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!
Ready to say “Bye bye” to aches and pains? Check out my Injury Prevention Bundle.
Do the prehab work DAILY to keep those aches and pains away!
What are the most common aches and pains we complain about?
Neck pain? Elbow pain? Shoulder pain? Lower back pain? Hip pain? Knee pain? Ankle pain?
Basically our entire body?!
Because of previous injuries and our very sedentary, repetitive movement lifestyle, all too many of us end up with a whole host of issues.
It can make you feel like you have to spend hours a day addressing every single area that hurts. Like you have to warm up just getting out of bed.
It can make you want to give up on mobility work because you just have to keep adding more and more things in!
That’s why I wanted to show you some short cuts to improving your mobility.
Often there are a few key culprits that, if we address immobility or weakness in those places, can really help alleviate aches and pain in other areas.
We have to remember that everything is connected and that often where the pain is, isn’t where the initial problem started!
So what are 3 key areas we need to target if we want to improve our full body mobility?
Before I dive into the key areas we want to work on, I do just want to highlight the importance of doing MORE than stretching when it comes to improving your mobility.
Part of becoming more mobile isn’t simply improving the flexibility of the muscles that act on a joint. It’s also about improving the stability of that joint.
Often if muscles are underactive or weak, they will not support the joint properly and that may then lead to overload of other muscles. This can then create mobility restrictions because the joint isn’t stable and muscles aren’t able to work together properly.
This overload can lead to tightness and a lack of mobility as the body tries to protect itself from further issues and injury.
This is also why your elbow can end up injured because of a lack of proper shoulder mobility or stability. We compensate and seek out mobility and stability from other areas.
It’s why, when addressing these 3 key areas of immobility and instability, we want to take a 3-step prehab approach of foam rolling, stretching and activation.
This way we can relax overactive and shortened muscles, mobilize joints and improve the stability of these areas so the correct muscles are pulling their weight!
For each of these 3 areas, I want to share a key foam rolling, stretching and activation move to help you start working on your mobility and stability!
3 Key Areas Of Immobility And Instability:
#1: Scapular Mobility And Stability
Elbow, neck, shoulder or even upper back aches and pains? You need to make sure you have proper scapular control and mobility!
So often we get focused on only improving our shoulder mobility and we forget how much the shoulders and shoulder blades really work together to power movements. We ignore our shoulder blades and the impact their proper movement can have on protecting and stabilizing our shoulders.
From moves like pull ups to push ups, we need to have proper scapular control if we want to use the correct muscles to power the movements and prevent overload of smaller muscles like our rotator cuff.
To improve your scapular mobility and control, try including these 3 moves before your upper body workouts. It will help improve your pressing as well as your pulling!
The first move you want to include in that prehab or warm up process is Levator Scapulae Foam Rolling.
The levator scapulae contributes to a few different scapular movements from elevating your shoulder blade to downwardly rotating the scapula to even performing anterior tipping.
This muscle becoming tight can be a key culprit of neck and shoulder aches and pains!
A great way to start relaxing it to alleviate aches and pains and start to restore proper scapular functioning is by using a ball to relax and release the muscle.
Find that top middle point of your shoulder blade by your spine and either lie on a ball with it right above that edge of the shoulder blade or stand pressing back into a ball against the wall there.
Hold on the spot even slightly looking away as you press into the ball. Breathe and relax as you hold.
The second move you want to include is a stretch to open up your chest as well as even mobilize your shoulders and shoulder blades.
The Suspension Trainer Snow Angel is a great move to include especially before your workout.
While we often feel like our upper back becomes tight from sitting hunched over, we can’t ignore that this posture puts our pec muscles in a perpetually shortened state. A tight pec minor can contribute to anterior tipping of the shoulder blade while a tight pec major can contribute to that internal shoulder rotation.
This can lead to neck, upper back, shoulder and even elbow aches and pains.
Especially if you want to improve your overhead press, this is a great move to include.
When you do the Suspension Trainer Snow Angels, you want to make sure you’re engaging your upper back to open your chest up as you raise your arms up overhead.
You want to extend your thoracic spine too.
By focusing on engaging your back to drive your chest open, you make sure you actually stretch your pecs instead of just seeking out more range of motion from your shoulders.
Feel your shoulder blades move as you raise your arms overhead and then lower them back down to your sides.
The third move you will want to include is an activation exercise – the Serratus Anterior Press.
Serratus anterior weakness has been linked to neck, shoulder and even upper back aches and pains as it is a primary scapular stabilizer. (STUDY: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21889362/ )
If you’re experiencing scapular winging or upper body dysfunction, strengthening the serratus anterior is key as it will help posteriorly tip the shoulder blade as well as help you perform proper upward rotation of the shoulder blade.
Both of these movements are key to keeping your neck and shoulders healthy during overhead pressing (not to mention this may even help prevent overload at your elbows and even lumbar spine!)
With the Serratus Anterior Press, it is key you feel yourself pulling your shoulder blade forward around your ribs as you reach out. You aren’t just doing a unilateral chest press. You want to focus on the movement being felt around your ribs as you protract your shoulder blade or pull it away from your spine.
You want to also punch slightly up at an incline as you feel like you’re almost reaching out at the end. Focus on what you feel working over trying to simply go heavier.
#2: Hip Mobility And Stability
Lower back, hip or knee pain? Groin strains? Hamstring pulls? You need to work on your hip mobility and stability.
We’ve all been told we are spending too much time seated.
But this constant hip flexion is creating mobility restrictions at our lumbo-pelvic-hip complex that has far reaching effects. It’s not only why we can feel our lower back taking over during deadlifts by also even why we can fear knee pain from lunging!
That’s why it’s key we start by relaxing those overactive and shortened hip flexor muscles.
The first move you want to include is Rectus Femoris Foam Rolling.
This quad muscle is so key to release and lengthen because it not only flexes the hip but also extends the knee.
The direct impact it has on both joints can contribute to hip and knee pain not to mention even perpetuate quad dominance and anterior pelvic tilt, leading to lower back issues and even hamstring strains. This muscle may even impact your SI joint health and functioning because it can contribute to rotation of the pelvis.
To roll this muscle, you can use a roller or ball. The smaller and harder the trigger point tool, the more it will dig in.
Find the middle of your thigh about half way down and lie over the foam roller or ball. You can even flex and relax your quad to help the muscle relax and release.
The second move you want to include is the Side Lunge to Crescent.
Your adductors, or inner thighs, not only adduct or bring your legs together, they’re also hip flexors and hip internal rotators.
The only exception to this is the posterior fibers of the adductor magnus, which can contribute to hip external rotation and hip extension. This muscle can become overworked especially if our glutes are weak!
And all too often the adductors become tight and overworked just like your other hip flexor muscles.
Your adductors becoming overworked can potentially contribute to anterior pelvic tilt and lower back aches and pains not to mention groin strains, hip pain and even knee pain.
Specifically the gracilis can have an impact on your knee and even your lower leg!
That’s why this dynamic stretch is the perfect way to warm up your legs while working to improve your hip mobility.
Make sure that as you do the side lunge portion you aren’t turning your toes in or out. You want them to be parallel to really stretch out your adductors. Keep one leg straight as you hinge at the hips to load that other glute. Watch that your knee, ankle and hip are all in line. Also make sure your heels are down.
When you shift to the other side, pause before turning into the crescent lunge. When you come up in the crescent, focus on that front knee being in line with your hip and ankle and your back glute engaging to extend that back hip.
You want to be conscious to use your glutes to drive that hip extension and not just arch your back as you come up in the lunge.
The third move you want to include to activate your glutes and improve your hip stability is Side Shift Skaters.
All too often our glutes are underactive and not properly stabilizing our pelvis or hips. This can lead to lower back, hip, knee and even ankle and foot aches and pain. It can even create dysfunction up your trunk that can impact your shoulders.
It’s why it’s key we include glute activation moves in our routines to improve that hip stability. And it’s even better when we can include unilateral moves to correct imbalances while also working on our balance.
With Side Shift Skaters, you’re going to work on activating not only your glute max to improve hip extension, but also your glute medius to improve your hip stability and prevent unwanted movement in that frontal plane (or your pelvis shifting out to the side as you balance).
Strengthening your glute medius can not only improve glute max functioning but it can also help you improve your running gait and help you avoid knee injuries and issues from improper lunging or squatting patterns.
