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the Most Underrated Glute Exercise

the Most Underrated Glute Exercise

by | May 12, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Butt, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief, Warm Up

The stronger your mind-body connection is?

The more you can lift, the faster you can run and the further you can cycle!

Basically the STRONGER YOU ARE!

Strength is not just about brute force but also about neuromuscular efficiency – how quickly can you recruit the CORRECT muscles to perform a movement and produce force.

That’s why it is key we include exercises to really improve that mind-body connection and make sure we are able to engage the correct muscles whenever we need.

Because as much as we focus on form, proper form does NOT always mean you’re engaging the correct muscles.

Actually often the more experienced a lifter you are and the more athletic you are, the more you can mimic a proper looking movement pattern while compensating and recruiting the incorrect muscles to do so.

This can not only result in injury but often holds us back from lifting as much as we truly can.

It prevents us from being as strong as possible because we aren’t using muscles efficiently together. We aren’t making the correct muscles pull their own weight.

That’s why you need to include some isolation moves to activate those underactive muscles and make sure you’re engaging the correct muscles at the proper times.

One muscle that often needs to be the focus of our activation work is our GLUTES.

Our glutes are commonly underactive due to our modern lifestyle.

So focused activation work can help us improve our mind-body connection to better recruit our glutes during compound lifts and when we run or cycle.

One of my favorite moves, and a very basic and often underutilized move, is the Single Leg Bent-Knee Reverse Hyper.

This move is fundamental if you want to improve your hip extension and focus on isolating those glutes.

And it’s a really great way to test if your hamstrings tend to want to take over and compensate for your glutes.

Often our hamstrings can become synergistically dominant for underactive glutes and that can result in hamstrings strains, lower back, hip and knee pain.

So if you tend to feel your hamstrings even during moves like glute bridges? You need to give this reverse hyper variation a try.

To first test your glute activation, lie face down on the ground. You can relax your chin on your hands as you straighten both legs out. Then bend one knee to about 90 degrees. Flex that foot. Do not curl the heel in toward your butt as this will engage your hamstrings.

Then drive your heel toward the ceiling and extend your hip.

What do you feel firing first? Do you feel your hamstring first or your glute?

Do you feel both? Or can you just isolate your glute?

If you can just isolate your glute fabulous! Do 15-20 reps and pause at the top to really establish that mind-body connection and even get a little pump going.

If you can’t feel your glutes, try adjusting how you’re cueing and performing the move.

Here are a few tweaks to try.

#1: Focus on driving your hip down into the ground as you drive the heel back so you don’t rotate open. Think about almost pushing your hip bone down into the ground instead of just lifting up.

#2: Think about STOPPING the lift with your glute over just trying to lift up higher. You want to focus on that glute engagement over the movement itself.

#3: Kick just slightly out as you lift. Remember not to curl your heel in toward your butt. Our hamstrings are worked by that knee flexion so avoiding it can help. However, going too straight with your leg can also make it harder for some to focus on their glutes.

#4: Slightly abduct your knee or move it out to the side before you lift. This can better engage the glute medius to help engage that glute max. Just be careful you don’t rotate your hip open. Just slightly move the knee out to the side.

Try one of these tweaks at a time to see what helps. You may even find you need to combine all the cues to get that glute firing without the hamstring trying to take over.

As silly as it may seem, sometimes just changing how we cue ourselves to perform a movement with a very slight adjustment can really help us better establish that mind-body connection when we’ve struggled in the past.

Just don’t rush through the movement. Pause and assess. Be intentional with the exercise over just trying to get through the reps.

Doing the “right moves” without feeling the correct muscles working won’t get you the results you want.

Focus on activating your glutes.

SUMMARY:

Use this underrated glute isolation move as both an activation exercise but also a test of hamstring compensation. It is a great way to make sure your hamstrings aren’t trying to take over and work when your glutes truly should be.

Be conscious of what you feel working during your workouts and do not simply go through the motions.

The more we can truly create proper recruitment patterns and use the correct muscles efficiently and effectively, the stronger we will be.

Sometimes we need to take things back to basics to get results.

We are never above those simple fundamentals!

Working to improve your glute activation?

Check out my Booty Burner Program!

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Push-Ups For Beginners – 5 Simple Tips To Perfect Your Push Up

Push-Ups For Beginners – 5 Simple Tips To Perfect Your Push Up

by | Apr 22, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Push Ups

Push ups not only require a lot of upper body strength but also core strength.

