We are moving on from our hips to our shoulders. Healthy shoulders contribute to healthy necks, backs, elbows, and wrists.
Sticky shoulder blades can lead to tweaks and pains in the shoulder. If your shoulder blades don’t move, you put a lot of stress and responsibility into the rotator cuff. Unglue those blades with this first joint rotation mobilization.
Once you have those blades moving, strengthen that rotation with this seated external rotation exercise.
This week, we are back to hip rotation. This standing Hip CARs (Controlled Articular Rotations) help move the hip joint along every axis of movement. Once that new mobility has been obtained, we can work on gaining new range in hip external rotation.
This whole month we are going to be playing with rotation. It sounds simple , and it is, but it is no easy. Most people who experience stiffness and lack of fluidity in their movements are lacking rotational mobility. Hang out with us all month long for new videos and for some movement motivation.
We are going to start with the hips. If you have been stretching your hips, but they never seem to get looser, try some rotation. Rotating the hips could be the missing link in your mobility program.
Next, let’s keep that new hip mobility by strengthening into hip external rotation. Try this little, but mighty move to help your hips stay healthy.
This week we are looking at the mobility in our ankles and challenging our balance…again. 😜
First, we are working on our ankle dorsiflexion with this 2-way calf stretch. This calf stretch hits the 2 muscles of our calves. First, the gastrocnemius (big one) and then the soleus (little one). It is important to our ankles and feet (and therefore the rest of our bodies) that we have flexibility in these 2 muscles. If you have trouble with your dorsiflexion, and your calf stretch isn’t making a dent, try this one out.
Then, we are testing our balance with this multi-directional dipping bird. In this version, we dip in all directions to challenge our balance, our coordination (especially our ability to weight-shift), and our brains. 🤯 We need to improve our balance in all the corners of movement, not just one. This is a good place to start exploring.
This week, we are trying a dynamic hamstring stretch. The quads are an antagonist muscle group to the hamstrings. Meaning, when you contract the front of your leg, the back relaxes. This allows you to get into a deeper hammy stretch safely and gives you a better chance of holding the new mobility.
Using your new mobility, try this literal twist of a dipping bird. Adding hip rotation to this familiar exercise will challenge your balance and your hip mobility and strength.
This week, we are learning how to move our pelvis to learn about our posterior kinetic chain. Then we will learn to use that new flexibility and activation of our backlines in our reach and curl exercise.
Using the wall for feedback, this hinge stretch teaches us how to tip our pelvis to get a stretch along the backline. Once we have that stretch, we can activate that same back line to pull ourselves up to standing.
This month, we are working on stretches and exercises that allow us to work with our posterior kinetic chain. We will be focusing on the lower portion of the chain – mainly the glutes, hamstrings, calves, and arches. Follow along all month long.
For this first week, we are starting with a full body stretch that opens up the hips, spine, chest, and shoulders. When we are tightened down, we don’t move properly. So, this stretch is a great place to start. Then, we will learn where the posterior kinetic chain is by loading it.
In the first exercise, this non-relaxing version of a pigeon pose not only gets your hips open, but also strengthens them in your new found mobility so that they stay open.
Then, move on to some bridging with a ball to help strengthen your hamstrings. Strong hamstrings help support your knees and your low back. This exercise is great because it works the hamstrings in both a concentric (muscle shortening) and eccentric (muscle lengthening) way.
For the cyclists out there, your spine needs movement. You have been holding it in a “C” curve for so long. Do this first video after your ride and bring that spine back to life. Follow it up with this simple strength exercise in the second video. Stretching your chest is not enough. There is more involved in the beautiful complex that is the shoulder. Try this move out to gain some strength in the back of the shoulders, help improve your posture and counteract any slouching you may have been doing on and off the bike.
If you ride a bike, your quads are tight. This tightness can lead to pain around the knee cap. In this first mobility exercise, we use a pin and stretch on the roller. This addition to the regular quad rolling can release some of the tension in the front of the thighs and allow the kneecap to move more freely.
Cycling involves so much forward folding and hunching. We need to counteract that with some strength in the opposite direction. In this second exercise, we are back on our bellies, working that back line.
