Come to this Page to Find Essential Exercises for Keeping Your Body Happy, Healthy, & Strong!
Even if your body is not hurting, I feel that we could ALL benefit from practicing these exercises more consistently!
Featured Exercise
Planks: Core Stabilization
Why?
We have 2 different groups of abdominal muscles, our superficial abs (our six pack/ eight pack muscles) and our deep abs. Both are necessary to support our core and our back. Up until this point, all core exercises have emphasized our deep stabilizers because that is typically where we are deficient. Our superficial abs are also important, but are typically easy for us to find and to strengthen. Strengthen your superficial abs, but make sure you’re getting your deep abs too with TA Breathing, TA Marches, and TA Fallouts.
Start Superficial Core Strengthening Now!
Transversus Abdominis Training (Core Stabilization Level 1)
When I say “Core Stabilization” or “Core Strengthening”, this is the muscle I mean.
The Transversus Adominis is a Deep Stabilizer which allows it to provide support on a more meaningful level. Our superficial abdominals, such as the rectus abdominis (our 6-pack muscle), are very strong and help us CREATE movement, but they are not as ideally suited to STABILIZE.
This muscle does so much for our body! It decreases stress and compression at the spine, it helps you generate strength and power, and so much more!
If you want to start your journey to a strong and healthy body it starts here!
TA Marching: Core Stabilization Level 2
NOTE: This is a progression (aka harder version) of Transversus Abdominis (TA) Breathing.
Core Stabilization using TA Marching has benefits that include the following:
- Improve lumbopelvic support to decrease low back pain
- Improve Sacroiliac Joint (SIJ) stability that decreases buttock pain
- Increase strength to help with functional activities, such as getting out of a chair, getting in and out of bed, walking, and going upstairs
- Improve body mechanics (how you move) with bending and lifting that decreases risk of back injury
- Improve core stability that makes it easier for you to lift
- Improve control of pelvic floor (bowel and bladder control)
Progress your Core Strength Now!
TA Bent Knee Fallouts: Core Stabilization Level 2
NOTE: This is a progression (aka harder version) of Transversus Abdominis (TA) Breathing.
Core Stabilization using TA Bent Knee Fallouts has benefits that include the following:
- Improve lumbopelvic support to decrease low back pain
- Improve Sacroiliac Joint (SIJ) stability that decreases buttock pain
- Increase strength to help with functional activities, such as getting out of a chair, getting in and out of bed, walking, and going upstairs
- Improves control of rotatory movements, which is frequently how we injure our low back.
- Improve body mechanics (how you move) with bending and lifting that decreases risk of back injury
- Improve core stability that makes it easier for you to lift
- Improve control of pelvic floor (bowel and bladder control)
Progress your Rotatory Control Now!
Bridges: Gluteal Strengthening
Gluteal Strengthening using Bridges has benefits that include the following:
- Improve lumbopelvic support to decrease low back pain
- Increase hip strength that decreases hip pain
- Increase strength to help with functional activities, such as getting out of a chair, getting in and out of bed, walking, and going upstairs
- Ensure proper gluteal activation to decrease risk of hamstring injury
- Improve leg alignment to decrease knee pain & injury
- Improve control of pelvic floor (bladder control)
- Improve balance ability
Wake up your booty with Bridges now!
Clams: Gluteus Medius Strengthening
The Gluteus Medius is a gluteal (or buttock) muscle that has many functions that benefit the body, including:
- Improving stability at the low back and pelvis that decreases back and buttock pain.
- Increasing hip strength to decrease hip pain and injury.
- Improving leg alignment that decreases knee pain and injury.
- Improving leg alignment that decreases risk of ankle sprain.
- Improving control of pelvic floor (bowel and bladder function).
- Improving balance ability.
This muscle does so much for our body! Because of the nature of life these days, so much of what we do is directly in front of us (e.g. driving, cooking, working at a computer, etc). This muscle is strengthened by side-to-side movements, which we often don’t do. We need to deliberately target this muscle using something like clams!
Get that booty to work!
Bird Dogs: Core Stabilization
Why?
Bird Dogs help activate your core (abdominals) and your glutes (buttocks) at the same time. Often when we injure our backs, we are using our back muscles too much and our butt muscles too little. Bird Dogs does a great job at teaching the body how to keep the core stable and activate the buttocks at the same time to help restore healthy and injury-reducing movement patterns.
Start Extension-Based Core Strengthening Now!
Hamstring Stretching
The Hamstrings are the muscle at the posterior thigh.
It’s primary function is to help us actively bend our knee, but also plays a significant role in getting us around via walking, jogging, or running.
Due to modern life involving so much sitting, the hamstrings are usually too tight.
Stretching out the hamstrings can help with the following:
- Decreases low back pain and improves posture in sitting.
- Helps undo the tightness that builds from too much sitting.
- Decreases low back pain with bending.
- Improves bending mechanics that decreases risk of injury.
- Increases ease of putting on pants, shoes, and socks.
- Increases ease of getting your knee straight.
- Decreases hamstring cramping.
- Decreases likelihood of pulling or injuring a hamstring while participating in your recreational activities.
Start stretching now!
