Standing Figure 4
Having good mobility at your hips is important for keeping your hip joints healthy and for moving efficiently. Having limited hip mobility can negatively impact your back, when your hip isn't able to move correctly, you can compensate with your back. Do this stretch on a regular basis to help keep your hips moving well. Instructions Place your…
Tags: Fitness
Strawberry Salad
This salad represents some of the best foods of summer! Tender greens and fresh berries. Berries offer a huge nutritional punch. Click here to read more about the power of berries. The strawberry dressing is so, so good! The recipe makes a little over one cup so you will have plenty of extra. For the strawberry salad dressing 1 ½ cups…
Tags: Recipes, Salads
Banded Deadlift
Deadlifts are an excellent exercise for strengthening the glutes, hamstrings and back, and they are a great opportunity to pattern hinging at the hip. Teaching your body to hinge at the hip versus bending forward at your spine is an important way to save wear and tear on your spine. Most people bend forward by rounding the spine, done over many years,…
Tags: Fitness
Plantar Fascia Stretch
If you have ever had plantar fasciitis, this stretch is going to be your friend. The plantar fascia is dense connective tissue that connects the heel to the front of the foot. It acts as a shock absorber and helps to support the arch of your foot. Plantar fasciitis often presents with pain in the heel especially first thing in the morning. This is…
Tags: Fitness
Straight Leg Bridge with Hip Flexion
This is a great exercise to strengthen the glutes, core stabilizers, and the hip flexors, all important for strong running, hiking or cycling. If you look at this exercise, it looks like the perfect position for these activities. My client, Fred, is a competitive cyclist and all around good athlete and is demonstrating this exercise perfectly. If…
Tags: Fitness
Sweet Dreams
If someone asks me, “Which is most important, diet or exercise? My response would be, “neither.” I know that may sound strange, but once you delve into the science of sleep, you realize that unless you are getting enough sleep, it will be much harder to follow a healthy diet, and your body will not repair the way it should after a workout. If you…
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Single Leg Squat and Reach
This intermediate level exercise is a terrific exercise for balance, hip and core stability, and strengthens the muscles of the foot ankle. I am a huge fan of single leg exercises because there is a big carry over in improvement in activities of daily living like climbing stairs, walking and running and fall prevention. Most of the ways we move requires…
Tags: Fitness
Curried Chickpea Salad
Another wonderful recipe from Alexis at Hummusapien! I make a batch on Sundays and then enjoy it over salad greens or in a pita throughout the week for lunch. I love all of the different textures, and the dressing is OMG good! I like to make salads with legumes as the base. Legumes are are so good for you, they are a great source of protein, high in…
Tags: Recipes, Salads
Intermediate Dead Bug Variation
Performed well, this intermediate level variation on a Dead Bug exercise strengthens the deep stabilizers of the low back, abdominals and hips. You want to be sure that as you do the exercise you do not arch or twist your low back. To perform this exercise, lie on the floor and place a small roller, or a yoga block between your right hand and left…
Tags: Fitness
Towel Side Lunge
This is a great exercise to strengthen the hips in the frontal (side) plane of motion, especially the muscles of the inner thighs. The towel creates drag which creates resistance and you can make it either harder or easier based on how much pressure you exert. To start, make sure 80% of your weight is on the your base leg and 20% on the leg with the…
Tags: Fitness