do have the added benefit of getting them done before you even get out of bed!!! Laughing

Best regards, Aprile

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