Week 1
10-3-2022
Week 1 Movement: Shinbox
One of the best, simple and most valuable hip drills that you are probably not doing daily.
Description:
Find some space on the floor/ground. To set this move up, you want your legs on the ground in front of you on one side of your body and your arms behind you propping you up. Your knees should be bent in front of you, some like about a 90 degree bend at the knee, some like a bit more than 90…main thing is being able to move through the exercise somewhat freely.
Use your arms behind you to prop your torso up…keeping your feet planted into the ground(don’t move your feet), lift your knees up and with control, switch your legs over to the other side of your body. You can keep your arms on the ground behind you the whole time, in fact you might have to.
To progress this movement, you can try to cross your arms over your chest(as shown in the picture below) and with control perform the shinbox. You should feel the outsides of the hips and legs stretching, and across your back.
If you walk around stiff or tight, you will likely feel the move instantly. If you have really poor flexibility- this move will be very tough. You may need to open the angle at your knees and stretch out that position a bit more…use your arms behind you the entire time to help prop your torso and relieve the tightness making you unable to perform the move. If you have shoulder issues, you will want to be careful putting a lot of weight on your arms behind you to support this type of position(all stuff you have already cleared with your Dr.)
Your day will look like this:
AM: 4x10e Shinbox
PM: 4x10e Shinbox
Week 1 is very simple. No reason to miss out on this.
On your last set..hold the last few reps as a stretch. If you can, try to bring your stomach towards your leg and take 3-5 deep breaths, then switch to the other side and repeat for breaths.
After you finish this first set of shinbox on both sides of the body, take about 20 seconds rest; enough to shake your legs out. In total, this whole routine shouldn’t take you more than 3 or 4 minutes. The program is doing this TWICE daily. So don’t miss it. Sit down in front of the TV at home, break up your work calls at the office, you can definitely do these in the grass as well. Squeeze it in. 4 sets of 10 reps each side, twice a day for 1 week.
Take note of how you feel after each passing day.
Week 2
10-10-2022
Week 2 Movement: Quadruped T-spine Rotation
Description:
During this move you will be in a quadruped position, which is basically a fancy way of saying please setup on your hands and knees. If you need one, get a mat or softer surface area, and then get on your hands and knees. With both arms straight and knees under your hips, take your right arm and place your hand behind your head. Left arm stays straight, and now I want you to turn your right elbow towards the ground- next, gently rotate through your upper back and torso so your right elbow turns upwards, now facing the ceiling. Elbow turns back down towards the ground to finish the rep and then repeat this whole process for 10 reps total.
Make sure you minimize the movement in the lower back and mainly move through your upper back. Keep your breath slowly cycling in and out. You can also perform this movement in your chair at work for an added bonus, as shown in the last picture.
Ready to try it?
Perform 1-2 sets of 10 quadruped Thoracic(T-spine) rotations on each side to learn the movement.
Then I want you to move into the next part, we’re combining Week 1 movement with this week(Week 2).
10 shinbox per side flowing directly into 10 quadruped T-spine rotations per side. You will repeat this 4 times total for the mini movement session.
Your day looks like this:
AM
4x10e Shinbox
10e Quadruped T-spine rotations
PM
4x10e Shinbox
10e Quadruped T-spine rotations
Do it when you wake up or after you’ve been at the office for a few hours and then after lunch or dinner sometime. Whatever within guidelines will work. Take your time through these; now get to flossing each rep on both sides. These are quick, simple and lovely additions to your day. Are you ready for Week 3?
Week 3
10-17-2022
Week 3 Movement: Quadruped Hip Circles
These Hip Circles will have you in the quadruped position and getting great circular and gyration based movement in the hip socket. You won’t get that sitting at your desk. Sitting for long periods and not moving compresses your spine and over time can lead to shortening of the hip muscles. This often leads to low back pain and the cycle can continue, so it’s imperative for joint health and longevity to not just workout at the gym, but to intentionally move your joints through space in various ways. These hip circles are a great low risk way to engage in that process.
Description:
Get into the quadruped position(hands and knees), this time you will keep both arms straight and hands will stay on the ground. Take your right knee and begin to move your knee in a clockwise, circular manner. One circle equals one rep. Do this for 10 reps and then reverse the direction, moving your right knee for 10 reps in a counterclockwise fashion. After you finish this, move to your left side. Complete 10 reps clockwise and 10 reps counterclockwise.
Alright now you’re ready to flow, get ready for some snack time.
AM
3-4x
10e hip circles(both directions)-this is right and left side
10e quadruped t-spine rotation
10e shinbox
(take 30 seconds rest after you finish each set and then repeat- this )
PM
3-4x
10e hip circles(both directions)-this is right and left side
10e quadruped t-spine rotation
10e shinbox
Week 4
10-24-2022
Week 4 Movement: Half kneeling T-spine rotational complex
Here you will be using the thoracic(t-spine) rotation movement from Week 2, but performing it from a different position. This variation of kneeling is referred to as the half kneeling position. It is also the mid point of a lunge position, so you can remember it that way for future set ups.
You want to keep the femurs of your legs(big leg bone running down your thigh) from moving around while rotating your torso independently of them, that’s partly how your core establishes positions. Some of these versions shown have a yoga block/wall/medball being used to prevent the knee or hip from moving excessively. These are just props and not necessary to complete these daily. You can add them into your routine, but again they are not necessary. The props are pretty popular but not necessary for the purposes of this program, which is just getting used to more movement throughout the day.
Description:
Get on your right knee and get/pretend you have a wall next to your right shoulder.
Reach both of your arms forward while maintaining a nice and tall half kneeling position.
With both arms still reaching, slowly open your right arm to open your chest.
Right arm should be now reaching behind you with the cross body stretch taking place; offering you a nice, open chest and upper/mid back.
After you’ve opened wide for the stretch with your back arm opened, bring your arm back to the front so both arms are reaching in front of you again.
Perform 5-10 reps of that sequence, and then reach and open with your left arm, still in same left stance(left knee on ground). After you finish both left/right arm in left stance, switch to right stance and open both left/right arm.
Don’t overstretch in this position, keep good form and maintain your breathing. Slow and circular. This is another move where you want to be sure you’re not over arching, overextending or over rotating your back/spine while performing. Aim for around a neutral spine position, give or take. That should get rid of most of the floppy spine/deep arching/extended ribcages you typically see that often leads to feeling broken.
With practice finished now, you’re ready to string together all 4 weeks movements!
This 4th week will take you a little more time, so plan accordingly. Here’s what your day of snacks will look like:
AM
3-4x
10e shinbox
10e quadruped(hands and knees) t-spine rotation
10e quadruped hip circles
10e Half kneeling t-spine rotational complex(both knees/arms)
After you finish 1 round of all 4 movements(1 set), go through it again until you have finished 3 or 4 sets. Then repeat later that day
PM
3-4x
10e shinbox
10e quadruped t-spine rotation
10e quadruped hip circles
10e Half kneeling t-spine rotational complex
Great job so far. Keep your eyes peeled for the next round of movement snacks…stay tuned!
What’s on the menu for next month?
