by Cori Lefkowith | Jan 18, 2018 | Blog, Bodyweight, Butt, Workouts
Bridges are a MUST-DO….I mean MUST-DO glute activation move.
They help you improve your hip extension to unlock tight hips as they activate. And all you need is your own bodyweight to start feeling those glute works.
Plus glute bridges are even a great move to start working your abs. By engaging your abs with a posterior pelvic tilt, not only can you activate those core intrinsic stabilizers, but you can actually help get a better glute contraction!
So if you’re ready to loosen up tight hips and activate your glutes, try this Bridge Booty Burner from my 28-Day Booty Burner Series! (BONUS: Some of these bridges will also open up your chest and shoulders to reverse that hunched posture we spend way too much time in during the day!)
Bridge Booty Burner
Complete 2-4 rounds of the burner below. If you are using it as a warm up, even just 1-2 rounds is all you need! Rest up to 45 seconds between rounds if needed. Make sure your glutes are working. If your low back or hamstrings start to take over, pause or rest to make sure your glutes keep doing the work!
CIRCUIT:
5 reps per side Sit Thru to Thoracic Bridge
10 reps Camel Bridge
15 reps Tabletop Bridge
20 reps Glute Bridge
5 Signs That Your Hips Are Locked Up And Glutes Are Inactive…
by Cori Lefkowith | Jan 12, 2018 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Push Ups
To improve your Push Ups, you’ve got to actually practice doing them. The problem is…So many of us do them wrong to start!
We have poor form and don’t engage the correct muscles so we are stuck at a modified variation FOREVER.
Or we try and progress too quickly and then get caught up on doing harder variations even though our form is incorrect and we really aren’t getting the most out of the movement.
Below are 5 quick tips to help you improve your push ups!
How To Improve Your Push Ups:
Strengthen Your Core – I say this all the time, but I’m going to repeat it again because it is essential to remember…Push ups are just a moving plank!
If your core isn’t strong and engaging correctly, your hips will sag and your push up will look more like you’re doing the worm than a sleek and graceful upper body and core exercise.
You’ve got to first work on strengthening your core and making sure it engages correctly during the entire push up movement. This means you’ve got to work on your planks. You’ve got to work on engaging your back, not shrugging your shoulders, bracing your abs, engaging your quads and even squeezing your glutes.
So if you want to strengthen your push ups, you should include planks in your workout routines where you focus on really engaging and activating your core!
Here is a great tutorial on Plank Form and 3 Tips To Improve Your Planks.
Another great way to build your core strength is to use Incline Push Ups because Incline Push Ups are a way to modify the push up while still engaging your core in the same way as a full push up. Learn more about Incline Push Ups below!
Activate Your Back – Push ups do focus on your chest, shoulders and triceps. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need to get your back activated and working correctly if you want to do a proper push up.
Getting your back muscles activated and working correctly helps stabilize your shoulders and mobilize your shoulder blades to prevent shoulder injury during push ups. Getting your back and your serratus anterior (the muscle on the sides of our ribs under our chest and in front of our lats) activated and working will not only prevent injury but also improve your pressing strength!
I recommend doing different exercises to improve your scapular mobility and strengthen your upper back. Scapular Push ups are a great way to strengthen your upper back and serratus anterior while also improving your core strength. You can do them from your forearms or your hands
To do a Scapular Push Up from your hands, set up in a high plank position with your hands under your shoulders and your feet together. Your body should be in a nice straight line from head to your heels.
Without bending your elbows or dropping your hips, pinch your shoulder blades together and press your chest out. Do not tuck your chin or jut your head forward. Also do not let your core wiggle or your elbows bend to try to increase your range of motion.
You are not doing a push up. This is a very small range of motion where you are simply focused on pinching your shoulder blades together. Just pinch your shoulder blades together and then relax or even round your back up out of it (rounding your back at the top is another variation but can be very useful for correcting certain push up problems).
Keep your core tight as you pinch your shoulder blades together. As you get stronger and build the mind-body connection you will find your range of motion increases.
If you struggle to pinch your shoulder blades together without wiggling your core or bending your elbows, go down to your knees as if doing a push up from your knees or even come into a quadruped position to start. You can also do this against the wall. Just focus on mobilizing your shoulder blades!
Another push up variation I recommend to activate and strengthen your back and serratus anterior while mobilizing your shoulder blades and strengthen your core and upper body is the Push Up Plus!
You may see what I call the Scapular Push Up also called the Push Up Plus, but the Push Up plus I’m referring to is very different.
