While balance has not traditionally been included in the four major components of health-related fitness—aerobic fitness, muscular fitness, flexibility and body composition—research confirms that both static and dynamic balance play a critical role in keeping us active and injury-free. Static balance is the ability to stand in place on one leg without creating undo biomechanical…
Your legs can do amazing things, including run, jump, kick, dodge, step, pivot, accelerate, leap, balance and turn, just to name a few. Plus, the lower body needs to move in every possible direction at slow, medium and explosive speeds. That’s why you need to make sure your clients are training their legs in a…
Balance is a funny thing. We don’t often fully notice it until we lose it. Like any other fitness characteristic like speed, power or strength, it can be developed and enhanced. Blind Balance Training Balance training is often approached in less-than-helpful ways. For example, the usual test of balance is to stand on a single…
The gluteus maximus gets a lot of attention, not only because it’s a prime mover for exercises like squatting, hip hinging and running, but because of its derriere-shaping effects. There is, however, another often-overlooked gluteal muscle deserving of your attention. The gluteus medius is responsible for abduction, internal and external rotation of the hip, and…
In some cases, any movement is better than none. In most cases, however, combining imbalanced and misaligned movement with resistance eventually leads to discomfort and injury. As a health and exercise professional, you can help your clients avoid this pitfall by knowing how to cue both inner-body awareness and outer movement when guiding your clients…
Most people think strongman exercises are just about extreme heavy lifting, which isn’t surprising given the types of exercises associated with these competitions, such as deadlifting various objects and carrying them over a distance, pushing and pulling various items, and pressing things overhead. All of these types of movements, however, can be modified to suit…
Sometimes when we train we try to get too fancy. We forget the simple exercises that can hit multiple body parts at once. Compound exercises, for example, allow you to “use the heaviest load possible, involve multiple joint articulations and stimulate a large amount of muscle mass,” explains Eric Cressey, president of Cressey Sports Performance….
The Pilates ball is an effective training tool because it promotes core stabilization by adding resistance, which forces exercisers to activate their pelvic floor muscles. Additionally, the ball acts as an unstable surface, which promotes greater core stabilization. The following exercises require activating or “hollowing” of the pelvic floor muscles. The feeling is similar to…