TAKE ACTION
a
M
TAKE ACTION
The Perfect Mobility Routine (FULL BODY FIX!)

The Perfect Mobility Routine (FULL BODY FIX!)

by | Jul 6, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief, Stretches, Workouts

Feel like it would take you hours to address ALL of the little aches and pains you have?

Like your age is just making you creakier and creakier?

This doesn’t have to be the case!

I want to share how you can use the 3-step prehab process to address aches and pains up and down your body and improve your mobility by targeting just 3 main key areas with 9 exercises.

These 9 moves include all 3 parts of the prehab process – foam rolling, stretching and activation – to have you feel like a well oiled machine.

And the best part?

They can be combined into a routine you use almost daily that takes just about 10 minutes!

Before I dive into the moves, I want to explain why the full prehab process is so key so you understand the benefits of combining these 9 moves in this specific order – foam rolling, stretching then activation.

And because this makes for even a perfect full body warm up, I’ve focused the stretches on dynamic stretches (ones with movement) over static stretches (where you just hold) to help make sure you improve your flexibility without any impact to your performance.

But you first want to foam roll to relax overactive or tight muscles. Foam rolling is like a massage and helps release knots and relax muscles so you can better engage weak or under active muscles and properly mobilize joints while stretching muscles.

This first part is key to getting everything to work better together.

Then you stretch to improve muscle flexibility but also joint mobility.

With stretching, you want to focus on the muscle driving the stretch, not just what is stretching. This helps you not only better stretch the muscle but begins the activation process – engaging muscles that are weak or often don’t want to work when they should.

Then with activation, you are continuing to mobilize but also stabilize joints. You’re strengthening weak muscles and almost “waking them up” to help them be primed to work during your workouts and more compound exercises and heavier lifts.

This process addresses all key components to injury prevention – mobility, flexibility AND stability.

And bonus, it not only helps you avoid injury, but helps you see better strength and muscle gains for improved body recomp from your workouts!

So now, let’s dive into the 3 areas you’ll want to target, including your:

  • Shoulder blades
  • Hips
  • Feet and ankles

I focus on these 3 areas because if we address immobility or weakness in those places, you’ll be amazed at how even that knee or elbow pain lessens.

Everything is connected and that often where the pain is, isn’t where the initial problem started!

So let’s start with foam rolling, stretching and activation for your shoulder blades to improve scapular mobility and stability.

#1: Scapular Mobility And Stability

Have you ever had neck, shoulder or upper back aches and pains? Even elbow pain?

Addressing the movement of your shoulder blades may be the key to alleviating these aches and pains.

Too often we only focus on our shoulder mobility and forget how much the shoulders and shoulder blades really work together to power movements.

From pulling exercises to even pressing movements, we need to have proper scapular control if we want to use the correct muscles to power the exercises 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 Lat Foam Rolling.

While the lat more indirectly impacts your scapular movement, it can really contribute to that rounded shoulder posture, causing aches and pains.

Not so fun fun fact it can even create issues into your lower body because of its connection to your glutes through the thoracolumbar fascia.

And this muscle can often become tight, leading to us not efficiently engaging our backs.

To roll out your lats, a roller works best. Lie on your side with the roller at the side of your back behind your armpit. Reach your hand overhead with your palm facing up to stretch your lat as you roll.

Hold on any tight spots as you work your way down the side of your back, rocking back more as you go lower on your ribs.

Reach your arm overhead then lower it down in front of your chest as you hold on any tight spots you find.

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 Angels.

Find yourself hunching forward a ton when sitting?

A tight pec minor contributes to anterior tipping of the shoulder blade while a tight pec major can contribute to that internal shoulder rotation – exactly that bad posture we want to reverse.

That’s why this stretch, especially before any overhead pressing, is key.

To do the snow angels, hold a handle in each hand, facing away from the anchor point and walk out so the suspension trainer is pulling back slightly on your arms as they are straight down by your sides.

Engage your upper back and feel your chest open up and stretch as you swing your arms out straight and open overhead from your sides.

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 Roller Serratus Anterior Extensions.

The serratus anterior is a muscle too often ignored and overlooked but it’s been linked to neck, shoulder and even upper back aches and pains as it is a primary scapular stabilizer.

So this activation move is key to create that strength and stability.

To do the serratus anterior extensions, place a roller under your wrists with your palms facing in toward each other at about eye height against a wall.
Walk your feet back so you’re angled into the wall and resting a bit of your weight against the roller just to be able to push into it as you extend up.

Brace your abs and roll your arms up, thinking about pulling your shoulder blades “out and around” forward on your rib cage as you slide up.

