3 Mobility Drills for “Remember Your Thoracic September”
Written by Michele Vieux & Kim McLaughlin

Posture plays an important role in your overall health. Good posture can prevent back, knee, neck and hip pain; it can also prevent muscle strains, headaches, and impingements. When you align your spine correctly, your diaphragm is able to expand fully, enabling you to breathe easier and deeper, allowing more oxygen to be inhaled. Individuals with great posture often look taller, slimmer and more confident.

But with all of these positives, how often do you pay attention to your posture?

Good posture vs Bad posture

Your spine has three curves: lumbar, thoracic, and cervical. All three of these curves should be present when you are sitting or standing in a resting position. Because people spend the majority of their days in office chairs or looking down at their phones, their natural curves may not be so natural anymore.

Some have been hanging out in poor posture positions for so long that there is tightness in areas that there shouldn’t be while other muscles have stretched and are weaker than they should be. This puts unnatural stress on areas of the spine that can manifest as neck, back, knee and hip pain.

Proper Posture Drill

In order to find proper posture, line your back against a wall. Place your feet a few inches out and ensure that your head, shoulder blades, and butt are touching. Your hand should be able to just barely slide behind the small of your back. Take a couple of seconds to get comfortable with how this position feels and take note where your shoulders are – not pulled excessively far back – and where your head is in relation to your spine.

Once you pull your body away from the wall you should be able to draw an imaginary line from your ears to your shoulders to your hips. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed across your entire foot and not just in your heels. Pull your belly button in toward your spine. This is a natural posture position.

For some of you, proper posture might feel a bit odd. Holding this position for any length of time can seem tiring instead of relaxing. You may be working muscles that aren’t used to working. This is a good thing!  Even though it might be slightly uncomfortable in the beginning, this position is actually where the least strain is placed on your muscles, ligaments, and joints in movement or weight-bearing activities.

Thoracic Mobility Month

Because of its important role in your posture and in honor of this month’s National Fitness Holiday – Remember Your Thoracic September – spend some extra time these last few days of the month on your thoracic spine.

There are many ways to remember your thoracic and show it the love it deserves. Besides just being aware of positioning and posture, you can add a few simple posture reinforcing drills into your daily routine to see amazingly fast benefits in just a few weeks time.

Sitting, watching TV, typing and other computer work, driving, riding a road bike, texting and playing video games – if you spend a lot of time in any or all of these activities, you likely have a tight thoracic region and therefore, less-than-ideal posture, trouble getting into an overhead position, neck and shoulder pain and/or low back pain.

Take five minutes of your day to add in the drills from the video above – or your other favorite – thoracic mobility drills into your routine and note any differences you feel in both your workouts and daily life at the end of the month.

Also Check Out…

4 Reasons You Struggle With Toes To Bar

Your Thoracic Spine Makes Pull-Ups Divine

5 Posture Realignment Drills – No Equipment Necessary

The post 3 Mobility Drills for “Remember Your Thoracic September” appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Whether it’s for business or pleasure, travel often comes with side effects of stiffness and dehydration. But never fear! You can conquer both when you pack with more bang for your buck.

Here’s a travel pro-tip that will help you kill not just two, but THREE birds with one stone! Save space in your suitcase, stay hydrated and keep on top of your mobility routine – especially after the hardships that sitting on a plane or in a car puts on your body. (Don’t forget to try this Airplane Mobility Routine!)

How to Use Your Water Canister as a Foam Roller

Get yourself an even-cylinder, insulated water canister to keep you hydrated on the plane and then use it as a “foam” roller when you get to your destination to work out all the kinks from sitting.

There are all types of water canisters available but the kind that will work best for this purpose are the ones that are even cylinders, meaning, they are the same shape and size all the way around. Not like the ones that are tapered to fit in your cup holder. That way, you can roll around on it without teetering around or slipping off as easily.

This also doesn’t work that great on a hardwood or tile floor, so pick a carpeted spot or throw down a towel so the canister doesn’t shoot out from under you on a slick surface.

Hit any ‘problem areas’ you have and also these areas – thoracic, hips, upper legs – which are known to become tight and sore from sitting during travels.

