Routine 4

Format: 13 sets, 60 seconds, 15 seconds rest

Cat-camel

This is a spine exercise to open up the joints and activate the muscles of the back. Your spine is like every other joint in your body, it needs to move and stretch to be healthy. 

How to do cat-camel

Quick Description: On your hands and knees. Knees are under your hips and hands are under your shoulders. Extend your spine and look up towards the ceiling, then round your back and tuck your chin towards your chest, tuck your tailbone as well. Then proceed back into the extension, chin up and tailbone up. Breathing throughout. Repeat 10 repetitions. 

Starting Position: Let’s begin this exercise in the quadruped, also known as the table top position or hands and knees position. Come down to the floor and support your weight on your hands, knees, and the tops of your feet. The hands are flat on the floor, putting your wrists in an extended position.  Your hands should be directly under your shoulders with your fingers pointed in front of you toward 12 o’clock. Your hands should be just slightly wider than your ribs, and should be in line with your chest, not up by your upper shoulders or neck.  Your elbows are fully extended, or straight and your scapula, or shoulder blades, are slightly retracted, or pulled back, creating a flat surface for your upper back.  In other words, you’re not allowing your back to round up toward the ceiling too much, but staying very neutral.  Your nose is pointed toward the floor, because this is in alignment with your spine which is currently parallel with the floor.  Retract your head back, or in this case, up, to maintain that good alignment.  Another way to say it, keep your nose pointed toward the floor, but lift your head as high as you can, like your trying to touch the ceiling with the back of your head.  Your belly should be squeezed in tight with your lumbar with your lower spine, curved anteriorly, in this case toward the floor, very slightly.  For your spine, from the top of your head to the top of your buttocks, we are aiming for neutrality, an elongated spine with shallow curves. Your knees are directly under your hips, and your knees and feet are the same width as your hips, approximately six inches of space. Finally, the tops of your feet are resting on the floor with your toes pointed behind you toward 6 o’clock. 

To Perform the Exercise: Slowly alternate between full flexion and full extension of your spine. For the first position, put your spine into full extension by simultaneously raising your head and looking up as high as you can, and pushing your chest and belly toward the floor as far as you can. Keep your elbows straight and don’t move your hands, knees, or feet. Then move into the second position, which is full flexion of the spine, by dropping your chin down toward the floor and then toward your chest, and simultaneously pushing your shoulders and back up toward the ceiling as high as you can. Again, keep the rest of your body in the exact same position. When raising your spine up, try to pull your belly button into your spine for the full contraction. Repeat for 10 repetitions. 

Muscles Targeted: This will lengthen and stretch the core abdominal muscles, as well as the spinal muscles such as the erector spinae (the large muscles on either side of your spine), and the small muscles that run between your vertebrae. 

Common Mistakes: One common mistake is sitting back on your heels when performing this movement. Stay up in your table top position with your hips over your knees. 

Another common mistake is not rolling the hips when arching the spine. As your spine drops down, think about trying to push your tail bone and the back of your head closer together, and when your spine raises up, thing about pushing your chin and your groin closer together, rolling and turning the hips with each movement. 

Bear Position

An exercise to strengthen and stabilize the core, the mid section of the body.

How to do the Bear Position

Quick Description: From the table top position, curl your toes under in preparation to lift. As you exhale, push into the floor in order to hover the knees about an inch off the floor. Holding this position be sure to push into the floor with your hands as well to stay active through the upper back. Hold about 5-10 secs and breathe, holding a neutral spine. Repeat for 6-8 repetitions.

Starting Position: Let’s begin this exercise in the quadruped, also known as the table top position or hands and knees position. Come down to the floor and support your weight on your hands, knees, and the tops of your feet. The hands are flat on the floor, putting your wrists in an extended position.  Your hands should be directly under your shoulders with your fingers pointed in front of you toward 12 o’clock. Your hands should be just slightly wider than your ribs, and should be in line with your chest, not up by your upper shoulders or neck.  Your elbows are fully extended, or straight, your scapula, or shoulder blades, are slightly retracted, or pulled back, creating a flat surface for your upper back.  In other words, you’re not allowing your back to round up toward the ceiling too much, but staying very neutral.  Your nose is pointed toward the floor, because this is in alignment with your spine which is currently parallel with the floor. Retract your head back, or in this case, up, to maintain that good alignment.  Another way to say it, keep your nose pointed toward the floor, but lift your head as high as you can, like you’re trying to touch the ceiling with the back of your head.  Your belly should be squeezed in tight with your lumbar, your lower spine curved anteriorly, in this case, very slightly toward the floor. For your spine in total, from the top of your head to the top of your buttocks, we are aiming for neutrality, an elongated spine with shallow curves. Your knees are directly under your hips, and your knees and feet are the same width as your hips, approximately six inches of space. Now, dorsiflex, or point your toes into the ground, until the bottoms of your toes and the balls of your feet are touching the floor.