Then slide back down, pulling with your back. You want to focus on feeling around your rib cage as you reach out and your back as you pull back down.

Because everything is connected, you may be surprised by how using these 3 moves can even improve your spinal health and have an impact at your hips and pelvis.

But if you do have lower back, hip or knee pain, or have struggles with tight hips in general and hamstring strains, you’ll also want to address these 3 prehab moves to improve your hip mobility and stability next.

#2: Hip Mobility And Stability

Many of us have heard we’re spending too much time seated leading to hip flexor tightness. And this hip flexor tightness can create compensations and imbalances that lead to our lower back hurting during deadlifts or our knees hurting during lunging.

It’s why we want to use these 3 moves to relax those hip flexors, mobilize our hips and spine and even activate our glutes so they’re working properly when they should be.

This starts with relaxing a hip flexor and quad muscle, the rectus femoris, that can perpetuate lower back, hip and knee pain.

It is the only quad muscle that impacts joint movement at both the knee and the hip.

To roll out your Rectus Femoris, 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. As you hold, flex and relax your thigh to help the muscle relax and release.

You can move up higher or lower on the front middle of your thigh to find any tight spots and hold.

The second move to include is one that addresses not only your hips but also your spine. It’s a stretch that really has that far reaching impact and great when your short on time – the World’s Greatest Stretch.

This dynamic stretch will warm your body up and prepare everything to work, working on thoracic rotation while stretching your glutes, hip flexors, adductors and hamstrings.

To do this stretch, start in a high plank position with your hands then step one foot up and outside the hand on the same side. Squeeze your back glute to stretch that hip flexor.

Drop your elbow on that side down to the ground near the instep of your foot. Do not worry if you can’t touch the ground. Focus on not rocking out on your foot just to touch to make sure you’re really stretching your glute and adductor.

Reach that arm up toward the ceiling, opening your chest up toward that front leg and the ceiling. Focus on your back opening your chest up as you rotate.

Place your hand back down then drop your back knee to the ground to sit back on your heel, straightening your front leg out. Feel a stretch down your hamstring as you hinge, leaning over that front leg while pushing your butt back.

Then repeat the movement.

With this stretch, and all of the others I mention, focus on what is driving the stretch, not just on the muscle stretching.

This focus on what you feel working is also key as you do glute activation moves like exercise number 3 – the Side Lying Wall Lateral Raise.

You can do this move with bodyweight or progress it with a band.

Lie on your side a few inches from the wall with your back to the wall.

Lift your top leg up a few inches off your bottom leg and turn that top toe slightly down toward the ground. Drive your heel back into the wall behind you.

Slide your heel up the wall lifting your leg, feeling your glute working to push back and lift.

And last but not least, you want to address your feet and ankles. They are your foundation. Instability or immobility there can lead to changes in your movements up your entire body.

#3: Feet And Ankle Mobility And Stability

Far too many of us have also had ankle or foot aches and pains that we simply rested then went right back to what we were doing, never addressing the underlying culprit. This may be why we now have knee, hip or even lower back problems.

So taking care of our foundation is key with these prehab moves.

And one often overlooked muscle group of our lower leg are the peroneals, which is why peroneal foam rolling is so key!

Peroneal tightness can lead to what looks like a leg length discrepancy or even a weight shift during squatting. This muscle has a far reaching impact so it can’t be ignored in our prehab.

To roll it, place a ball on the ground and relax your lower leg onto the ball, pressing the outside of your lower leg down into the ball and hold as you even circle your foot.

You want to focus on the side of the meaty part of your calf, holding as you push down and tense and relax the muscle with the foot movement.

The second move to include, the Ankle Mobility And Groin Stretch, improves both the mobility of your ankles but also your hips, activating your glutes and stretching your adductors.

It is a great stretch if you’re struggling with knee pain or find you can’t squat down low.

To do this stretch, set up half kneeling and open your front knee out to the side so your foot and leg is perpendicular to your back kneeling leg.

Bring that front foot back so it is turned out but in line with your back knee and move that foot out so your knee is behind your ankle. Engage your glute then shift your weight, rocking that knee forward over the ball of your foot without your heel coming up.

Don’t lean forward as you rock forward or back. Adjust how far out that foot is from your back knee, shifting it closer for more of a focus on ankle mobility or further out to stretch your groin more.

Then the third activation move will help you strengthen through the range of motion while addressing the too often ignored soleus calf muscle.

By using a plate weight for the Seated Plate Weight Calf Raises, you are working this muscle through an extended range of motion.

