Do you suffer from a bad back?

Most people nowadays lead a sedentary life.  Gone are the days when we used to hunt for our food, and carry water for miles to feed our families.  Convenience has taken over, and as man has progressed we now perform many tasks from a desk stuck behind a laptop or computer.

What’s the Problem with that?

Well sadly our bodies are not designed for sitting around.  We are designed to twist, squat, lunge, pounce and hunt like our feline friends.

If you sit for the majority of the day, this leads to quad dominance.  The quads are located at the front or top, and hamstrings are at the back of your leg. 

The short explanation…

Without going into too many details if you sit a lot and your quads become tight, your bum becomes a second pair of feet!!  This is not how we are built; our bodies become imbalanced by lazy glute or bum muscles, and tight quads.  Glute strength is essential for hip stabilization, Poor hip stabilization results in poor posture and a bad back! 

All good things come in pairs…

Muscles come in a sequence of partnerships the biceps have the triceps, the quads are in partnerships with the hamstrings.  Your muscles should be a mirror strength of one another, in other words all muscle need to be kept toned for good posture.

Want to be strong and powerful?

When it comes to strength and power, your posterior chain (hip and lower back extensors) is your key to success for helping to manage back pain and improve common postural problems.

Exercises to strengthen the Posterior Chain

Always remember to consult your health professional before embarking on any new exercise regimme.

Beginners Exercises (Body Weight)

Good Mornings
Glute Bridges
Reciplical Reach
Cobra
Prone Cobra
Lunges
Squats
Hyper extensions
Glute bridges

Intermediate (Instability)

Hamstring curls on a Swiss ball or Bose
Glute Bridges on a Swiss ball or Bose
Glute kickbacks
Single leg Romanian Deadlift
Intermediate pistol squats
Sprinting

Advanced (added resistance)

Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts
Romanian Deadlifts
Deadlifts
All variety of squats
Kettle bell swings
Pistol squats (deep)
Death March
Nordics

We could go on forever…

Confused?

No problem just talk to one of out Health and Active PT’s today, we are only too happy to demonstrate J

The Health and Active Team