This move is very focused on engaging the core and working to mobilize your shoulder blades.
To do the Push Up Plus, you’ll first perform a full push up. I recommend if you can’t do a full push up from the ground that you do this off an incline so you can really engage your core at the top.
Perform a push up and then, at the top, round out as if performing the “cat” stretch. Draw your belly button in toward your spine and perform a pelvic tilt, tucking your hips under toward your ribs as you round your back. You want to hollow out your belly and your round your back out. You should feel your back stretching.
Then return to the nice high plank position and feel your shoulder blades go back to neutral before you perform another push up.
While at the top of the push up, even feel around your rib cage under your armpits engaging to help stabilize your shoulders. You should even feel this if you think about it throughout the entire push up motion.
Use Incline Variations – The Incline Push Up is a must-do push up variation if you aren’t yet able to perform a full one with perfect form.
While I use the Knee Push Up and am not against that variation, I do believe if you’re stuck unable to progress to that first full one, it’s because you’ve only been doing push ups from your knees. Plus the Knee Push Up, may actually be too hard for some people to start. It may cause you to develop bad habits.
You may find you tuck your chin or your elbows flare way out or your core still sags. You may see this in your clients even. And this can be another reason to modify with an incline. It does give you more control and allows you, or your clients, to learn proper form with the right amount of resistance.
When you do push ups from your knees you do build upper body strength and you are working on your core strength; HOWEVER, you also never force yourself to take on your full bodyweight or engage your core in exactly the way you have to do a proper full push up.
With the Incline Push Up, you are working your core and body in the exact form you will with a full push up from the ground. It is also very easy to slowly progress. As you get stronger, you can slowly lower the incline even just ever so slightly each and every workout!
Use Eccentric Variations – If you want to build strength and take your push ups to the next level, you also need to do some Eccentric Push Ups. What this means is you need to do Push Ups where you focus on a slow lower down to the ground. By slowing down the lower down, you can challenge your muscles even more. You can build core strength while challenging your upper body further.
If you can do a full push up, this is a great tool to use to be able to do more push ups and even more challenging variations. And if you can’t yet do a full push up from your toes yet, this is a great way to help yourself progress toward that first full one and start taking on your full bodyweight.
Often before you can do that first full one, you can at least handle your own bodyweight for part of the movement. Which is where the Eccentric Push Up comes into play. By taking on your full bodyweight for a slow lower down, you are building upper body and core strength. You are learning to engage everything correct with perfect form even if you can’t push back up.
So if you aren’t yet at that first full push up, try doing just an Eccentric ONLY Push Up.
To do Eccentric-Only Push Ups, set up in a high plank position with your hands outside your chest and your feet together. Your body should be in a nice straight line. Keeping your body in a nice straight line, slowly lower your chest down to the ground. Try to slowly lower down for at least a 3 count if not a 5 count. Keep everything engaged until you touch the ground.
Here you can release and relax onto the ground and then reset. You do not need to push back up. Simply reset at the top. Your focus is on perfect form for a very slow lower down. At the bottom you can release and simply reset back at the top.
By just doing this slow lower down, you may find you are able to build toward that perfect full push up even when you feel like you’ve been working forever with other modified variations!
Its all about constantly challenging yourself and finding ways you can do as close to a full version as possible!
Mix Up Your Grips – We’ve all heard the phrase, “You’re only as strong as your weakest link.” Well the same is true with push ups. If your shoulders are weakest, triceps are weakest, chest is weakest….WHATEVER is weakest that is what will limit how many push ups you can do.
That is why it is important to include a variety of push up “grips” in your workouts. Do some close grip, some wide grip, some pike presses so T Push Ups…include a variety of hand placements and even movements that focuses on certain areas.
There are so many push up variations out there you can use to target your upper body and core in different ways to strengthen your weak points!
Here are 31 Push Up Variations you can check out to help you!
Ready For Workouts To Improve Your Upper Body Strength, Especially Your Push Ups?
–> Check out my Arm Burner program and WORKOUT CARDS!
by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 21, 2017 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises
Focused core work is important if we want to build a strong, lean core that not only looks amazing but also helps us run faster, lift more and prevent aches, pains and injuries!
We need moves that really activate and work our abs and glutes while strengthening everything between our shoulders and our knees, down our frontsides AND our backsides.
The more muscles we can work at once, and the more planes of motions we can move in, the stronger our core will be and the faster we will achieve results.
That is why I love these 10 Bodyweight Core Moves. They work your core from every angle and even get your blood pumping so you can burn fat as you strengthen your core.
