There are so many exercises I use every day with many clients in my training studio to correct postural problems and movement dysfunction causing weakness and pain. However, there is one exercise that stand above all others as my best stability exercise and that is the toe touch drill. One of the main reasons I rate it so highly is the fact it relates to people of all ages and abilities. For example, I regularly use this with clients in their 80’s for preventing falls and people with serious hip or knee injuries as it helps to restore optimal stability of the pelvis with the single leg stance used in walking. At the same time I also include this in training programs for elite athletes for improving sporting performance. In this article I will explain in great detail exactly what this exercise can do for your body and why you should include it in your training program.
Stability Training – What Is It Really & Why Is It So Important?
Stability training is one of those terms I regularly use when talking about injury management or injury prevention. When most of us think of the term stability, we think of exercises like planks to challenge the core or balance exercises to challenge our balance. While both of these examples are to some extent stability training it is so much more than that. True stability is all about being able to react with perfect reflexes to be able to maintain joint alignment ready for efficient and smooth movement. Also stability training is not just limited to the core, for all joints require stability, with some requiring more than others! In this article, I will discuss what stability really means, and how you can use it to enhance your training and performance.
How Constantly Gripping Your Glutes and Abs Ruins Your Stability
There are so many things I have learned over the past 20 years as a trainer and many of the best lessons were from mistakes I made. There are so many things I firmly believed in for years only to completely reverse my thinking years later. One of the best lessons was with regards to squeezing the glutes hard with strength exercises and even clenching the glutes constantly (also known gripping), which is something I did myself for many years believing I was doing a good thing. As a result I regularly suffered with all types of injuries all caused from my own training, or constant habits that I was not aware of that had become subconscious pain creators. In this article I take a look at what is a very common problem to many keen gym person and sporting athletes and how over doing something good can lead to causing problems with how you move.
8 Exercises That Help Improve Your Mobility and Stability at the Same Time!
Many people will tell you the answer to this question is to join a Yoga class. To some degree they are right as there are many poses that demand these two skills, however, not all Yoga classes provide this and not all of the exercises will relate to functional movement. Holding a pose for set period of time is great, but the timing is not what you would encounter in a real-life situation that often moves fast and requires instantaneous reflexes. There are many people who come to see me for help who possess great flexibility but lack joint stability and control of movements. On the flip side of this are others who have incredible stiffness but lack mobility. Finding ways to improve both of these essential skills is critical for improving their movement efficiency so they can achieve their goals with health and fitness. In this article, I will share with you a workout I have used successfully with many people in the past. Not all of the exercises may relate to your specific needs so you can easily add or subtract exercises as you feel necessary.