They require you to properly recruit and engage everything from your shoulders to your knees so your body moves as one unit. You need to not only have amazing strength but also proper wrist, shoulder and scapular mobility and stability.

They are a much more complex movement than we often give them credit for.

That’s why I want to share 5 tips to help you not only dial in your push up form, but also strengthen all of the muscles involved in the movement so you can improve your push ups.

But first, I want to explain why it’s key we remember we may need to regress to progress to start.

And one of the best ways to do that is by using an incline over even the knee push up variation!

The knee push up variation is actually more challenging than we often give it credit for. And it doesn’t teach us to engage everything between our shoulders to our feet.

We need to train that full plank position to help us better engage everything as we build up toward that full push up from the ground.

That’s why the incline push up is a great way to modify the push up to start.

You can start off a wall and slowly lower the incline as you’re ready.

And by using an incline, we can even mix up the push up variations we include as we build up.

It can be boring feeling like you aren’t able to try some of those fun push up variations. But using an incline, you don’t have to stick with just the basic push up.

You can include other push up variations that may even be great accessory moves in and of themselves to improve your strength toward that first full push up.

Want to target your triceps more?

Try the close grip push up off an incline.

Or if you want to work on your core strength more as well as your shoulder stability?

Try the shoulder tap push up.

By mixing up your push up variations you can keep you training fun and interesting and even address your weak links to get stronger!

5 Key Tips To Help You Improve Your Push Ups

#1: Drive back through your heels.

Part of getting stronger is also about being more EFFICIENT in your movements. It’s about learning how to engage muscles correctly so it actually requires less effort to do the movement.

And one great way to make sure you have the proper tension during the push up to maintain that nice straight line from your head to your heels, is to cue yourself to drive back through your heels.

This will help you flex your quads for that nice plank position.

Because while this is an upper body move you need to have that proper full body engagement so you aren’t overloading your upper body but also making your lower body assist you in moving efficiently.

When you set up for the push up, push backward off the balls of your feet. Feel the change in how you flex your legs as you do this. Just make sure that as you drive back, you keep your hands outside your chest and don’t let them shift up above your shoulders.

Keep pushing backward off the balls of your feet as you lower down.

Feel those legs stay engaged to help you maintain that plank position!

#2: Push the ground away.

Want to engage your triceps, shoulders and pecs better while helping prevent elbow pain during push ups? Focus on your hands grip on the ground.

That tension we create through our hands down into the ground can really help us better activate the muscles of our upper body.

And it can help us prevent overuse from rocking out on our hands.

As you set up for the push up, spread your fingers with your middle finger pointing straight ahead. Grip the ground or incline with your entire hand, even pressing your thumb down into the ground.

At the top of the push up, think about pushing the ground away just slightly to even better stabilize your shoulders.

And do not lose this tension even as you lower down. Too often we just think about lowering down over maintaining that tension into the ground.

But this tension can also help us in that transition from lowering to pressing back up.

If you’ve ever felt like you struggle at the bottom to change to pushing back up?

This focus on your hands pushing down into the ground can make all of the difference. So even as you lower, push the ground away so that when you move to push back up, you’ve already created that tension.

#3: Feel your back assisting.

While yes, the push up is a move for our chest, shoulders and triceps, we can’t ignore the important role our upper back plays in this movement.

We often think about our scapular movement, or the movement of our shoulder blades, during things like rows.

But that scapular movement is essential to actually create a more powerful press.

Proper scapular movement can mean healthier, happier shoulders, elbows and even wrists. Not to mention you avoiding neck pain from push ups.

So as you perform the push up, think about your back working to support your shoulders.

Make sure that, when you set up, you very slightly pull your shoulder blades down toward your butt as you unshrug your shoulders. Think about feeling the sides of your back slightly engage to support your shoulders.

Then, as you lower down, think about your shoulder blades drawing together toward your spine.

As you press back up, focus on pulling those shoulder blades apart.

Use your back and that proper scapular movement to power your press!

#4: Use push up holds.

Push ups are basically a moving plank so often when we think push ups and improving our core strength, we turn to plank holds.

And those are great.

But you can actually work on that plank position from just about any point in the push up.

By holding even mid-way through the push up or at the bottom, you can really strengthen not only your core but also your upper body.

You can also help yourself overcome any weak points or stick points in the move.

If there is a point you feel you always get stuck at?

Hold there to strengthen everything.

When we hold, we can really focus on what we feel working because we aren’t distracted by trying to actually perform a movement.