To Perform the Exercise: Simply shift all of your weight onto your hands and toes, lifting your knees off the floor only about 1-2 inches or so. Your knees should remain under your hips, and there should be very little movement as you try to maintain the exact same stance, just holding your knees off the ground. Hold for about 5 to 10 seconds and repeat about 6 times.

Muscles Targeted: Primarily the muscles of the core including the rectus abdominus, Obliques, and Transverse Abdominals, but also the muscles of the arms, shoulders, and legs in this full body core exercise.

Ways to Increase Intensity: Lifting a single appendage from the floor will increase intensity. While in the bear position, experiment with raising one hand off the floor a few inches, putting it back down, then the other. The same can be done with raising a foot a few inches, putting it back down, and then raising the other.

Ways to Decrease Intensity: You can raise your knees up higher to decrease the demand on your core muscles. Try to challenge yourself though, each time you do the exercise, to work toward getting your knees closer to the floor.

Common Mistakes: One common mistake with this exercise is dropping your head toward the floor. It is very important to maintain a neutral spine, which means pointing your nose toward the floor, but lifting your head up into alignment with your spine.

Another common mistake is placing the hands out in front of your body. Your hands should be at chest level, and not up by your neck or face. If you were to see yourself from the side, you would see your hands straight down under your shoulders, and not out away from you.

Childs’ Pose

This exercise will relieve tension in the spine and rib cage, as well as stretch open the muscles in the chest, shoulders, and lats. 

How to do the child’s pose

Quick Description: From table-top position, take a slightly wider stance with your knees and sit your hips back towards your heels. Walk hands forward slightly and let the chest fall towards the floor. Focus on breathing into the rib cage, inhale to expand the ribs and exhale. Hold for 3-4 breaths. Walk hands towards the right and hold and breathe. Then walk the hands to the left and hold and breathe. 

Starting Position: Let’s begin this exercise in the quadruped, also known as the table top position or hands and knees position. Come down to the floor and support your weight on your hands, knees, and the tops of your feet. The hands are flat on the floor, putting your wrists in an extended position.  Your hands should be as wide as your shoulders just on the outside of your ribs, with your fingers pointed in front of you toward 12 o’clock. Your hands should be up slightly from your body, in line with your face, and not by your chest as we normally would have them.  Your elbows are fully extended, or straight and  your scapula, or shoulder blades, are slightly retracted, or pulled back, creating a flat surface for your upper back.  In other words, you’re not allowing your back to round up toward the ceiling too much, but staying very neutral.  Your nose is pointed toward the floor, because this is in alignment with your spine which is currently parallel with the floor.  Retract your head back, or in this case, up, to maintain that good alignment.  Another way to say it, keep your nose pointed toward the floor, but lift your head as high as you can, like you’re trying to touch the ceiling with the back of your head.  Your belly should be squeezed in tight with your lumbar, your lower spine, curved anteriorly, in this case toward the floor, very slightly.  For your spine, from the top of your head to the top of your buttocks, we are aiming for neutrality, an elongated spine with shallow curves. Your knees are in a stance slightly wider than your hips instead of directly under your hips like we would normally do, and your knees and feet are the same width, approximately 10-12 inches between your knees and the same between your feet. Finally, the tops of your feet are resting on the floor with your toes pointed behind you toward 6 o’clock. 

To Perform the Exercise: Slowly sit your hips back toward your heels and lower your chest toward the floor at the same time. As your chest comes down, you can walk your hands out further away from you until your face and chest are just a few inches from the ground and your arms are fully extended out over your head. You can increase or decrease the tension as needed by sliding your hands further forward away from you or back towards you. Take one hand, and place it on top of the other, stretching that arm and shoulder across the mid line of your body. Repeat on the other side and be sure to take slow deep breaths as you feel the muscles and joints in your back, shoulders, and chest stretch open. You can hold each position for 3-5 seconds, and repeat as needed. 

