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Target your SERRATUS ANTERIOR (Stop Ignoring this Muscle!)

Target your SERRATUS ANTERIOR (Stop Ignoring this Muscle!)

by | Dec 5, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief, Stretches

All too often when we are focused on improving our shoulder health to prevent aches and pains, we focus on strengthening our rotator cuff.

We may also do some foam rolling or release for our pecs and lats as well knowing they can inhibit proper shoulder mobility.

But we can’t only focus directly on our shoulders if we have shoulder and even neck pain…

We have to realize that our shoulder health is dramatically impacted by both our spinal and scapular mobility and stability as well.

And one muscle in particular is often overlooked when we are suffering from neck and shoulder pain – a muscle that can impact our scapular stability and even be impacted by our thoracic mobility…

This muscle is the Serratus Anterior!

Before I share 3 key moves to include to help activate your Serratus Anterior, and a bonus move to improve your thoracic extension, it’s key we understand why and how our Serratus Anterior can impact our shoulder health, even contributing to scapular winging, shoulder impingement, bursitis, thoracic outlet syndrome, and even neck aches and pains!

What Does The Serratus Anterior Do?

You can find and feel your Serratus Anterior by putting your hand on your ribs just below your armpit.

This muscle protracts or pulls the shoulder blade forward around the rib cage and upwardly rotates and posteriorly tilts the shoulder blade which helps you press overhead safely without shoulder or neck issues, or overload to those smaller muscles like your rotator cuff.

The Serratus Anterior also holds the shoulder blade against the rib cage by posteriorly tipping and externally rotating the scapula. This is the opposite of the scapular winging issue we often seen.

Because of how the Serratus Anterior stablizes and moves the shoulder blade you can see how it would create scapular dysfunction such as scapular winging and poor scapular control leading to shoulder and neck issues.

That’s why it’s key we address weakness of this muscle, even potentially strengthening it on one side!

So what are 3 Key Moves To Activate The Serratus Anterior?

#1: Roller Serratus Anterior Activation

To keep our shoulders healthy, we want to strengthen all of the joint actions controlled by the Serratus Anterior, which means not only working on the protraction that so many Serratus Anterior moves address, but also that upward rotation and posterior tipping.

That’s why a move that works as you press overhead can be key.

Especially if you find you struggle with controlling the overhead press or shoulder and neck pain during that move, try including this move in your warm up activation series.

To do Roller Serratus Anterior Shoulder Extensions, place a small roller, or even sliders, against a wall pinned about at your wrist with your palms facing in toward each other.

The roller should be at about eye height to start. Your arms should be about shoulder-width or just slightly wider apart.

Walk your feet back so you just are angled into the wall and resting a bit of your weight against the roller. You don’t want to fall forward or be dependent on your arms because as you slide up you will lean more into the roller.

You can stagger your feet if that feels more comfortable. Brace your abs as you face the wall and then begin to roll your arms up, extending from your shoulder overhead.

Lean into the wall as you extend. Do not arch your lower back as you extended up. Think of pulling your shoulder blades “out and around” as you slide up.

Then slide back down. You may feel your upper traps slightly but do NOT allow them to compensate.

If you feel your lower back taking over, stagger your feet to help maintain a neutral spine. And if you want to progress this movement, walk further back from the wall to lean more into the roller.

#2: Serratus Anterior Press

The push up plus is a super common Serratus Anterior activation move, but also one that is far more challenging than we give it credit for.

And when we are trying to really isolate and activate a muscle, sometimes it is best to regress a movement so we can really focus on what we feel working.

That’s why I love Wall Protractions. They are a great way to really focus in on simply learning to control scapular protraction. You can even make them unilateral by doing one side at a time.

To do Wall Protractions, stand facing a wall with your hands made into fists. Place your knuckles against the wall with your palms facing in toward each other and your arms extended out at shoulder height. Stand tall and brace your abs.

Then without bending your arms or moving your feet or body, push the wall away with your knuckles.

Feel like you are trying to spread your shoulder blades as far apart as you can without just rounding your back or tucking your hips. It may be a very small movement, especially to start.

Pause then relax out before again pushing the wall away.

Do not arch your lower back to try to make the move bigger or tuck your chin.

If you feel in control of this movement and aren’t trying to make it seem bigger by bending your arms or rounding, you can then move to an incline or even a plank position off the ground.

