TESTING THE 5 FUNDAMENTALS OF MOVEMENT ON YOURSELF
1. Upper spine mobility
If you are sitting in a forward slouch for several hours per day, have pain in your neck/shoulder blades or difficulty lifting your arms over your head, you may be suffering from a limited mobility in your upper spine and a lack of strength in your upper back. Complete the following tests to see.
1. Rotation
Lay on your left side with your left arm extended, your hips flexed slightly and your knees bent at 90 degrees. Try to rotate and get your right shoulder and hand onto the floor. Repeat on the opposite side.
Improvement needed if:
- your top knee lifts off of the bottom knee
- you are unable to get your moving shoulder or hand to the floor
- you have pain in your neck/shoulder
2. Wall angels
Lean against a wall with your head, shoulder blades and butt pressed against the wall. Slightly bend your knees and keep your feet shoulder width apart. Start the movement by lifting your arms to 90 degrees and get your elbows and the back of your hands against the wall. Try to fully extend your arms by sliding up and try to get your hands on the level of your chin when sliding down. Keep your hands in a straight line with your elbow.
Improvement needed if:
- you are unable to keep your hands/elbows against the wall when sliding
- you are unable to keep your head/shoulder blades or butt on the wall
- you are unable to fully extend your arms or get your hands down to chin level
- you get pain in your neck/shoulders/shoulder blades during the movement
Were you able to pass both tests, however are still struggling with pain in your shoulders/shoulder blades/neck? Most likely you just need to develop strength in your upper back and lats. Try lots of pulling exercises like lat pulldowns and rows. You can also build strength in your chest to take the pressure off of your shoulders when pushing.
2. Abdominal strength
Your abdominal strength is extremely important to help prevent and relieve lower back pain. Proper strength will also make functional movements easier. It also looks good when visible =).
3 methods to test your strength:
1. Pelvic control
Controlling your pelvis is the first step to relieving lower back pain and also building strong abs.
Lean against a wall with your knees slightly bent and start with your head, shoulder blades, lower back and butt pressed against the wall. Start by tilting your pelvis forward or arching your lower back so that you can slide your hand in between the wall and your lower back. Then squeeze your abs and tilt your pelvis back and push your lower back against the wall.
Improvement needed if:
- You cannot complete the movement
- In order to tilt your pelvis you have to move your head, shoulder blades and
butt off the wall
- You have a difficult time squeezing your abs and feeling your lower back
getting pressed into the wall
2. Leg Lowering
Lay down on your back and extend your legs straight up with your feet in a straight line over your hips and your legs fully extended. Now using your abs (not neck), lift your shoulders off of the floor and push your lower back into the floor by squeezing your abs. Slowly lower your legs to the floor while keeping your abs engaged and your lower back on the floor.
Improvement needed if:
- You have pain in your back at any point
- You are unable to lower your legs to at least 45 degrees without your lower
back coming off of the floor
- You have pain in your neck when lifting your shoulders off of the floor
3. Plank
Get on both elbows with your elbows right underneath your shoulder joint. As in the first exercise, tilt your pelvis back by contracting your abs and flattening your back. Hold while squeezing your butt and abs. Dont move your hips to high or too low and dont arc your back. Its best to do this by a mirror to check your form.
Needs works
0 - 45 seconds
Almost there
45 - 90 seconds
Good job!!
90 seconds and above
Improvement needed if:
- You experience pain in your back at any point
- You are unable to flatten your back
- You were only able to hold for 0 - 90 seconds.
A 45 - 90 second hold without pain is already very good!!! Trust me. Please keep practicing until you can get to at least 90 seconds.
Were you able to pass all the tests, however still struggle from lower back pain? You may still have pain as your hips are extremely weak, which is putting too much pressure on your back. Try lots of butt and hamstring exercises to strengthen your posterior chain and help take the pressure off of your back.
3. Hip mobility
Hip mobility and glute strength is needed for pelvic stability and balance, to reduce back and knee pain and is the foundation to a strong core. Test your hips below:
1. Side lift
Grab a knee pad and kneel on all fours. While keeping your left knee aligned with your right, lift your knee to at least 90 degrees or leveled with your hips and hold for at least 10 seconds. Make sure your right hip stays over the right knee and doesnt move to the right. Also make sure your left knee doesnt go back and stays in line with the right knee. Repeat both sides.
Improvement needed if:
- You are unable to hold for at least 10 seconds
- Your hip sways off to the side and doesnt stay in a direct line over your knee
- The knee that is lifted doesnt stay in a straight line with the knee on the floor
2. Leg extension
Lay flat on your stomach with your forehead resting on your hands and bend your right leg to 90 degrees. While keeping your right foot over your right butt, lift your right leg as high as possible and hold. Hold until you feel a muscle working. Which muscle is lifting your leg? Try to do this in front of a mirror to make sure your maintaining 90 degrees. Repeat on both sides.