The seated position helps you target the soleus over the gastrocnemius which we so often focus on with our calf raises.

Strengthening this muscle improves our gait mechanics which can help us walk and run more efficiently without pain!

To do Seated Plate Weight Calf Raises, sit on a bench with the plate weight on the ground in front of you and the balls of your feet on the edge of it.
Your heels should be on the ground aligned about under your knees so you feel a slight stretch in your calves.

Drive through the balls of your feet and toes to lift your heels up off the ground.

Pause at the top to feel your calves then make sure to lower all the way back down to use the increased range of motion.

Combine all 9 of these moves for a quick full body prehab routine.

Setting a timer for 30 seconds per move or per side and completing all foam rolling then stretching then activation can make for an amazing mobility series or warm up.

For this quick prehab routine written out, check the video descriptions.

But a little goes a long way when done consistently! Consider using this routine even 3-4 times a week! It takes under 10 minutes!
—-

Prehab Routine:

FOAM ROLLING:
30 seconds per side Lat Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side Rectus Femoris Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side Peroneal Foam Rolling

STRETCHING:
30 seconds Suspension Trainer Snow Angels
30 seconds per side Ankle Mobility And Groin Stretch
30 seconds per side World’s Greatest Stretch

ACTIVATION:
30 seconds Roller Serratus Anterior Extensions
30 seconds Seated Plate Weight Calf Raises
30 seconds per side Side Lying Wall Lateral Raise

For mobility work included with EVERY workout, check out my Dynamic Strength program:

–> LEARN MORE

9 BEST Exercises for AMAZING Mobility

9 BEST Exercises for AMAZING Mobility

by | Mar 26, 2023 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief, Warm Up

Aches and pains add up as we get older. But it’s not our age we should blame.

We instead need to assess our previous injuries and the rehab we did.

As well as the PREHAB we are currently doing. 

Because we can never stop doing what makes us better.

Use it or lose it. 

Hey guys, it’s Cori from Redefining Strength where we help you move, feel and look your best at any and every age.

Maintaining our mobility means constantly working on our mobility. 

But it doesn’t have to mean stretching for hours or full recovery sessions each and every day. 

Even 10 minutes as our warm up can really add up AND even help us get more out of our training sessions.

That’s why I want to share 9 moves that address not only commonly tight muscles but also help improve your joint mobility and stability. 

These moves cover the full 3-part prehab process of foam rolling, stretching and activation.

This process is so key because the foam rolling helps start to relax tight and overactive muscles so you can then stretch to restore muscles to their proper length tension relationships while mobilizing those joints before you include activation exercises to engage underactive muscles and improve your mind-body connection. 

And at the end of this video I’ll share a quick mobility series combining all 9 moves!

So let’s start with 3 amazing foam rolling moves.

First up is Peroneal Foam Rolling.

Your feet and ankles are your foundation. Immobility there can lead to movement compensations up your body. 

And that ankle-butt connection is so key.

It’s why we need to address any previous ankle injuries or we may end up with hip, lower back or SI joint aches and pains. 

That is why Peroneal Foam Rolling is often an important move to include.

To do this move, a ball works best. Place it on the ground and then relax your leg open so that the outside of your shin is pressed into the ball. Press down into your leg as you start the ball in the top part of the outside of your lower leg.

Circle your foot to create tension and relax it as you press into the ball and breathe.

Then move the ball down to another spot along the outside of your leg and repeat.

Move #2: TFL Foam Rolling

Hip pain, lower back pain, IT Band and even knee issues seem to add up more and more as we get older.

That’s why often we want to focus on our hip mobility and foam rolling our TFL or tensor fasciae latae.

This hip flexor muscle can not only hinder our glute medius from firing correctly, which can lead to hip stability issues, but it can create tension through our IT Band which can even create ankle aches and pains.

To roll out your TFL, a ball works best. The larger or softer the ball, the less it will dig in and if a ball is too much pressure you can start with a roller. 

To locate your TFL, lie on your back and place your hands at the side of your pelvis toward your hip bones and then rotate your foot inward. You should feel your TFL flex (this also shows you the far reaching connection this muscle has). 

Then move to your side, placing a ball below that muscle and relax over the ball. 

Breathe as you hold. You can lift and lower your leg to tense and relax the muscle to help it release. 

Move #3: Chest Foam Rolling 

Finding after years of hunching over your computer, your posture has become more slouched? 

Upper back, neck or shoulders tight and achy? 

Then you don’t want to ignore relaxing those pecs!

Tight chest muscles can perpetuate that rounded posture and even restrict your scapular movement, or the movement of your shoulder blades, which not only perpetuates the hunched look but also can lead to neck, shoulder and upper back aches and pains.