With this move, focus on crossing the leg behind as you hinge at the hips to push your butt back.
You want to pop the hip to the side so that as you stand up you not only extend your hip using your glute, but also then push the pelvis level using that glute medius.
While you want to be focused on working your glutes in this move, don’t ignore your foot’s connection to the ground. Think about driving the ground away as you come to balance on one leg to even create better activation up your entire leg!
#3: Ankle Mobility And Stability
Plantar Fasciitis. Ankle sprains. These issues are all too common.
Yet all too often we simply rest these injuries then jump back into what we were doing.
We never address WHY we had the problems in the first place OR even work to prevent future problems from the injuries themselves.
Injuries interrupt our natural recruitment patterns and can create mobility restrictions. We can’t ignore them!
It’s why prehab work to work on ankle mobility and stability is so key. Your feet are your foundation. Issues there can lead to compensations up your entire kinetic chain!
If you want to squat lower and have a more efficient running gait? You need to pay attention to your feet and ankles!
The first move you want to include is Peroneal Foam Rolling.
Tightness of this muscle can lead to what looks like a leg length discrepancy or even a weight shift during squatting, which can result in not only ankle issues but also knee, hip and lower back pain.
That’s why it’s key you start your mobility routine by relaxing this often shortened and overactive muscle, even focusing potentially on just one side.
A ball works best for this move although you can use a roller. You will want to press the outside of your lower leg down into the ball and hold as you even circle your foot. Don’t roll quickly but move the ball down the outside of your lower leg to target different trigger points, holding when you find one.
The second move to include is a great stretch to improve both the mobility of your feet but also your ankles – the Bear Squat to Foot Stretch.
Improving your dorsiflexion and big toe extension is more important than you think. It’s not only key to your foot and ankle health, but it can impact your gait and full hip and knee range of motion.
So often when our prehab work isn’t adding up for other areas, it’s because the culprit is actually at our foundation.
That’s why the Bear Squat to Foot Stretch is such a key move to include in your warm up routine. When you sit back on your feet, you want to extend your toes. Only sit back as far as you can while relaxing into the stretch. You can rock slightly side to side before putting your hands down on the ground to drive your heels down.
This isn’t about creating a pretty downward dog as you lift your butt up to drive your heels down.
Your hands will be in closer so you can focus on that ankle mobility. When you drive your heels down you’re working on your ankle dorsiflexion or the ability to bring your foot closer to your shin. You can pedal your feet then sit back and repeat the foot stretch.
The third move to include is a move to activate your calf but by working it through an increased range of motion.
If we don’t strengthen through the range of motion we are trying to create, we won’t maintain that new found ROM.
That’s why Plate Weight Eccentric Calf Raises are a great move to include.
Eccentric focused calf raises have been shown to be great for helping with achilles tendon issues not to mention heel pain and plantar fasciitis. And this can have a far reaching impact because studies have shown that Achilles tedinopathy may impact glute activation. (STUDY: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/24121244)
And by performing this move through a bigger range of motion than off the ground, you’ll help to really strengthen and maintain that mobility you’ve worked hard to build with the rolling and stretching. You’ll be strong through that full range of dorsiflexion to plantar flexion.
With this move make sure you don’t rock in or out on your feet.
Pause at the bottom as well to release tension and not use momentum. And make sure to very slowly lower down to spend more time under tension.
If you don’t have a plate weight, you can do it off a step or box even. If you even have an imbalance, you can do this as a unilateral variation instead too.
SUMMARY:
Whether you need to address mobility and stability issues in all 3 areas, or even simply one, you can combine the foam rolling, stretching and activation moves into a quick prehab or warm up routine.
Spending just 30-45 seconds per move, or per side, you can use all of these to get in an amazing head to toe mobility routine that’s under 11 minutes!
Want help improving your posture, getting rid of aches and pains and dialing in your overall routine to achieve freaking amazing and sustainable results?!
Uhm heck yes! OF COURSE!
I mean? Honestly? WHO DOESN’T!?
If you need help dialing in your prehab, workouts and nutrition so they all work together in one comprehensive plan?
Check out my online one on one coaching program!
I’m a corrective exercise NERD and I want to help you move and feel your best!
(I’m also a control freak so I love getting to tweak things and hold you accountability daily while actually TEACHING you what you need to attain LASTING results.)
The psoas has become the sexy hip flexor muscle to talk about and work on.
But what if I told you that all too often the TRUE culprit of our back, hip, IT BAND, knee pain and even ANKLE pain had to do with ANOTHER hip flexor muscle?!
What if I told you that you should actually be paying attention to your TFL or your Tensor Fasciae Latae.
The TFL can be a nasty little sucker, compensating for a week glute medius, perpetuating IT Band tightness and impacting everything down to our feet and ankles.
It contributes to internal hip rotation AND external tibial rotation.
Because of its far reaching impact it is a muscle we can’t ignore.
However, the hard part about addressing TFL tightness and overactivity is that many of the moves we need to do to CORRECT the issue, can often PERPETUATE IT!
For instance, to help prevent the TFL from continuing to compensate, we need to include glute medius strengthening.
But ever notice how you’ll do Monster Walks and feel the front side of your hip working?
Ever push through thinking “Oh yea! Feel that burn!?”
Or maybe you don’t even think about what is working. You’re doing the “right moves” so you just believe you SHOULD get results, right?
WRONG!
If you’re doing the right moves but still allowing muscles to compensate, not only are you NOT correcting the problem, but you may be making it worse.
So when you feel that front outside of your hip working during those mini band walks? Guess what is not working as it should and what is also COMPENSATING for that underactive muscle!?
Well your glute medius is not getting the benefit of the exercise it should be getting and instead you’re perpetuating the overuse of your TFL!
So all of that rehab? It isn’t going to pay off.
While you need to strengthen your glute medius, you need to realize that all too often our TFL can compensate for a weak glute medius.
Because this muscle then becomes even further overworked and even shortened, it can lead to lower back hip and knee pain, not to mention even IT Band issues and foot and ankle problems!
Yup! Through our IT Band the TFL can create movement compensations down our entire leg!
And when we then see changes to our ANKLE mobility guess what happens? Those changes only further perpetuate those compensations back UP our kinetic chain.
It’s why you can’t just IGNORE aches and pains. The longer you ignore them and keep pushing through, the more you then just allow compensations and imbalances to build up so there is more to have to sort through later.
If you don’t address TFL issues, you’ll end up having to address issues from your feet up!
So how can we prevent our TFL from leading to all of these aches and pains when it wants to work during the exercises we NEED to be doing to correct it?
Here are three tips to help you quiet down that TFL and get your glutes activated! And to then implement these tips, check out the quick series I’ve included at the end of this post!
As you go through implementing these tips, be CONSCIOUS of what you feel working. Don’t just rush through the moves! Be intentional with your prehab moves!
3 Tips To Strengthen Your Glutes And Prevent Your TFL From Compensating!
#1: Treat the TFL like a toddler. Keep it distracted so you can get work done!
Basically, you want to adjust movements to help make it EASIER to establish that mind-body connection.
One way to do that is to “keep the TFL busy” by internally rotate your foot during lateral raise, or abduction, movements.
Because the TFL performs hip internal rotation, you can almost “distract” it with that movement AS you use the glute medius to perform the lateral raise.
So if during lateral raises you notice you often feel the front of your hip, turn your toe down toward the ground.
You may even notice often that your toe is turned out toward the ceiling.
The TFL contributes to tibial external rotation.
So internally rotate your foot is the OPPOSITE action, which can help “shut off” the TFL. Not to mention when you internally rotate your tibia, you often then even internally rotate our hip by extension.
Maintaining this internal rotation, you can then perform your lateral raise movement.
If you still are struggling to feel your glute medius, you can even kick slightly back as you raise up OR put your hip into extension, driving back into a slider or wall AS you perform that lateral raise movement.
This hip extension and slight kick back will engage your glute max, which will also hinder the TFL from taking over and allow you to potentially better activate your glute medius. This works because the TFL is a hip flexor so by putting your hip into extension, you can inhibit it from working!
#2: Change the hip flexion during those abduction moves.
When you’re first starting to “rehab” an issue, you need to use the moves you feel the most and build off of those.
Basically you want to take the path of least resistance to establish that mind-body connection.
If you feel a move working those glutes, use that first THEN even dive into other moves because you’ve already established that mind-body connection.
