Exercises: Standing, Sitting (with a bit of Lying Down), Kneeling
Group the First of the Exercise List of Doom: our standing, sitting and kneeling section.
For Weights, I was assigned
1: 'weight in each hand, raise arms slowly from sides to straight in front of self at shoulder height, hold for count of 3 or 5, then lower arms slowly to sides, lather rinse repeat for five to ten reps'
2: 'weight in each hand, raise arms slowly from sides to a 45° angle in front of self at shoulder height, hold for count of 3 or 5, then lower arms slowly to sides, lather rinse repeat for five to ten reps'
Things to pay attention to: keep your elbows a little soft, so your arm isn't locked, and don't let your shoulders climb up towards your ears as your hands come up. Try to feel your shoulderblades gliding and moving as your arms move, not a yanking sensation from the front of your shoulder joints.
I found those really, really worked on deltoid development. By which I mean I actually HAVE deltoids now. >.>
I added:
3. 'lift arms along sides, palms facing floor, until at roughly shoulder height, hold, lower'--the slowest taking-flight arm flapping EVER
4. a rowing exercise (I was inspired by this guy's dumb-bell section of a bodyweight workout (youtube link))
5. a triceps exercise based on the single arm triceps extension.
I'm considering adding in some bicep curling, mostly because it's kinda nice to have them. First I have to be able to get my shoulderblades to glide the way they're supposed to, though. It's easy to fall into bad habits and my right shoulder thinks it's funny anyway.
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Wall/Counter Pushups: hands placed about shoulder width apart, pull your hands slightly apart on the surface you're using so you feel your shoulderblades and the lower part of your shoulders (armpit, not top of shoulder) engage. Hook your ribs and hips together; you want to feel them connected, like your trunk is moving as a unit instead of in stages or jerkily. Keeping that sense of connection, do between 5 and 10 slow pushups.
Slow is harder. Also lets you notice when you're losing form.
---
Boards: kneel on the floor, feet in line with knees and hips. Grow longer through body, feeling tailbone reaching towards the floor and crown of head reaching towards the ceiling. Try to hook your ribs and hips together, everything in a line and solid. Lean back, keeping that length and sense of connection, hold for a slow count of five, then come back up. Repeat ten times. Gradually increase time of lean-back and angle of lean-back as you get stronger. (I'm up to an 8-count and have gained at least 3° since starting these)
If you touch your lower belly while leaning back, you should feel tension, and if you touch your lower back, you should *not* be feeling much tension. Do not let your bum take up any slack. This is not a back-of-body exercise, this is a front-of-body exercise.
I found having Veggie verify that I was lined up from ribs to hips from the side helpful. I also really feel this more across the fronts of my thighs than in my belly, but if I touch belly and back the belly's tighter than the back.
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Adductor Stretch: instead of giving you the pilates-inspired thing I was originally using, I'll give you the three (yes, 3) stretches the specialist physio gave me.
1: Sit on the floor, knees apart and the soles of your feet together (this is commonly referred to as a butterfly stretch). Lean forward from your pelvis (most of us slump from the spine to do this; you'll feel this a LOT more if you come from the pelvis), pressing your knees down a bit towards the floor as you do. Hold for at least 30 seconds, stretching longer if you're older than 30.
2: Once you're done with the first version, lie back to put your spine on the floor with your legs in the same butterfly position as before. When I do this, the front of my hips get a lot more stretch than they do in the first version. Again, hold for at least 30 seconds.
3: find a flat vertical surface tall enough for you to prop your entire leg on, with space in front for you to lie flat. Personally if I don't want to use my upstairs hallway (which requires a bit of finagling so I don't whack my head on the half-wall opposite the full wall when I lie down), I use the front of my washing machine and dryer. This gets . . interesting on laundry days. Anyway. Lie flat on your back with your bum scooted right up to the bottom edge of the wall and your legs straight up the wall away from you. Let your ankles fall outwards towards the floor without pulling from your knees--you're looking for a stretching sensation about halfway down the inside of your thighs, not a ouchy sensation from where your adductor connects to your knee or your pelvis. Hold for as long as you can stand, letting your legs open farther if you stop getting the stretch feeling.
My specialist physio has me do these three times a day. I might have adductor issues.
---
Calf Stretch: Find a wall or a counter. Place your feet about hip width apart, with one at least a foot's length behind the heel of the leading foot, heels of both feet on the floor. Try to distribute your weight in a line running from the center of your heel to your first and second toes. (This may not be as easy as it sounds.)
Now, bend your front knee, using the wall or counter for balance. The back leg's knee should be a bit soft, and you should feel a stretch along the calf. If you don't, try putting the back leg back farther. Don't bend the back leg yet--that's the second stage of the stretch and goes for a different muscle than the first part. Hold for around 20-30 seconds, then bend your back knee more. The stretchy feeling should move in your calf. Hold for another 20-30 seconds, then switch sides.