Improvement needed if:
- You feel your lower back and/or hamstring lifting your leg but not your butt
- You get pain in your back
3. Balance
Are you able to balance on one leg for at least 40 seconds with your eyes open? 10 seconds with your eyes closed?
Do you notice weakness in one side? Is your upper body leaning towards one side? Does your hip drop or pelvis lean when you lift one leg off of the floor?
4. Quad strength
Quad strength is super important to stabilize the knee and help prevent knee pain. Proper strength will also make squatting and everyday movements much easier.
Test your strength:
1. Wall sit
If you have a slippery floor, you will want to do this with either shoes on or barefoot. Lean against a wall with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your feet directly under your knees. Always keep your head, shoulder blades, lower back and butt on the wall as you hold. Let your arms hang or hold them straight out in front of you, but dont push into your legs.
needs improvement
0 - 30 seconds
almost there
30 - 60 seconds
good job!!
60 seconds and above
Improvement needed if:
- You feel pain in your knees at any point
- You are unable to keep your head or back on the wall
- You are only able to hold for 60 seconds or less.
A 30 - 60 second hold without pain is already very good!!! Trust me. Please keep practicing until you can get to at least 60 seconds.
2. Single leg squat test
The single leg squat is the ultimate test for leg strength, balance and stability. If you are able to do this with good form and no knee pain, congrats.
Sit down on a couch/chair and to test if your legs are at 90 degrees. If so, you have the right height.
Slowly lift one leg off of the floor and focus on keeping your balance. As you begin to sit down, make sure the leg that is in the air is straight and your foot stays off of the floor. Try to slowly sit down and get back up keeping your back straight and your head up. Make sure to keep your knee in line with your foot and dont let it cave in or go out. Test on both sides
Improvement needed if:
- You feel pain in your knees at any point
- Your knee doesnt stay in line with your foot
- You are unable to keep your foot that is in the air off of the floor throughout the movement
- You are unable to drop down controlled with a straight back and get back up
5. Ankle mobility
Ankle mobility is needed to squat properly which in turn will help prevent back pain. Proper mobility in the ankle will also help to improve achilles pain and shin splints. Try these 3 test:
1. Wall test
Kneel in front of a wall and place your big toe of your right foot on the wall and your left knee of the floor. Press your hands into the wall to keep your upper body upright. Keeping your toes pointing towards the wall, slide your right foot back away from the wall. While keeping your heel on the floor, try to bend at the ankle and get your right knee to touch the wall. Measure the distance from the wall to your big toe. Repeat on both sides.
Improvement needed if:
- if the distance between the wall and your big toes is not at least 12.5cm
- You have pain in your achilles tendon or heel
2. Wide Squat
Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, squat down, keeping your upper body upright and looking straight forward.
Improvement needed if:
- Your heels come off of the floor
3. Narrow Squat
Standing with your feet touching each other, squat down, keeping your upper body upright and looking straight forward.
Improvement needed if:
- Your heels come off of the floor
Improve your weak areas
Unfortunately, the fitness industry puts too much pressure on us, leaving us overwhelmed and confused. We do not need a 6 pack, deadlift 300kg, go on crazy diets, workout 5 times per week or do handstand push ups. However, we should strive for a weight that does not have a negative impact on our health, be mentally strong and have the ability to move freely. Can we squat down to pick something up pain free, carry groceries up the stairs, walk down the stairs without knee pain or move through life without back pain while having a good posture? Our current sedentary lifestyle is also the #1 issue causing the majority of these imbalances and makes it hard to improve.
Proper upper spine mobility, abdominal strength, hip mobility, quad strength and ankle mobility is the foundation you need to move freely.
I put together a list of the most effective exercises to help improve these areas. I wanted to make sure you are not wasting your time with unnecessary exercises or expensive equipment. These are the exercises I am currently using to help my clients improve and can be done on a daily basis at home. Some exercises require some equipment you will already have at home such as chairs or a kitchen counter. Some may require simple equipment like an elastic band or a balance pad.
Here are the benefits of following this routine:
- Targeted exercises that help improve your weak areas. This will help you focus on something and not just exercise without a goal.
- No Equipment. These exercises can be done anywhere and for the majority require nothing. You can replace a balance pad with a pillow or book and an elastic band with either small weights or just using the weight of your arms (which can be enough for many)
- One Exercise per day. I want you to focus on only one exercise per day that will take you appx. 5mins, 2 - 3 times per day. Many exercises can be done during work, short breaks, in the morning before breakfast or after work. Do not stress yourself
- The exercises will progress in difficulty. Once the exercise becomes easy for you, just switch to the more difficult one, at your own pace with no pressure. Work you way up to mastering the 5 fundamentals of movement and start moving pain free.
If you are interested in learning about the programs I have, please send me an email.