Muscles Targeted: Primarily the Latissimus Dorsi (the large muscles of your back on the side of your body), but it also stretches open the muscles of your chest, shoulders, and belly, as well as potentially your hips and buttocks. 

Common Mistakes: Keeping the knees too close together. You don’t need to open your knees so much that you feel the stretch in the groin, but you want to get a slightly wider base than normal to allow your hips to sit back further and get a better stretch in the torso. 

Side-lying T-spine Twist

This exercise will improve your upper back mobility.

How to do a Side-lying T-spine Twist

Quick Description: Laying on your left side, your right knee is bent at 90 degrees at hip level on the floor in front of you, left leg straight on the floor. Let your head rest on your left arm. Reach your right arm forward slightly and then with your exhale raise the arm up and over and behind you as you twist your upper body towards the right as far as you can towards the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat about 10 times per side.

Starting Position: Let’s start on the floor on a padded surface, lying on your side with your torso (upper body) and your legs straight, your legs stacked one on top of the other, and your top arm resting on your hip.  Your welcome to support your head on your bottom arm or on a pillow as needed. Take your top leg and bring your knee out in front of you with your knee bent to 90 degrees. For example, if you are lying on your left side, your right leg will be resting on the floor out in front of you with your right knee bent and at hip level, and your left leg still straight and in line with your body. Now, take your top arm and place it on the floor out in front of you perpendicular to your upper body.

To Perform the Exercise: Take your top arm which is forward from your body, and then with a big  exhale, raise the arm up and over and behind you as you twist your upper body, trying to push your scapula (shoulder blades ) towards the floor as far as you can. Your top leg that is bent and on the floor in front of you should not move at all, and as you twist and push your shoulder blades back, you are trying to point your chest toward the ceiling without moving your hips or legs. Return to the starting position and repeat about 10 times per side.

Muscles Targeted: Most of the major muscles in the chest, shoulders, and core.

Ways to Increase Intensity: If you want to increase the intensity of the stretch, you can straighten your top leg out perpendicular to your body instead of having a bent knee. This will extend the stretch further into the hips and hamstrings as well as the thoracic spine.

Ways to Decrease Intensity: If you want to decrease the intensity of the stretch, you can decrease the level to which you raise your top leg out in front of you. For example, bending your knee slightly and keeping your feet a bit closer together will allow your hips to roll just a bit more as you twist the shoulders, and in turn this will decrease the tension in the muscles you are stretching.

Common Mistakes: One common mistake with this and other stretches is holding your breath during the movement. Taking in deep breaths and releasing them slowly while trying to relax will improve the effectiveness of the stretch.

Side-lying Hip Abduction

This exercise targets your Gluteus Medius, the outer hip muscle.

How to do a Side-lying Hip Abduction

Quick Description: Laying on your left side, stack your shoulders, hips and knees. Lift your right leg up and down, keeping your right leg straight, and slightly rotated inwards. You should feel the muscle under your back pocket/glute area working to create the movement. Repeat 10-15 times per leg.

Starting Position: Let’s start on the floor on a padded surface, lying on your side with your torso (upper body) and your legs straight, your legs stacked one on top of the other, and your top arm resting on your hip.  Your welcome to support your head on your bottom arm or on a pillow as needed.

To Perform the Exercise: Lift your top leg up as high as you can, and then slowly lower back down. Keep your top leg slightly internally rotated by pointing your toe at a small angle toward the floor in front of you. This little turn in your leg will help ensure that you are not leaning back and that you are targeting the right muscles. Repeat this movement 10-15 times and then switch legs.

Muscles Targeted: Gluteus Medius (buttocks) and other hip abductors.

Ways to Increase Intensity: You can increase intensity with this exercise by adding resistance to your leg from something like an ankle weight or a very light resistance band.

Ways to Decrease Intensity: If you need a little less tension for this exercise, you can limit how high you bring your leg. This will still challenge the muscles as you work toward strengthening your glutes and increasing your range of motion.

Common Mistakes: One of the most common mistakes with this exercise is rolling back on your hips. As you fatigue, you will be tempted to lean back, pointing your belly and the front of your hips up higher toward the ceiling, which will begin to utilize different muscles for this movement. Keep your hips and belly pointed directly at the room in front of you and that top leg slightly internally rotated by pointing your toe toward the ground at a very shallow angle. This will keep tension on the right muscle groups.