We can stay in one position and run through the muscles that should be working to make sure we feel them. We have time to even assess our form and make small tweaks.

That time under tension can help us build strength as we work on that mind-body connection to use muscles efficiently.

So next time you include some accessory core work, try including bottom push up holds or mid push up holds instead of just doing even the high plank position to work your core!

#5: Quality over quantity.

Practice makes better. But only when you’re practicing the proper movement. If we get lazy with our reps and compensate or replicate improper movement patterns?

We are going to ingrain those bad habits through repetition.

So as you build up, make sure to focus on quality over quantity. Make every rep your best rep to really solidify those proper movement patterns.’

And focus on fewer reps of a harder variation to really challenge your body to progress.

Too often when we want to work toward that first full push up, we just make ourselves better at the modified variation by adding more reps.

Instead of doing more reps of a more modified push up, we need to think about doing fewer reps with more sets to keep attempting a more challenging variation.

So if you can do only 1 push up off a lower incline, but 5 off a higher?

It is better to include that 1 rep off the harder variation, simply resting longer between to create the volume over sets.

Because you need to use those harder variations to get better at them!

Summary:

Use the incline push up variation to help you build up toward that first full push up from your toes. You can even start off the wall and lower the incline as you feel ready.

As you build up, use these tips and cues to help you dial in your push up form and use muscles efficiently to perform the movement.

And don’t be afraid to use some fun variations off the incline to help you target those weak links and keep your training fun and interesting!

The BIGGEST Deadlift Mistakes (No One Talks About)

The BIGGEST Deadlift Mistakes (No One Talks About)

by | Mar 18, 2021 | Blog, Exercises

The Deadlift – This is personally one of my favorite exercises.

It is a challenging hip hinge movement that works your entire posterior chain or backside.

It is a move that is often demonized and feared for causing lower back aches and pains.

But while this move can be misused and end up resulting in lower back injury, it is actually a key movement pattern to learn to perform correctly if we want to avoid long term back, hip and even knee issues.

That’s why I want to share not only 3 tips to improve your deadlift but also one of the biggest problems I see people encountering when trying to recruit muscles correctly to perform this posterior chain move…

They think of this move as a PULL instead of focusing on the PUSH to initiate the lift.

And that focus on the deadlift as a pull is often what results in us overloading our lower backs instead of correctly bracing our abs and using our hamstrings and glutes to initiate the movement of the bar off the ground.

Instead of thinking about pulling the bar up off the ground, next time you set up to deadlift, think about PUSHING the ground away with your legs.

While a seemingly simply change in how we cue ourselves to do this move, this can change the entire sequencing of how we recruit muscles to perform the movement.

Think about it this way…

When you step up to the bar and think, “I have to pull this off the ground,” you may hinge at the hips to sink down to the bar and grab it, but your innate response is to then start to tug with your upper body and arms.

This often results in mistakes like the bar drifting away from our shins, us not engaging our lats to lock everything in, rounding of the thoracic and lumbar spine, not to mention our butt rising up far too quickly, resulting in what is often called the stripper deadlift.

This can all lead to over use of our back instead of our glutes being a driver of the lift.

This simple miscue in how to initiate the move can be the culprit of our improper recruitment patterns and result in compensations and injury,

When we instead focus first on this move as a PUSH, our attention shifts to our foot’s connection with the ground and the use of our legs to initiate the movement.

It allows us to create and maintain the upper body tension we need to hold the bar while focusing on the movement coming from our lower body.

So next time you step up to the bar, don’t think about pulling the bar off the ground. Focus instead on PUSHING the ground away with your legs!

Now what are 3 other tips to improve your deadlift so you can rock this amazing lift?

Tip #1: Don’t be married to one deadlift variation.

I LOVE….did I say LOVE!? The barbell sumo deadlift. Honestly if I could only do one move the rest of my life, that move would be it.

BUT as much as I love the barbell sumo deadlift, this is not the only deadlift variation I use personally or with all of my clients.

Not every deadlift variation will be right for us and our build and previous injuries.

And different variations may suit our needs and goals as they change over time.

Not only may we use different stances, different amounts of knee flexion and even different starting positions to activate muscles to different extents, but we may change up the equipment we use to load the moves down and provide resistance.

The key is using the hip hinge movement in a way that addresses our needs and goals instead of getting caught up in one version being the “best” or “right” way to do things.

If you have slightly longer legs?

You may find the sumo stance works better for you.

Whereas if you want to target your back in general a bit more? You may choose to do the conventional deadlift.