10 Bodyweight Moves To Redefine Your Core
I use these 10 Bodyweight Moves in my 28-Day Core Burner to help clients get faster results. These core intensive exercises work both your anterior and posterior chain. They include rotational and anti-rotational moves and really work your core from every direction.
They work your balance and not only work your abs, but also your oh so important glutes. These moves will give you more bang for your buck in less time!
1. Single Arm Plank Jacks:
This is a great cardio-core move that will also build shoulder stability and work on anti-rotational core strength. You’ll feel this working everything between your shoulders and your knees as you start to sweat!
This is an advanced move though. Beginners may need to start with the Basic Plank Jack or even a Plank Step Jack. It can even be done with your hands up on an incline to modify!
To do Single Arm Plank Jacks, set up in a high plank position with your hands a bit closer together under your shoulders and your feet together. Brace your abs and make sure your body is in a nice straight line.
Then jump your feet out wide, and as you do, lift one hand to touch your opposite shoulder. Resist the urge to really rotate as you lift the hand or let your butt go up in the air. Try to keep your hips down and your core as square to the ground as possible.
Jump your feet back together and place the hand back down. When you quickly jump your feet out again, this time lift the other hand to touch your opposite shoulder. Jump quickly back in and lower the hand back down. Keep repeating the jack with your feet, alternating which hand you lift to tap your shoulder.
Beginners can do a basic Plank Jack without the shoulder tap. For the Basic Plank Jack, click here.
2. Mountain Climber Turkish Bridge:
This rotational exercise will work…well…basically everything! It works your abs, the muscles around your rib cage, your glutes, you shoulders and your quads. Heck even your back!
To do the Mountain Climber Turkish Bridge, set up in a high plank position with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your hands under your shoulders. Then drive one knee in and across your body to the opposite elbow, like a cross-body mountain climber. Move to straighten that leg back out and, as you do, kick it back over your body to rotate open into the Turkish Bridge.
So if you tucked your right knee in, you will then rotate your right leg back over your body to the left as you lift your right hand up off the ground so you can fully rotate open.
You’ll lift your hand up toward the ceiling as you place the foot of the leg you kicked over flat on the ground. That knee will be bent as your other leg stays straight. Keep your hand on the ground under your shoulder and bridge your hips up by squeezing your glute. Make sure the foot of the leg you kicked over is flat on the ground to help you engage and load that glute. Pause here briefly and really focus on bridging up as your hand stays under your shoulder.
Then bring the leg back over and in for the cross body mountain climber. Feel around your rib cage work as you rotate as well as your abs in the mountain climber and glutes in the bridge portion. Move at a controlled pace so you can feel everything working.
Beginners may need to do the move with their hands up on an incline or even break it down and do a set of Cross Body Mountain Climbers followed by a set of the Turkish Bridge.
3. Warrior III Abs:
Balance moves, such as the Warrior III Abs, not only strengthen your feet and legs, but also help you build core stability. On top of that, the Warrior III Abs will also work your glutes and improve your hip mobility!
To do Warrior III Abs, set up in the Warrior III position, balanced on one leg with your raised leg driving back toward the wall behind you and your hips square to the ground. Reach your hands out overhead, reaching toward the wall in front of you.
Staying hinged over, crunch the knee of your raised leg in toward your chest as you pull your elbows in toward your knee. Really use your abs to crunch your elbows toward your knee. Do not stand up though as you crunch.
Then extend back out. Stay balanced on your standing leg and try to stay hinged over as you tuck and extend. Do not touch your toe down unless needed to stay balanced. Beginners may tap it down between reps to rebalance or even reach their hands out in front to lightly touch the wall.
4. Side Plank Adductor Raise:
Your inner thighs, or adductors, are important core muscles that contribute to hip and knee stability. One great way to work them to build stability, as you strengthen your glutes and obliques, is with the Side Plank Adductor Raise.
To do the Side Plank Adductor Raise, set up in a side plank from your forearm and feet. You will want you elbow to be under your shoulder and your feet unstacked with your bottom foot in front and even slightly angled forward. Lift up into the side plank position with your top hand on your hip and your chest not rotated toward the ground. Drive through the sides of your feet and flex your feet to engage even your lower leg.
Holding this position, lift and lower that bottom leg, raising it up a few inches then putting it back down at a controlled pace. Stay up in the side plank the entire time and don’t let your hips sag. Do not place your top hand down to assisted.
If you need to modify, bend that top leg and place the foot flat on the ground behind you OR even regress fully to a side lying adductor lift. Both are shown below.
