By Elizabeth Towe
Objective: Torso rotation and stability for counter rotation of pelvis/legs and shoulders/arms.
Application: Holding a straight (neutral) spine while rotating in running, walking and swimming. The ability to hold your spine will improve the efficiency of the biomechanics of all three activities.
Exercise:
- Lie on the floor with legs straight out. Stack the right heel on the left toe and take the right hand behind the neck and head for support. Reach the hand opposite the forward foot (in this case, left hand) straight up toward the sky. Brace abdominals and squeeze glutes to activate the core to support the spine.
- Reach through the fingertips of the left hand while lifting the left shoulder off the ground. Feel the rotation of the torso above the pelvis. Pause, then slowly return to the start position. The pelvis should not rock or shift.
- Repeat this 10-20 times, then switch feet and hand positions. Repeat 2-3 sets on each side.
- Remember to breathe through each repetition and do not strain.
- To increase difficulty you can hold a light dumbbell in the reaching hand.
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Elizabeth Towe is a runner and a cyclist and the owner of Balanced Movement Studio in Carrboro. She graduated from East Carolina with a degree in exercise and sports science and has been personal training for more than 20 years. Her ultimate goal for all of her clients is to help them realize and achieve the optimal quality in their life – and to remember to have fun doing it.
