MAD CAT UPPER BACK STRETCH
How:

• Begin on hands and knees with hands directly under shoulders and shoulder-width apart, and knees directly under hips and hip-width apart.
• Simultaneously drop chin to your chest, pull stomach towards spine, and arch back up like a mad cat.
• Hold 10-30 seconds.

Why: The Mad Cat stretch strengthens abdominal, shoulder, and back muscles, and helps loosen a tight lower back to ease nagging discomfort.

STANDING CHEST STRETCH
How:

• Hold arms about 6 inches from your sides with palms up.
• Squeeze shoulder blades together while pulling arms behind body, as though holding a ball in place with shoulder blades.
• Hold 10 to 30 seconds.

Why: The Standing Chest Stretch “frees up” the upper body by allowing neck and shoulder muscles to relax. It works wonders for anyone who spends hours crouched over a computer, counter, or conveyer belt.

SEATED INNER THIGH STRETCH
How:

• Sit on the floor.
• Bend knees and bring soles of feet together till they touch each other. (Don’t cross your legs!)
• Grasp ankles and, as able, lower knees toward floor. (Don’t use elbows to put pressure on your knees.)
• Hold 10-30 seconds.

Why: The Seated Inner Thigh Stretch helps the lower body move more freely through a greater range of motion. And it helps those who have trouble getting up off the floor or rising from chairs.

5-Minute Fitness: Stretch Away Pain The Saturday Evening Post

“Whether you walk, run, or ski, strength and balance exercises can keep you on your feet this winter,” blogs Colorado-based Gale Bernhardt, World Cup triathlon trainer, multisport coach, and author. “Standing on one foot seems pretty easy, but I’ve yet to meet anyone who could do these exercises on the first try.”

Advance through the moves as you gain skill. Beginners: Stand near a stable surface for safety and support. Aim for performing five to 10 sets of any one exercise one to three times weekly.

Step 1: Look forward, stand on right foot, and count 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005.  Repeat on left foot. Build up to 30 seconds per foot.

Step 2: Look forward, stand on right foot, and count to five. Staying on right foot, look over right shoulder and count to five. Then, look over left shoulder, and count to five. Repeat on left foot.

Step 3: Do Step 2 with eyes closed.

Step 4: Stand on right foot with left knee raised and thigh parallel to ground. Count to five. Repeat on left foot. Build up to 30 seconds per foot.

(Stuck on Step 1? Don’t give up! Get moving with balance exercises from the National Institutes of Health.)

5-Minute Fitness: Balance Builders The Saturday Evening Post

Physical therapists can target persistent pain and improve sports performance with strengthening and stretching exercises to improve posture, flexibility, and motion. “Bring your sports gear to the initial visit to demonstrate the positions and activities that are especially bothersome,” advises physical therapist E. Anne Reicherter, spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association.

For example, softball players who frequently throw overhead can irritate and inflame gliding surfaces between the shoulder blade (scapula) and chest wall—a common problem called scapulothoracic bursitis, explains Michael S. George, M.D., spokesperson for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and clinical assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine.

Other causes of the painful condition include poor posture and acute injury.

According to Dr. George, home exercises can often relieve scapulothoracic bursitis by improving upright posture and strengthening the muscles around the scapula and the shoulder. For the serratus anterior muscle in the upper back, perform push-ups with shoulder blades squeezed together. For the subscapularis muscle in front of the shoulder, try internal rotation exercises using resistance bands or light weights. When home remedies aren’t enough, doctors can use steroid injections to relieve persistent bursitis (surgery is rarely needed) and rule out other causes of shoulder pain.

Click here for helpful trigger point maps from the Pain Clinic to discover what’s causing your shoulder soreness.

Benefits of Physical Therapy

1. Targeted examination—Your therapist will ask about your symptoms and goals and conduct a thorough examination to identify any difficulty with posture, flexibility, strength, joint mobility, and movement that may contribute to chronic shoulder pain.

2. Targeted treatment—Based on the exam findings, you and the therapist will develop a customized rehab plan that may include manual therapy to improve joint and muscle motion, tips to care for your shoulders and upper back, and an overall physical fitness program.
- E. Anne Reicherter

Strike Out Sore Shoulder The Saturday Evening Post

Side Bending Pose

1. Stand with feet parallel and hip-width apart. Reach arms overhead. Ground body strongly with both heels.

2. Hold right wrist with left hand. Exhale and bend to left side, stretching both sides of torso. Inhale and return to standing position. Repeat for 30 seconds.