While we may feel like there are always trigger points in our upper back, part of that may be due to muscles being overstretched because of our pecs being tight!

To roll out your chest, a ball in a doorway is often most comfortable and easiest to control. 

Stand with the ball right inside that shoulder joint under your collarbone and press your chest into the ball in the doors edge. Using a doorway allows you to reach that same arm up in front of you as you hold and apply pressure. 

Reach your arm up overhead as you breathe and hold on the spot. You can also move your arm open to the side to stretch and relax. 

Then adjust the ball, working down toward your armpit or even toward your sternum.

BUT be careful as you move away from the meatier part of the muscle.

You do want to be gentle as you work along the pec toward your sternum.

You can spend 90% of your focus around that shoulder joint where you will even hit that pec minor! 

After foam rolling, you will want to include some stretching.

Especially if you are stretching prior to your workout, you want to include moves that will help you warm up and begin to mobilize those joints, working to improve your range of motion.

The next move we’ll look at is the Ankle Mobility And Groin Stretch.

This is a great move to start working on your ankle dorsiflexion of the ability to draw your toes up toward your shin.

Especially if you’ve worn heels for decades or been an endurance athlete, you don’t want to ignore this amazing ankle stretch! 

This is key if you want an efficient running gait or to be able to squat lower without hip or knee pain!

This move will also address your adductor flexibility and help you start to engage those glutes to stabilize your hips.

To do this stretch, set up half kneeling on the ground and move that front foot so it is in line with your back knee and facing perpendicular to that back leg, pointing out.

You want your knee to be in front of your ankle, although you can adjust the position based on your ankle mobility. 

Squeeze that front glute to pull the knee open and in line. Then shift your weight to drive that knee forward over that toe without letting your heel lift. Then press back. 

Do not rotate toward that leg as you shift laterally. 

If this is too much pressure, move your knee back to be in line with your ankle. 

Or if you can’t kneel, try standing instead while still focusing on that shift to drive the knee past your toe. 

Move #5: Bench Hip Stretch

Lower back, hip and knee pain is something so many of us will experience in life and it is often due to hip flexor tightness and a lack of glute activation. 

This hip flexor stretch allows you to focus on activating your glutes to stretch your hips while addressing each side independently. 

And by lying on the bench, you help yourself avoid arching your lower back to compensate instead of actually stretching out and mobilizing those hips! 

If you don’t have a bench you can do this off a couch, coffee table or even your bed!

To do this stretch, lie back on a bench with the bottom of your butt right at the edge and one leg hanging down toward the ground. This knee will be bent to about 90 degrees.

Bend the other knee and hug it in slightly toward your chest. 

Holding that knee in, tuck the other knee up toward your chest, then focus on engaging your glutes to drive that heel back down toward the ground as you extend the leg back down. Feel your butt even kind of lift you a bit on the bench as you extend that hip and feel the stretch.

Pause then tuck the knee back in and repeat.

Move #6: Active Foam Roller Star Stretch

A lack of thoracic mobility as we get older can lead to that humped back posture that non of us want. 

And it can also lead to neck, shoulder, upper back and even LOWER back aches and pains.

For instance, a lack of proper thoracic extension can lead to shoulder pain when overhead pressing or us even arching our lower backs to compensate and seek out mobility since we can’t properly extend our mid and upper backs!

This star stretch variation is a great way to really isolate and mobilize our thoracic spine as it is even easy to cheat in other spinal stretches and get mobility from other areas. 

To do this stretch, a roller works best although you can put a yoga block or even books to hold your knee on to help isolate your thoracic spine. 

Bend your hip to about 90 degrees and place your bent knee on the foam roller to the other side of your body. Pull your knee across your body and press your opposite hand down into your knee to help stabilize.

Put your other hand behind your head. Touch that elbow in front of your face, across your body. 

Then, pulling with your back, open that elbow up and open and down toward the ground, opening your chest up toward the ceiling.

Make sure you aren’t just flapping your arm but twisting through your spine. Exhale as you try to relax the back of your shoulder toward the ground then rotate closed and repeat.

Move slowly and really focus on your chest stretching as you engage your back to twist open. Don’t let your knee come up off the roller or block.

After you’ve done your stretching, you then want to focus on activation exercises to establish that mind-body connection and really engage those muscles to feel them working.

Move #7: Single Arm Scapular Push Ups

Scapular control is key if we want to avoid neck, shoulder, upper back and even elbow aches and pains.

It is also key if we want to lift more or achieve that first full pull up! 