Side-lying Active Quad Stretch

This stretch improves mobility of the quadriceps (thigh muscles).

How to do a Side-lying Active Quad Stretch

Quick Description: Starting on your left side, stack your shoulders, hips and knees. Bend your left knee to 90 degrees at hip level resting on the floor in front of you and reach behind you to grab your right shin/ankle. Bring your right knee or thigh backwards gently as you push your right hip forwards to feel a stretch in your right quad. Keep ahold of your leg as you bring it forward to release the stretch. Repeat 10 times holding the stretch for only 2 secs. Then switch sides.

Starting Position: Let’s start on the floor on a padded surface, lying on your side with your torso (upper body) and your legs straight, your legs stacked one on top of the other, and your top arm resting on your hip.  Your welcome to support your head on your bottom arm or on a pillow as needed. Take your bottom leg and bring your knee out in front of you with your knee bent to 90 degrees. For example, if you are lying on your left side, your left leg will be resting on the floor out in front of you with your left knee bent and at hip level, and your right leg still straight and in line with your body.

To Perform the Exercise: Flex (bend) your top leg, bringing your heel back behind you. Grab the ankle of that leg with your top arm and pull your heel closer to your buttocks as you simultaneously push your hips forward. Hold for about 2 seconds, release the tension slightly, and then repeat about 8-10 times.

Muscles Targeted: Quadriceps (thigh) and Psoas (hip flexor)

Common Mistakes: One common mistake with this stretch is over arching your lower back. You will naturally arch slightly more than neutral because you are pulling your hip back into extension, but focus on tightening up your abdominals and pulling your belly button into your spine, which will limit your anterior (forward) hip rotation and push the stretch into your hip and thigh instead of your lower back.

Hamstring Walkout

This exercise will activate and strengthen your hamstrings and other posterior chain muscles.

How to do a Hamstring Walkout

Quick Description: In the glute bridge position, raise the hips up off the floor. Keeping the hips up, dig the heels into the floor, lifting the toes up. In this position walk the heels away from the body towards straight legs. Then walk the heels back in towards your body. Repeat this 4-6 times.

Starting Position: Let’s start supine, or face up,  on the floor, on a firm but padded surface such as a carpet or hard flooring with a yoga mat. Flex, or bend, the knees, pointing them toward the ceiling and place your feet flat on the floor about 6 inches from your buttocks, maintaining about 6 inches between your feet and knees. The position of your arms and hands is preferential, you can leave them at your side palms up, you can turn your palms down, or you can fold your arms across your chest. Now, raise your hips up off the floor into a glute bridge (check out that lesson for more information if needed). Keeping your hips up as high as you can. Finally, dig your heels into the floor and lift your toes up a couple of inches off the ground, keeping all your weight in your heels and shoulders.

To Perform the Exercise: In this position slowly walk your heels away from your body towards straight legs by alternately moving one heel away from you a few inches at a time. It is not a goal to fully lock your knees, just reach out until you feel the most tension you can manage. Be sure to keep your buttocks up off the ground as high as you can throughout the entire exercise. Once you’ve reached the furthest point you can without losing good form, then slowly walk the heels back in towards your body to the starting position. You can lower your hips to the ground if you need some rest, or keep them raised and continue immediately. Repeat this 4-6 times.

Muscles Targeted: Hamstrings (back of the thigh) and Glutes (buttocks),

Ways to Increase Intensity: To challenge your self more, perform the 4-6 series of this movement without lowering your hips back down to the ground for rest in between.

Ways to Decrease Intensity: To decrease the intensity, you can rest in between series, and limit the distance to which you attempt to walk your heels out.

Common Mistakes: One common mistake is not engaging the core muscles during this exercise. A fairly challenging maneuver, it is easy to over arch the spine and not think about using your core. To do this movement correctly, contract your abdominal muscles through the entire exercise and keep a shallow, neutral arch in your lower spine. A good way to think of this is to tighten your belly like someone is about to stand on your stomach, keep that tension to support your hips and spine.

Another common mistake is taking large rapid steps through this movement. As tempting as it is, you will get so much more from this exercise if you take your time and straighten your legs in alternating slow increments as opposed to large long steps. Slowly extend your legs and keep your body as steady and strong as you can.

Hip Flexor Stretch

The hip flexors (the front of the hips) get tight with running and sitting. This stretch will relieve tension in the hip flexors.

