Exercises to reduce tension and increase strength.
First off, know that all of these muscles are working together. Some just need to be reminded how to fire up, others are very weak and need to be strengthened. This will take time. If you are consistent with these exercises it will take 3 months before you notice a big change and about a year for your body to have accepted the change and has incorporate it into your routine without your constant reminders.
(These separate exercise have all been one of Equinox's blogs in the last few months, so if you want more information on a particular exercise just follow the link to send you to the article pertaining only on the selected exercise)
Stretch Psoas:
Sitting on a Chair or with one knee on the ground, tilt your pelvis posteriorly, with a straight spine, You will feel the pull between the front of your thigh to your hip. If this is not enough you can lift your back foot onto a block, then the wall. Please refer to the pictures, and read this blog on the psoas for further information.
Strengthen Gluteus Medius:
Start : Clam shell: watch this video
Lie on your right side with your back to a wall. Stack your left leg on top of your right. bend your knees so your feet are at the wall. Your hips should face forward. Bend your right arm, and place it beneath your head for support. Your left arm can lie on your left thigh or rest on the ground in front of your stomach.
Lift your left knee up to 45 degrees, keeping your feet together. Lower your knee to the starting position. Switch sides and repeat for the other leg. Perform every day, 25 times each leg. Once this is easy do them half speed 25 times.
Progression : Lateral leg lift... read more on how and why to strengthen the glute med here
Strengthen Hamstring:
Most efficient way to strengthen your hamstrings : hamstring curl on the ball (you can also use a chair instead of the ball)
Start with this :youtube clip
He performs the same exercise as above very well please watch : here for video
Once you are able to do 3x12 reps then you can progress to this version.
Progression : video
read more here
Strengthen Tibialis Posterior:
Easy... just watch and repeat. 25x each foot. The pictures shows a variation from the video, they are both correct and good exercises.
Once this is easy, reduce the speed. (The pictures shows a variation from the video, they are both correct and good exercises)
for more info refer to this blog
Stretch and strengthen your Gastrocnemius and Soleus muscles (calf)
Gastroc/ Soleus Stretch :
Watch this Video
To affect the Gastrox you need straight legs and to affect the soleus you need to bend your knee, hold both for 90 seconds, or as the video says 3 x 30 seconds on each leg.
Strengthen your Gastroc and Soleus:
Step 1: start with both legs on a step with your legs bent go all the way up on to your tip toes and then all the way down into a minor stretch, go slowly and repeat 25 x with your knees straight then 25 times with your knees bent.
Step 2 : same but one leg only on teh step. So standing with one leg on the step and a straight knee, go up and down 10x then bend your knee and go up and down 10 more times. Switch legs ad repeat. once you are strong build up to 25x per leg . 25x with straight knees, 25x with bent knees. Therefor you will be doing 100 calf raises, to strengthen both gastrocnemius and soleus. every second day.
see this video for a good description : Video- Skip to 2:00
for more on the gastrocnemius and soleus click here
Feet : How to take care of them.
Roll you feet on a ball, use toe spreaders walking around the house, start understanding your arches. This blog will explain it in more depth
blog
Roll your ITB
You will need a foam roller. Start by lying on your side, support your body weight with your legs and arms, and lie with a foam roller under the upper, outside portion of your thigh - this is the proximal portion of your IT band.
Use your legs and arms to pull you the length of your IT band, traveling right down to just above your knee joint. As you get closer to your knee, you may feel more tenderness, so be prepared to use your arms and legs to ease pressure off of your IT band.
Roll back towards the upper portion of your IT band, and continue back and forth in this fashion for a few passes. For more info click here
VMO Strength
With a ball between your knees and your back to a wall squat down to 90 degrees and come back up, squeezing the ball the whole way up and down.
See this video to see someone performing a vmo squat. For the full information click here.
-----------------------
Prevent. Perform. Recover
Equinox Health Clinic