5. Dolphin Planks:
This plank almost makes you look like you’re doing everything wrong. You are going to sag your hips AND round your back at the top. But talk about a way to kill your abs!
The plange plank position, or rounded position at the top where you draw your belly button in, is going to get your abs shaking. And then when you dip your hips, you are just lowering down and stopping just before your abs disengage. AKA you are making your abs work to brace and stabilize as you move up and down in the plank position and getting your core intrinsic stabilizers to really work!
To do Dolphin Planks, set up in a plank from your forearms and toes (advanced) or knees (beginner). Make sure your shoulders are stacked over your elbows. Brace your core and engage your back as you hold your body in a nice straight line from your head to your heels or knees.
Then sag your hips toward the ground without completing relaxing onto the ground before rounding your back up toward the ceiling. You want to sag your hips only as low as you can without your low back taking over. You should feel your abs still engaging.
When you round up at the top, you aren’t simply sticking your butt up in the air. You want to round your entire back and perform the pelvic tilt. It is almost like you are doing the “cat” in the cat/cow stretch. Do not push backward too much as you do it. Keep your shoulders stacked over your elbows.
Then lower back down and sag your hips before rounding back up. Pause in each position to really feel your core working. Beginners can do this from their knees, off an incline or even modify and do the Vomiting Cat on their hands and knees.
6. Posterior Plank Mountain Climbers:
Often when we think about working our core, we think about working our abs and the front of our body. But our posterior chain is also important to work because one of the most important muscle groups of our core is the GLUTES!
Posterior Plank Mountain Climbers not only work your abs but also your posterior chain, including your glutes, back and hamstrings. The move also works on hip extension and will open up your chest. It is a great move to reverse all of the forward flexion we do sitting hunched over our computers and phones!
To do the Posterior Plank Mountain Climbers, sit on the ground with your legs out straight in front of you and your hands down behind your butt on the ground.
Then, driving up through your heels and your hands, press your hips up toward the ceiling and press your chest out. As you bridge up, squeeze your butt and lift your hips up as high as you can while keeping your legs straight and your chest pressed out. Do not shrug your shoulders at the top as you press your chest out.
Hold at the top with your body in a nice straight line. Do not hyperextend your back. Then slowly tuck one knee in toward your chest. Tuck it in as far as you can.
Then straighten the leg back out. Place the foot back down then tuck your other knee in. Feel your glutes and hamstrings working to hold you up as your abs work to tuck your knee in. Beginners can start with a tabletop variation as they tuck instead of the full Posterior Plank.
7. Cross Body Knee with Lateral Raise:
This standing core move is great if you can’t get down on the ground. Plus it is a unilateral move that will work your abs and glutes, especially your glute medius. Unilateral moves are great to help correct imbalances and make sure that each side of your body pulls its own weight!
To do Cross Body Knee with Lateral Raise, you’ll want a chair or wall right in front of you that you can lean forward and place your hands or forearms on.
Leaning forward bring one knee up and across under your body toward your opposite elbow, drawing your abs in as you tuck. Then kick the leg up and out to the side as high as you can but do not rotate as you kick laterally. Feel your glute working to lift. Do not really lean away but instead keep yourself balanced by leaning onto something.
After kicking out, lower your leg down and tuck your knee back in toward your opposite elbow, feeling your abs and not just your leg work to draw the knee in and across your body. Move at a controlled pace. Tucking and then performing a lateral raise or lateral kick.
8. Side Lunge with Knee:
Working your legs and abs at the same times is the perfect way to build a strong core AND burn more calories in less time. Anytime you can get more muscles working at once, especially BIG muscle groups, you up your calorie burn as you build strength.
The Side Lunge with Knee will get your blood pumping as you strengthen your legs, glutes and abs, especially your obliques.
To do the Side Lunge with Knee, start standing tall then lunge out to the side, sitting your butt back as you hinge forward slightly and load your glute. Push your butt back and sink down, bending your outside knee as your other leg stays straight. You can reach to the ground or keep your hands at your chest. It can even be helpful to reach the opposite arm toward the heel you lunged out with to help you sit back.
Then quickly drive back to standing and, without touching your foot down if possible, drive that knee up and in across your body. You can rotate your upper body toward that knee almost as if pulling someone’s head down and across your body into your knee. Touch the toe down if needed then repeat the lunge back out followed by the quick knee drive.
Feel your legs working with the lunge and your abs working with the knee drive and rotation.
Beginners may not sink as low in the lunge or step out as far. They may also touch their toe down to balance between the lunge and knee drive.