How to do a Hip Flexor Stretch

Quick Description: In a kneeling position, bring your right foot onto the floor in front of you which will put you into a half kneeling position. In this position get tall and tuck your tailbone under your pelvis. This should already put tension on your left hip flexor. Glide your right knee forward slightly for a greater stretch in the left hip flexor area. Glide back to release slightly and continue gliding forwards and backwards. Raise and reach up through the left arm to feel even more of a stretch. Repeat 5-10 glides and then switch sides.

Starting Position: For this stretch, let’s kneel down on the floor on a firm but padded surface, such as a carpeted floor or a hard surface with a yoga mat.  In this kneeling position, both knees are bent to 90 degrees.  Your front foot is flat on the floor in front of you with your knee up, and your back foot is turned down with the dorsi side, or the top of your foot, on the ground.  Your bottom knee is on the floor directly under your hips, and your hips are directly under your head and shoulders with your arms at your sides. If you have decent range of motion already in your hip flexors, you can choose to slide your bottom knee back behind you a few inches to start, which will elongate the muscle a bit more. Be sure to squeeze your belly in tight and not allow your lower back to over arch through this movement, which will be a tendency in this exercise.

To Perform the Exercise: Glide your front knee forward slightly, which will pull your hips forward and force your leg that is down to stretch open the hip flexor at the front upper part of the leg that is down. Go until you feel a good stretch, then return to the starting position. Repeat 5-10 times, and repeat for the other leg.

Muscles Targeted: Psoas (the hip flexor)

Ways to Increase Intensity: To increase the stretch, you can raise the arm on the same side as the leg that is down. Reach your hand to the ceiling, and you can even try to reach the other hand toward the floor at your side. As you lean slightly to the side and push your hips forward, this will really open up the hip.

Ways to Decrease Intensity: Sometimes the kneeling position can be uncomfortable. You can perform this movement while standing up by keeping one foot on the ground and placing the shin of your other leg on a padded and stable chair and pushing your hips forward.

Common Mistakes: One common mistake is over arching your lower back. As you arch your spine, your hips are rotating forward into an anterior pelvic tilt. This will take pressure off your hip flexors and put tension in your lower back. Focus on tightening up your belly and imagine pulling your belly button into your spine, keeping your lower back from over arching.

Another common mistake is not pointing your front foot straight ahead. Watch your foot position as you glide forward, if your toe is pointed in or out, you could put a twisting movement into your knee.

Squats

Squats are a great way to improve hip mobility and activation of the hip and thigh muscles.

How to do Squats

Quick Description: Standing with feet just outside of hip width apart. Sit back first with the hips and let the knees bend. As you lower down into the squat let the hips and knees open slightly. As you return to standing be sure to push into the floor with the feet. After 5 reps, stay at the bottom of the squat and raise one arm up towards the ceiling, bring it back down, raise the other arm, and then back down. Come up from your squat. Repeat one more time.

Starting Position: Let’s start standing fully erect with your feet hip width or just slightly wider, and your toes pointed directly forward toward 12 o’clock, or just slightly more open.

To Perform the Exercise: Understand that the squat is one of the most powerful, most often used, and most often improperly performed, exercises out there. Follow all of these guidelines, and listen to your body, as small variations may be appropriate for your build or athleticism. First, engaging the right muscle groups is essential, in this case, the hips and buttocks are the primary movers, along with the hamstrings (back of the thigh) and quadriceps (thigh). Start the movement by pushing your hips back toward the wall behind you a few inches, causing you to flex at the hips and put your weight back on your heels. Be sure to not lose neutrality in your spine, your lower back should still have a shallow forward curve, just as if you were standing up. Now, keeping your weight in your heels, sit your hips back and down, like you are sitting in a very little chair that is way back behind you. Note, if you want to make sure your getting this right, you can get a literal chair or stool and perform a squat standing several inches away from it, sitting down, touching the chair very lightly, and then standing back up. As you lower into your squat, your knees should stay open as wide as your feet, and your chest and back should be upright and as tall as you can make them. When you have dropped as low as you can, drive your heels into the ground, squeeze your buttocks and your core, press your knees out, and push your head toward the ceiling as you drive back up to the starting position, finishing with your hips driving forward again and squeezing at the top. Your arm position through this exercise can vary. Keeping your arms out in front of you can help counterbalance the backward movement of your hips, just be sure to still keep your chest and head up as high as you can, your not trying to reach toward the front of the room, just hold your arms out for balance. You can also bend your elbows and keep your arms at your side, or even raise them over head for an added challenge. . You can perform many variations and manipulations on this primary movement, including sitting at the bottom of your squat, raising one arm, then lowering it and raising the other, then standing back up. Perform 6-10 reps with control and focus on good posture and stability.

