The One Move YOU Should Do Every Day
Last week I shared the one exercise I do every day. For me, it’s the rolldown.
But just because I love the rolldown doesn’t mean that’s the right one for you to do every day. It really depends on what your goals are, if you have any kind of pain or injury, and what you want to pay more attention to.
Illuminate me.
Whatever it is that you do every day should include strength and mobility work. The more you do the exercise, the more your body “remembers” it and creates new, more efficient movement patterns.
Try it…
Here are daily exercises for three body areas:
Hips
I love isometric lunges with hinging for the hips. The work the front and the back lines and works the hips in flexion and extension.
Step one foot forward. Back leg is straight, but heel is lifted and reaching as though it’s pushing into the floor.
Press down into the front heel as much as you’re pressing the back heel away.
Hinge from the hips – forward and back up
Do this about 10-12 times, focusing on:
balance – as much as the heels are engaged, the balls of the feet should also be pressing down into the floor
keeping the front thigh plugged into the hip socket
making sure the pelvis isn’t moving and the hips stay even as you hinge
keep the front knee in line with the 2nd toe
keep an eye on that back leg and make sure it stays straight and reaching.
Shoulder
This lat stretch and pull is strength work for your arms and shoulders. It also helps mobility in your shoulder joint.
Stand by against the stretch a very light band between your arms.
Pull the band gently apart as you bring your arms over your head.
Bring the arms back down.
Repeat this 4-6 times, focusing on:
keep your ribs from pushing forward. This is where the wall comes in handy, you can feel if they’re pushing away from the wall as you lift your arms up.
don’t let the upper traps (or the tops of your shoulders) do the work. Try to keep them relaxed as you lift the arms.
Core
If you want to do one core exercise every day, the straight-up Pilates nod and curl is great.
Lie over an inflatable ball or a rolled-up towel. Extend your chest over it.
Bring your hands behind your head and your elbows are out to the sides (you should be able to see them in your peripheral vision).
Keep the head heavy in the hands as you nod the chin forward towards your first rib.
Press the back ribs into the ball as you curl the chest up. You don’t need to go too far. This isn’t a set up. It’s just a curling of the upper ribs.
As you do this, keep the pelvis stable on the ground and really think that your low abs (core) is really doing the work.
Do this about 12 times slowly, controlling both the way up and the way down.
Don’t try to go further up than the core can support you which means the pelvis remains stable -- no rocking back-and-forth or hiking up.
Try it and let us know what you think. If you’re interested in a daily exercise for a different area of the body, let us know. We’d love to hear from you.