9. Curtsy Lunge to Leg Lift:
Moving in every plane of motion is key to building a strong core that prevents injury. And this Curtsy Lunge to Leg Lift not only gets you moving in different directions, but it also combines a compound leg move with a more glute-focused movement to really make sure your glutes are working. It really targets the glute medius with the Leg Lift, which is an important muscles to strengthen for hip stability!
To do the Curtsy Lunge to Leg Lift, start standing tall with your feet together. Then lunge back, stepping your foot across and behind your front leg so you sit back into your front glute. You aren’t lunging straight back, but are instead crossing behind as you keep your chest facing forward. Keep your front foot pointing straight ahead too. If you rotate open as you cross behind, you won’t get the benefit of the curtsy lunge.
Sink down into the lunge, sitting back in your front heel as you feel your front glute load. Then drive through your front heel to come back up to standing. Lightly tap the toe down to balance if needed and then raise your leg out to the side for a lateral raise.
Feel your glute on the side lifting your leg laterally then touch the toe down and repeat the lunge. You will shift your weight toward your standing leg, but don’t lean way to the side just to lift your leg up higher. Beginners may not sink as deep in the lunge.
10 .Spiderman Mountain Climbers:
I love cardio-core moves that also work on your mobility. That is why Spiderman Mountain Climbers are a must-do move. They will work on your hip mobility as they strengthen your legs, shoulders and abs (plus they’ll really get your blood pumping!).
To do Spiderman Mountain Climbers, start in the high plank position from your hands and feet. Then, keeping your core engaged, step one foot up and outside your hand into a nice low spiderman or runner’s lunge. Try not to let your butt go way up in the air as you step your foot outside.
Beginners will then quickly step back into plank and then step the other foot forward into a lunge on the other side. They will move as quickly as possible, stepping their foot all the way outside their hand.
More advanced exercisers will jump from lunge to lunge. The faster you jump between lunges and the less you pause on each side, the harder the move will be. Still try to keep your butt down and make sure to land in a lunge with your foot outside your hand each time.
Want quick 10-Minute Bodyweight Core Burners using these moves?
by Cori Lefkowith | Nov 25, 2017 | Blog, Bodyweight, Travel Workouts, Workouts
It isn’t about how long you spend working out…It’s about the QUALITY of the time you spend.
Sometimes we get so focused on needing to spend a certain amount of time working out that, when we then don’t have “enough time,” we end up doing NOTHING.
Or we just put ourselves into a “run out the clock” situation and don’t actually maximize the time we do spend at the gym.
Stop focusing though on the length of your workout and instead pick moves and workout designs to maximize the time you do have. And give yourself options for those busy days when 5 minutes may be all you have!
Something is better than nothing ESPECIALLY if it is quality.
That is why I do a Friday Five Workout each and every week. And now I even have a Library of all my Friday Fives in my App Redefining Strength On Demand!
Check out this awesome 5-Minute Full-Body Burner from my Friday Five series below. And get even more of my follow alongs with RS On Demand!
Join Redefining Strength On Demand for access to all of my Friday Fives, Bodyweight Burners, Travel Series and MORE wonderful follow along video workouts!
by Cori Lefkowith | Sep 9, 2017 | Blog, Exercises, Pain Relief, Pull Ups
I want to ask you a couple of questions…And tell me if these sound familiar….
- Have you ever had neck, shoulder or upper back pain?
- Do you feel like your upper back and neck are constantly tight?
- Do you have poor posture and tend to round forward?
- Have you been struggling to improve your pull ups no matter how much you work at them?
- Heck have you ever tried to work on pull ups only to end up with neck or shoulder pain?!
Maybe all of the above even!?!
Do you feel like no amount of stretching helps permanently and that you just have to keep doing more and more for momentary relief?
Unfortunately that is because stretching alone isn’t the answer.
Stretching alone doesn’t solve the problem for a two main reasons…
- We aren’t stretching the RIGHT muscles.
- We don’t get the right muscles activated so we keep overusing the wrong muscles.
Often our back “feels” tight so we stretch it.
But that tight feeling often isn’t from muscles being shortened.
When muscles are shortened, stretching can really help. But in this case, stretching a muscle that is overly lengthened may feel good for a moment but doesn’t SOLVE the problem. Our back may “feel” tight and even gets trigger points because our chest is overly tight and causing our back muscles to be over-stretched.
Therefore stretching our back alone doesn’t really SOLVE the problem.
