Nose Exercises Vs Rhinoplasty

Q

"Hello! I recently suffered an injury to my nose during boxing and when it was healing I noticed that my nose had become crooked. I was thinking about getting nose surgery [rhinoplasty] to fix the problem, but someone told me about nose exercises you can do that can fix various problems. Does nose exercises really work?" - J.F.

A

Hello J! Good news, yes, nose exercises may be the answer to your problem if the damage isn't too severe. And judging by the number of boxing related nose injuries you won't be the only one who will be interested in this solution.

Damage to the nose muscles on one side or the other can cause the tip of the nose to go crooked. It reportedly can also be caused by sleeping on one side of the face too much, overuse of the muscles on one side of the nose, or even something simple like losing weight and the muscles in one side of your nose losing some of its muscle density... and of course getting punched repeatedly in the nose.

Regardless of the cause of the damage, if the damage is minor then it can be fixed using a variety of nose exercises.

1. Squinting the Nose

Basically all you do is smile and try to squish your nose upwards using the muscles within your nose. No hands required. This upward "squinting" of the nose will add more girth to muscles in the sides of the nose and, assuming you do it evenly, both sides of the nose will auto-correct themselves with time until they're both equally muscular.

Hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Repeat 20 to 30 times daily until your nose muscles straighten out.

2. The Nose Shortener

This exercise isn't so much to repair damage as it is to prevent long term degradation of cartilage within the nose. As you get older your nose continues to grow, and the cartilage in the lower section may weaken and then separate from the upper part of the nose. This often gives the appearance that a hump has developed on the bridge of the nose. A plastic surgeon can perform surgery to improve the shape of your crooked nose or you can do this handy "Nose Shortening" exercise which will help to strengthen the muscles in that region of the nose.

Using your index finger, push the tip of your nose up. Contract the muscle by flexing your nose down against the resistance created by your finger. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Repeat 30 times, each time concentrating on the muscle forcing your finger down. Keep your breathing steady while performing the exercise. To get the maximum results, perform the Nose Shortener exercise twice a day.

3. The Nose Shaper

The upper part of the nose is made of solid bone and the center part is made from cartilage, so there really is not anything that can be done via exercising. However the bottom part of the nose had several different muscles which can be exercised, and by doing so it is possible to change the general shape of your nose. The "Nose Shaper" exercise involves placing your index fingers down either side of your nose, and flaring your nostrils by using the muscles above and below your nostrils. Your fingers create resistance by keeping your fingers in place against the movement of the nostrils, sort of like weightlifting for your nose.

Repeat this exercise 30 times, twice per day. The end result will create a less droopy nose, but the nostrils will appear wider... so if you don't want wider nostrils maybe you should consider the exercise below instead.

4. Nose Narrowing

Want a more narrow nose? Lower your chin and mouth and narrow your nose in the process. This uses a different set of muscles inside your nose which will help tighten up and narrow the appearance of your nose.

Hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Repeat 30 times, twice per day, and observe the long term results as your nose becomes more narrow.

5. Nose Wiggling

This one is easier to do in front of a mirror. Wiggle your nose from side to side, without moving your lips/etc. Why? Well, if you can master it then it makes for an interesting party trick. Not sure if its useful in terms of improving your looks however, but presumably it helps build the muscles within your nose.

Update: Fixing a Crooked Nose

If you are looking for specific information on how to fix a crooked nose I recommend reading the following post: Fixing a Crooked Nose using Nose Exercises.

Maintenance

Keep doing the exercises regularly for maintenance (once per week or so). Like any muscle group, the nose muscles need regular exercise in order to keep their figure.

NOTE: For fun, make before and after photos to see the results over time.

SPECIAL NOTE: So if you thought that rhinoplasty was the only way to reshape and straighten your nose, huzzah, that myth has been busted!

PERSONAL NOTE: I did all of these exercises myself while writing this and now my nose feels sore from exercising it. Advice? Don't overdo it. Stick to the recommended 30 times, twice per day. I saw results within the first week of doing them.

FINAL NOTE: Yes, if you have severe damage to your nose then rhinoplasty is your only remaining option. But that kind of damage is more rare. You shouldn't feel self conscious about the nose you were born with just for society's unrealistic standards of beauty... And as Michael Jackson has previously proven, once you get surgery you can end up becoming obsessed with the shape of your nose and always looking to change it more and more.

PERSONALIZED HELP

I am getting a lot of requests from people wanting personalized advice about their nose and what nose exercises they should do, how often they should do them, special circumstances,  etc. My advice is to follow the instructions listed above and on other posts I have made about nose exercises.