And if you do have an imbalance, try one side at a time off the wall.

#3: Wall Protractions:

If you do have an imbalance or issue on one side, you want to include unilateral activation, even only doing strength work on that one side.

That’s why the Serratus Anterior Press can be a great move to include. The unilateral focus will allow you to target each side independently.

To do the Serratus Anterior Press, start in a staggered stance with the opposite foot forward from the hand holding the band in at your chest. Move out from the band so there is tension even while your hand is up at your chest. You want to start light with this move as you want to really focus on feeling around your ribs working over your pec muscles working.

Standing tall, press the band out from your chest and slightly up at an incline. Feel yourself pulling your shoulder blade forward around your ribs as you reach out. You aren’t just doing a unilateral chest press.

You may press slightly across the midline of your body as you reach out to protract the shoulder blade, but you aren’t just twisting through your spine.

Then slowly bring your hand back in toward your chest. Do not rotate toward the anchor point.

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.

BONUS:

If you’re struggling to activate your Serratus Anterior and limited in your thoracic extension, using this foam rolling move prior to your activation work can be key – The Peanut Thoracic Extension.

This move can help you relax tight muscles and work on that thoracic extension.

To do this move, you can use a peanut, which can easily be made by taping two balls together or tying them in a sock. Lie on your back placing the peanut in your mid-back with a ball on either side of your spine.

Place your hands behind your head, pulling your elbows open as you relax over the peanut.

Breathe and hold for a second, then crunch up and relax back down. Do a few of the crunches, extending back over, before moving the peanut up your spine.

SUMMARY:

We have to remember that everything is connected. And if we lack mobility and stability in one area, it could lead to overload and injury in another. That is why addressing weakness of our Serratus Anterior can be so key if we’ve been struggling with scapular winging or shoulder and neck aches and pains.

And then remember, you can NEVER stop doing what makes you feel better. That prehab work is key!

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The Most Overrated Glute Exercise

The Most Overrated Glute Exercise

by | Nov 7, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Butt, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief

The clamshell exercise is a staple of any rehab program that calls for glute activation moves.

But honestly, it’s slightly overrated.

And so often done INCORRECTLY.

We end up rotating to get a bigger range of motion. We engage other muscles to try and rush to progress the move and add a band.

We aren’t intentional with the move while focusing on what we feel working.

But part of that is actually because it is so easy to cheat.

For such a seemingly simple move, it is so easy for us to cheat and compensate and ultimately perpetuate the existing issues by overusing the same muscles we are trying to avoid overusing.

All too often this basic move perpetuates the problem instead of activating the muscles we want it to.

We end up engaging our TFL or overworking our piriformis over actually getting our glute medius to pull it’s weight.

That’s why I wanted to share with you one of my favorite Glute Medius Activation Moves to do instead – The Wall Side Lying Lateral Raise.

But before I go into the glute medius move I prefer to use, I did just want to touch on 3 key cues if you decide to use that oh so basic clam exercise.

#1: Turn your top toe down toward the ground.

This cue can actually be useful in many glute medius moves to help inhibit the TFL if it tends to take over.

The internal tibial rotation, or rotation of your lower leg down toward the ground, can help you prevent the TFL from compensating for your glute medius.

When doing the clam, just turn that top foot toward the ground in front of your bottom foot instead of keeping your feet stacked or letting that top foot open up as you raise your top leg.

#2: Don’t focus on a bigger range of motion.

Yes we always want to strengthen through a full range of motion, but we want to make sure it is actually a range of motion we can control with the muscles we want to target.

Too often we end up rotating our entire body or start to overuse muscles like our piriformis to perform a bigger range of motion.

Instead of focusing on making the move bigger, focus on stopping the movement with the glute medius, really feeling it on the side of your butt.

It can even be helpful to put a wall or pole behind you and think about squeezing your butt slightly forward even as you open.

#3: Change your degree of hip flexion.

Struggling to establish that mind-body connection?

Try changing how much you flex or extend your hips.

While this can not only help us target the anterior or posterior fibers of the glute medius more, and make sure we are able to engage the muscle through a variety of postures, it can also help us find a position where we can most easily establish that mind-body connection, especially if we are struggling.

Once you are able to really feel the muscle working, you can even move to a more or less hip flexed position to use that engagement to help you create the mind-body connection while in a position you may not have felt it before!