To find that move that helps you establish that mind-body connection, you may need to adjust the exact POSTURE you use during basic abduction moves.
By adjusting the amount of hip flexion or extension you perform the move in, you can find a way to maximize your glute medius engagement and minimize your TFL compensation.
It isn’t a clear cut and dry rule of what posture is best so you may want to play around to see what matches your personal recruitment patterns.
For some more flexion may “distract” the TFL because it is a hip flexor.
However, for some, more hip flexion may perpetuate it being overactive during those abduction moves.
In this case, putting the hip into more extension may be key to inhibit the muscle.
While you of course want the glute medius to be strong in both a slightly more hip-flexed or hip-extended state, you do want to start with the move you feel working correctly to make sure you establish that mind-body connection.
The fact that hip flexion can play a role in how much you’re able to engage the TFL is why that oh so “basic” clam exercise can so often backfire too!
The clam is a traditional glute activation movement. But this seemingly simple move is so often butchered. First off, you may find you need to use that internal rotation of the tibia I mentioned in the first tip to help.
Secondly, you may adjust how much you pull your knees forward or straighten your legs out.
The key is being conscious of what you feel working to then ADJUST your exact amount of hip flexion.
A great way to play around with different amount of hip flexion during even a bilateral abduction move is even seated on a bench.
You can lean back, sit up tall or even lean forward to different degrees to not only strengthen your glute medius in a variety of postures BUT also find the exact position that works best for you.
We have to remember to focus on what we feel working so we can work around our own biomechanics.
#3: Foam roll and stretch BEFORE you activate.
If you struggle to activate a muscle, you may find that foam rolling and stretching the muscle prior to doing activation moves is oh so key!
While people debate the benefit of both techniques, with one of the main arguments against them being that the benefits are short-lived, that doesn’t mean you can’t use these “short-lived” benefits to your advantage.
By rolling your TFL and then stretching to improve your hip mobility, you can inhibit this overactive muscle, even if just temporarily.
If you interrupt that mind-body connection between your TFL and brain, and restore muscles to their proper length-tension relationships, you can then help yourself better establish the mind-body connection to the muscle you DO want to work – your glute medius!
So if you find your TFL is being a pesky little sucker and compensating for your glute medius no matter what posture or tweaks you do, try relaxing and inhibiting it IMMEDIATELY PRIOR to doing the glute activation moves.
Interrupt that communication so you can establish a new connection to those glutes!
A lacrosse ball is a great way to relax that TFL and even a simple half kneeling hip stretch with reach can improve your hip extension.
BONUS: If you have an imbalance do imbalanced prehab!
The one other key thing to note is if you have an imbalance, you need to do imbalanced rehab.
So if one side is constantly tight, you need to address that one side specifically.
You also want to assess if it is glute weakness on that SAME side or if there is even weakness on the OTHER side perpetuating the issues and leading to the TFL becomign overworked!
Of course seeing someone to asses you is key but KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. So now you can be aware of what you’re doing in your workouts and therefore why you are, or aren’t, seeing the results you want to seek out the help you need.
Using these tweaks you can help yourself strengthen your glutes and prevent your TFL from constantly compensating!
Now try implementing them in this amazing series below!
Quick Hip Mobility Series To Prevent IT Band Issues, Back, Hip And Knee Pain!
This Avoid IT Band Issues Series uses foam rolling and stretching to address your TFL tightness and overactivity. It even works to relax your peroneal (the outside of your lower leg) to make sure you’re working on any issues from the ground up.
It then uses two great abduction moves to activate your glute medius!
The Avoid IT Band Issues Series
Complete 1 round through the circuit below, spending a minute per move on each side.
CIRCUIT:
1 minute per side Peroneal Foam Rolling
1 minute per side TFL Foam Rolling
1 minute Standing TFL Stretch
1 minute per side Lying QL Stretch
1 minute Bridge Abductions
1 minute per side Lying Side Raises
Need more amazing series to improve your hip mobility and prevent lower back, hip and knee pain?
What if I told you the solution was NOT to stretch them more…?
What if stretching them, while it may provide TEMPORARY relief is only making the problem WORSE!?
The best way to think about your hamstrings is like a rubber band.
When a rubber band is just hanging there it isn’t tight. But when you pull it out long, it becomes super tight and taut.
That rubber band becomes tight feeling because it is stretched out.
This is exactly the same reason your hamstrings feel tight. And it is exactly why more stretching is NOT the answer!
Your hamstrings feels tight because they are already pulled long.
So instead of stretching them out further, we need to address the postural distortions and muscular imbalances that cause our hamstrings to be overstretched, such as Anterior Pelvic Tilt and tight hip flexors.
We need to focus on returning our hamstring to their optimal length through addressing muscular imbalances and stability issues.
This often means we need to address hip flexor tightness and glute underactivity. It may even mean addressing lat tightness as well because of the impact our lats can have on our lumbo-pelvic-hip complex functioning through our thoracolumbar fascia.
This means that instead of spending a ton of time stretching our hamstrings we actually need to be doing the following things…
Foam Rolling Hip Flexors And Lats
Stretching Hip Flexors And Lats
Activating Our Glutes And Abs
But First…What Is Anterior Pelvic Tilt?
Anterior pelvic tilt is the “Donald Duck” posture – an overarched back and butt sticking out.
(Or in maybe little Miss RS Badass Duck…who’s going to be working on her APT hehe?
This anterior tilting of our pelvis is what over stretches the hamstrings and can make them feel tight.
The muscles that are ACTUALLY being shortened by this posture are our hip flexors. Which means our hip flexors, and not our hamstrings, need the flexibility work.
It also means that our glutes and abs need to be strengthened and activated to improve the stability of our hip complex to also help our hamstrings feel less tight and even prevent them from becoming synergistically dominant and overused (overuse of a muscle can lead to injury!).
While it’s key we recognize that each of us WILL have slightly different natural postures, and we shouldn’t “freak out” over fitting one ideal, we want to watch for overarching of the lower back, or excessive lordosis, ESPECIALLY if we struggle with lower back, SI Joint, hip, or knee pain or hamstring tightness and strains.
This posture changes our natural proper recruitment patterns during moves EVEN if we perform the exercises with technically “correct” form.
What does this mean?
It means that while the moves may LOOK correct, if we actually THINK about what muscles we FEEL working, it wouldn’t be the muscles that SHOULD be working.
Our body will take the path of least resistance to do the exercise we ask it to do. This means that it will recruit whatever muscles it can to replicate a movement pattern – even if it means using muscles that really shouldn’t be working that much.
And this is what leads to compensations, overuse and INJURY.
So we need to address our overall posture over focusing on just the single muscle that “feels” tight.
And we need to do this by:
Foam rolling overactive muscles.
Stretching shortened tight muscles (using dynamic stretching to even help restore proper joint range of motion).
Activating underactive muscles that may not be firing and working as efficiently or effectively as they should be.
Loosen Up Tight Hip Flexors – Foam Rolling And Stretching Moves
The first step in addressing excessive anterior pelvic tilt is to loosen up short and overactive hip flexors.
If your hip flexors are tight and shortened, they tilt your pelvis forward which then pulls the hamstrings longer. This is why your hamstrings “feel” tight even if they aren’t in need of stretching.
The first step in addressing tight hip flexors is foam rolling.
Foam rolling helps inhibit the communication between the muscle you’re rolling and your brain. It helps “relax” the muscle so you aren’t necessarily as quick to recruit it during other moves. And it then allows you to better stretch and improve your flexibility and mobility.
Basically, foam rolling can help you improve your ROM or range of motion.
There has been some “debate” about the benefits of foam rolling. And as a standalone exercise, the effects are short lived.
You NEED to then stretch the tight muscles and activate underactive muscles if you want the benefits to last. This is just the first step in improving your posture and mind-body connection!
Then after you foam roll your hip flexors, you need to stretch them. Depending on when you are doing the mobility work, you may use dynamic or static stretching.
Dynamic stretches are stretches where you move through a range of motion whereas static stretches are stretches you hold in one position.
Especially prior to your workouts, focus on dynamic stretches. They put the joint through a range of motion and also get your blood pumping.
Static stretches are better kept to cool downs as some studies have shown them to negatively impact your strength and power during workouts.
Below are 5 moves to help you get started addressing hip flexor tightness.
5 Hip Flexor Foam Rolling And Stretching Moves:
1. Psoas Foam Rolling:
The psoas has become a very “popular” muscle in the fitness world.
