Tummy, Hips & Thighs Workout

Fitness, Posture, Strength, Uncategorized

| Tummy, Hips & Thighs |
Link to workout clip Tummy, Hips & Thighs Workout

1️⃣Plank Hip twists X 10 each side

2️⃣Kneeling side leg raises X 10 each side

3️⃣Curtsey lunges X 10 each side

4️⃣Downdog knee in & kick outs X 10 each side

X 4-5 sets

set a timer for 6 minutes and try to complete as many rounds as possible, rest for 90 seconds & repeat for 2-3 circuits.

Benefits of Lying on the Foam Roller

Fitness, foam rolling, Injury prevention, Posture

Proper spinal alignment:Most people work in seated position all day, destroying our posture. This affects everything including our health, our recovery, our performance and poor posture can change your appearance of your frame.

Lying on the foam roller repositions the spine to the position it should be in and can assist with correcting forward head posture and kyphosis (too much rounding in your upper back). If you work on a computer, you likely have some of these issues.
Spinal decompression

This is important for the person hunched over a computer all day as well as someone who loads his/her spine with a heavy barbell. It decompresses the spine and improves functioning of the nerves that come out of the spinal column. This can improve performance.

By identifying the tight muscles and the weaker muscles in your body, you can develop an appropriate stretch and strengthening routine to correct your posture and reduce your risk of injury.

LISS (Low Intensity Steady State)

Fitness, Uncategorized

What Is LISS?
L.I.S.S Stands for Low Intensity Steady State, also known as low intensity cardio. It is the term for low intensity cardio such as walking or jogging without putting much stress on the body.

Examples of LISS:

LISS can be performed in a variety of different ways, it’s really up to your imagination. The key is that you are performing exercise at low intensity. Here are just a few examples:

– Walking/Jogging on treadmill or outside

– Cross trainer/ Elliptical machine

– Stair stepper/stair master

– Rowing machine

– Swimming (Must be a good swimmer to ensure it stays low intensity, doing laps of a house pool vs full Olympic pool would change the intensity if you’re just starting)

– Water running/walking – walking stairs ( my best friend recently did a LISS session in Caves in Vietnam climbing 100s of stairs)

LISS should last for 30-45min and performed at least twice a week on days not on resistance days (or if they have to be performed on the same day they should be at opposite end of the day to each other). Note: Always ensure your body is in a low intensity state. Don’t get caught in the moment and convince yourself to go hard. Your breathing should increase but always able to hold a conversation without having to stop to get your breath back when doing LISS – always remember – you are doing LISS as part of a calculated training regime.

Why do LISS?

LISS can help boost metabolism and burn a few extra calories. By training at a lower intensity, more oxygen is available to your cardiovascular system and this helps to burn fat more efficiently. LISS, when done properly is also great form of exercise on active rest days. LISS is a good way to get some cardio into your program whilst actively recovering from resistance training days. It’s low impact on the body and is recommended as safe for everyone due to its low intensity nature.

Wall Sit Challenge #2

Fitness, Strength

WALL SIT CHALLENGE #2

Add this in to your next workout session!

-Wall sit with Heels raised: 60 seconds

-Wall sit with Right leg raise: 30 seconds

-Wall sit with Left leg raise: 30 seconds

X 3 Rounds

5 Major Fascia Trains of the Body

Fitness, Injury prevention, Posture, Strength, Uncategorized

It’s amazing how the body works! I’ve touched on fascia and Myofascial release in early posts but here is a demonstration of how tightness in different “trains” of the body are affected. These fascial trains or lines are connected throughout the body. By releasing any blocked part along the line, you can have an affect on the whole line. I have quiet a bit of tightness through my SBL – Superficial Back Line. By releasing my plantar fascia (feet) you can see how it has released up the line into my hamstrings.

Video of my straight leg raise before & after spikey ball plantar fascia release: Straight leg raise video

There are 5 major fascia trains:

1⃣Superficial Back Line (SBL): creates trunk hyperextension, knee flexion, plantar flexion. It runs from your toes, under your feet, up the back of you legs, back, neck, over your head to frontal brow ridge (eyebrows) The sit to reach test is a good way to see how tight you are through SBL. By releasing any of the fascia and muscles along this line can improve function, flexibility and decrease injury. If this area is weak and your SFL is tight, strength exercises for these muscles will be beneficial to you.

2⃣Superficial Front Line (SFL): this fascia line connect to the body anteriorly from the top of the feet to the skull in 2 pieces and is responsible to balance out the SBL. It creates flexion of the trunk, flexion of the hips, extension of the knee & Dorsi flexion of the foot. There needs to be balance of the SBL & SFL for the body to be in equilibrium. As for SBL, stretching and releasing the front line will create balance. If it is weak, using exercises using the muscles involved in SFL can strength it. Laying in prone (on stomach) and pushing your chest of the ground into upward facing dog is s good way to test how tight your SFL is.

3⃣ The Lateral Line: the lateral line traverses each side of the body from the outside of the foot, up the lateral side of the leg and thigh, passing along the trunk to the skull. It laterally bends the body (sideways), truck lateral flexion, abduction of the hip, eversion of the foot & braking sideways & rotational movements of the trunk. Since the muscles of the LL cause lateral flexion, any restrictions in the Myofascia or muscle tension will cause postural abnormalities involving lateral flexion. A side reach in standing is a good way to test your LL flexibility. LL is used often in things like golf.

4⃣The Spiral Line (SL): the spiral line loops around the body in s helix. It joins one side of the skull to the opposite shoulder then to the front of that hip, knee and foot arch and running up the back of the body to rejoin the fascia on the skull. Rhomboid, serratus anterior, hips are in the SL, base ball & cricket bowling have common movements of the SL. Opposition knee to elbow extensions from tabletop are a good way to see if you are weak through your SL, side reaching and rotation are a good way to test tightness with opposite leg to arm stretching away from each other.

5⃣The Deep Front Line (DFL): this involves all of the internal structures anterior to the spine. Organs and body structures that it surrounds include: anterior longitudinal ligament diaphragm, pericardium, scale bed (neck) this all connects the lumbar spine vertebral bodies to the cervical spine.

This line is way too deep to release with a foam roller. To affect this line, optimal head posture & spinal posture is essential. Breathing techniques are also essential component to this train. The scalenes in the neck that pull the head forward when tight, can be released by a qualified massage therapist. If your posture is poor, this is a good indicator your front line is also affected.

PUSH-UP CHALLENGE

Fitness, Strength

⭐️PUSH-UP CHALLENGE⭐️

Set a timer for 2 minutes and see how many of the push-ups listed you can complete! I got through 1 round and back through to do 4 lay down push ups. Give it a go! 💪