3. Hold left wrist with right hand. Exhale and bend to right side. Inhale and return to standing position. Repeat for 30 seconds.

4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3.

Downward Facing Dog

1. Come to all fours with hips directly over knees and shoulders directly over hands.

2. Turn toes under and lift knees off ground.

3. With legs slightly bent, push hands firmly into ground and move hips toward wall behind you. Feel the extension from your index finger to your sitting bones. Without compromising this extension, straighten legs as much as possible.

4. Hold posture for 1 to 2 minutes, noticing your breath and making micro-movements to find ease and alignment.

Cobblers Pose

1. Sit on ground with soles of feet together and knees dropped open to opposite sides. (Do not push knees down, but instead feel the release deep inside hip sockets.)

2. Place hands beside hips and extend side seams of waist, lifting chest and creating ease in lower back.

3. Hold ankles and bend slightly forward, keeping a feeling of length in front body while breathing easy and complete.

4. Hold posture for 1 to 2 minutes with a sense of discovery and play.

Rodney Yee’s latest DVD is A.M. & P.M. Yoga for Beginners with Colleen Saidman. (Gaiam) Buy it from Amazon.

5-Minute Fitness: Yoga Stretches The Saturday Evening Post

CrossFit integrates a short series (20 minutes or less) of challenging training drills that build strength, endurance, and overall conditioning.

“It’s a great full-body, fat-burning workout—and without getting on a treadmill!” explains Harper. So grab a timer (or stand by a clock) and go for it!

Warm it up! (Standing Kicks) 

“This exercise will not only warm you up, it will strengthen your legs and help steady your balance,” says Harper.

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and arms at sides.

2. Keeping right leg straight, kick it up about 90 degrees. As you do so, reach left hand toward top of foot. (Keep back straight and head up.)

3. Repeat with left leg and right hand. Alternate legs for 60 seconds.

Get in Step! (High Knees)

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.

2. Lift right leg, bending knee at 90-degree angle. As you do, lift left arm, bending elbow at 90-degree angle (marching band-style).

3. Alternate by jumping to  left leg and right arm. Continue back and forth for 30 seconds.

On Your Toes! (Calf Raises)

1. Stand facing wall.

2. Place hands on wall with arms straight at shoulder-height and shoulder-width apart.

3. Raise heels of both feet, then return to starting position. Repeat for 60 seconds.

Take a Seat! (Air Squats)

“The air squat for strength and balance is one of the fundamentals of functional fitness,” says Harper. “It’s a great fat-burner, too.”

1. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart with both arms overhead and even with ears. (Beginners: place one hand on a sturdy chair or nearby surface for support and safety.)

2. Bend knees and squat as though sitting in imaginary chair. (Keep back straight and knees behind toes.) Then, return to standing position.

3. Do as many squats as you can in 60 seconds.

Ready, Set Go! (CrossFit Round for time) 

10 Assisted Pull-ups—Loop a thick resistance band (one made for your body weight) around the pull-up bar. With hands on bar, place one foot inside the band and straighten leg. Pull yourself up above the bar and then slowly lower back down.

15 Wall Balls—Assume squat position with toes pointed out and approximately 2 to 3 feet from cement or brick wall. Hold 12 to 20 pound medicine ball under chin with elbows down and back straight. Raise to standing position, extending legs and arms and shooting ball toward target marked on wall. In a controlled and steady motion, catch ball and return to squat position.

20 Step-ups—Begin in standing position with both feet on floor. Place right foot on a sturdy and stable box (the higher the box, the more hip flexibility is required). Push down into right heel to lift body, placing left foot on box and coming to standing position. (Keep back straight and body upright.) Step down with right leg, then left leg. Alternate legs or do a set on each side.

25 Sit-ups—(Harper suggests using an ab mat.) Place ab mat on floor and under curve of your lower back. From a seated position and with bottoms of feet together (butterfly position), lie back with arms extended and touching floor behind you. Tighten abs to return to seated position, and touch hands to toes.

30 Burpees—Begin in standing position. Squat down, placing hands shoulder-width apart on floor. Kick out feet to a push-up position and do a push-up. Then, bring feet back in, jump up to a standing position and clap hands above head. (Feet should come completely off the ground when jumping.)

Check with your doctor when starting a new fitness routine. Don’t overdo it. Gradually increase reps as you become stronger.

Click here for news and videos from Bob Harper and his line of Smart Success Supplements.

Go CrossFit with Bob Harper The Saturday Evening Post