And being able to truly isolate and control each shoulder blade is key, especially if we’ve had previous injuries that may make us compensate and end up overusing the other side.

This move will really help you focus on that scapular retraction with a very isolated exercise that takes out elbow flexion. 

To do this activation move, set up facing a wall and place one hand on the wall at about shoulder height.  Your arm will be straight and make sure you aren’t shrugging.

Then keeping your shoulders down and arm straight, but elbow not locked out, pinch your shoulder blade toward your spine.

Do not try to make the move bigger than it is and bend your elbows. 

Draw the shoulder blade toward the spine, then push the wall away to draw the shoulder blade back forward. 

Focus on this move being small and your upper back working. 

Move #7: Side Plank Clams

Core work is key. Most of us even seek out ways to include more. Because our core is the link between our upper and lower bodies, it is key we keep it strong to properly transfer force and react quickly in every day life. 

And moves like the side plank clam not only help us avoid spinal issues and back pain but also help improve our shoulder and hip stability.

This move will really target and activate your lats, obliques and glute medius.

To do this activation move, set up in a side plank position with your elbow under your shoulder and your knees bent and legs stacked. 

Turn your top foot down in front of your bottom foot. 

This internal rotation of your lower leg will help you better target that glute medius without your TFL taking over.

Then as you lift up into the side plank, open that top knee up toward the ceiling. Press your hips forward as you lift and feel your obliques also working to drive that bottom hip up. 

Make sure to engage your upper back to support your shoulder. 

Do not rotate open with this move, but almost try to stop the leg opening up wider with the side of your butt. Feel your bottom glute medius also working to lift you into the side plank. 

Then lower the top leg down as you come back close to the ground and repeat. You can fully lower down but try not to just slump out of the move but maintain some tension. 

To modify, you can put your elbow up on a stair or block for a slight incline.

Because the clam itself is an often misused move, I will below to a video with more tips to optimize this exercise, especially if you struggle to activate your glute medius!

Overrated Glute Move: https://youtu.be/6xx-H057YY4 

Move #9: Single Leg Reverse Hypers

So many of us struggle to properly engage our glutes, which results in lower back, hip and knee pain…not to mention even ankle issues and injures.

And often, because we aren’t able to engage our glutes optimally, we compensate and rely on our hamstrings. 

When our hamstrings start to take over, we can end up with hamstring pulls and strains not to mention perpetuate our back and knee pain.

That’s why moves like the reverse hyper, where we can isolate our glutes and learn to engage them FIRST, are key to include. And doing a single leg version helps you address both side independently. 

To do this activation move, lie face down on the ground and relax your chin or forehead into your hands. Bend one knee to about 90 degrees with the heel up toward the ceiling.

Drive that heel up as you press your pelvis down into the ground. Feel your glute lift your quad up as you hyperextend your hip. 

Do not arch your lower back or use it to lift and keep your hamstring relaxed, even relaxing your foot if needed. 

Focus on your glute lifting and then stopping the move. Pause at the top and lower down.

This isn’t a big move so don’t try to cheat and make it bigger. 

Because this move is deceptively challenging if your hamstrings want to compensate, I will link to a video below with more tips and common mistakes.

Underrated Glute Move: https://youtu.be/oiECA2118GI 

Bonus Tip:

Now….How can you include these 9 moves in a quick series?

Set a timer for 30 seconds and perform one round through the series. If you’re really focusing on doing this as a warm up, you may consider two rounds through the last 3 activation moves only.

SERIES:
30 seconds per side Peroneal Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side TFL Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side Chest Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side Ankle Mobility And Groin Stretch
30 seconds per side Bench Hip Stretch
30 seconds per side Active Foam Roller Star Stretch
30 seconds per side Side Plank Clams
30 seconds per side Single Arm Scapular Push Ups
30 seconds per side Single Leg Reverse Hypers

For more mobility moves and more on the full 3-part prehab process, check out this video with a full body fix next…

–> The Perfect Mobility Routine (FULL BODY)

 

The Common ENEMY of Your Hips and Shoulders: The Lats

The Common ENEMY of Your Hips and Shoulders: The Lats

by | Jul 31, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Pain Relief, Stretches

Everything is connected.

And all too often the point of pain is NOT where the problem is.

That is why, when you have aches and pains, especially nagging ones that you can’t seem to get rid of, you need to start searching further away from the point of pain.

Take for instance SHOULDER pain.

Often the first “rehab” exercises we start to include focus on shoulder mobility and strengthening of those muscles around the joint.

And this is a great place to start!