And the one most often blamed for our hips being locked up. This muscle can become short and tight due to the fact many of us spend far too much time with our hips in flexion – seated in the car or at a desk. So it is key we start our mobility work by addressing it.
To roll out your Psoas, a big foam ball/posture ball works best. Place the ball in your abs above your hip to one side of your belly button.
Relax over the ball and lie face down on the ground. Breathe.
Then move the ball, working your way around the side of your lower abs between your belly button and hip. After you move the ball, relax completely back over it.
If you don’t have a larger ball, you can use a tennis ball; however, the tennis ball will dig in more. To use the tennis ball, you will also need some books or a yoga block. Place the ball up on the books or block and lie over it just like you would with the posture ball. Relax and breathe.
2. TFL Foam Rolling:
The TFL or Tensor Fasciae Latae is an all too often IGNORED hip muscle that can contribute to not only hip pain but even knee pain and IT Band Issues! It can also hinder our glute medius from activating and working as it should. It’s key we start by foam rolling and then stretching this muscle. It’s also important that during our activation moves, we do not let it compensate and try to take over!
To roll out your Hips/TFL, place a ball on the side of your hip just to the front of the fleshy part of your butt. Roll the ball around and hold on any tight spots.
If you find a tight spot, hold on that spot and lift and lower your leg up and down. By lifting and lower the leg, you are flexing and relaxing the muscle, which will help loosen everything up as you hold.
As you seek out tight spots in your hip, bring the ball around front and right to the side under your hip bone into your TFL (right in front of your IT Band).
Again hold on any tight spots and even flex and relax your leg to help dig in.
Move the ball under your hip bone and again hold on any tight spots.
You can work your way back out to the side of your hip as well if you found any sore or tight spots.
3. Rectus Femoris Foam Rolling:
There is one quad muscle that crosses both the hip and the knee – the Rectus Femoris.
And because of this muscles impact on both locations, it’s key we address that it may be tight and shortened, which means it may need to be rolled and stretched!
To roll out your rectus femoris a ball works best although you can use a roller. Place the tennis ball on the ground and lie on your belly supported on your forearms with the ball right in the middle of your thigh. You can start down toward the knee or higher up toward the hip, but you really want to focus right on that middle portion of your thigh.
Rock the leg gentle slightly side-to-side as you hold on the ball. You can even flex and relax your quad as you hold. Then move the ball up higher on your quad and again gentle rock and hold. Do not just roll quickly but really breathe and relax as you hold on any tight spots.
4. Half Kneeling Hip And Quad Stretch:
Stretch your hip flexors and your quads with this stretch.
You can add movement by releasing your foot and rocking back out of the stretch before squeezing your glute to drive your hips forward OR you can simply hold as you squeeze your glute for a static option!
To do the Half Kneeling Hip and Quad Stretch, set up half-kneeling with your right leg back. It is best to do this with a wall or bench in front of you to help you balance.
Then reach back and grab your right foot/ankle with your right hand and pull it in toward your butt. In the half-kneeling position with your heel pulled in and the wall to balance you, rock forward and backward, pressing the hip forward to increase the stretch down your quad. Then relax back out of it and repeat. Complete all reps then switch sides.
Make sure to squeeze your glute as you press your hips forward to stretch your right hip and quad. Do not simply hyperextend your low back as you rock forward.
You can also simply hold and press the hip forward without doing the slightly rock, especially if using this stretch post workout.
Beginners can also use a towel to grab their back foot if they can’t reach it.
5. Standing TFL Stretch:
After you roll your TFL, you also want to stretch it as this muscle can be short and tight and compensate for your glute medius during abduction or lateral raise movements.
And when it engages and works for your glute medius, that can prevent you from getting the results you want and even perpetuate your pain despite doing the “correct” rehab moves!
To do the Standing TFL Stretch, start standing with your feet together. Then cross your left leg over your right leg. Bring the left foot over and back across until the big toe is even with the big toe of the right foot. You want your feet even so that your front leg (the left leg) is pressing the back leg (right leg) straight during the stretch.
If you struggle to balance or it is too much pressure on your knees to have your legs so tightly crossed, place the front foot a bit out in front, but make sure that you don’t bend that back knee as you hinge over to stretch.
Then reach your arms up overhead for a nice big stretch. After reaching up, hang over, reaching your arms down toward the instep of the back foot (right foot). Push your hips out to the right as you reach toward your right foot so you feel a stretch down the outside of that right hip and side. You may even feel it down your right hamstring and calf.
Hold for a breath or two. Then reach back up overhead and cross your legs the other way so your left foot is back. Again reach up overhead then reach down toward your left instep, pushing your hips out to the left. Keep alternating sides with a reach up overhead in between every time.
Try to touch the ground as you reach down while making sure to keep your legs straight.
If you really struggle to balance, you may need to stand with your feet together and not crossed over as you reach toward the outside of each foot while pushing your hips away.
How Can Your Lats Can Affect Your Hamstrings!?
When we have aches, pains or “issues” in a specific area, we often get very focused ONLY on that point of “pain.”
But all too often there are even mobility restrictions or imbalances elsewhere that contribute to the dysfunction. For instance, if you’re doing all of the things in this article and NOT seeing results, it may be time you start to look at your ANKLE MOBILITY!
So while the most common “culprit” of anterior pelvic tilt is tight hip flexors and underactive glutes, we can’t ignore our lats.
Our lats can play a huge role in our overall posture, affecting not only our upper body, but also our lower body.
Because lat tightness can not only perpetuate rounded shoulders, it can also contribute to anterior pelvic tilt.
And if we have excessive anterior pelvic tilt, our hamstrings really are the losers that suffer no matter whether it’s tight hip flexors or lats or both creating the posture.
So we can’t ignore our lats!
Below are 3 moves to help you start addressing lat tightness.
3 Foam Rolling And Stretching Moves For Tight Lats:
1. Lat Foam Rolling:
Rolling out your lats is a key first step to relaxing this overactive muscle. And even though we are focused on our lumbo-pelvic-hip complex, we want to focus on rolling this muscle closer to our shoulders to start!
To roll out your lats a roller is best although you can use a foam ball or even a tennis ball.
Start by lying on your side with a roller under one armpit. 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 when rolling lower down your back into your low back. You do not want to arch over the roller and hyperextend your low back.
2. Child’s Pose With Shoulder External Rotation:
The Child’s Pose is a great way to stretch out the entire lat as well as the erector spinae (the muscles along your spine) and the quadratus lumborum (which is a muscle that can contribute to a hip hike…sort of like our back’s side bendy muscle or the muscle you feel when you reach to the side).
All of these muscles can become tight and overactive if our glutes are underactive so this stretch is an oh so important one! And the external rotation of the shoulders gives the lats just that little bit extra stretch!
To do the Child’s Pose with External Rotation, kneel on the ground and sit back on your heels reaching your arms out overhead on the ground. Rotate your palms open toward the ceiling rotating your thumbs out to the sides. Really reach out as far as you can as you rotate your palms open.
You can then walk your hands to one side, keeping your palms open. Pause then walk your hands to the other side. Again keep your palms open for an extra stretch.
3. Kneeling Thoracic Extension And Lat Stretch:
Working on our spinal mobility, especially our thoracic mobility can also help prevent extra overuse of our lumbar spine. If one area of our spine isn’t mobile, we’ll seek out mobility from other segments.
So if your thoracic spine isn’t mobile, it will cause you to seek out mobility or extension from your lumbar spine. This will only perpetuate or add to the overload that may already be occurring due to anterior pelvic tilt!
To do the Kneeling Thoracic and Lat Stretch, place your elbows up on a bench about shoulder-width apart and kneel on the ground in front of the bench. Make sure you are back far enough that you have room to lean forward and over and drop your head between your elbows.
Then with your elbows on the bench, relax your chest and head over, sitting your butt back just slightly. Press your chest toward the ground and 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.
You can either hold here and breathe to stretch deeper or you can come out of the stretch and then relax back into it and try to get further with each rep.
Glute Activation Moves: Always Feel Your Hamstrings Taking Over During Glute Exercises?
Ever do a glute bridge or quadruped kickback move and only feel your hamstrings working?
Yes? Well you aren’t alone!
It’s because your hamstrings have become synergistically dominant. They try to do more than their fair share of the work to assist your glutes in moves that require hip extension or hyperextension.
Synergistically what?!?