Or if you want to place an emphasis on working your hamstrings?

Maybe you do a Romanian Deadlift.

If you’re just starting out with deadlifting?

Maybe you use a kettlebell instead of a barbell. The kettlebell can be a great tool to use to learn how to hip hinge correctly.

It’s easier to set the kettlebell back between your feet to properly load your glutes during the deadlift whereas there is more risk with the barbell variation of it drifting forward in your efforts to protect your shins, which can lead to lower back overload.

You can even do band deadlifts or unilaterally loaded deadlifts to create more tension at the top of the move where the glutes are stronger or focus more on your core strength, creating an even anti-rotational element to the move.

The point is, there are so many different variations of this amazing hip hinge movement you can use to get the most out of the exercise and even use the move as its own accessory lift!

Tip #2: Create tension before you lift.

Bracing is key if you want to protect your lower back.

But it’s not just about bracing your abs and creating tension there when it comes to the deadlift.

While you want to engage your abs as if you’re about to be punched in the gut to help protect your lower back as well as exhale during exertion in the lift, you want to make sure you create tension in a few different places BEFORE you even attempt to move the bar off the ground.

This helps make sure that muscles work efficiently together.

Too often we see rounding of our back occurring because we lose tension or haven’t properly engaged before starting the lift.

Next time you set up to deadlift, think about your foot placement on the ground. Think about driving the two points in the ball of your foot and one in your heel down hard into the ground.

As you hinge and grab the bar, engage your lats and depress your shoulder blades so your shoulders feel locked in.

Even think about both hands fully wrapping around to grab the bar so that each finger has that connection.

Then create that tension not only down into the ground but also through the bar. While you won’t lift the bar, you want to think about removing any “slack” from your arms so that everything is locked in.

By creating this tension, you can then use your body as a lever to lift by driving the ground away.

While this sounds like a lot of things to focus on, the engagement will become natural over time.

But using this little checklist to set up when you’re learning can help you make sure you’re creating tension in the right areas to use muscles efficiently to lift.

Part of strength is using muscles efficiently together.

Tip #3: Remember every lift is PRACTICE.

Every time we deadlift, we are practicing the movement pattern.

And what we do consistently becomes habit.

Therefore improper form during our “practice” will lead to us consistently implementing improper form and recruitment patterns as we progress.

That can result in us not only not progressing as far as we’d like in terms of lifting more with this amazing move, but it can also result in overload which eventually results in injury.

It’s why, as hard as it is to check our ego, at points we need to regress to progress.

While there will be some form break down when you’re an experienced lifter testing those limits and attempting one rep max work, you need to remember that when you hit that compensation point, it’s key to then address those weak links.

Sometimes you have to lower the loads and go back to basics. You have to use accessory lifts to work on strengthening muscles or components of the movement.

Sometimes you even need to use other deadlift variations to help you build up.

Progress is never linear, and we have to remember that no matter how advanced we are, each lift is practice and teaches us things we need to go back and work on.

SUMMARY:

The deadlift is an amazing hip hinge movement to strengthen your entire backside.

Learning how to perform this movement correctly and control it can often be the key to even avoiding back aches and pains in the future.

Start focusing on that push away to drive the movement while using these 3 tips to help tailor this amazing move to fit your needs and goals!

What is your favorite deadlift variation?

Fix Your Squat – 3 Squat Myths That Need To Die

Fix Your Squat – 3 Squat Myths That Need To Die

by | Mar 12, 2021 | Blog, Exercises

What does it mean to have picture perfect squat form?

And is there really truly such a thing?

Or are we actually doing MORE damage by trying to force one version of proper form on every single person no matter their build, training experience or previous injury history?

Because I believe there SHOULD be variation to movement patterns, and even an emphasis placed on recruitment patterns, or the muscles that actually SHOULD be working, over just mimicking a proper movement, I want to discuss 3 squat myths, how they came to be and why they actually hold us back from getting the most out of this amazing compound move – the Squat.

But first, I want to discuss why we can’t force one version of form, or even simply one variation of the squat on every single person.

While I do believe we should have standards of form and seek to work on proper movement patterns, I think we also have to recognize that we will not all move the same.

We can’t see form as black and white, simply good or bad.

We have different builds, different postural distortions and even different goals. And this means that not everyone will squat with the same stance or even benefit from the exact same squat variation.

And sometimes forcing someone to fit a form mold you feel is correct can lead to overload and injury as their body compensates to mimic the movement you’re telling them to do.