Muscles Targeted: Glute Complex (buttocks), Hamstrings (back of the thigh), Quadriceps (thigh), and many accessory muscles including core muscles, postural muscles, and muscles in the lower legs and feet.

Ways to Increase Intensity: This primary exercise has dozens and dozens of variations to make it more challenging. One simple technique is to slow down your movements, especially on the way down (eccentric). Perform a slow count of 3 or 4 on the way down, and a count of 1 or 2 on the way up for a simple but effective way of turning up the intensity.

Ways to Decrease Intensity: If squats are challenging for you, don’t worry, you’re not alone. A super simple way of taking some pressure off your legs, knees, hips, or back, is to hold onto a stable object while sitting back into your squat. Examples may include the edge of a counter, the back of a couch, a banister railing, a suspended rope, a low pull-up bar, a strong door knob, etc. Holding this object will allow you to sit back a little more and share some of the stress with your upper body, allowing you the right tension to strengthen your legs and work toward doing unassisted body weight squats. The best objects are easily gripped and stable at about upper belly or chest level.

Common Mistakes: There are many mistakes that can be made with this exercise, I will list the most frequent ones, and note that these mistakes are not always on or off, black or white. Often There are subtle and small variations. You don’t have to be bent over double for it to be wrong. Even a small misalignment in your lower back can cause big problems over time, so always be on the look out for these, even if you are experienced with exercise.

First common mistake is rounding your back and dropping your chest. Though the squat is a full body exercise, engaging many muscles in the upper body in an accessory manner, it is primarily for the legs and buttocks, so we want the upper body to be as neutral and stationary as possible. Your upper body should stay as erect as possible through the entire movement, your core tight, your back neutral and strong. Imagine looking at a person in front of you while you are squatting, whether at the top or bottom, you want to point your face, chest, and belly toward them the entire time.

Another common mistake is not sitting back into the squat. If you miss the first step of pushing your hips back and subsequently not sitting in that imaginary chair way back behind you, you will have a tendency to push your knees forward and your weight into your toes. This puts a lot of pressure in your knees and long term is not biomechanically sound. Your knees can and will move forward slightly, but your weight should remain in your heels, and your knees should not pass your toes.

Another common mistake is allowing your knees to collapse together, whether on the way down (eccentric) or on the way up (concentric). If your knees collapse together, you are getting a better push, but the tension is no longer in your leg muscles, but is being shifted into the ligaments of your knee. Press your knees open as you sit and stand, keeping them to the same width as your hips and feet. If you struggle with this, you can prime those muscles by performing squats with a short elastic band around your knees. The band will try to pull your knees inward, and as you fight to keep the band stretched open, you will strengthen the muscles that externally rotate and abduct your legs.

Toe Yoga

This exercise will wake up the small muscles in the feet.

How to do Toe Yoga

Quick Description: In a standing position. Feel the ground with your whole foot and toes. Lift just the big toes off the ground, leaving the other toes on the ground. Repeat 10 times. Then, raise all the toes off the ground, leaving the big toes down. Repeat 10 times. Practice spreading all five toes out, creating space between all toes, and release. Repeat 5-10 times.

Starting Position: Standing up tall with your feet hip width and your toes pointed forward.

To Perform the Exercise: Good strength and flexibility in our feet is key to longevity and performance. Connect with the movements of your feet by first grounding them into the floor at all corners, noting that your arches (the inner side of your mid foot) should be lifted up off the floor. Spread your toes out and dig them into the ground, and lift your big toes only, holding for 2-3 seconds. Repeat about 10 times. Then, spread your toes again, now grounding your big toes into the floor and lifting the rest for a 2-3 second hold. Repeat that movement about 10 times as well.

Muscles Targeted: All of the small muscles that flex and move the feet.

Ways to Increase Intensity: Performing this exercise with longer holds will help challenge the coordination of the muscles more intensely.

Ways to Decrease Intensity: You can perform this series of movements in a sitting position for a bit more ease.