Travel Roller Routine

1. Fill your water canister and start your day (or routine) with finishing it off (for time or not – that’s up to you).
2. Spend 2-3 minutes rolling out your thoracic spine.
   Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Give yourself a hug so that your elbows align in front of you. Roll out your mid and upper back.
3. Spend 2 minutes rolling out your lats.
   Lie on your side and roll out the part of the lat that attaches to the bottom-inside tip of your shoulder blade. (Hint: it’s under your armpit.)
4. Spend 2 minutes per side rolling out your piriformis.
   Sit with both feet flat on the floor then cross one ankle over the opposite knee. Put the roller under the glue on the side that the foot is off the floor. Roll out the top part of your bum (piriformis). Repeat on the other side.
5. Spend 2-3 minutes per side rolling out your TFL and IT band.
   Start lying on your side with the roller in the meaty part between the top of your hip bone and the ball and socket joint of the hip (TFL). Rock side to side over the roller. Then work your way down your IT band to just above the knee.
6. Spend 2-3 minutes per side rolling out your hip flexors and quads.
   Roll to your belly so you are face down and the roller is in the crease of your hip. Roll up and down then side to side. To get your quad, start to move your body toward your head so that the roller works it way down the quad. Slowly move it toward the knee as you find any problem areas to focus on.
7. Repeat step #1.
   If you’re traveling, you can’t drink too much water! Plus, you want to flush out all the junk you just broke up in your muscles with this mobility routine.

Another awesome travel mobility routine you can do once you get to your destination that requires no equipment at all is this Full Body CARs routine. How do you stay on track with your fitness, mobility, hydration, and nutrition during travel? Share your pro-tips in the comments!

The post Travel Tip for Mobility & Hydration appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

For a few years now I have made waking up with a light stretch routine part of my morning ritual. I will work myself through 5 or 6 stretches to get the blood flowing, become aware of my breath, and loosen up my joints to get the day started. I want to share my 5 favorite (and one bonus!) morning stretches so that you can implement some or all of them into your morning routine as well!

Morning Stretch Routine

Downward Facing Dog

What do man’s best friend and yogis across the globe have in common? They love the down dog stretch! Anyone who has a canine friend or has been to any yoga class knows the move. Place your hands on the floor. Push your butt into the air while pushing your heels to the floor. Feel the stretch through the back of your legs and into your low back. Feel free to add in a few heel pedals to get a bit different range as you like!

Upward Facing Dog

Yet another favorite shared by furry and flexi friends everywhere, the upward facing dog. Pushing through the palms of your hands, have a proud, forward-facing chest while the tops of your feet meet the ground behind you creating a nice backbend. This may be a big stretch for some, so feel free to go to your thighs and forearms as needed.

Pigeon Stretch

And now for a stretch adopted from our feathery friends. For the pigeon stretch, start in a plank position from the hands and toes, bring your ankle up and as close to the opposite wrist as possible. Settle that leg onto the floor as you stay on your hands, go to your forearms, or for the freaky-flexi, put your arms all the way out in front of yourself and settle your chest to your leg.

Malasana

Or as we affectionately know it, the bottom of the squat. Start with feet about hip-width, sit back and down as low as you can while maintaining an even balance between the balls of your feet and your heel. Keep that chest tall and knees out. For extra credit, place your elbows inside your knees and add slight outward pressure on your legs.

Supine Spinal Twist

I usually get a few satisfying pops from the low back with this one! Lay on your back, bring your knees to your chest, drop both knees to one side and hold that position. Repeat the same move in the opposite direction.

Bonus stretch for you crazy people out there who really want to jump-start your day!

Back Bridge

Get Your Wheel On! Laying on your back, bring your heels to your butt with flat feet, place your hands flat on the floor above your shoulders with your fingers pointing back at yourself. Push equally through your flat feet and palms to raise your body from the floor, creating a half-circle with your body and the floor. Take this one easy and be sure you are confident you can get into the proper position before attempting this stretch. Check out this post for more tips on this move! And this post for some advanced versions – some of which might be better for a warm-up than a morning routine.

Morning Stretch Routine to Try

The Flow: I usually spend 5-15 minutes incorporating one or all of these stretches in the morning. Don’t be married to one specific routine, instead, have some fun with it and mix and match as you see fit. You may even have a couple of your own favorite stretches to incorporate! That being said, here is an example of how I may flow through these movements on a given morning:

– Push into Down Dog, hold for 10-60 seconds
– Bring one ankle to my opposite wrist and settle into Pigeon pose, hold for 10-60 seconds
– Push back into plank and bring my other leg into the Pigeon pose, hold for 10-60 seconds
– Push into Down Dog, hold for 10-60 seconds
– Flip my feet so that the tops of my feet are down, push through the hands into a tall chest, hold Upward Dog for 10-60 seconds
– Come to a standing position, find a comfortable foot width and sit into Malasana, hold for 10-60 seconds, add in the outward leg pressure as you like
– Lay onto my back, bring knees together and drop them to the right for 10-60 seconds, switch sides once ready for Supine Twist
– Place feet and hands flat on the floor while laying on my back, press into Wheel and hold for 10-60 seconds.