But because each of us does have a different build and mind-body connection, whether even due to previous injuries, it can be useful to feel free to adjust our exact degree of hip flexion as we learn to master the move and use the correct muscles.

Now let’s talk about how to do the Wall Side Lying Lateral Raise and why I prefer this move over the basic clam.

The Wall Side Lying Lateral Raise:

If you’re struggle to engage your glute medius, it can be helpful to make sure you’re engaging your glute max as well. That’s why this move with the slight kick back can really help.

And because your TFL is a hip flexor and your piriformis assists with horizontal abduction when your hip is flexed to 90 degrees, it can be key to work on activating your glute medius while your hip is extended.

If you think about the clam, you aren’t kicking back and as easily able to use the glute max to help prevent your TFL from compensating.

You also are in that hip flexed position which lends itself to both your Piriformis and TFL engaging, two muscles that often compensate for our glute medius leading to lower back, hip and even knee aches and pains.

And that’s why this Wall Side Lying Lateral Raise is a great go-to glute medius activation move!

This move works on hip extension to engage your glute max while also working to improve your hips stability and glute medius activation.

To do this move, you may start with bodyweight and progress to a mini band variation with the band around your legs just above your knees.

Set up by bending that bottom leg to help you stabilize and set up lying on your side with your back to the wall. You want to set up a few inches out from the wall so you can kick back slightly into the wall. You can fully lie on your side with your bottom arm straight out on the ground or you can prop yourself up to rest your head in your hand.

Then lift your top leg up a few inches off your bottom leg and make sure you do NOT rotate that toe open. You can even turn that top toe slightly down toward the ground.

After lifting up a few inches, drive your heel back into the wall behind you.

From this position, slide your heel up the wall lifting your leg.

Perform this lateral raise but do not rotate your hip open to raise up higher.

Lift up and then slowly slide the leg down. Do not lower completely down and relax out. If you’re using a band, you want to make sure the band doesn’t pull you back down and that you keep tension on it even at the bottom.

You want your glute working the entire time.

Focus on feeling your glute 90
lifting your leg up, and if you have a band pushing against the band, as you feel your glute max working to drive your heel back into the wall extending your hip.

SUMMARY:

We have to remember that no one move is right for everyone. And even knowing when we DON’T feel a move working the correct muscles can be key so that we can prevent ourselves from perpetuating the problem and even select a move that does better help us establish that mind-body connection.

Use these cues to help yourself make sure you’re adjusting moves to fit your needs and goals and if you’ve been struggling to use the clam, try this lateral raise variation instead!

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The Most Underrated Shoulder Press

The Most Underrated Shoulder Press

by | Nov 1, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief

The overhead press is a tough compound shoulder, tricep and chest exercise. It is also a great move to work your core, serratus anterior and even upper traps.

And while vertical pressing movements are key to include, they require more mobility and stability than we often realize.

They require not just shoulder mobility and stability, but also scapular and spinal mobility and stability as well.

The problem is, all too often our mobility and stability in these areas is lacking, and partly because of our common daily postures.

We spend far too much time hunched over our technology or commuting to and from work.

And this constant forward flexion, can lead to shoulder, scapular and thoracic mobility restrictions that may cause us to suffer from neck, shoulder and upper back aches and pains when we try to go heavy with overhead pressing.

These mobility restrictions can even be why your lower back is sore and achy after performing this upper body move!

So while it’s key we work to address these mobility and stability issues with our prehab work and including foam rolling, stretching and activation as part of our warm up, it may also mean that the basic overhead press is not the best option for us to start.

Because of these common mobility restrictions and the fact that so many of us compensate to try to replicate proper from, I actually love to sub in this often underrated overhead press variation, the landmine press.

It can help us get the full benefits of the overhead press with less strain on our rotator cuff as well as less risk of us arching and overloading our lower backs to compensate.

If you are currently working to improve your thoracic extension and shoulder mobility as well as your scapular control, you may find the Landmine Press allows you to include overhead pressing without feeling like you’re going to get injured.

Because of the slightly angled press, this move can more easily allow you to engage your back to support your shoulder and feel that scapular movement. It also requires less thoracic extension to perform correctly.

And my favorite variation of it, the single arm press, can even help you correct imbalances as you strengthen your shoulders, triceps and chest!

Before I dive into 3 tips to get the most out of this amazing move, I wanted to go over basic Single Arm Landmine Pressing Form.