Our bodies will seek out mobility from joints or areas not meant to provide it or even overuse smaller muscles in an attempt to replicate a movement.

So while you may love the barbell back squat, a client may not be ready for that movement or ever even need to do it. Instead a single leg squat to box or goblet squat may be right for them.

They may have more forward lean or even a wider squat stance.

They may need a mini band for that tactile cue to help them activate their glutes. Or due to limited ankle mobility, they may need to squat to a box to start to help them better load their glutes without their lower back engaging.

We need to see opportunities in slight variations of movements over ranking them as better or worse, good or bad.

3 Squat Myths That Need To…Die…

Sometimes simply using the same but different because of how it affects muscle activation may be key to our own progression!

So what are the 3 Squat Myths that may be holding you back?

Myth #1: Your knees can’t go past your toes.

Knee pain is an all too common complaint. And tight hips and limited ankle mobility are common mobility restrictions due to our modern lifestyle.

These things combined are part of the reason we saw the rise of the cue “Your knees shouldn’t go past your toes.”

This cue was meant to help remind people to actually sit back over first bending their knees forward while letting their heels rise up.

It’s intentions were good.

However, it’s perpetuated the belief that squats are bad for your knees or that your knees can’t travel forward and instead need to stay over your ankles.

But to achieve a deep squat or a full pistol squat?

This just isn’t possible.

Your knees can and, often even SHOULD, travel past your toe with no negative consequences.

The key is making sure you’re properly loading those glutes and sitting back.

You need to make sure you have the proper hip and ankle mobility to be squatting as low as you are while keeping your heels down.

If you can’t load your glutes and keep your heels down, you may then have issues with your knees traveling forward as the muscles around your knees become overloaded.

So while this cue was well intentioned due to mobility restrictions and injuries that were popping up, you simply may not be able to work through a full range of motion with proper form if you try to force your knees to stay behind your toes!

The key is working on your ankle and hip mobility so you can properly load while potentially even using a squat to box variation to help you control the movement and properly load.

Myth #2: You need to stay super upright.

A nice upright squat position looks beautiful. Unfortunately though many of us simply don’t have the build to do it and trying to prevent ourselves from leaning forward will result in lower back aches and pains.

While we want to work on core stability and hip and thoracic mobility as much as possible to improve our squat posture, we also do not want to force someone to keep their chest upright if their mobility and build don’t allow for it to be done with proper recruitment patterns.

Too often we try to force a proper looking movement at the expense of actually utilizing the correct muscles.

And while this cue came about to help people avoid turning the squat into a hip hinge, it can backfire if we try to force a position we can’t control.

We have to face the facts that some of us just aren’t built for picture perfect Instagram worthy squats and work to maximize our squatting form based on our builds.

Now this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work on your mobility to get more upright, but it does mean you need to recognize there will be acceptable variations in the squat and that your squat movement pattern may involve more forward lean.

It’s why coaching people, you may want to avoid having them face a wall to cue “chest up.”

Especially if you have long femurs and a short torso, you may find that a slight lean forward as you squat allows you to get lower, load your legs better AND even avoid lower back aches and pains instead of trying to arch to stay upright.

You may also use box squats or front loaded squat variations to help you properly sit back and even brace your core to ultimately keep a more upright body position.

It’s key though that you don’t force an upright posture at the expense of arching your lower back and causing aches and pains there.

Myth #3: Your squat needs to be (insert depth here).

I’ve heard everything from “Don’t squat below parallel or your knees will explode” to “You need to squat ass to grass or it doesn’t count.”

The real answer to the proper squat depth question?

Is…it DEPENDS!

The difference of opinion on squat depth and cueing came about because one side feared the knee pain they often saw clients suffering from with squatting while the other wanted to help people strengthen through a full range of motion for better muscle gains AND to even maintain better mobility as they aged.

But we have to recognize that not everyone will be able to squat to the same depth.

Your structure, injury history and mobility may lead to you limiting your squat depth and even controlling it through use of a box or bench. Or it may allow you to squat into a nice deep squat very comfortably.

But whatever range of motion you can control, you want to work through it as fully as possible. Our goal is always to train through the largest range of motion we can properly control.

Which for some may be that full deep squat while for others it may be to parallel.

But we need to stop demonizing one or the other. And we even need to recognize that BOTH can be useful at points even.

Even someone who can easily perform a deep squat may limit squat range of motion strategically to work on weak points or stick points.

Form isn’t black and white.