If you are contacting me asking me for personalized help - basically asking for my services in aiding you with your nose exercises, then I will need to charge you my personal training rate ($50 per hour) for my services.

I know this is not the answer many of you are looking for. I have already answered many of the frequently asked questions below in the comments section, and answered many emails from people asking for help with their nose exercises - but I am a busy person and the emails have reached a point where I need to start charging for this service because I cannot answer all of them.

Best of luck with your nose exercises!

Marilyn Monroe's Diet and Exercise Routine

The September 1952 issue of Pageant magazine gave details on Marilyn Monroe’s diet and exercise routines, written by Marilyn Monroe herself.

The entries given in the magazine detail a morning exercise routine and a diet composed mostly of protein, milk and lots of carrots.

How I Stay in Shape

By Marilyn Monroe

“Frankly, I’ve never considered my own figure so exceptional; until quite recently, I seldom gave it any thought at all. My biggest single concern used to be getting enough to eat. Now I have to worry about eating too much. I never used to bother with exercises. Now I spend at least 10 minutes each morning working out with small weights. I have evolved my own exercises, for the muscles I wish to keep firm, and I know they are right for me because I can feel them putting the proper muscles into play as I exercise.”

She Doesn’t Like To Feel Regimented

“EXERCISE. Each morning, after I brush my teeth, wash my face and shake off the first deep layer of sleep, I lie down on the floor beside my bed and begin my first exercise. It is a simple bust-firming routine which consists of lifting five-pound weights from a spread-eagle arm position to a point directly above my head. I do this 15 times, slowly. I repeat the exercise another 15 times from a position with my arms above my head. Then, with my arms at a 45-degree angle from the floor, I move my weights in circles until I’m tired. I don’t count rhythmically like the exercise people on the radio; I couldn’t stand exercise if I had to feel regimented about it.”

How to Feel Blond All Over

“SPORTS. I have never cared especially for outdoor sports, and have no desire to excel at tennis, swimming or golf. I’ll leave those things to the men. Despite its great vogue in California, I don’t think sun-tanned skin is any more attractive than white skin, or any healthier, for that matter. I’m personally opposed to a deep tan because I like to feel blond all over.

By nature, I suppose I have a languorous disposition. I hate to do things in a hurried, tense atmosphere, and it is virtually impossible for me to spring out of bed in the morning. On Sunday, which is my one day of total leisure, I sometimes take two hours to wake up, luxuriating in every last moment of drowsiness. Depending on my activities, I sleep between five and ten hours every night. I sleep in an extra-wide single bed, and I use only one heavy down comforter over me, summer or winter. I have never been able to wear pajamas or creepy nightgowns; they disturb my sleep.”

A Set of Bizarre Eating Habits

“BREAKFAST. I’ve been told that my eating habits are absolutely bizarre, but I don’t think so. Before I take my morning shower, I start warming a cup of milk on the hot plate I keep in my hotel room. When it’s hot, I break two raw eggs into the milk, whip them up with a fork, and drink them while I’m dressing. I supplement this with a multi-vitamin pill, and I doubt if any doctor could recommend a more nourishing breakfast for a working girl in a hurry.

DINNER. My dinners at home are startlingly simple. Every night I stop at the market near my hotel and pick up a steak, lamb chops or some liver, which I broil in the electric oven in my room. I usually eat four or five raw carrots with my meat, and that is all. I must be part rabbit; I never get bored with raw carrots.

P.S. It’s a good thing, I suppose, that I eat simply during the day, for in recent months I have developed the habit of stopping off at Wil Wright’s ice cream parlor for a hot fudge sundae on my way home from my evening drama classes. I’m sure that I couldn’t allow myself this indulgence were it not that my normal diet is composed almost totally of protein foods.”

According to photography of Marilyn Monroe she also enjoyed light weightlifting, jogging, yoga and horseback riding. She even tried archery, although judging by her form wasn't particularly good at it. (William Shatner also does archery, but he is GOOD at it.)

This historic look at how Marilyn Monroe kept in good shape, and she had a figure many women still aspire to, also makes for good inspiration because it makes you realize that if she could do it so can you.

And being able to inspire people to exercise is more than merely motivating them. Inspiration becomes a constant motivation that you can keep returning to, that reminds you of what your goals are and why you first started exercising.

Exercise Motivational Photography

Making your desktop image for your computer something which motivates you to exercise... or printing out various motivational images and putting them on your fridge, next to mirrors, etc are a great way to remind yourself to exercise regularly.

