Do This, This, This and... This!

Bigger Stronger Leaner Injuries and Rehab
1

Greetings!

Not sure if this is the right place to post, but it seems like it.
So, we all know that mobility drills, stretching and foam rolling can do wonders for your body and get rid of nagging pain as well as improve posture and the way you move.

But when one starts to do look into it further, it becomes clear that this stuff is almost a never ending story of things you can do to improve this or that, here or there.
DieselCrew, this (just one of many such articles on here) The Essential 8 Mobility Drills, Nick Tumminello’s drills, DeFranco’s, this guys’ stuff http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/ and of course Cressey’s and Robertson’s work.

There’s just too much you can do to improve how you feel and move, and while I know it’s highly “context specific”, e.g. sports, injuries, pre-hab, I’d like to hear people’s views on what drills and movements would be the best basics to prevent or correct weaknesses, imbalances etc. without having to spend 8 hours a day doing things to ensure you’ll feel fantastic in every joint and fingernail by the age of 40.

Actually, I suck at wall slides (feels awkward and my shoulders hurt when reaching overhead w. limited range of motion), I have had lower back pain for years - doc couldn’t find out what it was, blood test showed no sign of arthritis. For 1/2 a year or so, I’ve had some weird naggin’ pain in the upper part of my thoracic spine, even as I type. Maybe it has got to do with all the sitting down, slouching in front of a computer with a rounded back?
Also, my right shoulder has bothered me for years (perhaps impingement). But, one thing at a time - I start to sound like a damn hypochondriac.

(NOTE: I’ve read the Neanderthal No More series, but I didn’t really find it helpful. At the same time, it’s unclear to me how many people who have actually followed it and improved their posture. Cressey’s methods may have changed since then.)

Shit, this ended up longer than I’d expected. To sum up:

  • Good (and not excessive number of) drills everyone should do in general to ensure postural well-being in the future (I’m guessing foam rolling of thoracic spine as one of them?)?
  • Do my back related problems sound like a direct result of prolonged sitting?

Thanks for your time, and my apologies if this thread comes off as way too retarded.

LF

2

[quote]Loh-fyve wrote:
Greetings!

Not sure if this is the right place to post, but it seems like it.
So, we all know that mobility drills, stretching and foam rolling can do wonders for your body and get rid of nagging pain as well as improve posture and the way you move.

But when one starts to do look into it further, it becomes clear that this stuff is almost a never ending story of things you can do to improve this or that, here or there.
DieselCrew, this (just one of many such articles on here) The Essential 8 Mobility Drills, Nick Tumminello’s drills, DeFranco’s, this guys’ stuff http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/ and of course Cressey’s and Robertson’s work.

There’s just too much you can do to improve how you feel and move, and while I know it’s highly “context specific”, e.g. sports, injuries, pre-hab, I’d like to hear people’s views on what drills and movements would be the best basics to prevent or correct weaknesses, imbalances etc. without having to spend 8 hours a day doing things to ensure you’ll feel fantastic in every joint and fingernail by the age of 40.

Actually, I suck at wall slides (feels awkward and my shoulders hurt when reaching overhead w. limited range of motion), I have had lower back pain for years - doc couldn’t find out what it was, blood test showed no sign of arthritis. For 1/2 a year or so, I’ve had some weird naggin’ pain in the upper part of my thoracic spine, even as I type. Maybe it has got to do with all the sitting down, slouching in front of a computer with a rounded back?
Also, my right shoulder has bothered me for years (perhaps impingement). But, one thing at a time - I start to sound like a damn hypochondriac.

(NOTE: I’ve read the Neanderthal No More series, but I didn’t really find it helpful. At the same time, it’s unclear to me how many people who have actually followed it and improved their posture. Cressey’s methods may have changed since then.)

Shit, this ended up longer than I’d expected. To sum up:

  • Good (and not excessive number of) drills everyone should do in general to ensure postural well-being in the future (I’m guessing foam rolling of thoracic spine as one of them?)?
  • Do my back related problems sound like a direct result of prolonged sitting?

Thanks for your time, and my apologies if this thread comes off as way too retarded.

LF
[/quote]

If you’ve got a few bucks, order Assess & Correct by Robertson and Cressey. It is a very proficient tool when it comes to postural analysis. Your back pain is “probably” due to poor thoracic mobility if what you are saying is true about of lack of overhead range and slouching.

If you have a foam roller and the two tennis balls taped together (Boyle’s idea), do some thoracic extension/rotation drills and foam roll your thoracic musculature along with the tennis balls along your rhomboids.

Quick video if you have never seen the tennis balls - Optimal Performance - Thoracic Mobility - YouTube

3

I’ll try it out!

Should I just lay off the wall slide drill for now? Not only does it feel awkward, but it seems to hurt my left shoulder, which is the good shoulder.

Not sure if my lower back problem is caused by some anterior pelvic tilt, but do you think front planks and barbell glute bridges could help fix it?

Anyway, gonna check out A&C…

Thanks!
LF

4

[quote]Loh-fyve wrote:
I’ll try it out!

Should I just lay off the wall slide drill for now? Not only does it feel awkward, but it seems to hurt my left shoulder, which is the good shoulder.

Not sure if my lower back problem is caused by some anterior pelvic tilt, but do you think front planks and barbell glute bridges could help fix it?

Anyway, gonna check out A&C…

Thanks!
LF[/quote]

I wouldn’t do it if it hurts. There are a lot of different exercises that do the job, that wont be painful.

If you are in APT, glute work is excellent… just make sure that you give the hip flexors a good stretch before you do your glute work. You know, reciprocal inhibition and such.

The manual will help you out a lot. Full body postural analysis’ are great. The only problem is getting yourself a camera and taking some pictures of yourself in those positions to see how you look. - Great stuff in there about APT as well.

6

BBB - with ‘hips’ are we talking the flexors (just to be sure)?

Thanks to both of you for your recommendations!

7

There is no one method that works all the time. It is about the assessment. What are you individual problems? Find them, pick an exercise designed to correct it, and then do the exercise. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, try something else. By the way, the neanderthal no more series is soooooo freaking old. In the Building the Efficient Athlete DVD set that Robertson and Cressey produced, they critiqued their own articles. Not only that, but that DVD set is now old. I guarantee Cressey and Robertson have evolved way past that series and their training is far better now (not that it was a bad series). But yes, it is all about the personal assessment. If you aren’t assessing, you are guessing… that’s why things don’t always work.

8

Daily mobility drills/stretching
Mobility drill warmups before training
Foam rolling before training
Mobility work/streching whilst resting and/or after main part of the workout

The details are a bit more complicated, but it’s a bit easier with Cressey designing it :stuck_out_tongue: