Gravity Fx Fitness

Here are three simple exercises to help improve your posture and protect your back at the same time.

The first exercise is the bird dog, which has three different components.  The first is the hip extension, which will work the lumbar erectors (low back), glutes and hamstrings.  Start on your hands and knees, then extend your hip backwards until your thigh is parallel to the floor, keeping the knee slightly bent.  Pause at the top and slowly lower your leg and repeat for 10-15 reps.

Try to keep your natural (neutral) spine position during the exercise, meaning, don’t let your lower back arch too much.  Keep your neck in a neutral position as well, not tucking your chin or looking up, picking a spot on the floor directly under your eyes to look at throughout.

The second part involves lifting the opposite arm while maintaining the same position (both knees on the ground).  Point your thumb up as you lift your straight arm towards the ceiling, pausing at the top for a second or two.  You should feel this in the muscles between your shoulderblade and the spine (rhomboids, middle and lower trapezius).

The third part of the exercise is simultaneously lifting the leg with the opposite arm.  Pause at the top for a second or two, keeping your neck from lifting up and not arching your back in the process.  You would alternate arms and legs with each repetition, unless you have a scoliosis and are strengthening a specific portion of your spine.

You can do this for approximately 10 reps if holding the top position for a two count before lowering.  Then you might hold the top position for 5-10 seconds as you get stronger, gradually working towards 1 minute or more of total holding time (6 reps of 10 seconds).

The first few sessions you might not do the third part of the exercise, instead, focusing on the individual arm and leg lifts.  Focus on doing this in a slow and controlled manner, paying great attention to your technique.

The one arm dumbbell row is a staple exercise for developing your upper and mid-back muscles.  There are two ways to perform this.  The standard is by using a neutral grip and pulling the dumbbell upwards from a straight arm position, keeping your elbow close to your ribcage, similar to starting a lawn mower.

This version emphasizes the lats while the version shown above has a pronated grip, which shifts the focus to the muscles between the spine and scapula (rhomboids, middle traps) and also your posterior shoulder.  Your upper arm should be approximately 90 degrees from your torso, leading with the elbow and keeping your wrists straight throughout the exercise.

Raise and lower the dumbbell in a controlled manner without using excessive momentum.  At the top of the movement you should feel the contraction in the inner portion of your shoulderblade.  10-12 repetitions should be fine, completing 3 sets.

The third exercise is the kneeling band row/pull.  This is a hybrid exercise, combining a rowing exercise with a lat pulldown.  Kneel on one leg, keeping a straight line from your knee to your head (assuming natural spine curves).  Pull the band or tubing down at an angle, finishing with your hand beside your ribs and your elbow slightly  behind you.

Keep your neck in a natural curve and finish by pulling down and back, not letting your shoulder elevate towards your ear, meaning, contract the muscles forcefully, holding this end position for a second before letting the band go slowly back to the starting position.

While appearing to be fairly simple, these exercises will help keep your back strong and stable.  See your doctor first if you have a history of pain or injury.  Some people may need some mobility work for the thoracic spine before trying these exercises.  Working on your diaphragmatic (abdominal) breathing first is also a good idea.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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There is a new way to do lat pulldowns that might be superior to the standard machine, in my opinion.  Lat machines are a standard in most healthclubs and gyms.

They let you work your back, arms, shoulders, and grip at the same time.  While pullups and chinups are a great exercise, not many have adequate strength to do this demanding exercise.

I was talking to my father recently about his cardiac maintenance program.  About a month ago he graduated from his 12 week cardiac rehab program, after undergoing a quadruple bypass.  Anyway, he mentioned the different exercises he was doing and that some of the people were also doing strength training.

He was trying to describe the lat pulldown exercise – not knowing what it was called – and his description got my attention.  I thought he said something about pulling the bar down behind your head and I wanted to make sure, as this is an exercise that has significant risk of shoulder injury when done in this manner, especially for those over 45.

I then let him know that if he ever did this exercise that you want to pull the bar down in front of your head. I then told the story of an acquaintance of his who injured his shoulder a couple years ago while pulling the bar behind his head.

Due to postural changes and lack of use, many lose their shoulder flexibility over time.  A new alternative to the lat pulldown addresses this issue very nicely.  A seated rope climber called the VLT allows you to do the this exercise with one arm at a time, which has some added benefits.

This allows those with limited range of motion in their shoulders to only reach as high as they can without any pain.  By pulling down with one hand and then the other, similar to climbing a rope, you allow the user to control how high they reach – without fear of losing their grip on the bar.

Not long ago they were featured by trainer Gunnar Peterson in a Muscle and Fitness article……”Using these rope machines is very different from doing lat pulldowns and pullups because the hand-over-hand motion breaks the kinetic chain, forcing you to re-grip each time.”

I got to try them out a a fitness trade show last year and loved it.  Its definitely on the wish list for my studio.  It has 7 different resistance settings and can be used to train strength, cardio and grip all at the same time.  For those like my father who need increased shoulder flexibility and upper body strength, it is a perfect solution – his once powerful hands have become severely atrophied, due to disuse.

I have also seen it used on TV in the training of MMA athletes, including Quentin “Rampage” Jackson.  Pulling hand over hand at an all out pace is an intense and “fun” workout.  It can be included in a fat loss circuit, as well.

Brian Morgan

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