Basically your hamstrings are doing more work than they should be to assist with a movement because you’re glutes aren’t working as they should.
For a glute bridge, your glutes should be the main muscle group working with your hamstrings assisting. But too often, it is the other way around.
It’s why you may do a glute bridge and only feel your hamstrings.
So while we are doing the right move, this only perpetuates the overuse of our hamstrings and can lead to injuries.
It’s why it’s so important we include glute activation moves in our routine. (Learn more about dialing in your glute bridge form to prevent yourself from bridging wrong.)
But isn’t as simple as doing the “right” moves. You must also really focus on what you FEEL working.
If you’re doing that glute bridge and NOT feeling your glutes, but instead feeling your hamstrings, you need to TWEAK the exercise.
Below are 5 moves to activate your glutes that help prevent your hamstrings from engaging as easily when they always seem to want to take over!
I did also mention that with anterior pelvic tilt you may want to do ab activation as well.
One way to do this DURING glute activation moves is by using the posterior pelvic tilt, especially during bridging exercises (and even some plank moves).
The posterior pelvic tilt is where you tilt your hips under, drawing your hip bones toward your ribs. This move not only works your abs but can also work your glutes more.
You would then bridge up as you hold the posterior pelvic tilt. To set up the posterior pelvic tilt before you bridge, here are some tips.
To do the basic variation of the Pelvic Tilt, lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Relax your arms down by your side.
Then feel the space between your low back and the ground. Press that space away by drawing your belly button toward your spine and “tilting” your pelvic.
You want to feel your low back press against the ground. Hold there with your abs braced and making sure to breathe as you hold.
Then if you are adding this to a bridge, you would lift up while maintaining this position. It is basically the exact OPPOSITE of anterior pelvic tilt. We are rounding the lower back.
SIDE NOTE But ESSENTIAL NOTE:
If you DO feel your hamstrings during a glute activation move, while you don’t want to stretch them between rounds, you may ROLL them!
Foam rolling your hamstrings may temporarily inhibit the muscle group, which means you won’t “feel” it as much. This can then even help you more easily FEEL your glutes working and focus on using them to drive the movement.
5 Must-Do Glute Activation Moves:
1. Mini Band Glute Bridge:
Adding a mini band to the basic glute bridge can be a way to progress the movement. It can also be a way to engage your glute medius and help PREVENT your hamstrings from taking over.
By activating our glute medius, we can actually better help ourselves engage our glute maximus. This then helps us avoid our hamstrings compensating! So if you really struggle with the basic glute bridge, try this variation!
To do the Mini Band Glute Bridge, you will perform a two-leg bridge with the band around your knees. To set up, place the band right above, below or at your knees. Below will be a bit more challenging than above. Make sure though that wherever you place the band, you feel your glutes working. Above the knee can help if you struggle to feel your glutes activating and instead feel your quads taking over.
With the band around your knees, lie flat on your back with your feet flat on the ground about hip-width to shoulder-width apart. Make sure your feet are just beyond your fingertips when your arms are down by your sides. You can move your feet slightly further away if your hips are tight. Make sure that your feet are at least about hip-width apart so that you are forced to press your knees out and open against the band to keep them in line with your ankles and hips.
Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and press your knees out against the band. Then, driving through your heels and upper back and arms, bridge up. Keep pressing out against the band as you bridge up. Do not let your knees cave in. Fully extend your hips and squeeze your glutes at the top. Do not hyperextend your low back at the top. Keep your abs engaged.
Hold for a second or two at the top then lower back down and repeat. Do not let your knees cave in as you lower back down. Keep pressing out against the band the entire time!
Adjust the band placement or even use a heavier band to make the move harder. You can also vary the move up by doing a Single Leg Mini Band Glute Bridge.
2. Band Y Reverse Hypers:
Being able to use your glutes to extend your hips, and even hyperextend your hips, is key. Too often during Reverse Hypers we allow our backs to do all of the work instead of actually extending at our hip.
By adding in the mini band, we can help engage our glutes better to prevent our lower back from taking over.
Because if we are using our lower backs to power this move, we are often going to simply perpetuate our anterior pelvic tilt by perpetuating overuse of our lower back muscles instead of activating our underactive glutes!
To do Band Y Reverse Hypers, place a mini band right below or above your knees or a booty band right above your knees and lie face down on a bench with your hips right on the edge of the bench. Grab onto the bench as you legs hang straight down. Push out against the band as your feet are on the ground so that your feet are wider than shoulder width apart. You want your legs to create a Y with your body.
Keeping tension on the band, press your hips down into the bench as you squeeze your butt to lift your legs up to parallel to the ground. Keep your legs pressed out against the band and make sure you are using your glutes to lift and not feeling your lower back take over.
Pause at the top and really even brace your abs by pushing into the bench. Then lower back down without letting your legs come together and repeat the lift.
3. Band Squat Pulses:
While often during activation moves we want to isolate our glutes as much as possible to focus on really establishing that mind-body connection, it is also key we learn how to do this in a variety of hip flexion positions and postures.
That’s why the Band Squat Pulses are key to include. The constant tension and smaller range of motion, really help you create that burn in your glutes!
To do Band Squat Pulses, place the booty band around your legs above your knees and stand with your feet about hip-width apart.
Sit back and down, pressing your knees out against the band so your ankles, knees and hips stay in line. You do not want your knees to cave in.
Sink to about parallel to the ground and then pulse a few inches up and down from here. You do not want to start below parallel and you don’t want to stand fully up as you pulse. You want the range of motion to be about 6 inches around that parallel position.
Once all pulses are complete, stand up.
Make sure your knees don’t cave in as you pulse and that your heels stay down and feet are flat on the ground. Do not round over. Make sure to keep your back flat and chest up.
Beginners may pulse over a bench or even hold on to help them balance. You can also stay up higher in the pulse squat instead of sinking as low.
4. 3-Way Seated Abductions:
As you begin to work on activating your glutes, you may find you aren’t as easily able to FEEL the correct muscles working during certain postures.
This may mean you need to first start with the variations you feel in the correct muscles before then moving on to those other positions. But you want to work to improve that mind-body connection from as many positions and postures as possible to help you avoid injury.
That’s why these 3-Way Seated Abductions are so amazing to include.
While you may start with just one based on what you can feel working during the move, especially if your TFL tends to take over (and you feel it in the front of your hip NOT the side of your butt), you can also use all 3 in a row. If you find you struggle most in one position, use that in the middle after you already feel the correct muscles working BUT before you’re at all fatigued!
To do 3-Way Seated Mini Band Abductions, place the mini band right below your knees and sit on a bench. Start by sitting toward the front of the bench so you can lean back and put your hands on the bench behind you. Place your feet about hip-width apart.
Then press your knees open against the band as you lean back. Your feet may rock open but focus on using your glutes to press the band open with your knees. Do not let your knees cave in as you come back to the starting position. Complete all reps then move to sit up nice and tall.
Sitting nice and tall repeat, pressing out with your knees so you feel your glutes working. After completing all reps, lean forward and repeat the movement. You can hold on the bench outside your legs to lean forward or just lean over even lightly resting your arms on your legs.
Complete all reps in each of the 3 positions. Make sure you’re really focused on pressing your knees out to feel your glutes while controlling the band back in. To reduce tension, you can start with a lighter band or put your feet slightly closer together, but make sure there is tension on the band even in that starting position.
5. Side Lying Extended ROM Lateral Raises:
Lateral raise movements are essential to include to activate your glute medius.
You DO need to be very conscious though that you don’t feel your TFL taking over! So you may find that you foam roll it between rounds or slightly kick back as you raise to the side. You may also slightly internally rotate your foot or turn your toe to the ground as you lift!
The added bonus of these extended range of motion is that stretch you put on the muscle at the bottom. This can really help you build strong glutes through the full range of motion your hip is capable of and even PROGRESS that basic side lying lateral raise without you even needing to add weight!
To do the Extended ROM Side Lying Leg Raise, lie on your side on a bench so that your bottom knee is bent and your bottom leg is close to the end. Prop yourself up on your elbow and position yourself so that your top leg can hang down over the edge and your foot is just a few inches off the ground. You can hold a plate weight on the outside of your top thigh, or wear ankle weights.
Then lift that top leg up and kick slightly back, feeling your glute medius, or the side of your butt, working to lift your leg. Keep that foot parallel to the ground or even turn your toe to slightly face the ground. This can help if you tend to feel your TFL or hips engage with lateral raises.