How To Do The Single Arm Landmine Press:

To do the Single Arm Landmine Press, set a bar up in a landmine and grab the bar in one hand with a neutral grip, bringing the bar up to your shoulder. Stand with your feet about hip-width to shoulder-width apart and parallel. The bar should be just a few inches in front of your shoulder so you can hold it comfortably with your chest pressed out.

Think wide shoulders as you brace your abs as if about to be punched in the gut. Squeeze your glutes as well to help better engage your lats to support your shoulders.

Then press the bar out, extending your arm fully. Do not really lean into the press or round or reach out. Just press to fully extend your arm, then lower the bar back down to your shoulder.

Do not rotate or lean as you press. Keep your core engaged. Repeat all reps on one side before switching.

Now what are 3 tips to help you adjust this move to fit your needs and goals and get even more out of the basic variation?

#1: Vary Your Stance.

While this is an upper body move, how you stand to press can impact the additional benefits you get from the move.

In the basic form I mentioned, you will get a great anti-rotational core benefit. And the narrower your foot stance, the more you’ll have to fight your body’s desire to rotate.

You can also stagger your stance for a bit stronger base of support and to potentially even be able to focus on heavier loads.

But standing isn’t your only option for this move.

You can move to half kneeling, full kneeling or even seated!

While seated, you won’t be able to handle as heavy a load, it prevents you from compensating or seeking out mobility from other places. This move can be very core intensive and challenging.

Full kneeling will also be another challenging core option, requiring you to really fight the urge to rotate or lean. This variation can be great if you struggle with lower back pain during pressing and need to practice that ab and glute engagement.

Half kneeling is also a great way to really focus on ab and glute activation, but while being able to go slightly heavier than full kneeling. It is a great way to focus on using that glute activation on the knee that is down to better engage your lat on the pressing side to improve your shoulder stability and scapular control.

No one stance is better or worse. And you may find you even progress the move simply by adjusting the stance to adjust the different benefits you get from the move. We have to remember that the same, but different can be a form of progression as we use a move over different workout programming.

#2: Use Your BACK – Focus On Your Shoulder Blade Moving.

Often we ignore the importance of our back to improving our pushing movements. And not only the muscles of our back but the control of our shoulder blades in general.

When you set up to press and think about any of the cues from “press your chest out” to “wide shoulders” what you also want to be thinking about is engaging the sides of your back to support your shoulders and make sure you are unshrugged to start.

If you start the press with your shoulders shrugged and shoulder blades elevated, you are pressing from a weakened position – a position that is going to put more strain on those smaller muscles, like your rotator cuff.

By engaging the sides of your back to start with those shoulders down, you can press from a strong position.

And then don’t just think about pressing the weight out with your shoulder. Think about feeling that shoulder blade move. Your shoulder blade will upwardly rotate and posteriorly tilt as you press.

This movement is key to pressing safely.

So don’t just go through the motions of pressing the weight up.

Think about that back engagement as you set up to press from a point of strength and then focus on feeling your shoulder blade move as your back is involved in that shoulder flexion or press overhead!

#3: Don’t Ignore Your Core.

Whichever stance you use, your core will be engaged. Part of what causes lower back overload during overhead pressing is a lack of thoracic extension so we seek out mobility from our lumbar spine, but also a lack of proper core engagement to protect our lower back.

As you press, you do want to think about not only engaging your abs, but also your glutes. By engaging your glutes, you can actually help yourself better engage your lats to stabilize your shoulders.

And you’ll also help prevent yourself from being able to easily arch your lower back because you’re focused on squeezing your glutes to drive that hip extension.

Also by bracing your abs, think about engaging as if you’re about to be punched in the gut, you’ll further stabilize your spine.

Do not hold your breath though as you brace. You can think about exhaling on exertion even to better activate and engage things as you power that press.

You want to focus on everything involved as you press before you start to increase loads. This will ensure you utilize muscles efficiently and effectively, which can even help you lift heavier more quickly!

SUMMARY:

If you’re working to improve your shoulder, thoracic and scapular mobility and stability but want to include an overhead pressing exercise in your routine, consider using the single arm landmine press.

It’s a great way to get the benefits without the mobility and stability required of the full overhead press. And, because it is a unilateral move, it can even help you address imbalances between both sides.

If you find you don’t have a bar that is the appropriate weight, or even a corner to set up the bar in if you don’t have a landmine, one easy modification is a band incline press as well. The resistance band itself can even create a unique challenge of its own!

