Back to Basics: Flexibility

Most of us could use to be a little more flexible.  And yes, I do mean this both literally and figuratively.  I find that literal flexibility does tend to encourage figurative flexibility because it teaches us to deal with the discomfort inherent in the process.  But I digress.  My wheelhouse is literal flexibility.

First, I need to explain that flexibility and mobility are related but not the same.  Flexibility is about the ability of our muscles to flex and extend.  Mobility is about how much movement is available at our joints, or in other words, it’s about bones.  Bones and muscles work together to create both movement and stability.  I’m not going to talk about mobility today, even though it is certainly a worthy topic for some future date.

 

OK:  flexibility.  I’m pretty sure that many of us have had negative experiences of stretching.  We may have had that teacher who decided we weren’t stretching enough and exerted unnecessary force to increase our stretch to an uncomfortable or even damaging degree.  We may have not been taught that discomfort and pain are not the same thing, or even that sometimes discomfort is productive.  That can make it hard to work on flexibility.

 

Others of us have the opposite problem.  Stretching feels good, so we skip it.  How can it possibly be good for us when it feels fabulous?

 

Still others have issues with making stretching a priority.  There’s already so much to do!  We need to cardio and we need to weight and now we need to stretch too?  (Yes, I just invented those verbs.  I’m a little sorry, but not much.)

 

The bottom line is this:  stretching is good and doesn’t take long and shouldn’t hurt.

 

When we stretch, consistency is key.  Doing five minutes a day is better than stretching for an hour once a month.  I’m sure we all waste more than five minutes somewhere in the day.

 

Here’s the process, using a hamstring stretch as an example.  For this particular hamstring stretch, we’re going to lie down on our backs and use a strap.  To begin, one leg will be bent with the foot flat on the floor.  The strap will be around the other foot, which will be raised off the floor.  I’m not going to specify how high because this is the part where we have to pay attention.  We’ll lift that leg gradually and we will stop when we feel tension in the hamstrings.  Notice I said tension, not pain.  Pain is actually bad for flexibility because our muscles freak out.  If we move into tension and hang out there a bit, our muscles realize that nothing bad is happening and they relax.  We can move in and out of tension gently (not bouncing, like they taught us in my youth).  We can explore different angles of attack.  Muscles have multiple fibers and small variations in position can stretch different fibers.  It’s kind of cool, really.  Once we have explored the tension, we can change the stretch by extending the bent leg along the floor.  This increases the stretch, so we may need to lower our stretching leg a little to avoid pain.  Hang out and explore again.  The whole process, on both legs, should take maybe two minutes.

 

Go play.

Monday Workout: K-needs

Some of us have knee issues.  The knee-friendlier versions of exercises are the second ones where there is a choice.  This is your periodic reminder that you can always substitute exercises that work better for your particular body.  I am not the boss of you.  But do three rounds.  If you want.

 

squat to leg lift/ticktock	30
(lunge to) curl	20
1 leg db pass	10
1 arm clean and press	30
skullcrushers	20
renegade rows	10
farmer carry	30
squat heel lift or calf raises	20
plank with toe touch	10

 

Thursday List: 6

There are more than two basic principles of Pilates.  Here is the whole list:

 

1.     breathing

2.     alignment/weight bearing of the extremities

3.     axial elongation and core control

4.     spinal articulation

5.     head/neck/shoulder organization

6.     movement integration

 

If you want to know more or experience Pilates in action, you know how to find me.

Back to Basics: Pilates 2

One of the other principles of Pilates that seems both basic and powerful is alignment. 

In the literal sense, when we move with improved alignment, our bodies are more graceful and efficient.  We are less likely to get injured, either through repetitive stress or catastrophe.  Balance and coordination are easier.

 

The thing is, the alignment of our literal bodies tends to have metaphorical effects as well.  As we align, say, our heads over our shoulders, we align our principles with our actions, our values with our work, our hearts with our minds and bodies.

 

I’m not saying that doing Pilates will automatically transform our lives.  Just that there is an opportunity there for the kind of small shift in alignment that can have, over time, big results.

Back to Basics: Pilates 1

 

Getting back to basics with Pilates is kind of the point of Pilates.  When we show up to our sessions, we want to check back into our bodies, to connect the body and mind more consciously (pro tip:  they’re always connected; it’s our awareness that shifts).

Personally, the part of Pilates that triggers that most directly and easily is the breath.

 

I’ve had more than one person tell me that they were bad at breathing.  That is not a thing.  Anybody who is not dead is doing a perfectly adequate job of breathing.  So we’re all starting from a place of success.

 

There are two exercises that, for me, facilitate connection to the breath most and they’re both really simple and accessible.  One is the pelvic clock.  To do it, we lie on our backs (hooray!) with our knees bent and our heels lined up with our sit bones.  As we exhale, we tilt the pelvis gently toward our belly buttons.  Then, when we inhale, we tilt toward our pubic bones.  There are further progressions of the exercise (tilting side to side and making circles), but this basic movement takes the natural motion of the spine as we breathe and slightly exaggerates it.  What I mean by that is that our spines naturally flex a little as we exhale and extend as we inhale.  We make conscious what happens without our even knowing it.

 

In a similar way, arm arcs do the same thing in a different part of the spine.  To do them, we start in the same position as for pelvic clock with our arms down at our sides.  As we inhale, we raise our arms overhead.  Then we lower them as we exhale.  This exaggerates what is called the “pump handle” motion of breathing.  As we inhale, the spine extends and the sternum rises like an old fashioned pump handle.  The exhale lowers the sternum, pumping out the breath.

 

Bringing attention to the way our breath moves our bodies and our bodies move our breath is a quick route to mindful movement.

Monday Workout: Core

This workout has a bunch of exercises that challenge our core musculature.  Enjoy three rounds!

 

jacks	30
flies	20
curls	10
woodchoppers	30
bench press	20
YTA	10
mountain climbers	30
db pullover with bridge	20
brains	10

 

Thursday List: 9

Exercises you might want to include in your weight workout:

 

1.     squats

2.     lunges

3.     deadlifts

4.     bench press

5.     flies

6.     rows

7.     curls

8.     kickbacks

9.     ab work