The Nitric Oxide ‘Dump’ — Easy Workouts to Do at Home
What these short workouts do is increase the opportunity for the muscle to build, Bush says, adding, “The cool thing is that you rebuild that nitric oxide every couple of hours.” If it’s released three times a day, you have the added benefit of your muscles deciding when it’s time to grow, feed and breathe. A typical four-minute workout entails three sets of 10 repetitions or “reps,” but you can eventually work toward increasing it to 20.
Hand weights aren’t necessary or even recommended at first, although you can also work toward using them later if you’d like. By focusing on form and speed, you run out of oxygen at your large muscle groups at the joints. It’s a new level of fitness, but form is important and only once you’ve mastered form should your pace increase over time.
Here’s the drill for each of these movements. Again, start with three sets of 10 repetitions. As you feel comfortable, move to 20 repetitions with each exercise. At the end, you’ll have completed 240 movements. Here’s an important stipulation, however: As you’re exercising, don’t breathe through your mouth. Keep your mouth closed and breathe only through your nose.
Squats: Legs — Glutes, Hamstrings, Quads, Calves — and Abs
“A good squat is your butt going back and looking like it’s going to sit in a chair. It’s not just a simple knee bend,” Bush explains. Further, your arms have to be held forward in front of you to maintain balance, especially as your weight shifts backward; first you “sit down,” then you straighten back up again.
To help you do that, your feet should also be placed as far apart as your shoulders, and if it bothers your knees or back, you just make the movements more shallow. You’ll get the same activation in your quadriceps. The goal is to keep that muscle engaged, but your speed is actually more important than the depth of your squat.
- Begin by standing with your feet hip-width apart, feet parallel, toes pointing forward and the weight of your body distributed evenly between your heels and the ball of your foot.
- Perform 10 squats in rapid sequence, keeping your quadriceps engaged.
If you have knee problems that make squats problematic, get into the seated position by placing your back flat against a wall for 30 to 60 seconds or until your thighs begin to ache. Bush’s video, above, shows you how to do it.
Tin Soldier: Shoulders — Deltoids and Triceps
To start, swing your arms at a simple 90-degree angle, which helps work a number of muscles in your deltoids, which are the rounded, triangular-shaped muscles on the uppermost part of your arm and the top of your shoulder (hence, the name “deltoids” after the Greek letter delta, which is shaped like an equilateral triangle2 ).
In fact, the arm swings from your waist, alternately right and left, go in front of you to shoulder height and encompass other muscles in your shoulders and back. Your hands should make loose fists and be pointed downward. In addition, it’s important to keep your form tight and maintain muscle control rather than just flapping your arms up and down, Bush says.
- Alternately, achieve 90-degree elevation in each arm.
- Begin standing straight with your arms at your sides. Lift your right arm in front of you to a 90-degree elevation, then swiftly drop it back down to your side while raising your left arm, also to a 90-degree elevation.
- Alternate left and right, repeating 10 times each side.
Snow Angel: Back — Lats, Traps, Deltoids, Rotator Cuffs
This part of the workout is basically a jumping jack without the jump to work your latissimus dorsi muscles (lats), whose name means “broadest muscle of the back,”3 and trapezius muscles (traps), the large muscle that extends from the back of your head down your neck and into your upper back. Again, make sure you don’t get sloppy, but “click” your fists together both at the bottom and again at the top to get the full range of motion and the full benefit of the workout in your shoulders.
A modification if you have shoulder problems is to simply move in the opposite direction: Start at the center, hands clasped in a prayer position in front of your face, reach up in the center over your head and bring your arms downward on each side. “It’s almost like you’re doing the breast stroke. It’s amazing; even if you have frozen shoulder how that can break things loose and loosen it up,” Bush explains.
- Begin standing straight with your arms down, fists touching in front of your pelvis.
- Use a broad rotation, circle your arms upward on each side to touch your fists over your head.
- Circle back down to hit fists at the bottom and repeat 10 times.
If you have shoulder problems with your rotator cuffs, try this variation instead:
- Start with hands at a prayer position in front of your chest.
- Keep hands pressed together lightly as you extend them above your head.
- Circle your arms out to the sides to release before bringing them back to the prayer position. Repeat 10 times.
Military Press: Shoulders and Arms — Traps, Neck, Deltoids, Triceps
You could call this next exercise the “invisible pullup.”
- Bring fists above your shoulder to either side of your head, elbows bent.
- Extend arms straight above your head.
- Return to position with fists just over your shoulders and repeat 10 times.
Then, without breaking your tempo, return to start the second exercise set in the same sequence: Squats, tin soldiers, snow angels and military presses, until you complete three sets. Bush notes that at the end of the four-minute exercise, it’s important to mentally regroup to allow your body to catch up to the enormous increase in blood flow. What you’re feeling is the liberation of nitric oxide.
“Resting with your hands at your sides, close your eyes and experience the sensation in your extremities. You may feel tingling or sense increased blood flow as all your blood vessels dilate, delivering oxygen and fuel for optimal health.
Relax, shake it out and feel your fingertips. You’ll feel a little tingling and a little puffy over the next 20 seconds. That’s the nitric oxide effect. You’re dilating all those blood vessels, oxygenating everything from your brain to your kidneys and everything else in your body, and you’re building muscle for the next couple of hours.”4
If you repeat that three times a day, you’ll find a change in your metabolism and muscle capacity so you can strengthen and maintain that lean muscle, Bush adds. It essentially changes the number of calories you burn even while you’re sitting still. It’s an exciting shift in our concept of exercise.
As mentioned, the Nitric Oxide Dump, when done correctly, entails starting at 10 reps and working up to 20, paying attention to your form, and completing the sequence two or three times a day, every day. You can do it no matter where you go — I even do it at the airport as I’m waiting for my luggage. You may look a little odd, but remember, it’s an extremely effective workout and totally free, and best of all, it will help you take control of your health.
