Cheek Exercises

Do Cheek Exercises Do Any Good?

Cheek exercises? - We exercise most other parts of our body, from abs to biceps, and from wrists to calf muscles. Some of us even regularly exercise our neck muscles, a very good idea, but cheeks? By cheek exercise we're not talking about the cheeks we sit on, those they can often benefit from workouts as well, but those on our face.

Face Muscles? - Although we use our face muscles constantly, we usually don't give them a second thought, even if our face starts to sag here and there. We look upon that as a natural occurrence, something nothing can be done about, with the exception of a face lift. The fact is, our facial muscles, including those in our cheeks, will benefit from exercise. A face with good muscle tone will generally be nicer looking than the same face that's been allowed to go to pot.

Those who make a practice of doing facial muscle exercises often claim to get very positive results, and in not too long a time. Since facial muscles are less massive than say, the quadriceps, one would expect they would tone up faster and firmer than can the larger muscle masses.

To make cheek exercises work, you need to do them every day, or at least every other day. The practice of not working out the same muscle group on two consecutive days is a good one, as it allows muscles, which suffer microscopic injuries during a heavy workout, a day to recover. Whether this advice extends to the cheeks is an open question, but it probably does not. If you want to do cheek exercises, or facial exercise, it may well be best to do them every day, and get into the habit of doing them.

The Workout Program - So, how does one do cheek exercises?

A good one to practice is to push the middle of your cheeks down (not in) with your fingers. Then, at the same time, tilt your head backwards and do several repetitions of "hard" smiles. By hard is meant you have to work at it to try to counteract the finger pressure. Do several repetitions.

Next is the "pucker-pout" routine. Using your best acting abilities, alternately pucker your lips and then close them into a pout. Do it slowly, holding each pucker and each pout for 10 seconds or more, doing about 10 reps. You should feel your cheek muscles working, or at least reacting.

Then there is the smile and wrinkle exercise. Here you want to smile hard, just as you did in the first exercise. Keep your lips closed, and imagine trying to touch your ears with the corners of your mouth. That's a real hard smile. Holding the smile, wrinkle your nose, slowly. You should feel your cheek muscles working. Do ten reps.

Moving you mouth and jaw around will also cause the cheek muscles to work, or at least move. Try creating your own custom exercise using your mouth.

Work All Your Facial Muscles - Body builders work all major muscle groups, and most minor ones for that matter, to get a nicely toned and balanced look. Combine your cheek exercises with several other facial exercises, taking into account your brow, scalp, jaw line, and lips, plus your neck. After all, highly conditioned cheeks might look funny if the rest of your face is sagging. It's not just the muscles that are getting a workout, but your skin will often benefit as well, by staying well toned, perhaps many years past the age when things start to collapse. Facial exercises might be a wonderful alternative to having to go through an eventual face lift, or simply having to avoid mirrors in your later years.