If we’ve suffered upper body pain or injury and sit hunched over a computer or walk texting on our phones, often the big muscles of our back aren’t working correctly and carrying the load they should be carrying. It can also cause our chest and lats to become tight and our shoulder blades to become less mobile.
This leads small muscles, like our rotator cuff muscles, to become overworked, which can injured to injury. It can cause neck pain and shoulder pain.
But only stretching won’t get the right muscles working.
Stretching the right muscles, aka the muscles that are SHORTENED and TIGHT, can help open everything up, but then we NEED to activate the right muscles.
If you don’t then ACTIVATE, you’ll keep overusing muscles that weren’t meant to be the prime movers!
So if you’re ready to get the right muscles working to improve your posture AND even your pull ups, you’ll want to start including these 5 moves daily even!
Using these 5 moves, you can relax tight muscles and activate the big muscles of your back! They combine foam rolling, stretching and activation to help you restore mobility and build that mind-body connection.
Chest Foam Rolling:
Neck, shoulder, upper back pain? Always feel like you have “knots” in your back, but the relief from massage or stretching is only temporary?
Well guess what? Part of the problem is that your chest muscles are tight and actually perpetuating you rounding forward and even the rounding forward of your shoulders.
So to help relieve those aches and pains and help yourself get the muscles of your back working correctly, you need to start rolling out your chest.
To roll out your chest, you can either use a bigger foam ball against the ground or you can use a smaller, harder ball in a doorway.
To roll out your chest using a foam ball against the ground, place the ball on the ground and lie face down on top of it with the ball starting right at the side and top of your chest beside your shoulder joint and below your collarbone.
Holding the ball there, begin to sweep your arm overhead and then back down toward your legs. You can sweep your arm almost as if making snow angels. Or you can move your arm overhead and then tuck it under to reach down toward your feet and rotate your shoulder a bit. You can make full and partial sweeps to dig into a spot.
Then move the ball a little more toward your sternum and repeat. You can work all along underneath your collarbone, holding on any tight spots and moving your arm. You want to make sure to work all around the front of your shoulder joint and toward your sternum.
To roll out your chest in a doorway, it is best to use a smaller, harder ball instead of the foam ball.
Stand facing the wall besides the doorway and place the ball between your chest and the wall. You want to be right on the edge of the wall so that you can extend your arm forward through the doorway. Place the ball in your chest right by your shoulder joint. Hold on any tight spots as you work down toward your armpit then up under your collarbone. You will want to lift your arm out in front as you roll as well as out to the side like you did on the ground.
Lat Foam Rolling:
Because we sit way too much hunched forward over our computers, phones or even our bikes, our lats can become tight. It is important that you get everything loosened up if you want to improve your posture and your pull ups.
To roll out your lats, you can use a ball or a roller. Start by lying on your side with a roller under one armpit along the side of your back. Extend the arm on the side with the roller up above the roller. Then rock forward and backward on the roller, rotating your chest toward the ground and then up toward the ceiling as you roll on the roller so it hits toward your ribs and then toward your back.
Hold on any tight spots you find then move it lower down the side of your back. Hold on any tight spots as you go and make sure to rock forward and backward as you make your way down your side.
As you work down your side, you may want to rotate slightly more toward your back. Work all the way from your armpit to about the end of your rib cage.
Be careful as you work your way down your lat. Do not start to hyperextend your low back or tense to arch over the roller.
Kneeling Thoracic Extension and Lat Stretch:
When we sit all day in forward flexion, hunched over, our spine is in flexion. This stretch works on the exact opposite – extension. It will help you reverse the hunch (improve your spinal extension) as you stretch out your lats and even your triceps.
To do the Kneeling Thoracic Extension and Lat Stretch, place a box, bench or table on the ground in front of you. Kneel on the ground facing the bench and place your elbows up on it about shoulder-width apart. Make sure that you are kneeling far enough away from the bench that you can lean forward and drop your head between your elbows as you press your chest toward the ground.
From this kneeling position, relax your chest and head over, sitting your butt back. Press your chest toward the ground and feel your spine extend. You should feel a nice stretch down your triceps and lats as well as through your thoracic spine. Try to extend your back as much as possible as you press your chest toward the ground, but don’t simply arch your lower back. Keep your abs braced so that you force your mid and upper back to extend.
Breathe to stretch deeper and then relax back out and repeat, trying to get further with each rep.
If you really feel your elbows constantly sliding out on the bench, you can hold a dowel or even a towel between your hands to help keep everything in line. You can also increase the stretch by bringing your hands back toward your head as you maintain extension.
