Fast Fitness - Straighten and Stretch Hip While Strengthening Core, Arms, Legs, and Balance

Friday, March 27, 2009

Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM

Here is Friday Fast Fitness - Increase strength and muscular endurance of your body working as a whole, and learn to keep neutral spine and good hip position against resistance.

1. From a pushup position, turn to the side, raising one arm overhead, holding legs and body straight.


2. Raise your top leg. Notice if you increase the inward curve of your lower back (overarch to hyperlordosis) and if you bring the leg forward - demonstrated in the upper photo.
   


3. Instead, hold straight. To feel position, practice against a wall - demonstrated in the lower photo. Bring the back of the raised leg against the wall. Press your lower back closer toward the wall instead of letting it overarch from the weight of your leg pulling the spine.

The idea is to use the wall as a guide to learn positioning, then use your muscles and sense of positioning to hold straight without the wall from then onward.

More Fitness Fixer on Side Plank:

• To get started holding a side plank, see Fast Friday - Functional Oblique Abdominal Muscle Practice - Holding Straight
• For challenging addition, try Fast Friday - Oblique Core Strength and Balance on the Ball

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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.

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Find your topics on the Fitness Fixer Index, and see Jolie's books.

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Photos by Dr. Jolie Bookspan of students Marianne and Dennis

Labels: abdominal muscles, arm, endurance, fast fitness, hip strength, hip stretch, leg strength, lordosis, neutral spine, posture

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