But what if, despite you doing all of the proper rehab work, things just aren’t fully getting better?

Or what if you continue to suffer from flare ups that don’t seem to be triggered by any specific upper body exercises that you can identify?

What if the actual culprit of your shoulder pain is an issue at your lumbo-pelvic-hip complex?

That’s right…what if that lower back pain or anterior pelvic tilt or SI joint issue you’ve been having is CONNECTED to your shoulder pain?!

What if your lower back, hips and shoulders have a shared “enemy”?

And what if that shared “enemy” is your LATS or the Latissimus Dorsi!

Because BOTH of these areas are affected by that one muscle.

YUP!

While we often just think of our lats as a big back muscle, playing a role in our upper body functioning, they can also affect our SI joint via their attachment to the thoracolumbar fascia and even affect the alignment of our pelvis!

So while it may seem crazy, working to correct imbalances at your hip complex could help relax tight and overactive lats and help you alleviate your shoulder aches and pains!

So how exactly are the lats a common enemy of both your hip complex AND your shoulders and what can you do to start correcting the problem?

THE LAT CONNECTION:

Ok…your lats aren’t really your enemy…

It’s almost the case of you “blame the messenger”…or the messenger becoming more involved than they should be!

Because our lats are really a bridge between our upper and lower body.

They play a role in stabilizing our shoulders, scapulae (shoulder blades), lumbar spine, sacroiliac joint as well as our pelvis.

The lats have a far reaching impact and affect a TON of structures and movements!

They are a bridge that can perpetuate distortions and compensations from one hemisphere to the other.

They can become tight and overactive due to other muscular imbalances and weaknesses and then lead to aches and pains in the other region.

And for this reason they can be a common “enemy” of both our upper body and lumbo-pelvic-hip complex and SI joint.

Of course the real “enemy” is our rounded-shoulder, flexed posture created by sitting hunched over our technology for 9 hours a day.

A posture that leads to muscles, like the lats becoming tight and overactive, and muscles, like our glutes, becoming underactive.

Underactive glutes can lead to anterior pelvic tilt, hip hikes (if one side is underactive especially) and tight, overactive lats that perpetuate the pain and create upper body dysfunction as well.

Lat tightness can itself create a hip hike on the same side as the tight lat and anterior pelvic tilt and SI joint issues as well.

Both the glute and lat need to work together to protect us and make sure we have the proper mobility and stability.

If these muscles aren’t working well together, this distortion can show up as upper body, specifically even, shoulder aches and pains.

And the lats also can have a DIRECT impact on our shoulder health.

Tight lats can contribute to internally rotated shoulders, or that rounded shoulder posture, as well as restricted shoulder flexion aka your ability to reach overhead.

Ever wonder why you struggle to get your arms overhead to press and end up arching your lower back to compensate?

Tight lats may be part of the problem.

Tight, overactive lats can restrict proper shoulder mobility, negatively impact your shoulder stability, and even impact your scapular mobility as well (and this may be holding you back too from achieving that first full pull up not to mention a culprit of shoulder, upper back and even neck pain!)

Basically, you need to address lat tightness, both tightness of both lats and even an imbalance between the two, and then further investigate if there are distortions at your hip complex or SI joint or actually in your upper body, that may be perpetuating the tightness!

Here are 3 moves to help you get started making sure this “bridge” is functioning well!

3 MOVES TO TRY TODAY TO IMPROVE YOUR SHOULDER AND HIP HEALTH:

These 3 moves will start addressing lat tightness and overactivity while also working to engage them in a productive way to help alleviate and prevent shoulder AND hip aches and pains.

These are perfect moves to include as a restorative session after a long day at work or as part of your warm up for you upper body, or potentially even LOWER BODY, lifting session.

Exercise #1 Half-Kneeling TFL and Lat Stretch:

Want to address hip and shoulder issues in one stretch? Try this Half Kneeling TFL and Lat Stretch!

The TFL can commonly be tight as well which can further inhibit proper glute functioning. So this hip stretch with the reach across is a great way to address lat and TFL tightness in one movement.

To do this stretch set up half kneeling in front of a wall. Squeeze that back glute as you reach your hands overhead on the wall. While leaning slightly forward to reach up the wall, make sure to engage your glute to keep your hip extended.

Reach your arms away from the knee that is back and over and across that front knee. Even turn the palm of the hand in back away from the wall so your palm is facing back. This external shoulder rotation will further stretch your lat. Pause then walk your hands back center and repeat reaching across as you keep that back glute engaged.

Feel the stretch down your side and down the side of your hip.