Pull Downs:
Once you’ve foam rolled and stretched to loosen tight muscles, you have to get the right muscles activated and working. Otherwise you’ll just end up constantly stretching everything only to tighten back up because you keep overusing muscles that aren’t meant to carry the load.
The Pull Downs are a great activation exercise to work your lats and lower traps and help mobilize your shoulder blades.
To do Pull Downs, hold a band, or even a towel, in both hands with your hands about hip-width apart. Slightly pull out on the band so that there is tension on the band or towel. Press your chest out and reach the band overhead, keeping the band/towel tight between your hands. You may need to adjust your hands in closer if the band is light. On a towel as long as you pull out with your hands a little wider than shoulder-width you should be fine since it won’t stretch like the band. You want to pull out on it so your hands are just slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
Then pull the band down toward your chest, as if pulling your chest up to the bar during a Pull Up. Lead with your chest as you draw your shoulder blades down and back and feel your back working to pull the band down. As you pull the band down, keep it tight between your hands.
Hold at this bottom position. Really press your chest out and engage your upper back as you hold. You want to think that you were leading with your chest up toward the bar. Do not arch your low back even though you want to press your chest out. Make sure you also don’t simply feel the outsides of your shoulders working, but instead feel your back. If you only feel your shoulders, you may be using too heavy a band or you may be too focused on pulling out on the band instead of down.
Scapular Push Ups:
The Scapular Push Up is a must-do move.
If you have a desk job, want to improve your posture, improve your pull ups…heck improve your deadlift or press or just about anything, this is a must-do move!
It works on mobilizing your shoulder blades to create shoulder stability. It will activate your back and the muscles around your rib cage. It can even work your core.
You can do this move from the quadruped position or modified push up position to start. Beginners may even need to do it off the wall if they aren’t able to isolate and move their shoulder blades.
As you can actively recruit the proper muscles, you can do the scapular push up from the high plank or forearm plank position.
No matter your level, you can also do Single Arm Scapular Push Ups off the wall, which is my current favorite because it also allows you to address imbalances between your right and left sides.
To do Single Arm Scapular Push Ups, set up facing a wall. Place one hand up on the wall at about shoulder height. Your arm should be straight, but make sure you aren’t shrugging. You can be at a slight incline to make the move harder by walking your feet back, but start standing more vertical to the wall so you can really focus on proper movement of your shoulder blade.
Then, keeping your elbow straight, press your chest toward the wall as you feel your shoulder blade retract back. You should feel your shoulder blade move toward your spine. Do not shrug your shoulder as you focus on moving the shoulder blade. Pause then relax back out.
Make sure you don’t shrug or bend your elbows or rotate to try to make the movement bigger. Keep your core tight and isolate that one side working. You will feel the muscles along the side of your back and your ribs working. You can even put the opposite hand below your armpit on the working side to feel those muscles working.
Posture Or Pull Ups?
While these exercise will help with both, if you’d like to learn more about one or the other, click below! I’ve got programs to help with both
Learn more about improving your Posture –>
Learn more about improving your Pull Ups –>
by Cori Lefkowith | Jun 26, 2017 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises, Functional Fitness
There are so many great plank variations out there. And of course I like mixing things up and using a variety to challenge my body, and my mind, in different ways.
BUT I also have my go-to options. Plank moves I like to include way more often not only in my own workouts, but in my clients.
These moves are my favorites because they are functional moves that cover everything I think a core training program needs to get results.
- They work the core from every angle.
- They work the core in every plane of motion (sagittal, frontal and transverse).
- They work everything between your shoulders and your knees aka all of the muscles of your core.
- They work not only your abs but also your glutes.
- They build shoulder stability.
- They are compound moves that even get your blood pumping a bit to help you burn more calories.
- They can be easily modified or advanced for any level.
- They are a combination of unilateral and bilateral moves.
- They force you to learn to engage your core as you balance, twist, turn, bend and even extend!
- They even work on improving your mobility and strengthening through that full range of motion!
So what are these 5 Plank Variations I always use!?
- Plank with Reach Back and Out
- Side Plank Hip Dips
- Body Saw
- Plank with Rotational Reach
- Inchworm Plank
Learn more about each move below!
(If you’re ready to skip to the good stuff and get some workouts using these plank variations, you’ll want to check out my 28-Day Core Burner Program!)
Plank with Reach Back and Out:
This plank in particular is one of my favorites.
Why?
Because it works on shoulder stability, glute activation, hip extension and core anti-rotational strength.
To do the Plank with Reach Back and Out, set up in a Front Plank from your hands and toes with your hands under your shoulders and your feet about hip-width to shoulder-width apart. For this move, you will want your feet wider to create a more stable base. Beginners can do this move from their knees.