But we need to realize when cues may be misused and perpetuate improper recruitment patterns or lead to everyone trying to force the same mold.

One size doesn’t fit all.

There is no one best move or movement variation.

Use these tips to help dial in your squat form to work with your build, needs and goals!

Ready to move and feel your best with workouts tailored to your needs and goals? Check out my 1:1 Coaching!

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How To Fix Knee Pain – Do These 4 Moves

How To Fix Knee Pain – Do These 4 Moves

by | Feb 25, 2021 | Blog, Butt, Exercises, Foam Rolling, injury-featured, Pain Relief, Stretches

Achy and sore knees are an all too common complaint.

And nagging knee pain can become a daily annoyance.

Knee pain can make walking up stairs or getting down on the ground uncomfortable and difficult.

It can make us fear moves like squats and lunges so much that we simply stop doing them all together.

It can hold us back from training intensely.

Knee pain can cause us to simply no longer enjoy the activities we used to love like running or jumping.

And the worst part is often we’ve done a ton of things to TRY to address the problem.

We’ve focused on all of the muscles right around our knee trying to strengthen everything to improve our knee stability.

But all too often this not only doesn’t provide lasting relief, but it actually BACKFIRES.

So if trying to strengthen the muscles right around your knees isn’t necessarily the answer, what is? How can you get rid of nagging knee pain for good?

First, there are two joints you need to be paying attention to instead of just focusing only on your knees…

Your ankles and your hips!

If there is immobility or instability at either one of these two joints, your knees are going to suffer the consequences.

All too often when we lack mobility in one area, we seek out mobility from another.

So if your ankles aren’t mobile? You’re going to search for mobility from your knees! Mobility your knees really aren’t meant to provide!

And instability at your ankles or hips is what can lead to improper alignment up and down your legs, causing muscles around your knees to even become tight and overworked, further perpetuating your aches and pains!

That’s why I want to share 4 essential exercises with you to address both ankle and hip mobility and stability issues.

 4 Must-Do Moves To Prevent Knee Pain:

Improving your range of motion and stability at both joints can help you avoid perpetuating your knee issues and even alleviate the overload.

#1: Knee-Friendly Ankle Mobility Stretch

Improving your ankle mobility, specifically your ability to dorsiflex or draw your toes up toward your shin can go a long way in preventing knee pain during squats and lunges, not to mention when you run or ride!

Especially if you are suffering from knee pain currently, many ankle mobility drills can be uncomfortable as your knee will travel even past your toes.

That’s when this Knee-Friendly Ankle Mobility Stretch comes in handy.

Because the ball of your foot is up on a block or weight, you’ve put your ankle into dorsiflexion before you even shift your weight forward.

Most ankle mobility moves require your knee to move past your toe for the full range of motion.

But because of this starting position, your knee doesn’t have to travel forward that much for a full range of motion.

This can help alleviate some pressure on your knees as you work to improve that ankle mobility.

Keeping your heel on the ground with the ball of your foot up, shift your weight forward as much as you can. If your heel starts to lift, you’ve gone too far.

Then shift back and repeat.

#2: Single Leg Toe-Raised Calf Raises

It’s key you activate any weak or underactive muscles if you want to maintain the range of motion you are working hard to build.

If you don’t establish the mind-body connection to those muscles?

You are just going to keep perpetuating the same patterns of overuse, leading to your knee pain.

Having mobile, but also STABLE ankles is key if you want to avoid injury.

That’s why it’s key after you do any mobility work that you do activation moves to strengthen weak muscles and work to maintain that range of motion.

And especially if you’ve ever had issues on just one side, you want to address the imbalance with imbalanced prehab. Which may even mean doing this move on only one side or more reps on one side at least.

I recommend having your hands on a wall or something to help you balance so you can focus not only on driving off the entire ball of your foot for the calf raise, but also so you can focus on dorsiflexing your foot as much as possible as you move to your heel.

Make sure to move slowly lifting your toes toward your shins to sit back on your heel before lowering your foot to the ground to press up onto the ball of your foot. Do not just rock and use momentum.

You can also do this as a bilateral move instead if both sides need equal attention.

#3: TFL Foam Rolling

The TFL or tensor fasciae latae is a hip flexor muscle that is a common culprit of not only hip pain, but also knee and even ankle pain.

This muscle can have a far reaching impact because of it’s connection to the knee through the IT Band.

So if you’re a runner who’s had IT Band or knee issues, you need to include this move as part of your warm up!