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The Side Plank – How To Do It The Right Way

The Side Plank – How To Do It The Right Way

by | Oct 24, 2021 | Blog, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief

Isometrics are key exercises to include in your routine to improve your stability and mind-body connection. They are a great way for you to target underactive muscles and really get them firing correctly.

They are a great way to make sure that you’re using muscles efficiently and effectively to work together to perform a movement.

Because we have to remember that part of getting stronger is learning how to quickly and efficiently recruit muscles to work together in the right order, each carrying the load they were meant to carry!

But so often these seemingly simple moves are taken for granted.

We simply try to get through the hold, or hold longer, instead of really focusing in on engaging muscles correctly as hard as possible.

That’s why I wanted to discuss one amazing core isometric, the Side Plank, and not only why this move is so key but also how we can get more out of it to not only strengthen our entire core but also avoid knee and shoulder aches and pains.

What The Side Plank Works:

The side plank is an amazing unilateral core move that can help you improve your shoulder, spinal, pelvis, hip, knee and even ankle stability when done correctly.

Because it’s a unilateral move and works each side independently, it an help you even correct imbalances. If you do have an imbalance, you may find you do an extra round or even only rounds of side planks on one side.

It is a great anti-lateral flexion, or anti-side bending, exercise to include to help you learn to brace to protect your spine.

While the primary focus of the side plank is to strengthen your obliques, it will also work your glute medius, glute max, lats, shoulders, and QL (quadratus lumborum) to name a few of muscles involved.

It really is a full core move and can help you build stability from your shoulders to your feet.

But to get all of these benefits, you need to focus on what you actually feel working as you perform the hold and, at times, even concentrate on engaging each of the muscles involved a bit harder.

3 Form Cues To Improve Your Side Planks:

That’s why I wanted to share these 3 Key Form Cues to help you really proper engage the correct muscles as you hold.

#1: Flex your foot to create tension through your lower leg.

If you want to get the full benefit of the side plank and even help protect your knees and ankles, you can’t ignore the importance of creating tension through your lower leg as you hold.

This will not only improve your efficiency with the movement, but it will help engage the muscles from your ankles to your hips, including your glutes.

To flex or dorsiflex your foot, pull your toe up toward your shin to engage your lower leg before you even lift up into the side plank. Then really focus on pushing the side of your foot down into the ground as you hold to keep that tension.

You don’t just want to lift. You want to create that tension.

You can then either stack, or stagger your feet. Neither is technically bad and both can have their benefits.

Some argue that stacked is harder as there is a smaller base of support while others will argue the staggered is better to create tension and be able to better transition from front to side plank variations.

The key is truly creating the tension through your lower leg to improve your knee and ankle stability and even better engage those glutes!

#2: Squeeze your glutes.

Often we get so focused on this move as an oblique exercise we only lift through our torso, letting our hips ultimately sag and we miss out on the amazing benefit the side plank can have for improving our hip stability!

As you lift up into that side plank, squeeze your glutes to extend your hips and lock yourself into that nice straight line. Think about almost slightly squeezing your butt to push your hips forward.

This will help you avoid rotating toward the ground and even overloading your TFL and QL which can perpetuate SI Joint, IT Band issues and even lower back, hip and knee pain.

We want muscles to learn to engage to support each other, which often means focusing on that engagement in muscles that tend to be underactive.

By also engaging your glutes, you avoid rotating toward the ground and overloading your shoulder as you hold. Activating our glutes can actually help better engage our lats.

And not only do you want to focus on that glute max engagement, but you also want to think about the side of your butt lifting your hip up to maintain that hold. Focusing on the glute medius working will help you really use this move to improve your hip stability!

#3: Engage the side of your back to support your shoulder.

If you’ve ever found that side planks irritate your shoulder, you need to make sure you aren’t just relying on those smaller muscles to hold. You want to also engage your back and lats to support your shoulder properly and help stabilize it.

As you set up for the side plank, make sure that your elbow is underneath your shoulder and that you aren’t shrugging.

Even think about slightly pulling your shoulders down as you set up to hold.

Then as you hold at the top, to keep your back engaged, think about pushing your elbow down into the ground as you pulling your elbow slightly toward your feet. Your elbow will not move, but this focus as if you would adduct the shoulder if you could, engages your lat to help prevent shoulder issues.