*Try to breathe deep, even, and consistent through the nose while working through your routine.

Give this routine a try or think up your own! Start your day like a dog and enjoy your new-found mobility, relaxed mindset as you move into your day, and the breath awareness needed to have a clear mind throughout your day!

The post Morning Stretch Routine – Wake Up Like a Dog appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

The Complete Snatch Warm-Up
Video by Nick Hawkes

If you’ve ever snatched, you know that mobility restrictions can make all the difference in whether you can properly, and safely, set up for and receive a snatch. Try this warm-up before your next snatch session to address the mobility and activation of shoulders, thoracic, and hips through not only stretching, but a controlled rotation of each joint to increase rotation, range of motion and to get everything firing.

Also Check Out…
How to Become Snatchtastic
How To Overcome The Mental Aspect of Weightlifting

The post The Complete Snatch Warm-Up appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Rolling Ropes to Express Motion
Video by Nick Hawkes

Coach Nick is known around the gym for his love to learn from various modalities and then test his newfound knowledge on all of us. One of the more recent things he’s been into is “Rolling the Ropes” which is using a rope or jump rope and moving it around in different patterns with your hands but without jumping.

It’s a great modification or substitution for athletes that shouldn’t or can’t jump safely or at all. Rather than focus on jumping the rope as conventionally taught, rolling the ropes has shown to rapidly improve physical capabilities, as well as jump rope skills, despite not focusing on jumping the rope.

Instead, the rope is used as a tool to enhance rhythm, awareness, connectivity and linkage. Unlike the traditional jump or double-under where the rope is always moving in the same plane, rolling the ropes allows you to express motion across planes and in various directions. It really is interesting to see the differences in your two sides, the direction you turn, etc. and the rapid improvements you see in only one session of practice.

Check out the video for more on this and how to get started. Once you know the basics, it’s easy to incorporate into your current routine by playing around with it in a warm-up or in between exercises in a strength workout. Try it out and let us know what you think.

Resource for Video:
David Weck – The Weck Method

The post Rolling Ropes to Express Motion appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Tight Hips? Weak Hip Flexors Could be the Culprit
Written by Kirsten Ahrendt & Video by TJ O’Brien

You stretch, foam roll, lacrosse ball smash, perform banded distractions – but for how long? How many reps? Which muscles should we specifically target so that we can be in a better squat position? Everyone on Instagram is all #SwoleAndFlexy and I’m over here moving like #MrsRoboto and my spirit animal is #NotSoSuppleLeopard.

The thing is, “muscles are stupid creatures and they only do what they’re told to do.” This is a quote from Dean Somerset on a topic that has struck home for me – people dealing with chronically “tight” hips.

Main Reasons Your Muscles Contract

The thing about muscles is that they only do what they’re told to do. The nervous system is actually in charge and the brain tells your muscles to contract. Here are a few of the main reasons as to why a muscle contracts:

– to produce movement (eccentric or concentric action)

– to provide stability

– to protect joints during novel movements or ranges of motion

Constantly Stretching Without Gains?

So, back to our tight hips – if a muscle is actually tight, it should be able to become less tight (short) by stretching it, and the range of motion increase should be somewhat permanent (and healthy if we combine some activation and strengthening exercises to control the new range of motion).

However, if we constantly stretch our hips and see little to no lasting gains in better positions and movement, it would seem that our muscles are being told to stay tight for a reason. The muscles may be holding tension to provide stability for another part of the body that is lacking. In the case of our tight hips, this is often tied to providing stability for the lumbar spine.

Bring On the Planks!

This is where planks come in! Our hips are closely tied to our core (anterior, posterior and lateral). If our core is weak or not “activated”, the body will create stability somewhere else – i.e. compensation and faulty movement patterns creep in. The muscles around our hips need to create and resist internal rotation, external rotation, hip flexion and extension for us to optimally squat. If they are figuratively and literally “tied up” with being tight to provide stability for another part of the body that isn’t doing its job, then they may not have a full range of motion available.