And if you still can't find the motivation to exercise then its well past time you hired a personal trainer to help keep you motivated.

Motivational Exercise Quotes

"A smile confuses an approaching frown."
-Author Unknown

"Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy."
-Cynthia Nelms

"A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you're at home."
-Author Unknown

"Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad."
-Norm Papernick

"Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want."
-Margaret Young

"Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?"
- Dennis and Wendy Mannering

"Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats."
-Voltaire

"I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.
-Ancient Persian Saying

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."
-Winston Churchill

"A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."
-Roald Dahl

Weight Loss + Loose Skin

Okay, you've lost some weight... but you've noticed that your skin now feels looser because maybe you lost weight in a hurry and now it doesn't look or feel right.

How do you prevent loose skin?

Don't lose more than 3 lbs per week. Its not healthy. Your skin will lose its elasticity. You should set your goal at 1 to 2 lbs per week that way your skin has time to catch up.

Use moisturizer before sleeping. Moisturizer helps your skin retain its elasticity and its best to absorb it through your skin while sleeping because you regenerate faster while sleeping. Wear long sleeves and pajama bottoms to prevent the moisturizer from rubbing off.

When you shower scrub your skin with a loofah or body scrub lotion.

Drink a LOT of water.

Lift weights to maintain muscle tone.

Do a variety of exercises on a weekly basis. Don't limit yourself to just 1 exercise type.

Practice yoga.

Avoid sweets and anything containing fructose / corn syrup. ie. Coca-Cola = Big No No.

Hire a personal trainer (eg. me if you live in Toronto) and they can help you with exercises and advice designed to reduce your loose skin.

---

Since writing the above blog post it has become the most popular article on this website thus far, even though my later post Preventing Loose Skin During Weight Loss has more information on the topic.

I also wrote How to get Rid of Fat Lines as an expansion on that topic, as it goes hand in hand with loose skin.

My newest blog post on the topic, 20 Ways to Tighten Skin after Weight Loss, is the most expansive blog post on this topic. So if you're looking for more ways to tighten up your skin, that is an article you will definitely want to read.

Christian Bale's Muscle Gains and Weight Losses

The chart below shows the amounts of weight that actor Christian Bale loses and gains depending on the role he is playing... including the incredibly 109 lbs he gained in six months after portraying The Machinist in order to prepare for his role in Batman Begins... he got so big that he ended up losing 19 lbs in the last month to "downsize" himself to play Batman because the producers thought he had beefed up too much for the role.

Yo-yo dieting is a way of life for some people, but when it comes to Hollywood actors gaining and losing lots of weight is sometimes part of the job. But it certainly helps when they have access to some of the most expensive personal trainers available in the USA.

Another big difference between Hollywood actors and ordinary people is the amount of free time they have. Free time to consult with personal trainers, nutritionists and doctors. And abundant free time to exercise, lift weights and do cardio training.

Lets stop and do some math.

Christian Bale gained 109 lbs in 6 months. That is an average gain of 18.17 lbs per month. Granted a small portion of it was probably fat tissue, but most of it was muscle so he would look beefy for the Batman role.

That much weight gain cannot be done by the average person. It would take an incredible amount of physical and mental discipline to do it without injurying yourself. (The normal recommended muscle gain is 2 lbs per month.)

To be gaining 18.17 lbs per month he would need to be gaining an average of 0.6 lbs per day he would need to be consuming approx. 270 grams of protein per day.

To put that in perspective 10 scoops of Six Star Muscle Professional Strength Whey Protein contains 260 grams of protein - And the recommended maximum daily usage is only 6 scoops (2 scoops three times per day).

And to be fair he would need other things to do. Lots of vitamins, nutrients, minerals, fruits and veggies. And perhaps most importantly, sodium, because sweating causes the body to lose sweat.

And lastly carbs and sugar, for energy. Because how else would he be able to exercise that much and put on so much muscle in an hurry?

According to sources Bale was going to the gym 6 days per week for 3 hours per day (18 hours per week) to prepare for the film American Pyscho in 2000. Presumably he must have been following a similar or more intense program to prepare for Batman Begins.

Well there is one trick to this... Muscle Memory. People who lose muscle and then later gain it back can bounce back faster because their body remembers the muscle being there. And since Christian Bale lost muscle to play The Machinist it was easier for him to gain it back while eating himself back up to his normal weight.

In contrast people are not regaining muscle will find it very difficult to gain new muscle because the body has no memory of it. Just the way it works. There are other factors too, like age, metabolism, hormone levels, bone structure and diet.