Do not rotate open as you lift. Lower that leg back down so that your toe touches the ground or hovers just an inch or so off the ground. You want to make sure you can lower that leg past parallel to the ground.
The bench allows you to have an extended range of motion from what you would have when side lying on the ground.
To modify, start with just your own bodyweight.
So…Should I Never Stretch My Hamstrings?
But what about those hamstring stretches you still see in warm up routines and recovery sessions?
Should you not be stretching at all?
While your focus should NOT be on stretching your hamstrings if you do have excessive anterior pelvic tilt, tight hip flexors and underactive glutes, this doesn’t mean you have to avoid hamstring stretches like the plague.
Especially in your warm up, you may find that dynamic stretches to put your hip through a full range of motion DO include a hamstring stretch component.
You do NOT need to avoid these. But spending a ton of time in your warm ups or cool downs focused on stretching your hamstrings IS going to be a waste and potentially even HINDER your results.
And this is of course talking about hamstring tightness due to anterior pelvic tilt.
With certain postural distortions you MAY still need to stretch your hamstrings. For instance, if you actually have POSTERIOR pelvic tilt, your hamstrings MAY actually be shortened.
However, the best place to start if you have a desk job, anterior pelvic tilt, tight hip flexors and/or stretching hasn’t really helped in the past, is to FOAM ROLL your hamstrings and NOT stretch them.
Foam rolling can help relax that overactive muscle so you can get your glutes activated and strong no matter WHY your hamstrings feel tight!
If you’re ready to improve your hip mobility and activate your glutes?
If you’ve truly been doing all of the right things CONSISTENTLY for awhile, which really means more than 4 weeks at least, and results are just not adding up like they should be, you’re missing a weak link.
Very often our first focus is near the point of pain, which is a good place to start.
Because underactive glutes are an all too common culprit.
But what if you’re doing hip mobility work and glute activation, and even feeling the right muscles working, BUT things just don’t seem to be “sticking.”
What’s going on?
This is when you need to start looking at compensations and imbalances up and down your body that may be creating the perpetual overload.
It also means addressing any PREVIOUS INJURIES.
And one all too common injury people tend to forget about is the ANKLE SPRAIN.
If overload is being perpetuated, even while doing the right moves with the right recruitment patterns (assessing recruitment patterns should be one of the FIRST things you do when doing the “right moves”), you need to address previous injuries you may not have considered before…
Specifically ankle injuries when it has to do with hip, knee or lower back pain and the hip mobility and glute activation work isn’t sticking.
There is a very important ankle-butt connection we often don’t recognize (and yes…this is my very highly technical term for it hehe)
Ankle injuries are too often overlooked because…
Often we FORGET about ankle injuries because how could something years ago be affecting us now!?! (People won’t mention them to their physio or trainer).
AND…Often we don’t properly REHAB the ankle injury NOR do we continue doing PREHAB for it once it’s “better.”
We return to working out like nothing happened and often things seem absolutely fine.
But what we don’t realize is that injuries create disruptions in our mind-body connection AND that, all too often even very slight movement distortions, lead to overload and imbalances.
Sometimes when I bring up previous ankle injuries to clients, they’ll even say, “Yea but I had no issues after that…Just the knee pain or hip pain years later.”
(This is where I would make a face that combines both the eye roll emoji and that emoji with the line mouth and lines for eyes.)
Ok…IF YOU HAD A PREVIOUS INJURY YOU NEVER TOOK CARE OF AND NOW HAVE INJURIES ON THE SAME SIDE, THEY ARE PROBABLY CONNECTED.
Plain and simple.
And yes…they can finally rear their freaking ugly heads YEARS, legit YEARS, later.
So you can’t ignore that ankle injury you may have even had a decade ago.
If you never worked to restore proper mobility and strength, if you never re-establish that interrupted mind-body connection, well…it’s like leaving a crack in your foundation.
Things may not fall apart instantly, but if you don’t take care of that crack, other issues will spread throughout your structure slowly until it all collapses.
While your ankle may no longer be in pain, and it may “seem” like nothing is wrong there, a lack of pain isn’t a sign of optimal functioning.
BUT it is why, all too often, we ignore these other areas.
This is honestly why I included foam rolling, stretching and activation series in the Glute Camp for the feet and ankles. I figured including them was the best way to get people doing what they often didn’t even realize they needed to do hehe
If you’ve been ignoring your foundation, start giving it some TLC with these 3 moves to get you started.
3 Moves To Take Care Of Your Feet And Ankles
These three moves will help you start to relax commonly overactive muscles and strengthen weaker muscles to improve your foundational stability.
Peroneal Foam Rolling:
Knee, ankle and foot pain (yes this muscle can lead to flat feet even!) can all be related to this muscle. Yet it is a muscle we often ignore because…well…it isn’t exactly where the pain is!
It is an important muscle to pay attention to because if just one side becomes short and overactive, which is foam rolling is so important for this muscle, it can lead to a functional leg length discrepancy (aka you may “think” one leg is shorter when it is actually muscle tightness causing the symptoms) and a weight shift during bilateral movements.
This can perpetuate compensations and overload, leading to injuries all the way up the other side even!
To roll out your Peroneal, a ball or small roller works best although you can use a larger foam roller.
Take a ball and place it on the ground with the side of your lower leg on top. Press down on your lower leg with your hand to apply more pressure so that the ball digs in.
Then move your leg so that you roll the ball down the length of the side of your lower leg.
Hold on any tight spots and even make small circles on the ball with your lower leg to dig into any tender areas. You can also circle the ankle while holding on any tight spots.
To hit slightly different angles along the side of your shins, rock forward a bit (toward your shin) or backward (toward you calf).
Work your way up to just below your knee and then down to a few inches above the anklebone.
Kneeling Foot Stretch To Bear Squat:
This stretch can help if you’ve ever had plantar fasciitis or limited ankle mobility and Achilles issues.
What we often don’t realize is that even our BIG TOE can get “locked up.”
This stretch will work to relax and lengthen the muscles under your feet as well as work to improve your calf flexibility and ankle mobility, improving specifically your dorsiflexion (your ability to bring your toes closer to your shin).
This stretch can even help you SQUAT deeper if you’ve felt like your range of motion when squatting is limited.
To do the Kneeling Foot Stretch to Bear Squat, start kneeling on the ground with your feet flexed. Sit back on your heels. Rock side to side to stretch your feet.
Then place your hands down on the ground and press your butt up into the air, driving your heels down to the ground. Relax your calves and try to get your heels down to the ground.
Feel a nice stretch down your calves and even up into your hamstrings. Hold for 1-2 seconds and then drop back down to your knees and sit back on your heels again to stretch your feet.
Make sure that as you drive your butt up, you are pressing yourself back so that your driving your heels down. Don’t simply pike up and lower back down. Actually drive back and feel the stretch down your calves.
You can walk your hands in just a little bit closer to your knees to help you feel the stretch a little bit more, but do not walk them in too close.
Calf Raise Circles:
Calf Raise Circles can strengthen your feet and help you improve your ankle stability. Often when we do basic calf raises, we aren’t conscious of compensations we even perpetuate with them.
But by doing the circles, you are focusing on moving across your foot to engage all the muscles correctly and not just perpetuate patterns of overuse.
To do Circle Calf Raises, start standing with your feet about hip-width apart. You can face a wall or table if you need a little help balancing so that you can really focus on circling.
Then start to circle by rocking to the outside of your feet. Slowly come forward toward your pinky toe. Then come up onto your toes slowly circling from your pinky toe toward your big toe. Come up as high onto your toes/balls of your feet as you can. Then reach your big toe and circle in toward the inside of your feet as you come down.
Then come back up, this time starting with the big toe and circling out toward your pinky toe before coming down on the outsides of your feet. Repeat circling back up and in. Really feel yourself getting as big a circle as you can while feeling your calves work to help you come up onto your toes. In order to really circle, you may need to lightly keep your hand on the wall.
If you want even more moves to strengthen your foundation, as well as great glute activation moves to help you prevent lower back, hip and knee pain, check out my Glute Camp!
Often one of the first “warning signs” of potential injury can be immobility…especially when you notice a lack of mobility only during specific movements or on one SIDE of your body.
Neck pain? Shoulder pain? Upper back aches and pains?