So, if we can activate the muscles of the lateral, anterior, and posterior core (i.e. all of it!) then there may be a correlated increase in the range of motion in the hips. Dean Somerset summarizes it well in the two paragraphs below.

Stimulating Lateral Core Stability

“The muscles of the hip that resist internal rotation are primarily found on the lateral aspect of the hip. These muscles play a key role in providing lateral stability to the spine along with the obliques, psoas, serratus anterior and latissimus dorsi. The side plank can help to stimulate these muscles and force them to work together to help stabilize the spine in a position that doesn’t allow compensation, and therefore can re-set the hip and core to allow the hip to move properly.”

Stimulating Anterior Core Stability

“The muscles that resist external rotation are primarily found on the medial and front of the hip, and have a high correlation to anterior core instability. This is where the front plank comes in. When done properly, the hip flexors are held in a stretched position while the rectus abdominis is working in conjunction with the obliques and glutes to provide the best pelvic and spinal stability possible.”

Planks don’t have to be the only activation tool in your toolbox… single arm farmer’s carries are also a great tool to get the muscles providing lateral stability in the core.

Applying the Plank to Your Routine

With all this said, keep in mind, hips are like snowflakes…no two are alike. What works to address one person’s hip issues may not tackle the right culprit for another person’s issues. But barring any structural issues, core activation may be a useful tool in your pre-squat routine.

Shorter holds done for more “reps” will be more beneficial. Consider doing:

– 10 on/:10 off for 5-6 ‘reps’; or,

– a tabata scheme rather than 1:00 of work

Your focus should be be on a perfect, neutral spine position and MAXIMUM contraction of the glutes, belly button tucked up into the spine, lats pulled down and on, and deep belly breaths. The goal is to signal the correct muscles to activate rather than reinforce an overextended and compensatory position.

Other Hip Flexor Strengthening Options

See Coach TJ’s video above for how to use the hip circle bands to strengthen your hip flexors.

Here’s to a strong core, happy hips and optimal squats!

Article Resources:

Dean Somerset – Old School Strength With A New Age Twist

The post Tight Hips? Weak Hip Flexors Could be the Culprit appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Sit All Day? Try This Before Your Workout
Video by Nick Hawkes

Does your job require you to sit most of the day? If so, you are just like the vast majority of my clients, who are busy, don’t have a ton of time to mess around in the gym, but need to stay strong and healthy. The video above demonstrates a great and efficient way to activate your backside, and open up your hips that are chronically shortened from sitting. Give it 3-4 minutes before your workout and you’ll see good benefits.

Also Check Out…

Reverse Snow Angels – Purveyors of Posture

Identifying Upper Cross Syndrome For Dummies

T-Spine Mobility Tools

The post Sit All Day? Try This Before Your Workout appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

How to Assess Your Mobility & Prepare for Overhead Movements
Video by TJ O’Brien

Going overhead today? Whether it’s shoulder press, push press, snatch, overhead squats or even gymnastics movements like handstands, there is a proper way to prepare for your training session. Even if you aren’t doing one of these exercises today, this 5-10 minute routine is something anyone with shoulder issues can do a few times a week to improve range of motion (ROM) and decrease pain.

In this video, Coach TJ takes you through a complete warm-up from how to assess your overhead position and then make improvements upon it so that you can lift and move safely and efficiently as well as diagnose any ‘problem areas’ you may have with your mobility and positioning.

Coach TJ will cover: assessing the shoulder’s mobility and movement patterns; shoulder CARs; passive stretching techniques; active stretching techniques; reinforcement of your newly found ROM; and reassessment of the shoulder’s mobility and movement patterns.

The post How to Assess Your Mobility & Prepare for Overhead Movements appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Understanding Our Favorite Joint Health Modalities
Video by TJ O’Brien

At Invictus, one of our core values is to always be learning – from experts in our field, from each other, from any modality that we believe will help improve the health and happiness of our members.

One of the common goals we’ve heard from many of our clients is the desire to eliminate – or at least minimize – pain. This mobility stuff is new to a lot of people – heck, a lot of it is new to most coaches. Those who have spent many years as athletes or being hard on their bodies with their work, and even those who have lead a more sedentary life sitting at a desk, are now finding that all those years are catching up with them. And it hurts!

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common chronic condition of the joints, affecting approximately 27 million Americans. The ever growing research continues to credit strength training and daily movement as the best way to combat OA and many other common conditions.

Being in pain is no way to live, so we’ve been incorporating three joint health modalities in our group classes and private sessions and have seen great success in joint range of motion, functionality, and reduction of pain with those members who have taken part.

