Squatober! Week 2: Hips

ARE YOUR HIPS INTERFERING WITH YOUR SQUAT? FIND OUT HERE AND LEARN WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT.

How are your hips moving?

Follow along with the self-assessment video.

Video yourself doing each movement. Then, take a screenshot of each position.

ASSESS 4 COMPONENTS YOUR HIP MOBILITY

Goals for each component:

• Hip Internal Rotation - Minimum is 30 degrees to each side

• Hip flexion - No pinching in your hip when you hug your knee to your chest

• Hip extension (hip flexors) - Leg should lower to horizontal and ideally 10+ degrees below horizontal

• Quads - Bend your knee without the thigh rising above horizontal

What are YOUR tight spots?

👉Check out my recommendations for each component:

1. Is your hip internal rotation limited? Try this hip mobility exercise.

2. Does your hip pinch when you pull your knee to your chest OR when you squat deep? This exercise targets your core and lower back flexibility. Your hip will have more space to move when your lower back is more bendy.

3. Are your hip flexors tight? Improve your hip extension by strengthening the hip flexors. Muscles must be strong before they will stretch.

4. Are your quads stiff? Work on the #3 video above and focus on the quad stretches in the final 2 minutes.

Once you’ve worked on your tight spots…

did your squat feel any better?

If so, FANTASTIC! Add these to your pre-workout routine.

If not, you may need a more thorough diagnostic evaluation. Contact me to discuss your specific goals.

Lastly, have you assessed your ankle mobility?

Find out how by clicking the “older post” link for “Squatober! Week 1: Ankles” below.

Squatober! Week 1: Ankles

Are you ankles interfering with your squat? Find out here AND learn what to do about it.

Assess your ankle mobility with the “Knee to Wall” test.

Keeping your heel on the ground, your knee should shift a minimum of 4 inches beyond your toes. Some research indicates that 6 or more inches is ideal for athletes.

Need more Ankle mobility? Try this:

1) Strengthen your toes!

The muscles that control your toes are actually in your leg. The tendons cross the ankle joint and travel down your foot. Weak and stiff toe muscles lead to stiff ankles.

A theraband is used in these exercises; a non-theraband version is provided. Don’t have a theraband? Try the movements anyway. Moving your toes is often challenging even without resistance.

2) Strengthen your arches

Just like your toes, the muscles that support your arch are in your leg. You’ll feel challenged during these exercises and amazing afterwards.

Same as the toe exercises, you’ll need a theraband and a theraband loop. However, these movements are often still challenging without a theraband. Give ‘em a try!

3) Mobilize your ankle

Do you find that ankle stretches aren’t providing lasting results? Give these variations a try.

Orienting your mind & body to the present

Physical health and mental health are so intertwined.  I 100% believe that movement is necessary to heal our bodies and our minds.

I recently invited psychotherapist, Amy Olsen, to speak about trauma and movement

Catch the FB Live Interview: "When Movement Brings Up Feelings" chat with Amy Olsen

You can watch it here on YouTube!

0:00 Introduction 

10:45 Amy teaches us how to "Orient" our nervous system to the present

16:30 Amy discusses how trauma impacts nervous system development

37:00 Amy leads us through an interactive creative movement & orienting experience

So what is Orienting?

Orienting is a simple strategy to calm your nervous system by focusing your senses on the present.  

1. Scan your environment and notice what is around you.

2. Choose an object to focus on.

3. Notice your breathe.

4. Become aware of your body surfaces that are in contact with the ground/chair, etc.

Repeat this process as many times as you would like; choose a new object each time.

I felt more relaxed after 3 rounds and have been doing this a few times a day since learning this technique. Amy says she Orients for about 10 minutes each morning while drinking her tea.

Did you try Orienting? I challenge you to try it once more today and again tomorrow.