If a joint is restricted, it can lead to overload of other joints and overuse of muscles that aren’t meant to handle the load AKA compensations, imbalances and INJURY!
That is why it is key you address any restrictions in mobility you may have from say…YOUR DESK JOB.
Or commuting in the car. Or hunching over your phone as you text…
But improving your mobility isn’t as simple as just stretching.
Often we stretch and just feel like we tighten right back up because we keep replicating the same movement patterns and recruitment patterns that made us tight in the first place.
We may even foam roll having heard that foam rolling is like a massage and can loosen and relax tight muscles.
But again…it may feel good in the moment, but results never really seem to “stick.”
That is why you must include ACTIVATION MOVES and make your mobility work a 3-part process before you include more compound and strengthening or cardio exercises!
This doesn’t have to mean spending hours rolling, stretching and activating. Even just picking 1-2 moves of each for a quick 5-10 minute warm up can work wonders if you’re targeting your areas of tightness or weakness!
Below are 5 moves of each – Foam Rolling, Stretching and Activation – from my Arm Burner program to help you get started improving your mobility!
How To Improve Your Shoulder Mobility – Try These 15 Exercises
Foam Rolling:
Chest Foam Rolling:
Because so many of us spend so much time hunched over at a computer or seated in a car, our pecs or chest muscles can become tight and shortened.
This can lead to not only shoulder injury, but also be partly responsible for why your upper back and neck always feels tight! This can lead to the muscles of your upper back becoming over stretched and underactive.
That is why it is key that many of us start with relaxing our chest muscles!
To roll out your chest, you can use a larger foam ball against the ground or a smaller ball against the wall (You can also use a smaller ball against the ground just make sure to elevate it on some books especially if you have carpet!)
If you use the ball against the wall or even on the ground, place the ball right in the side of your chest by your shoulder joint. Do not place it on your shoulder joint.
Then reach your hand up overhead and back down toward your feet. If you are using the ball against a wall in a doorway, reach your hand out in front of you, bringing it up overhead and then down toward the ground.
Roll the ball from your shoulder along the bottom of your collarbone to dig out your entire chest. Hold on any tight spots.
Lat Foam Rolling:
While we often think of our lats as part of our back, which they are, they can also perpetuate our hunched posture and rounded shoulders partly because of their insertion point in our upper arm.
Tight lats can not only limit your shoulder mobility, but lead to scapular pain AND even perpetuate SI Joint Dysfunction, making them an important muscle to pay attention to!
To roll out your lats a roller is best although you can use a foam ball or even a tennis ball.
Start by lying on your side with a roller under one armpit. 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 when rolling lower down your back into your low back. You do not want to arch over the roller and hyperextend your low back.
Trap Foam Rolling:
Our traps are often addressed as three segments – upper, middle and lower traps – as each portion of the muscle does help with different scapular actions.
This is important to note as for many the upper traps may be tight while the lower and mid traps may be weak. (Just to throw a wrench in things though too, I do go into how the upper traps are an interesting muscle as they aren’t always overactive and tight or underactive and weak similar to the psoas in the Arm Burner program.)
But I list the “traps” as an important muscle to roll out, partly too because with this foam rolling move, you can not only address tightness in your traps, but also the other muscles of your upper back, such as your rhomboids, which can become overactive especially if your traps are weak!
This move can be key for anyone who’s suffered from tension headaches in the past.
To roll out your upper back, traps and shoulders with a ball, stand with your back to a wall and place the ball to the side of the base of your neck. Press the ball into the wall and roll it down along your shoulder blade.
Hold on any tight spots. You may even want to pull your arm across your chest as you dig out under the shoulder blade.
You can also use the ball against the wall to dig out right at the top of your armpit behind your shoulder and all along your upper back from the base of your neck to the bottom of your shoulder blade.
If you want to apply more pressure with the ball, you can use a harder ball or use the ball against the ground instead of the wall.
Thoracic Extension:
This move helps relax the muscles along our spine to help us start improving our spinal, specifically thoracic, extension.
If we don’t have proper extension of our spine we will seek mobility from other areas. This can lead to not only upper body aches and pains, but also LOWER BACK pain!
A peanut is a great tool to use for this foam rolling move, or you can use a roller.
To work on your Thoracic Extension using a roller, place the roller on the ground and lie back over the roller with the roller at about your mid-back. You do not want to do this move with the roller in your low back or you could hyperextend your low back.
Cross your hands over your chest and, keeping your butt on the ground, extend your back over the roller. As you extend back over the roller, reach your hands overhead and relax your head and neck. Try to touch the backs of your hands to the ground behind you without lifting up your butt or putting the move all in your low back. Focus on extending your mid and upper back over the roller.
Sit back up and cross your hands back over your chest. You can then repeat, relaxing and extending back over as you relax your arms back overhead.
Perform the extension a few times, especially if the area feels tight, and then move the roller higher up on your back and, again with your butt on the ground, extend back over the roller. Hold for a second or two as you extend so that you can breathe and relax more over the roller.
Work all the way up your mid to upper back. Do not do this on your lower back. If you are going to work into your lower back, a peanut is a better tool that doesn’t hyperextend your lower back.
You can use a Rumble Roller, so a roller with “nobs” instead of a flat roller, if you want to dig in more.
Forearm Foam Rolling:
Our forearms are often forgotten muscles until we have to address them, whether to strengthen our grip to lift more, completely an obstacle course race or because of wrist and elbow pain and injury.
If you are spending a lot of time in the car, gripping the steering wheel or at a computer using your mouse or typing, it is a good idea to roll our your forearm, especially overactive flexors (the underside of your forearm).
However, depending on the elbow or wrist pain, it is important to note, you can also roll out your extensors.
To roll out your forearm, place a small ball or roller up on a table or desk. Place your forearm over the ball with it right below your elbow. You can start with the underside of your forearm down on the ball.
Then press down on your forearm with your other hand to press it into the ball. Start to make small circles on the ball to dig in more. Hold on any tight spots. If you find a tight spot, you can also tense and relax your forearm to help the ball dig in further. To tense and relax your forearm, you can flex and extend your wrist or even make a fist and then relax your hand.
By flexing and relaxing the muscles, you help the ball dig in and release the tight spot.
Roll the ball all along the fleshy part of the underside of your forearm. Then move to the outside of your forearm. Make sure to get the outside and inside of your forearm as there can be trigger points in both spots causing potential wrist and elbow pain.
Don’t waste time on any areas that aren’t tight or sore. Seek out and spend time on any areas of pain.
Apply as much pressure as you can handle and use as small and hard a ball or roller as you can.
Stretching:
Shoulder Flossing:
Especially if you are loosening up before a workout, you don’t want to HOLD stretches, but instead try to put the joint through a full range of motion so you can then strengthen through that full range of motion.
And shoulder flossing is a great way to start mobilizing the shoulder joint.
To do Shoulder Flossing, hold a band or towel in both hands with your hands about shoulder-width apart. You will adjust your hands in or out based on your mobility. Closer together requires more mobility, while further apart requires less. If you use a band, there will be some give so you can stretch the band if needed; however, with a towel there will be no give so make sure to set up correctly so that you can keep your arms straight through the full range of motion.
Stand up nice and tall with your chest pressed out as you hold the band in both hands in front of your legs.
Keeping your arms straight, lift your arms up overhead and then open them back up behind you. Reach them back toward the ground behind you, bringing them back down toward your butt. Then bring your hands back overhead and forward.
Because the band will stretch, it will give you a little play and allow you to open up wider if needed to get your arms in a full circle unlike the towel. Remember to hold in closer on the band as you gain more mobility and don’t need the band to stretch as much to allow you to complete the circle.
Half-Kneeling Thoracic Rotations:
Spinal mobility is key to helping us prevent neck and shoulder aches and pains. And we have to remember that our spine doesn’t only allow us to flex or extend but also rotate!
With Half-Kneeling Thoracic Rotations, you can improve your spinal mobility, open up your chest and even stretch your glutes a bit!
To do Half Kneeling Thoracic Rotations, set up in a half-kneeling position on the ground with both hands on the ground inside your front foot. Palms should be flat on the ground. If you are less flexible, you may need to come up a bit on your fingers as you rotate.
Then lift one hand and rotate your chest toward the front leg. Keep your front foot flat on the ground as you do it. Reach up and rotate your chest toward that front leg. Place the hand back down on the ground and then lift your other hand up toward the ceiling and rotate your chest away from the front leg. Really reach open and don’t let your front foot rock open.