Then from the Plank position, reach one hand back and across toward the opposite ankle, pushing your butt back and up toward the ceiling as you reach. Then reach back forward and out toward the wall in front of you, dropping your hips back into a nice plank position.
Do not drop your hips too low and feel your low back engage. Keep your core tight to protect your low back as you come back into that nice plank position. Reach back and across with the same hand until all reps are complete on that side.
Side Plank Hip Dips:
So why is the Side Plank with Hip Dips one of my favorites? A. It’s a frontal plane movement. B. It’s a great move to work obliques AND your glute medius (aka a butt muscle) which is an important hip stabilizer.
To do the Side Plank Hip Dips, set up in a side plank from your forearm with your elbow right under your shoulder. Do not let your elbow get way out beyond your shoulder or you will place more strain on your shoulder. By keeping the elbow “stacked” under the shoulder, you allow your back and lat to help support your weight.
You can then either stack your feet and lift up onto the side of your bottom foot or you can place the top foot in front on the ground and lift up onto the sides of both feet. Unstacking your feet will make it a bit easier to balance. Beginners may need to place their bottom knee down on the ground.
Keeping your body in a straight line and your chest open and not rotated toward the ground, drop your hips down toward the ground and then lift them back up into the Side Plank.
Repeat making sure your body doesn’t collapse forward and your chest doesn’t rotate toward the ground. Your top hand can be raised toward the ceiling or on your hip.
Body Saw:
I love this more advanced plank. It shows that to advance the plank you don’t always have to hold for longer or add in weights.
And for a functionally strong core, you want to have core strength and stability even when stretched out. This plank variation will help you learn to brace your abs even as you extend to help you protect your low back. Plus the movement really gets the blood pumping a bit!
To do the Body Saw, set up in a Plank position from your forearms and toes with your feet close together. Your forearms should be right under your shoulders and your body should be in a nice straight line from your head to your heels.
Then begin to walk your feet backward, taking small steps. Keep your body in a nice straight line and don’t let your hips sag toward the ground. Lengthen through your triceps and lats as you walk back. Walk back as far as you can while keeping your core engaged.
Then walk your feet back forward until you are back in the Forearm Front Plank. Do not let your butt go up in the air as you walk your feet back in.
Repeat, walking your feet back out. Only walk out as far as you can without your low back engaging. If your low back feels this move, don’t walk out as far. Start with only a few steps.
Plank with Rotational Reach:
This is another great plank to build shoulder stability, but this one instead works on rotational strength. I love this plank variation because it works the entire core and you’ll even really feel it working the muscles around your rib cage!
To do the Plank with Rotational Reach, set up in the high plank position on your hands and knees (beginner) or toes (advanced). Set your feet wider apart to create a more stable base. Then reach one hand under your armpit and toward the far wall beyond your side. You aren’t just reaching under your armpit to pat yourself on the back. You want to really reach toward the wall.
As you reach, make sure your hips stay down. Then pivot open, rotating into a Side Plank as you reach your hand up toward the ceiling. You will reach the hand that reached under your armpit up toward the ceiling, keeping your hips up as you move into a Side Plank. Pivot onto the sides of your feet as you reach or try to open up as much as you can on your knees. Beginners can even move to their feet if they can to do a more intermediate variation.
Then reach the hand back down and under your armpit, rotating your hips back down toward the ground and into the Front Plank position. Repeat. Complete all reps on one side before switching and reaching the other way. Do not let your butt go up in the air or your hips sag toward the ground as you reach.
Inchworm Plank:
I love this plank because it is the opposite of the Body Saw and requires a lot of core strength to get your feet in closer to your head so that you can get your butt up higher. It also really works on your mobility to be able to walk in further. Plus, the walking in and jumping out will get your blood pumping and heart beating!
To do the Inchworm Plank, set up in a forearm plank from your toes with your elbows under your shoulders and your body in a nice straight line down to your heels.
Begin to walk your feet in toward your head, keeping your legs straight as you take very small steps forward. Your butt should go up in the air as you walk your feet in to pike up. Walk in as far as you mobility allows. Then jump both feet back out (beginners may walk back out instead).
Do not let your hips sag toward the ground as you return to the forearm plank. Then repeat walking back in before jumping back out.
Ready to build core strength using these Planks and even other fun core moves?
Ready to learn why just holding a plank for LONGER isn’t the answer?
Ready to get rid of that low back pain and get a stronger, killer-looking core?