If you’ve been following this blog for any amount of time, you probably noticed us sharing some of the stretches and drills from our three favorite joint health modalities – ELDOA, Functional Range Conditioning (FRC), and Kinstretch. Each modality performs a different function for your joints and each has its proper uses and benefits. Learn a little more about them and check out an example of each below.

ELDOA

ELDOA (Étirements Longitudinaux avec Decoaptation Ostéo Articulaire), or more easily translated to Longitudinal Osteo-Articular Decoaptation Stretching.

ELDOAs are postural self-normalizing techniques designed for widening the space within a chosen articulation (the space between your vertebra). This is accomplished by creating fascial tension to fix the vertebra below and contraction in extreme range to normalize the vertebra above the targeted disc. ELDOA postures are very specific compared to other techniques. Disc compression existing at any level of the spine can be addressed through a specific ELDOA exercise.

The flexibility gains from Myofascial stretches can help improve your joint mobility and overall health. As the quality of your tissue improves with the stimulus created by the Myofascial Stretches, you’ll find that you have better posture, greater range of motion, that you are able to perform tasks with greater ease, and you’ll suffer fewer injuries.

Functional Range Conditioning (FRC)

FRC focuses on increasing the amount of USABLE motion that one possesses across a particular articulation (joint). The more mobile a person is, the more they are able to maximize their movement potential safely, efficiently, and effectively.

Mobility, in an FRC sense, is defined as STRENGTH + CONTROL in order to expand upon usable ranges of motion, articular resilience (i.e. load bearing capacity), and overall joint health. The idea is that there’s no benefit and likely detriment, to stretching your body into positions with a tool – like a band – that it can’t naturally hold itself in, because you don’t have strength and control in that position.

For example, you can test a joint’s range of motion (ROM) by doing controlled articular rotations (CARs), a tool of FRC.

Kinstretch

Kinstretch is often times referred to as strength training for your joints. It incorporates principles from FRC but takes it a step further by strengthening those new ranges of motion. So you can test and lubricate joints with CARs (a tool found under FRC), then perform a Kinstretch for that joint, then retest and set the new ROM with CARs.

This is where Kinstretch comes in. Besides giving you more useable joint ROM, thereby increasing lubrication of that joint and decreasing pain of that joint, the improved ROM helps ensure you won’t injure other areas due to improper movement patterns from not having the ROM you need to move safely and efficiently.

An example of this would be PAILs & RAILs contractions at your end ROM that both increase it and also give you control in your new range. Progressive Angular Isometric Loading (PAILs) are isometric muscle contractions that strengthen the muscles placed on stretch. Stretching in this way helps teach your body that your end range of motion is safe. By driving a limb into an object and creating a strong muscular contraction – your nervous system realizes that the position is actually safe to be in. You can then set the new ROM in place with a Regressive Angular Isometric Loading (RAILs) contraction. These are isometric muscle contractions that strengthen the muscles on the closing side of the joint and allow you to pull yourself into a deeper stretch, thereby expanding your ranges.

Most people will have the greatest results from performing a combination of these modalities as they all work hand in hand to reduce pain by increasing joint ROM, lubrication, functionality and strength. You can find more videos from Coaches Nick & TJ on our YouTube Channel. Try them out and see what works for you!

Resources:
NIH Fact Sheet: Osteoarthritis
The ELDOA Method
Functional Range Conditioning
Kinstretch

The post Understanding Our Favorite Joint Health Modalities appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Airplane Mobility – Tips for Your Trips
Video by Nick Hawkes & TJ O’Brien

What do you do to keep moving when you are stuck on an airplane…especially if you are trapped in the middle or aisle seat? Sometimes there’s an appropriate time and opportunity to get out of your seat and move around, but what if you don’t have that chance? Here are some ideas for how to keep mobile even if you’re stuck in our seat. Check out Coaches Nick & TJ’s in-flight mobility routines to keep you moving and pain-free! Don’t worry about looking weird – just grab a friend to join you – it’s only weird if you do it by yourself…

Seriously though, there is a concern for not only blood clots from not moving around enough on long flights but also unraveling or locking up what those ‘problem’ parts or the areas you’ve been working so hard on keeping mobile. But never fear – there’s so much you can do from your seat. So if you don’t want to wake up the snoring guy next to you, here are some ideas…

The post Airplane Mobility – Tips for Your Trips appeared first on Invictus Fitness.