Better Body By R.A.W. Pt 2
Happy New Year, hopefully you have had time to work on building a better foundation. After a strong foundation is built, it is time to focus on the frame of the house. Your body's frame work of muscles are your Calves, Hamstrings, Glutes, Latissimus Dorsi, and Erector Spinae, otherwise known as the Posterior Chain.
I find that the American lifestyle today simultaneously produces muscle groups that are both overly inactive and highly overactive. Typically, you'll experience that calves are tight and overused and that the hamstrings, glutes, erector spinae are weak due to neglect. To negate this, I've shared some simple steps on how to retrain your body to work together.
Before you begin strengthening muscles to work together as a system, I recommend that you first stretch or foam roll. For example, your calves and your erector muscles should be rolled so they can return to normal function. Similarly, quads and hip flexors should be stretched to relieve tightness and to allow your glutes and hamstrings to activate.
Once you have all the muscles working properly, you have to work them simultaneously to be effective. Why do I have to work these muscle groups at the same time to be effective you might ask? The reason is, these muscles are connected and work together in everyday life.
There are two simple exercises that will accomplish this task. First is the Kang Squat. Second, and more effective in my opinion, is a row to clean.
Row to Clean:
Hinge at the hip as to do a Deadlift
Grab the bar and row up to your chest
Pull in your abs and hold the bar to your chest
Tighten your glute and hamstrings
Stand up
Start off with just the bar for activation purposes. Lats, Glutes, Hamstrings, Calves, and Core should all be engaged before standing. Like with all things worth doing, it takes practice. However, when you have perfected this technique, you will find there aren't many exercises quite as effective as the types of movements.
That's all for frame. Next time we are going to put some walls on our better body. Until the keep it RAW! If you are struggling to grasp these concepts, or want to learn more, feel free to reach out. I'm offering FREE consultations until the end of January.