17) Why do I have to eventually lie down to perform the exercises?
A: There are several reasons you will have better, faster and more complete results when you lie down and perform the exercises. First of all, once you know the exercises by heart from doing them sitting up, using Part 1 of the DVD, you will then observe Part 2 of the DVD. This shows you the five exercises that you will be doing a little differently lying down from sitting up. You also need to build certain muscles in the neck in order to lift the rest of the face correctly. And, as well, when you have to lift and turn your head when lying down, you achieve results a lot faster than you would if you were only sitting up.
For example, you will be turning your head from side to side sitting up, but when you lie down to do this exercise, you will lift your head an half-inch off the mattress (or floor) and then turn your head from side to side, looking far left and then far right. You can imagine how much stronger this exercise becomes at building the muscles in the front of your neck. The same is true for "The Pout" exercise. You will lift your head with each Pout you make and hold for a count of five. Again, you are allowing the muscles in the jowl area to be affected with a much stronger force, while building the muscles in other parts of the neck. In fact, many of the exercises are more beneficial when gravity is helping you in this way.
It's very important to build a good foundation (the neck area) in order to lift the jowls and even the hooded eyelids properly.
So. To reiterate. Yes, if you lie down and perform the exercises, once you know them by heart … and if you follow along with my voice on the personal trainer CD that comes with each Kit, you will achieve the most elegant, contoured, lifted, tighter face and neck for which the CFF program was designed. (Back to Top)
18) Q: How does the CFF program get rid of dark circles and bags under the eyes?
A) Under each eye, we have small little lymph nodes. When you perform the five eye exercises in the CFF program, you stimulate these lymph nodes which in turn, flush out any toxins or old, damaged cells that may be lurking in this area. This condition is usually the main cause not only for fluid retention, but for dark circles, as well. With the CFF facial exercises, you actually whisk away the old damaged cells, leaving your under eyes not only free of dark circles but less puffy, too. The skin tends to tighten up around contracting muscles, making the skin under the eye - around the whole eye area - smoother, tighter and firmer.
In fact, the area around the eyes does not have oil glands the way the rest of the face does, so it's very important to use a cream that is specifically made for that part of the face. You may find you are retaining fluid, especially noticeable under the eyes, if you use regular facial cream, instead of eye cream that is precisely formulated for this area.
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19) How often should I perform the exercises and why? What about a moisturizer?
A: After much research, we've found that performing the basic 28 exercises (15 minute workout) once a day, five times a week for the first three months will give a perfect foundation for adding any bonus exercises (if needed) later on. Giving the face two days off to rest, once a week is also seemingly important for a couple of reasons. One, you won't stop dong the exercises because the demand to workout is too much and it "seems" (no scientific back-up here... just our observation), secondly, the face and the neck do better when they have a little weekly rest from the exercises. The build on the face and neck seem to be more elegant, firm and balanced when the tissue has time to recover with time off in this given amount of time.
It will take you awhile to learn the exercises as well as gain control over the muscles of the face and neck. About two weeks. Once you learn them sitting up, please lie down and do them. Part 2 of the DVD shows you those exercises done a little differently lying down than how you perform them sitting up. This is very important to lie down. You are actually building muscle fiber and you need to lie down and lift your head to do this most effectively.
You also need to perform the Face Firmer once with every workout. The Face Firmer helps to round out the exercises and makes sure that as your cheeks build, the hollows in the cheeks firm up and fill out to give you a more youthful and firmer, elegant look. You can perform the Face Firmer twice a day on those days you miss your regular workout and you can also perform the Face Firmer on the days you're letting the face "rest", but only twice a day on resting days.
A note about moisturizer and the CFF program: While it is fine to use a moisturizer in the beginning of exercising, remember that friction helps to challenge the muscles and creams reduce this friction. Moisturizing may help until the skin can handle the manipulation of the facial exercises.
You should always apply cream with upward strokes when NOT performing the CFF facial exercises. The "special" way of doing the CFF program, which is sliding in a downward stroke across the skin, is ONLY for the facial exercises. The muscles of the face are most often connected directly into the skin, so when you perform the Neck Firmer, for example, in the CFF program, you are contracting all of the muscles, making the skin "taut" and immobile. You are therefore sliding "over" the skin. When applying cream, your facial muscles are lax and this is the difference. You must have a contracted muscle when sliding over the skin in order to create the resistance that is needed for building muscle fiber and firming the face and neck. You cannot stretch the skin when it is taut from the contracted muscles underneath. Otherwise, you should continue to use upward strokes when applying cream.
It's so much fun to look younger as you grow older! Enjoy! (Back to Top)