For Weights, I was assigned
1: 'weight in each hand, raise arms slowly from sides to straight in front of self at shoulder height, hold for count of 3 or 5, then lower arms slowly to sides, lather rinse repeat for five to ten reps'
2: 'weight in each hand, raise arms slowly from sides to a 45° angle in front of self at shoulder height, hold for count of 3 or 5, then lower arms slowly to sides, lather rinse repeat for five to ten reps'
Things to pay attention to: keep your elbows a little soft, so your arm isn't locked, and don't let your shoulders climb up towards your ears as your hands come up. Try to feel your shoulderblades gliding and moving as your arms move, not a yanking sensation from the front of your shoulder joints.
I found those really, really worked on deltoid development. By which I mean I actually HAVE deltoids now. >.>
I added:
3. 'lift arms along sides, palms facing floor, until at roughly shoulder height, hold, lower'--the slowest taking-flight arm flapping EVER
4. a rowing exercise (I was inspired by this guy's dumb-bell section of a bodyweight workout (youtube link))
5. a triceps exercise based on the single arm triceps extension.
I'm considering adding in some bicep curling, mostly because it's kinda nice to have them. First I have to be able to get my shoulderblades to glide the way they're supposed to, though. It's easy to fall into bad habits and my right shoulder thinks it's funny anyway.
---
Wall/Counter Pushups: hands placed about shoulder width apart, pull your hands slightly apart on the surface you're using so you feel your shoulderblades and the lower part of your shoulders (armpit, not top of shoulder) engage. Hook your ribs and hips together; you want to feel them connected, like your trunk is moving as a unit instead of in stages or jerkily. Keeping that sense of connection, do between 5 and 10 slow pushups.
Slow is harder. Also lets you notice when you're losing form.
---
Boards: kneel on the floor, feet in line with knees and hips. Grow longer through body, feeling tailbone reaching towards the floor and crown of head reaching towards the ceiling. Try to hook your ribs and hips together, everything in a line and solid. Lean back, keeping that length and sense of connection, hold for a slow count of five, then come back up. Repeat ten times. Gradually increase time of lean-back and angle of lean-back as you get stronger. (I'm up to an 8-count and have gained at least 3° since starting these)
If you touch your lower belly while leaning back, you should feel tension, and if you touch your lower back, you should *not* be feeling much tension. Do not let your bum take up any slack. This is not a back-of-body exercise, this is a front-of-body exercise.
I found having Veggie verify that I was lined up from ribs to hips from the side helpful. I also really feel this more across the fronts of my thighs than in my belly, but if I touch belly and back the belly's tighter than the back.
---
Adductor Stretch: instead of giving you the pilates-inspired thing I was originally using, I'll give you the three (yes, 3) stretches the specialist physio gave me.
1: Sit on the floor, knees apart and the soles of your feet together (this is commonly referred to as a butterfly stretch). Lean forward from your pelvis (most of us slump from the spine to do this; you'll feel this a LOT more if you come from the pelvis), pressing your knees down a bit towards the floor as you do. Hold for at least 30 seconds, stretching longer if you're older than 30.
2: Once you're done with the first version, lie back to put your spine on the floor with your legs in the same butterfly position as before. When I do this, the front of my hips get a lot more stretch than they do in the first version. Again, hold for at least 30 seconds.
3: find a flat vertical surface tall enough for you to prop your entire leg on, with space in front for you to lie flat. Personally if I don't want to use my upstairs hallway (which requires a bit of finagling so I don't whack my head on the half-wall opposite the full wall when I lie down), I use the front of my washing machine and dryer. This gets . . interesting on laundry days. Anyway. Lie flat on your back with your bum scooted right up to the bottom edge of the wall and your legs straight up the wall away from you. Let your ankles fall outwards towards the floor without pulling from your knees--you're looking for a stretching sensation about halfway down the inside of your thighs, not a ouchy sensation from where your adductor connects to your knee or your pelvis. Hold for as long as you can stand, letting your legs open farther if you stop getting the stretch feeling.
My specialist physio has me do these three times a day. I might have adductor issues.
---
Calf Stretch: Find a wall or a counter. Place your feet about hip width apart, with one at least a foot's length behind the heel of the leading foot, heels of both feet on the floor. Try to distribute your weight in a line running from the center of your heel to your first and second toes. (This may not be as easy as it sounds.)
Now, bend your front knee, using the wall or counter for balance. The back leg's knee should be a bit soft, and you should feel a stretch along the calf. If you don't, try putting the back leg back farther. Don't bend the back leg yet--that's the second stage of the stretch and goes for a different muscle than the first part. Hold for around 20-30 seconds, then bend your back knee more. The stretchy feeling should move in your calf. Hold for another 20-30 seconds, then switch sides.