You can even keep that arm against the leg to help you rotate. Place the hand back down and repeat the rotation toward your front leg. Move slowly and keep your front foot flat on the ground.
Kneeling Thoracic Extension And Lat Stretch:
This move can help improve your spinal extension aka reverse the constant forward flexion or hunched posture while also improving your shoulder mobility. It can stretch your lats and even your triceps.
To do the Kneeling Thoracic and Lat Stretch, place your elbows up on a bench about shoulder-width apart and kneel on the ground in front of the bench. Make sure you are back far enough that you have room to lean forward and over and drop your head between your elbows.
Then with your elbows on the bench, relax your chest and head over, sitting your butt back just slightly. Press your chest toward the ground and 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.
You can either hold here and breathe to stretch deeper or you can come out of the stretch and then relax back into it and try to get further with each rep.
Suspension Trainer Snow Angels:
Since most of us spend so much time seated hunched over, we not only want to relax the muscles of our chest with foam rolling but also stretch them out!
I love this stretch too to open up the chest and improve your posture and shoulder mobility because it can also be a unilateral move if you find one side is tighter!
To do the Suspension Trainer Snow Angels, you will need a suspension trainer, rings or even towels or resistance bands anchored behind you.
Using a Suspension Trainer, hold a handle in each hand and walk away from the anchor point with your back to the anchor point. Extend your arms straight out to your sides at shoulder height and walk away from the anchor point so that you feel a stretch in your chest.
You may have to adjust slightly backward or forward as you begin to do the wave, depending on your mobility.
Then, standing still with your arms starting out at shoulder height, raise your arms up overhead. Keep your arms straight as you extend overhead and even lean slightly forward to increase the stretch.
Hold for a second or two and then bring your arms out and down to the side, lowering them all the way back and down toward the ground. Keep your arms straight as you bring them down.
Feel the muscles of your chest and even around your shoulder stretching as you lower your arms down.
Then bring them back up out to the side and back overhead. Move in a fluid, smooth “wave” as you lift and lower. This movement also sort of looks like you are drawing a snow angel behind you.
Move slowly to wave the arms up and down. Make sure you are far enough out and leaning slightly forward so that you feel a stretch. If it is too much and you can’t move your arms in a full wave, move back slightly or don’t lean in as much.
Hold at any point that feels extra tight for a breath or two.
Thread the Needle:
If you’re upper back and neck constantly feel tense, this can provide some more “instant” relief, even if not lasting relief.
You will feel this move all across your upper back and even gently in your neck.
While this can be a move used as part of your warm up if you alternate sides, pausing for only a breath on each side, it is also a great move to include in your cool downs or recovery workouts as a static stretch.
To do the Thread the Needle Stretch, kneel on the ground and then lean forward, reaching one arm overhead to place the palm on the ground as you reach the other one under your arm to relax the side of your head and body down to the ground. As you relax the side of your head and your bottom shoulder down, use the hand overhead to help rotate your chest open toward the ceiling.
You are “threading a needle” by reaching one arm through the “hole” created by the arm reaching overhead.
Breathe and relax into the stretch so that you feel a stretch down your neck and across your shoulder blades. Rotate your chest up and open. You can walk your top arm back behind your head to increase the stretch.
Hold and then thread the other arm under and through.
Hold each stretch for at least a second or two before switching. Sit back onto your heels if you can keep your head and shoulder on the ground.
Activation:
Single Arm Scapular Push Up:
Working on your scapular retraction can be key to keeping your neck, shoulders and upper back aches and pain free! It can also help you improve your pull ups as well while improving your shoulder stability.
The Single Arm Scapular Push Up is a great move to use too because it is a unilateral move that will allow you to address each side independently and correct any imbalances.
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.
Back Of Hand Rows:
I love moves that hit a number of muscles or address a number of issues at once.
Not only is this move a great workaround if you do have elbow pain but want to continue working your back, but it is also a great activation move for your back while improving your wrist extension!
To do the Back of Hand Band Row, anchor a resistance band in front of you and either loop it or make sure it has a handle you can put your hand through. Place the band or handle around the back of your hand and point your fingers up toward the ceiling. Step away from the anchor point so that there is tension in the band with your arm extended in front of you.
Stand up nice and tall and press your chest out as you face the mini band. Your feet should be about hip-width apart. Make sure you aren’t shrugging your shoulders as you hold your arm out in front of you with the band around your hand.
Then drive the elbow down and back as you row the back of your hand and the band into right below your chest. Row low so that you don’t shrug your shoulder. Also, don’t rotate as you row.
Feel your back pull the band back. Don’t just use your arms. Also, make sure that your upper traps don’t try to take over.
Really press the chest out and drive the elbow down and back. Straighten the arm back out and repeat.
Focus on feeling your back pull the band and not just your arm. By focusing on what muscles should be working, you will improve your mind-body connection.
Also, make sure to keep your fingertips pointing up toward the ceiling to engage the extensors in your forearm.
Mini Pull Ups:
This is a more advanced activation move but one that is key if you want to be able to do your first pull up.
Often the hardest part of achieving that first pull up is that initial engagement – that initial retraction and depression of the shoulder blades.
It’s why you may not be able to go from a full dead hang to a pull up, but if you jump just a little over that initial hurdle you can pull all the way up.
The Mini Pull Up is the perfect way to really activate and strengthen your back so that you can retract and depress your shoulder blades and prevent your shoulder from becoming overworked and injured.
To do Mini Pull Ups, start hanging from the bar with your palms facing away from you and your hands about shoulder-width apart.
From this dead hang position, press your chest out and up toward the bar as you draw your shoulder blades down and together. Feel your back engage as you draw your shoulder blades together and press your chest up toward the bar. You will feel your shoulders “unshrugging.”
Don’t bend your elbows and turn this into a pull up. You are simply working on that initial retraction and engagement. Really press your chest out and retract your shoulder blades, bringing them down and together.
Again, do not bend your arms to pull up. Use your back and feel your back engage. You should also feel your shoulders go down as your chest lifts up.
Pause at the top then relax back down to a full dead hang and repeat. Remember, you are not bending your elbows to make this movement bigger.
Because this is an advanced activation move, beginners may need to keep their feet down for assistance.
Prone Snow Angels:
Improve your shoulder mobility and activate the muscles of your upper back as well as your rotator cuff with this move. It is also a great move to start working on your scapular mobility.
Clients with less mobility may even need to start with this move standing facing a wall.
To do Prone Snow Angels, lie face down on the ground with your legs relaxed. Place your hands behind your head and then lift your chest up slightly off the ground as with the cobra. Do not arch so much to start using your low back back but just enough to engage your upper back.
Then begin to straighten your arms up and out overhead before slowly moving them out to the side as if creating a snow angel.
As you bring your hands back and down toward your butt, flip your hands over, rotating your shoulders as you bend your elbows to bring the backs of your hands to your low back.
Then reverse the motion, bringing your hands back out to the sides then back behind your head. Make sure to keep your chest slightly up, but do not let your low back take over. Keep your neck also relaxed as you do this and really feel your upper back and the backs of your shoulders working to keep your arms off the ground as you perform the move.
Downward Dog Scapular Presses:
Work on your spinal extension, shoulder stability and the elevation and depression of your shoulder blades with these scapular presses. It can also help activate and strengthen your serratus anterior which is a key muscle for scapular stability and even shoulder health.
Especially if you want to improve your stability with overhead pressing moves, this is a key activation exercise to include!
To do the Downward Dog Scapular Presses, start in a high plank position from your feet and hands with your hands under your shoulders and your feet about hip-width apart. Then drive your chest back toward your legs as you push your butt up in the air. Drive your heels down toward the ground as you try to get your biceps by your ears and extend your spine.
Do not walk your hands back and try to really drive through all of your fingers as well as your palm. Do not rock to the outside of your hands. Pause in this Downward Dog position.
Then push the ground away to elevate your shoulders while staying in this downward dog position. Then relax back into the normal downward dog. You are trying to elevate and relax your shoulders. Do not come back forward into plank until all reps are complete.
It will be a small range of motion. Focus on moving your shoulder blades.
Need workouts and a program to get you on track and consistently working to improve your shoulder and scapular mobility snd stability? Then check out my Arm Burner program.
The Arm Burner Program – Avoid aches and pains, strengthen your upper body and improve your pull ups and push ups! LEARN MORE –>