Exercise #2 Lat Foam Rolling:

A key first step in making sure our lats are functioning correctly is relaxing them when they are overactive. A great way to do this so we can better mobilize the shoulder joint is by foam rolling. You can even include this move before the Half-Kneeling TFL and Lat Stretch. When you do, you’ll be surprised even by how much better of a stretch you get!

Place a roller to the side behind your armpit and lie on your side over the roller. Reach your hand overhead with your palm facing up to stretch your lat as you roll.

Hold on any tight spots as you reach your arm overhead then lower it down in front of your chest. Repeat the slow arm movement as you hold.

Then move the roller to another spot, working down the side of your back and shoulder blade. Then switch sides.

You can also use a ball if you know your exact trigger points and want to apply more pressure or even need to roll out against a wall because you can’t get down on the ground.

Exercise #3 Wall Hip Dips:

Wall Hip Dips are a great way to address unilateral lat issues, or issues only on one side, especially at our lumbo-pelvic-hip complex. This is a great move to help improve your pelvic alignment.

This move is a very modified version of something like the side plank hip dips and is focused on really making sure you’re activating the correct muscles, including your glute medius and obliques, while helping improve your lat flexibility and SI Joint alignment.

To do Wall Hip Dips, stand with your side to the wall and lean into the wall with your upper arm against the wall. You can bend your elbow to 90 degrees to place the back of your forearm against the wall too so you aren’t trying to cheat and rock off the wall.

Your feet should be about a foot from the wall and only a few inches apart at most.

Then drop your hip toward the wall. Do not rotate, but just move laterally.

Then engage your glute and oblique closest to the wall to raise your hip back up. Feel your oblique and glute work to move into almost a “side plank” position.
Then dip back toward the wall to almost feel a stretch down that side closest to the wall.

The further out from the wall, the more mobility you need. So start closer and move away as you can control the move without rotating or letting your shoulder come off the wall.

SUMMARY:

Remember, the point of pain isn’t always where the problem is! And overload can occur because of immobility or instability at a joint further away from our pain than we’d expect.

It’s why we need to pay attention to muscles and their different attachment points.

It’s why big muscles, like our lats, that bridge from our hips to our shoulders, need to get some extra TLC at times!

Try including these 3 moves as part of your warm up before your next workout if you’ve had shoulder or hip aches and pains you just can’t seem to get rid of!

Looking for 10 minute series to improve your mobility, flexibility and stability from head to toe?

Check out my Injury Prevention Pack:

–> LEARN MORE

5 MOBILITY Moves To Do Every Day

5 MOBILITY Moves To Do Every Day

by | Jun 5, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief

Use it or lose it.

If we want to move well, we need to be intentional with our training. We need to do things to restore proper joint range of motion, flexibility and even stability.

We can just constantly smash our bodies into the ground and expect not to get injured.

That’s why it is key at points we not only regress to progress but focus on getting the correct muscles working while addressing postural distortions, limitations caused by previous injuries and even areas of immobility from our repetitive jobs and often sedentary lifestyles.

That’s why we need to include mobility work in our daily routine, even simply as part of our warm up before our workouts – whether we are lifting, doing interval training, running or cycling.

Our warm ups should include a 3-Part Prehab Process of Foam Rolling, Stretching and Activation.

This way we can relax overactive muscles, improve our joint range of motion and activate underactive muscles to be able to move better and use the correct muscles more efficiently when we train.

This can not only help us avoid compensations, overload and injury but even help us get better benefits from our actual training sessions.

So what are 5 amazing mobility moves you can do every day?

5 Amazing Mobility Moves To Do Every Day:

Move #1: Foam Roller Snow Angels

We spend so much time hunched over a computer, driving in the car or texting on our phones.

Not to mention neck and shoulder pain are an all too common complaint.

That’s why it’s key we work on reversing the constant forward flexion and stretch out our chests while improving our shoulder mobility.

The Foam Roller Snow Angels are a great way to do that!

This is a great move to use even before bed to relax after a long day.

To do the Foam Roller Snow Angels, lie on a roller with it straight down your spine and your head supported.

Let your arms fall open and swing them up overhead into a Y position. Feel a nice stretch through your chest.

Then slowly sweep them own and out to your sides and down toward you feet. Hold in any place and relax the backs of your hands toward the ground to feel a nice stretch.

Even actively engage your back to stretch your chest as you sweep your arms down toward your feet and back overhead.

Move #2: Teres Minor Foam Rolling

Rotator cuff injuries are an all too common issue.

And one rotator cuff muscle that can often become overworked and lead to shoulder pain is the Teres Minor. Trigger points in this muscle can lead to shoulder pain and even referred pain down your arm.