When the TFL becomes overactive and tight, it can also try to compensate and work when your glute medius should actually be the prime mover. This perpetuates what has been called gluteal amnesia.

It can inhibit your glute medius from working correctly to support and stabilize your hip, which can also lead to further knee issues.

This simple foam rolling move is key to use even before a glute medius activation exercise as it will help you relax the TFL so it isn’t as likely to try to engage and take over.

Place a ball in the lateral side of your hip and lie slightly propped up on your side with the ball pushing in toward your hip socket.

Relax as you hold. To help the muscle relax and release itself, lift and lower your leg to tense and relax the muscle.

You can prop yourself up more or fully lie over the ball depending on how much pressure you want to create. Make sure you can actually relax as you hold. You don’t want to tense against the pressure.

You may even find standing to hold against the wall is better pressure to start.

#4: Extended ROM Side Lying Leg Raises

Improving your hip stability will help protect your knees. That’s why it is key you include moves to activate your glute medius.

The glute medius is a key hip stabilize, not to mention strengthening it will help prevent your TFL from becoming overworked!

Because a tight and overworked TFL can cause hip internal rotation and external tibial rotation, it can lead to our knees caving in during things like squats.

It can cause tracking issues so that your hips, knees and ankles aren’t all in proper alignment during even exercises like lunges.

Basically, it can lead to movement patterns that end in knee pain.

By strengthening your glute medius, you can prevent this improper movement pattern.

And that’s why moves like side lying raises or abduction exercises are so key.

By lifting this basic move off the ground to perform it on a bench instead, you can allow yourself to work through a bigger range of motion to strengthen the glute medius. This is even a great way to progress that basic move from the floor without adding loads.

Just be conscious you do actually feel your glute medius working and not your TFL taking over.

A great way to help avoid your TFL compensating is to turn your toe down toward the ground as you lift or even kick slightly back.

The internal tibial rotation can help inhibit the TFL while the kick back can slightly engage the glute maximus.

SUMMARY:

Using these four moves you can improve your ankle and hip mobility and stability to help prevent your knee from suffering the consequences of issues at these other two joints!

You can choose to include one or two of these in your warm up routine or combine all four for a quick mobility series. Even just 1-2 rounds through working for 30-45 seconds per move or side can go a long way!

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How to FIX Low Back Pain – Do These 4 Moves

How to FIX Low Back Pain – Do These 4 Moves

by | Feb 4, 2021 | Blog, Butt, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief, Stretches

If you’ve ever suffered from lower back aches and pains?

You aren’t alone.

Lower back pain is one of the most common injuries, with at least 80% of Americans suffering from lower back pain at some point in their life.

And the worst part? All too often it becomes a continual annoyance.

However, too often in our attempt to prevent future issues, we do exactly the WRONG thing,

So what do you need to STOP doing if you want to truly keep your lower back from continually aching?

And what should you be doing instead?

First let me go over what is often actually occurring leading to nagging lower back aches and pains.

While there can be many different causes, and you always want to get checked out whenever possible to determine what is causing your pain, often our issues stem from our lower back becoming overworked and overloaded.

This occurs because of postural distortions from our modern lifestyles and even compensations and imbalances caused by previous injuries.

That ankle or knee injury you had years ago?

That can create a sequence of events that finally led to overload and your lower back suffering the effects of the build up.

But instead of addressing these others areas of immobility or weakness?

We instead only focus on the point of pain – our lower back.

And often we assume our lower back hurts because it is weak.

We believe that weakness is why it fatigues during moves and why we often feel it during core work.

So what do we do?

We find moves to strengthen it – like Supermans.

But this is often exactly what we should NOT be doing!

While supermans have their place in a proper core strengthening routine, too often we turn to moves like this when we have lower back aches and pains.

And all these moves do is further overload and overwork our already tired back.

They perpetuate the overuse instead of addressing what is actually weak and the areas that actually lack immobility.

So what moves should you be doing instead?

4 Key Moves To Fix Lower Back Pain:

When you’re suffering from lower back pain there are 4 key things you need to address, thoracic mobility, hip mobility, ab activation and glute activation.

You need to make sure you aren’t seeking out extra mobility from your lumbar spine that should be coming from your thoracic spine or hips.

You also want to make sure that your abs and glutes are strong to protect your lower back and prevent it from becoming overworked.

Here are 4 great moves to help you address these 4 keys and avoid lower back aches and pains in the future!

#1: Kneeling Thoracic Extension Stretch

 kneeling-lat-and-thoracic-stretch

Ever realize you’re constantly hunching over? Whether it’s over your computer, in a car or even just while sitting watching TV?