Learning this engagement can not only help us avoid neck and shoulder aches and pains but also improve our scapular and shoulder stability, which in turn can improve our other pressing exercises, like our bench or push ups!

SUMMARY:

Using these 3 cues you can help yourself properly engage all of the muscles involved in the side plank to get more out of this amazing move and really improve your mind-body connection.

Focus on holding harder and run through what you feel working as you hold over just trying to hold longer or “get through” the time.

Try adding in some side plank holds for even 20-30 seconds to your activation series before your workout to activate everything from your shoulders to your knees!

IT Band Pain?! Don’t Ignore THIS Muscle

IT Band Pain?! Don’t Ignore THIS Muscle

by | Sep 27, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, injury-featured, Pain Relief, Stretches

IT Band issues that just won’t fully seem to go away?

Frustrated that every time you seem to build up the mileage or start lifting heavy that old pain comes back and even starts to aggravate your hips and knees….maybe even your ANKLES?!

If you’ve been struggling with annoying IT Band issues, it’s time you paid attention to this hip flexor muscle…

The TFL or tensor fasciae latae.

Before I go over 3 moves you can include in your prehab routine to prevent the pain and overload, I want to discuss how the TFL can lead to IT Band problems.

So let’s break down what the TFL does…

The TFL contributes to hip abduction (lifting your leg out to the side), hip flexion (bringing your knee up toward your chest) and hip internal rotation (rotating your hip to turn your leg in toward your other leg).

At your pelvis it assists in anteriorly tilting you pelvis, which, if the muscle is tight, can lead to excessive arching of your lower back.

And at the knee it also contributes to tibial external rotation, which is what causes your foot to turn out.

This hip flexor muscle has the power to impact your lower leg because of the tension it creates through your IT Band.

And this is why it’s key we look beyond just the exact point of pain.

When our TFL becomes tight and overactive it can have a far reaching impact.

But most notably it often starts to compensate for an underactive and weak glute medius.

The glute medius is supposed to be our primary hip abductor.

HOWEVER, if the TFL becomes shortened and overactive, it may restrict our glute medius from firing effectively and efficiently and even try to carry more of the load than it should.

This is then what can create tension through the IT Band and accumulate leading to overload and injury.

So how can you tell if your TFL is taking over for your glute medius?

Have you ever done Mini Band Monster Walks or Lateral Raises and really felt your hips burning?

Like you end up rubbing the front outside of your upper thighs instead of the sides of your butt?

That may be because the TFL is trying to take over for your glute medius instead of allowing it to work as it should!

That’s why I wanted to share 3 mobility and stability exercises, and some key form cues to help you relax your TFL if it has become overactive and tight while better activating your glute medius so you can avoid IT Band aches and pains.

 

3 Moves To Help Prevent IT Band Issues:

Exercise #1: TFL Foam Rolling

It is key we first start with relaxing the overactive and tight muscle. Often otherwise we tend to keep performing improper recruitment patterns during the moves meant to make us better.

For instance during any glute medius abduction activation move, we still tend to let our TFL take over when it is overactive as that muscle does assist in abduction.

So doing all of the “right moves” ultimately doesn’t pay off the way we had hoped.

That’s why before you do activation, you want to foam and relax the TFL.

To roll out your TFL, a ball works best but you can use a roller if a ball applies too much pressure.

To find your TFL, lie on your back with your legs out straight and hands just in front of your hip bones under your pelvis, internally rotate your hip and feel that muscle contract.

You will want to lie on your side with the ball positioned there. Hold and breathe, lifting and lowering your leg as you hold to help the muscle relax and release itself.

Exercise #2: Wall Side Bend

This is a great way to stretch your TFL without even going down on the ground.

It is key when you do this move you engage your glute max to drive your hips into extension, even using a slight posterior pelvic tilt as you do.

Because the TFL can contribute to anterior pelvic tilt, by performing posterior pelvic tilt you are actually stretching the short and tight muscle.

To do the Wall Side Bend, stand with your side to the wall and place your forearm and elbow on the wall at about shoulder height or just below. You will then want to step your leg closet to the wall a foot or two from the wall.

Cross your outside foot in front of you toward the wall to help you balance as you then drop your hip toward the wall.

Do not rotate as you drop your inside hip toward the wall. Squeeze your glute and maintain that posterior pelvic tilt even to make sure you don’t lean forward or flex your hips.

