Tuesday: Fitness Do’s (Seated Hip Shift) Setup & Alternating Motion The seated hip shift is a quick and effective exercise to incorporate during the day while seated. It is also a great self-assessment that gauges one’s ability to alternate between sides. When the left knee moves forward and the right knee moves back the pelvis […]…
Take the Sitting-Rising Test The sitting rising test assesses your ability to get down on the floor and back up. Research by Claudio Gil Araujo has shown that the sit-to-rise test is correlated with longevity. “If a middle-aged or older man or woman can sit and rise from the floor using just one hand-or even […]…
Hip Flexor Stretch for Tight Hips Hip extension is needed for most athletic movements. Hip extension is a function of the glutes and hamstrings. Deadlifts, kettlebell swings, squats, and box-jumps all require hip extension to complete the lockout position of the movement as the hips go from flexion to extension in standing. The glute max […]…
Hip and Shoulder Mobility Drills What is Traction? Traction refers to the decompression of the hip or shoulder joint-capsule. Both the head of the humerus and head of the femur can be tractioned to create space in the joint-capsule. Fifty percent of range of motion is in the joint-capsule and the surrounding ligaments and deep […]…
Single-Leg Exercises: The B-Stance Squat The b-stance squat is a challenging single-leg exercise that has good carry over to the squat. Most athletic movements found in sports and everyday life require weight transfer to one leg: walking, running, and lunging for example. There are two categories of single leg exercises: supported and unsupported. Split squats […]…
Squat Therapy Series “The squat is no more an invention of a coach or trainer than is the hiccup or sneeze. It is a vital, natural, functional, component of your being.” – Greg Glassman There are three main types of corrective squats that can be used to improve squat form – the wall squat, the […]…
The Plank Roll Exercise Planks are a fundamental core stability exercise that can easily be incorporated into a warm-up. Planks train stability in all three planes – the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes – for anterior, lateral, and rotational stability. The front plank is an anti-extension exercise that trains the low-back to resist lumbar extension. […]…
Eliminate Knee Pain During Squats Knee and/or low-back pain are often due to poor lateral stability. Stability, as defined by Charlie Weingroff is, “Control in the presence of change.” Knees collapsing in during single leg exercises like pistol squats, running, or lunging may be a sign of poor lateral stability. Stability at the knee is […]…
Quickly Improve Hip Flexibility for Squats Improving Hip Mobility for the Squat Improving hip mobility for the squat begins with joint-capsule range of motion. As Chris Frederick points out, “When full ROM in a joint is inhibited, then ROM in the muscle is also restricted, because muscles attach to bones and bones connect to other […]…
Improving Hip Mobility for Heavier Squats Increase your Squat Depth – Get Your Hips Below Parallel and Knees Out This sequence was inspired by Kevin Darby of the Canadian branch of the “Stretch-to-Win®” Institute (www.StretchtoWin.com). As a Fascial Stretch Therapy™ practitioner, one of the ‘go-to’ stretches used on the table is traction of the hip […]…