This constant flexion can lead to limited thoracic extension and thoracic mobility in general. And when our thoracic spine doesn’t extend properly, we may then seek out mobility from other areas to help us mimic proper movement during an exercise.

So if you’ve ever noticed you arch your lower back to keep your chest up as you squat or you arch your lower back to press better overhead, you may need to work on that thoracic extension!

A perfect move to do just that is the Kneeling Thoracic Extension and lat stretch.

To do the Kneeling Thoracic Extension Stretch, kneel on the ground and place your elbows up on a box or bench in front of you. Set up far enough back that you can drop your chest toward the ground, extending your shoulders, as you sit your butt back toward your heels.

Pull a towel tight between your hands to help you avoid your shoulders rotating open as you lower your chest toward the ground.

Then drop your chest toward the ground, focusing on extending your upper back. Brace your abs and make sure you aren’t just arching your lower back as you press your chest down.

You may feel a stretch down the backs of your arms and the sides of your back. Pause for a second then relax out and repeat.

If you can’t get down on the ground, you can also do this as a half wall hang, placing your hands up on a wall in front of you.

#2: Lying Bench Hip Stretch

Stretch out your hip flexors as you activate your glutes to improve your hip extension with the Lying Bench Hip Stretch.

The psoas, a hip flexor muscle, plays a key role in our posture and pelvic positioning. When this muscle becomes tight it can limit hip mobility, which can lead to underactive glutes and your lower back becoming overworked.

Often to compensate for the lack of proper hip mobility, you’ll arch your back during moves. And because your glutes are weak? You’ll try to compensate by using your lower back to lift.

That’s why this a great hip stretch to include. It can really help you relax the psoas as you activate your glutes to control that hip extension.

To do the Lying Bench Hip Stretch, lie back on a bench with your butt right at the edge of the bench. Let one leg hang down toward the ground with your knee bent around 90 degrees as you hug the other knee in toward your chest. Wrap your hands around your shin, right below your knee to hug it in.

As you hug that knee in, squeeze the glute of the leg hanging down to really drive your hip into extension almost as if you’re pressing the heel of that foot through the ground.

Pause then tuck that knee up toward your chest before extending the foot back down toward the ground.

As you extend your hip, squeeze your glute and pause before repeating.

#3: Lying Jacks

If your glutes are underactive and weak, your lower back and hamstrings will try to pick up the slack and work when they shouldn’t.

And either of those muscle groups becoming overworked can perpetuate your lower back aches and pains.

That’s why it is key you activate your glutes so they engage correctly during compound lifts and when you run.

With the Lying, you’ll target not only your glute max, but also your glute medius. This will be key to improving your hip stability.

And you learn how to engage those glutes to even control hip hyperextension. Too often we allow our lower back to become the prime mover in this movement, when really our glutes should be in control.

To do this move, place a mini band around your legs above your knees. Lie on the bench and press your hips down into the bench.

Engage your glutes to lift your legs to about parallel to the ground. Make sure you’re pressing down into the bench and using your glutes over arching your back.

Holding at the top press your legs out and open against the band. Control the press open then bring your legs back together and repeat.

To modify you can do this off the ground. Just make sure you are truly lifting using those glutes and not arching your lower back just to get up higher!

#4: Anti-Rotational Dead Bugs

Being able to avoid unwanted rotation and correctly brace your abs is also key to protecting your lower back. If our abs are weak, our lower back may engage to help us perform the movement.

Anti-Rotational Dead Bugs is a key move to include to help you activate not only your abs but also your obliques to fight rotation and protect your lower back.

To do Anti-Rotational Dead Bugs, anchor a band down low and hold one handle in both hands so your side is to the anchor point. Lie flat on your back with your hands gripping the handle extended straight up toward the ceiling.

Make sure not to shrug.

Engage your abs with a posterior pelvic tilt, tucking your hips slightly up toward your ribs as you lift your feet up off the ground.

Fighting the urge to rotate toward the anchor point, keep your hands pressed out directly above the center of your chest. As you hold, extend one leg out as you keep the other knee tucked in. Slowly bicycle your legs, extending the other out as you tuck your other knee in.

Move slowly. This move is best done for time on each side!

SUMMARY:

If you’re sick of lower back aches and pains, STOP allowing it to become overworked. Improve your thoracic and hip mobility while learning how to correctly engage and recruit your abs and glutes to protect your lower back!

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