Here are a few exercises that I like to incorporate to help prep and prime my system before a workout! Most of us have weak coreI muscles and being that most of us here are likely on computers or devices for a good part of the day. I wanted to share some exercises to help with issues that might arise from this! Weak core muscles can lead to back injuries, chronic back pain, weak pelvic floor muscles, and compensation by the thoracic spine and hips.
Band Anti-Rotation with Hip Flexion:
This first one is extremely helpful for me in particular as I tend to rotate to one side more than an other (thank you 17 years of soccer!). Many people have this type of issue as well without even realizing it! You want to have your shoulders down and back, and then lock out the band in front of you with straight arms so you feel it pulling you toward the anchor point (the fence). Raise one leg so that the knee is in line with your hip, the bring your big toe up in your shoe like you're pointing it to the sky. Really try to push the downed leg into the floor and squeeze your core and glutes. Typically you'd want to hold the position here for 20-60 seconds before switching to the opposite leg. After raising both legs, face the opposite direction and repeat the exercise. This way you'll work your core and stability muscles from each side! Another primary are of focus is making sure your hips are level and you’re not hiking one hip up higher than the other. Don’t train the dysfunction or you’ll just get better at it!
90 degree Shoulder Rotation, Internal and External:
The next two exercises are great for improving posture, improving shoulder health, and working the core. Here, you will want to draw your shoulders back, then down as if you're holding a stylus between your shoulder blades. Then you can form a 90 degree angle with your arm so that your bicep is level with your shoulder. If you face away from the anchor point (in this case the fence) then you will work the front of your shoulders and if you face toward the anchor point of the band you will work the back aspect of the shoulders- in addition to all of your core and stability muscles! Again here you want to be sure your core is not twisting or rotating so that the focus can properly be placed on the desired muscle groups!
Hickman Hold:
In the last exercise you can see how I paused to intentionally draw my shoulders down and back, and then with locked arms brought the band toward me. Here my feet are lined up parallel to one and other, toes pushing down into the ground, and away from each other. These little cues make a big difference in which muscles are working and which are playing a supportive role. Having this intention will create a solid foundation and support for this exercise. In this exercise you'll want to hold for 20-30 seconds for 2-3 repetitions. Remember to BREATHE while you're performing all of these exercises! No turning purple please!
@dtube, etc.! Save your back and help your posture, naturally, by training the muscles!