Diet can be managed via nutrition, and metabolism can be improved through the combination of diet and hormones like testosterone... but bone structure basically gives you a set maximum for how much muscle you can pile on. Eventually you reach a physical limit wherein you can't get any bigger because your frame can't handle any more.

Many ordinary people struggle to lose weight and struggle even harder to gain muscle mass.

On the first topic Christian Bale lost 63 lbs to play The Machinist (121 lbs and anorexic), but how did he do it? Starvation, vitamins and lots of cardio. He basically burned away the fat and muscle by doing lots of cardio while simultaneously starving himself.

As part of the process, Bale consulted a nutritionist who advised him about how much weight he should safely lose — but Bale kept going past that point. “I lost another 20 pounds below what she said I should stop at,” says Bale.

After The Machinist, Bale hired a personal trainer to help him gain 100 pounds (45 kg) in the span of only 6 months to prepare for the role of Batman in 2005. He ended up gaining 109 lbs, almost doubling his weight, and once he had reached 210 lbs he lost 20 lbs because he ended up looking too beefy. His extra large physique was not appropriate for Batman, who relies more on speed and strategy.

I should also note that it isn't healthy or good for your heart to create these kinds of huge weight fluctuations. It can cause a person to get holes in their heart and cause a heart attack.

People who are new to weightlifting can gain up 20 lbs of muscle in a hurry. This is known as "Newbie Gains".

Another way to gain muscle is Muscle Memory, but that only works if you have a history of weightlifting and used to have a lot more muscle. This is more common amongst athletes who suffer an injury and then bounce back to full strength after a long rest.

A larger bone structure and genetics helps too, especially if your body produces lots of hormones that help build muscle (like testosterone).

The last and final thing is steroids. Which is banned amongst athletes and very commonly used by professional bodybuilders. Steroids causes a slew of health problems however, including problems with liver, heart and even shrinks the testicles. It robs other body parts of needed energy and nutrients and funnels it towards muscle growth instead.

So what is the lesson from all of this?

Yes, you can gain muscle in a hurry if you want to... 2 lbs per month is certainly within the safety limits and doable if you exercise and lift weights for an hour or two daily. And if you're doing that then you need to be eating approx. 900 grams of protein per month on top of your regular diet. Which is a little over a scoop of Six Star Muscle Whey Protein per day.

Lastly if you do decide to do this, you need to know how to weigh yourself properly.

#1. Assuming you are pretty regular always measure your weight after you urinate and do your "Number 2" for the day.

#2. Wear the same clothes (or no clothes at all) every time you weigh yourself.

#3. Keep a chart and record your weight fluctuations daily.

If you're not gaining weight and seeing noticable changes in your muscles then you need to be lifting more weights and challenging yourself more. You may even need to hire a personal trainer to make certain you are getting the best possible results.

10 Ways to Trick Yourself into Burning Extra Calories

Want to burn more calories and trick your body into burning more calories without thinking about it? (Okay, some of them you do have to think about, but once you get into the habit you won't think about it so much.)

1. Always drink Cold Water - Cold water BURNS calories because your body ends up expending energy to warm up the water to body temperature.

2. Swing your Arms when you walk.

3. Listen to Music / Wear Headphones - You will walk faster and move your legs without thinking about it.

4. Lift More - Decrease the repetitions and lift more weight over shorter time periods. The more you lift the more you rip... and ripped muscles = muscle regrowth. (The old no pain = no gain.) Lifting more also burns more calories, even though the total weight lifted is the same. ie. 10 x 10 lbs = 100 lbs... vs 5 x 20 lbs = 100 lbs, but the 5 x 20 lb version burns approx. 25% more calories.

5. Break Up Your Sets - Do 5 different exercises, then repeat the same exercises. This burns more calories because your body is pumping more blood sugar to different body parts.

6. Head Outside - The cold air burns calories.

7. Crank Up the Incline - Running uphill burns waaaaaay more calories.

8. Log at Least 12 Minutes - To fight fat you need at least 12 minutes of continuously moderate to high-intensity activity EVERY day.

9. Cut Your Workouts in Half - What is better, an one hour workout every day or two half-hour workouts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon? Splitting your workouts burns more calories because it raises your metabolism.

10. Warming Up - A quick jog in place to get your heart going makes a difference before you begin every workout. It decreases the chances of injuries and fatigue.

SEE ALSO - 10 More Ways to Trick Yourself into Burning Extra Calories!