Feel a stretch through your TFL and even IT band. Then relax out of the bend before driving your hip again toward the wall.

Exercise #3: Extended ROM Side Lateral Raise

The Clam is such a common move to use for glute medius activation but one that is so often done incorrectly ultimately perpetuating the issue instead of correcting it.

It is also not the move I like to start with because it is so easy for people to allow the TFL to take over, partly because of the hip flexion.

That’s why I love to use the Extended Side Lying Lateral Raise.

Not only does this move put your TFL under a slight stretch while working the glute medius through an extended range of motion, but it also allows you to work from a hip extended posture.

This can help you make sure you engage your glutes.

To do the Extended ROM Side Lateral 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.

Keep that foot parallel to the ground or even turn your toe to slightly face the ground. This internal rotation of your lower leg can help if you tend to feel your TFL engage with lateral raises. Do not rotate open as you lift.

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.

By kicking slightly back and extending your hip, you’ll engage that glute max to further inhibit your TFL.

Lower that leg back down and repeat the move. You want to fully lower the leg to work through that extended range of motion

To advance the move when you’re ready, you can hold a plate weight on the outside of your top thigh, or wear ankle weights. But don’t make the move harder or progress if you feel your TFL taking over!

If you don’t have a bench, you can try a variation of this from a modified side plank position. Make sure if you do the side plank position to give you that extended range of motion, that you engage your glutes to keep your hips fully extended.

SUMMARY:

We have to remember that it’s all connected. And tension in one muscle can alter the way we engage and use other muscles resulting in overload and injury.

If you’ve been suffering with IT Band issues, try including these 3 moves as part of your warm up before your runs, rides or lower body lifting sessions.

Complete even just one round through, working for 45 seconds per move per side. Follow the order of foam rolling, stretching then activating for the best results!

If you need even more quick mobility routines?

Improve your mobility and stability with my Injury Prevention Pack!

 

The Piriformis Muscle – A Real Pain In The BUTT

The Piriformis Muscle – A Real Pain In The BUTT

by | Sep 15, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, injury-featured, Pain Relief, Stretches

Issues with this muscle can be a real pain in the butt…(yeaaaa….bad joke)

I’m taking about the piriformis muscle.

This muscle can not only literally become a pain in the butt but it can also irritate the sciatic nerve leading to pain and irritation all down your leg.

And issues with this muscle can not only arise because of overuse during exercise but even honestly often simply because we’re spending too much time seated.

The first step in preventing and alleviating piriformis aches and pains is understanding what this muscle even does and it’s location.

What Does The Piriformis Do?

The piriformis muscle is a primary hip external rotator and helps with horizontal abduction of the hip when it is flexed to 90 degrees. It also helps stabilize your SI Joint. And can even potentially act as a weak hip extensor if the glute max is underactive.

This muscle becoming short and overactive can not only lead to piriformis syndrome and sciatic nerve compression but also hip and SI Joint issues not to mention lower back and even knee aches and pains.

However, this muscle can ALSO lead to sciatic nerve compression if it becomes lengthened, which creates the interesting question of…

To stretch or not to stretch?

But before I dive into whether or not to stretch this muscle and 3 key prehab moves to include to prevent and alleviate piriformis issues, I do just want to address one thing…

Are Sciatic Pain And Piriformis Issues The Same Thing?

While yes the piriformis muscle can compress or irritate the sciatic nerve and lead to sciatic nerve pain, and this is often what is termed piriformis syndrome, you can have piriformis issues that do not lead to sciatic nerve issues and you can have sciatic nerve compression NOT caused by the piriformis.

I think it’s key we note that sciatic nerve pain doesn’t always mean the piriformis muscle is the problem.

So if you have sciatic nerve pain, it is key you do address the culprit of the irritation or sources of the compression to address your specific mobility restrictions and overactive muscles.

You do want to determine if your compression is coming from your lower back or piriformis or even ankle mobility restrictions leading to compression at another point in your leg!

But if you have determined that the piriformis muscle is the issue, the question now is…..

Should I Stretch It?

The annoying answer is…IT DEPENDS!

Often when muscles become overactive and need to be relaxed and released to alleviate the issues, the muscles become shortened.

This means that you want to foam roll AND stretch the muscle before activating the muscle it is compensating for.

