Thoracic Spine Mobility
As we look at how our body “stacks up”, we want to make sure we stay stable in the areas where we should be; foot, knee, lumbar spine, etc. Where we want to stay mobile, we want to make sure we are keeping flexible as well; ankle, hips, shoulders and thoracic spine.
By following this Block Method Approach (join us Friday on Coach Rozy’s Blog – Friday Fit Tip – to learn more about the Block Method and how it helps with our fitness and health) we gain an understanding that the thoracic spine requires mobility; namely extension and rotation. If we don’t maintain sufficient mobility in that area, we could develop problems above (shoulders/scapula) or below (lumbar/low back) the thoracic spine. What does this mean to us in real life? Our lower backs start to have tightness and pain, and we have trouble standing, moving and doing our job. Our shoulders start to give us problems and we develop shoulder pain, tight necks and headaches. As Mike Boyle stated in Advances in Functional Training, “the important thing about t-spine mobility is almost no one has enough and it’s hard to get too much.” In other words, we need to make sure we are adding some thoracic mobility work into our program. Below are two exercises to include as part of your warm-up, or as part of a cool-down/stretching program. (For a detailed thoracic mobility program – contact Coach Rozy at rozyroozen@gmail.com)
Exercise #1
Lay on the ground, on your side, with your arms extended straight out at chest level and your knees pulled up toward your chest. The hips shouldUntitled-1 be at 90 degrees, knees at 90 degrees and work to have ankles at 90 degrees. You can be on a mat for support. You might also want to put your head on a pillow or rolled up mat for support also.
To start the exercise, keep the knees together (if this is difficult, place a rolled up towel, or small ball between the knees), and take the top arm and open up, taking the arm over the body toward the floor on the opposite side. THE GOAL HERE IS TO GET THE ARM AND SHOULDER BLADE ON THE BACK ARM ON THE GROUND. DO NOT JUST PUT THE HAND ON THE GROUND.
Do 2 sets of 8 reps each side; 2 x 8.
Movement wants to come through the thoracic spine – not just the shoulder area.
Roll to the other side and repeat in the other direction.
Exercise #2
This one is a little bit more advanced in that you have to have more control over your posture and control your movement and control how you stabilize your h2.26.14exercise2ips.
Start in a 6 point (some call it a 4 point) position, or position on your hands and knees. Take one hand and place it on the base of the skull behind your head. Work to keep weight evenly distributed on the legs and other arm.
Keeping the arm locked in position, take the elbow and point to the ground. Keep in mind the movement should come through the back/spine – AND NOT JUST THE SHOULDER! Rotate the torso, through the spine, so that the elbow is pointed up toward the ceiling, or take movement through as much range as motion as possible – again, making sure that movement is from thoracic spine, and NOT SHOULDER or HIPS.
Do 2 sets of 8 reps – each side; 2 x 8.