Especially if you are working to improve your shoulder mobility, or planning an upper body workout, it can be key to roll out this muscle prior to help prevent it from compensating during your training.

To roll out your Teres Minor, a ball works best. You are basically going to be rolling out the back of your armpit as you reach your hand overhead on the ground. You want to be able to relax into the ball so make sure you aren’t holding up your weight with that arm.

You can do this against a wall to reduce the pressure if needed, reaching your arm overhead.

As you hold, breathe into it. You aren’t rolling quickly. You can move your arm down and back overhead as you hold.

Move #3: Superman Wave

Activate the muscles of your backside with this amazing move. The Superman Wave is a great move to improve your shoulder and scapular mobility and stability as well as your thoracic extension. It is even a great glute activation move that works to improve your hip hyperextension.

The key is correctly working to extend your thoracic spine as you engage your glutes to NOT overload your lower back.

Too often when we do moves like this or the basic superman, we try to rely only on our lower back. But we want to make sure muscles, like our glutes, are doing the work they should to actually prevent our lower back from becoming overworked.

If you’ve been doing the basic superman, take the move to the next level and garner even more shoulder and scapular benefits by adding in the wave.

To do this move, set up as if doing the basic superman. As you lift your chest and quads up off the ground, focus on using your glutes to lift as you extend your mid back. Do not rely on your lower back.

Squeezing your glutes to lift your legs, feel your upper back working to lift your arms. Holding this superman position, sweep one arm out to the side and down. Then bring it back overhead and switch to sweep your arm down on the other side.

Keep everything engaged to stabilize and hold yourself up as you feel that scapular movement as you sweep your arm.

Feel the backs of your shoulders working as well as your entire upper back. Remember to also feel those glutes working to extend your hips over relying on your lower back!

Beginners may modify if they feel their lower back taking over by keeping their legs down.

This is a great move to use as part of your activation in your warm up routine after you foam roll and stretch.

Move #4: Posterior Adductor Rolling

When you’ve attempted to do glute moves, have you ever felt that area under your butt and toward your groin working instead?

Or do you constantly have piriformis issues you can’t seem to clear up?

You may need to pay attention to those posterior fibers of your adductor magnus.

When we think of our adductors, we think of movements where we are adducting (or drawing our legs together). And we may even think of hip flexion since they do contribute to that joint action.

That is, except for the posterior fibers of the adductor Magnus which can contribute to external rotation and hip extension on top of adduction.

This puts these muscle fibers in a unique position to become overworked if our glute maximus and medius are underactive.

So to help yourself better activate your glutes, try rolling this muscle before your activation moves.

To do the posterior adductor foam rolling, a ball works best up on a bench or box. Place the ball toward your groin under your butt. And sit on the ball. Hold and breathe, don’t roll quickly.

You can also extend your leg out and then relax your leg to help the muscle relax and release as you hold.

You can do this on a roller or off the ground, you just won’t be able to apply as much pressure. This is good if you find you can’t fully relax when sitting on the ball. You do not want to tense against the pressure.

Move #5: Mini Band Glute Bridge with Abduction

Activate your glute maximus and medius with this one amazing bridge variation. Bridging is a great way to isolate those glutes and work to improve your hip mobility and stability.

By adding the band and abduction, you help activate your glute medius better to improve your hip stability. And it can also help you activate your glute max better to prevent your hamstrings from compensating.

If you have lower back, hip or even knee pain, this is a must-do warm up move to include before your lower body lifting sessions, runs or rides.

To do the Mini Band Glute Bridge with Abduction, place a mini band around your legs above your knees. Lie on your back and place your feet together on the ground, just beyond your fingertips when your arms are down by your sides.

Bend your elbows and press your upper arms into the ground. Your legs should be together as you even create tension through your upper body.

Perform a posterior pelvic tilt, pressing your lower back into the ground as you tuck your hips toward your ribs.

Bridge up, driving your knees toward your toes. At the top of the bridge, press your knees open against the band.

Press open to feel the sides of your butt working then bring your legs back together and lower down. Do not let the band pull you.

Bridge back up. Make sure not to arch your lower back but focus on your glutes driving the hip extension. And really feel your glute medius working to press your knees open against the band.

SUMMARY:

Using these 5 moves you can work to improve your mobility and stability from head to toe.

They are great moves to use even as part of your warm up or as a separate prehab routine.

You can even include them as a series, performing even a single round through, working for 30 seconds per move or side.

–> Foam Roll + Stretch + Activate = The COMPLETE Prehab Process