When it comes to our piriformis, when it is shortened and overactive we want to foam roll and stretch it while activating our glute max and our glute medius.

However, the piriformis muscle can also irritate the sciatic nerve when it becomes LENGTHENED.

And, in this case, stretching the muscle may provide even temporary relief but also PERPETUATE the problem.

So getting assessed to determine your exact imbalances and mobility restrictions is always key, but these 3 moves are a great place to start to not only relax an overactive piriformis whether it is shortened or lengthened while activating those underactive glute muscles!

So what are the 3 prehab moves you should be including?

3 Moves To Do To Help:

#1: Piriformis Foam Rolling

To relax and release the piriformis when it is overactive, foam rolling is a key first step. This can help decrease the tension this muscle is even applying to the sciatic nerve.

A ball works best to really apply more pressure, but you can use a roller especially starting out if you can’t relax against the ball. 

To do Piriformis Foam Rolling, find the spot where the top of your back jean pocket would be.

You can then cross the ankle of that leg over the other knee as you lean into that side

When you find a tight spot, hold there and breathe. If you can’t relax as you hold, use a larger or softer ball or even the roller.

You may even find it helpful to lift and lower the leg as you hold to help the muscle relax and release itself.

Or, if more comfortable, you can even relax back onto your forearms as you hold.

#2: Bench Rotational Half Kneeling Hip Stretch

Hip mobility restrictions and even a lack of spinal mobility can often perpetuate piriformis issues.

And also because of the Piriformis’s impact on the SI joint, this Bench Rotational Half Kneeling Hip Stretch can be a key move to include in your prehab work.

To do the Bench Rotational Half Kneeling Hip Stretch, set up placing the top of your back foot on a bench and move to half kneeling on the ground. Make sure you’re not right on your knee back but actually rocked toward your thigh.

Move your front foot out so that knee is bent to about 90 degrees while allowing you to extend that back hip using your glute.

Place your opposite hand from your front foot down on the ground at your instep.

Squeeze your back glute to drive that hip into extension and place your other hand behind your head.

Rotate to bring that elbow back toward your elbow of your arm on the ground. You’re twisting away from that front leg and focusing on rotating through your spine.

The rotate that elbow up toward the ceiling, twisting toward your front leg.

Make sure to squeeze that back glute as you do and do NOT rock out on that front foot to create space.

Rotate open toward that leg then twist back toward that starting position.

You should feel that back hip and quad stretching and even a stretch in the outside of that hip and glute of your front leg.

You’ll also feel this through your spine, especially your thoracic spine.

Move slowly and make sure you don’t just flap your arm!

To modify you can do more of a Spiderman lunge variation with your hand on a bench or incline as you twist!

#3: Wall Side Lying Mini Band Lateral Raise

Your piriformis can become overworked because your glute max and medius are underactive, not only on that same side but even on your opposite side.

That’s why unilateral activation work can become so key.

And because your piriformis assists with horizontal abduction when your hip is flexed to 90 degrees, it can be key to work on activating your glute medius while your hip is extended.

That’s why this Wall Side Lying Mini Band Lateral Raise is such an amazing move to include.

This move works on hip extension to engage your glute max while also working to improve your hips stability and glute medius activation.

To do this exercise, place a mini band around your thighs above your knees. Start light and focus on that control and mind-body connection to really feel your glutes working.

You can bend that bottom leg to help you stabilize and set up lying on your side with your back to the wall. You want to set up a few inches out from the wall so you can kick back slightly into the wall.

Lift your top leg up a few inches off your bottom leg and make sure you do NOT rotate that toe open. You do not want to externally rotate your hip or you’ll engage that piriformis more.

Feel the side of your butt engage as you lift just a bit to create tension through the band. Then drive your heel back into the wall.

From this position, slide your heel up the wall abducting your leg. Perform this lateral raise but do not rotate your hip open to raise up higher.

Lift up and then, keeping tension back into the wall, slowly slide the leg down. Do not lower completely down and lose tension on the band. You want your glute working the entire time.

Focus on feeling your glute medius lifting against the band as you feel your glute max working as you drive your heel back into the wall extending your hip.

SUMMARY:

If you’ve been suffering from piriformis issues, get on that prehab work! Start addressing this overactive muscle while activating those underactive glutes.

Even start with just 45 seconds per move per side for a quick mobility series.

For the complete prehab process to address aches and pains from head to toe, check out my Injury Prevention Bundle:

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