Common Mistakes: One common mistake is trying to perform this exercise while wearing socks and/or shoes. Not that practicing this movement while standing in line at the store or while sitting at your desk is a waste of time, this is still good for you, but when specifically training your feet, remove all the supports and barriers and allow your feet to move freely.

Single Leg Hops

Running is like springing from one foot to the other. This will help you practice that movement.

How to do Single Leg Hops

Quick Description: Holding something to help with balance if you need, stand on one leg and practice hopping as if you are skipping, keeping the foot in a neutral position. Perform for 10 secs, repeat 5-6 times per leg.

Starting Position: Let’s start this exercise standing up straight next to a stable object you can hold on to for balance if needed. Center  your weight over your grounded foot by moving  your hips laterally, shifting to the side of that leg slightly, effectively putting your grounded foot right in the middle of your body alignment. Another way of saying it, you’re not tipping to the side, your head and shoulders should stay right over your hips, but your whole vertical torso should be shifted just a little to the side so that your bottom foot is right in the middle of your body. Now raise your other foot off the ground and out in front of you slightly with your knee bent at a shallow angle, just to keep your leg out of the way and your foot from contacting the floor. Your arms should be bent to 90 degrees and at your side with your palms facing each other out in front of you, just like when running. The exception is if you are having balancing issues, you can place your hand or hands on whatever stable object you are using for balance.

To Perform the Exercise: Drive your bottom foot into the ground and spring up off the floor a few inches, keeping your foot flat relative to the floor. Land flat footed, but softly, by flexing your knee and hip slightly as you land, absorbing the impact, and rapidly springing back up again. Repeat several times hopping on one foot like you are skipping rope, then switch to the other leg..

Muscles Targeted: Quadriceps (thigh), Hamstrings (back of thigh), Glutes (buttocks), and several stabilizer muscles in the hips and core.

Ways to Increase Intensity: If your balance is exceptional and your looking for a challenge, you can perform this exercise on a soft surface, which will create less stability and more of a challenge for your muscle coordination. You can also add resistance by holding on to weights while performing the movement.

Ways to Decrease Intensity: If this is a challenging exercise for you, you can place the toes of your elevated foot back onto the floor for a little more stability. Think of 90%of your weight being in your bottom foot, but about 10% in the one you just put back down, just helping the movement along as needed.

Common Mistakes: One common mistake is not redistributing your weight to be centered for this exercise. It is so common when a person is told to balance on one foot, that they automatically just pick the other straight up off the ground. If you are standing on both feet, then all of a sudden, one foot is gone, you are going to topple over. Focus on staying up as tall as you can while centering your grounded foot directly underneath your body for best results.

Another common mistake is trying to look down at your foot while doing this movement. Your head should be up tall and your spine erect. This will help maintain balance, and improve posture.

Marching on the Spot

Running is similar to marching in the mechanics of the movement, this exercise will wake up the muscles needed for running.

How to March on the Spot

Quick Description: March on the spot with good tall posture. Creating a piston type movement between the legs, one up, one down. Continue for 30 secs.

Starting Position: Let’s start by standing up tall with your arms at your sides, your elbows bent to 90 degrees, and your hands out in front of you with your palms facing in. you should keep your hands open and relaxed, just like when running.

To Perform the Exercise: Note that marching is different from running in that there is not a flight phase. When marching, their will always be one foot in contact with the floor, but when running, you will alternate from foot to foot through the air, creating a flight phase. Having said that, the actual movements of the march are very similar to how a proper run should look, so let’s practice. Start by raising your right knee up in front of you to about hip level, your ankle should be directly below your knee and your toes pointed toward the room in front of you, not toward the floor. Quickly place that foot back down and repeat immediately with the other leg. Alternate back and forth quickly and smoothly, landing softly with your feet, keeping your head and back up high, and your arms fairly steady, producing only a slight forward and back movement in counter to your step.

Muscles Targeted: Psoas (hip flexors) and several core and postural muscles

Common Mistakes: One of the major mistakes with this exercise is not keeping an erect posture. Through the entire movement, imagine there is a string attached to the top of your head and it is pulling you up toward the ceiling. Doing this while running will distribute the weight of your upper body evenly through the hips and spine, reducing the demand on your core, back, and glute muscles, and allowing you to run more efficiently, saving energy.

Another common mistake is slapping your foot back down to the floor. Just the same with running, you want to minimize the impact of your body with the hard surface you are running on by controlling the descent of your foot and running as smooth and light as possible.