A to improving your climbing is to work on your weaknesses. These movements target two of my greatest weaknesses: . thoracic spine extensionshoulder extensionHere are 2 great openers I&;ve been working on:The first one targets more thoracic extension as I limit the motion into my shoulders by bringing them in closer to the wall. Simply stick your butt out further as you sink your body down and take 5 diaphragmatic breaths and bring your chest / face towards the wall. You can target specific vertebra segments depending on how far you stick your butt outSwipe ️ for a modification for targeting more of the shoulders and through the lats. This time try and bring your chest down at a 45 degree angle towards the ground in front of you. . Try these as part of your mobility work before climbing, handstanding or before calisthenics!

posted on July 15, 2017 by | No comments

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A Winging scapula is a result of weakness of the Serratus Anterior muscle or damage to the long thoracic nerve which supplies this muscle. The result is a protruding shoulder blade into the back.Test yourself – While wearing a tank top:Put yourself in a pushup position against the wallLean forward into your handsAsk somebody to take a picture for you.Do you notice a bump on one side versus the other?If you don&;t have a friend – go into the washroom and take a look at your shoulder heights.Do you notice one shoulder significantly lower than the other?If you do. You have scapular winging. This can affect your ability to lift, pull, or push objects. The reason is because scapular winging is a muscular imbalance which results in malpositioning of the shoulder blade. This disrupts the Scapulohumeral rhythm – which is the optimal ratio of movement when you lift your arm from your side above your head. If this is a result from a long thoracic nn entrapment Active Release Therapy or ART can definitely help with this nervous entrapment. Proper positioning and movement of the scapula is critical for full and normal shoulder range of motion. Without it, your scapular is SICK! (Scapular malposition, Inferior medial border prominence, Coracoid pain and malposition, and dysKinesis of scapular movement) SICK scapula or scapular dyskinesis refers to an injury resulting from overuse and fatigue of the muscles that stabilize and provide motion for the scapula.To counteract it we want to:. Treat the underlying soft tissue adhesionsStrengthen the affected musclesGrease the groove and provide stimuli to maintain the positioning and movement of the scapula

posted on May 30, 2017 by | No comments

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This is a great upper body stretching and mobility exercise to help achieve: . Full range in the shouldersStrength StabilityMotor control and coordinationNice stretch. This is a fundamental exercise for many calisthenics movements including any and all ring work, front levers, back levers, muscle ups, and even handstands. Here I do an added pulse to activate my legs and really feel the extension through my shoulders. Doing &;Skin the cats&; will help you achieve:will target:.Shoulder stabilizersBackChestAbdominalsTo try this movement start with your legs in a tucked position to build the required strength and practice closer to the ground so that you can touch the ground. Gradually take your body over further and progress until you can move into and out of the hang unassisted. Grip the rings/bar in a deadhangKeep the arms straight and the legs bentbring your feet up and continue the movement until the feet pass over the arms and head into an inverted hangContinue to move your feet around and toward the ground and extendReturn to the start positionRinse and repeat as a shoulder prep before activity. markham toronto

posted on April 25, 2017 by | No comments

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A common climbing problem is pain on the inside portion of the wrist. Sometimes this pain can be a result to damage to the red circle – or TFCC, which is a cartilage structure on the pinky finger side of the wrist. It&;s function is to support and cushion the small bones of the wrist and stabilize the bones of the forearm (radius and ulna) when the hand grasps or the forearm rotates. It&;s important to strengthen the wrist in more than just flexion and extension. When doing this exercise you are working your wrist using radial and ulnar deviation. Keep in mind the following:Stabilize the forearmSmooth, steady controlled motionGrab closer to the CENTER of the stick for an EASIER exercise Grab closer to the END of the stick for a HARDER exercise Rinse and repeat 20 times as part of your warm up or for sets as an integral part of wrist maintenance series

posted on March 22, 2017 by | No comments

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Life is better upside down. I&;m starting a challenge for myself to see how much I can improve. This is day one (I&;ve been training for a few months already but not consistent!) Most of my improvements have come from wrist and shoulder mobility drills such as the ones I&;ve shown in my and skin the cats for my shoulders. The handstand requires both good awareness of where your body is in space and is a feat a muscular endurance. Try it out after a wrist warm up (find a soft surface or kick up against the wall). It&;s a great shoulder and core workout! culture

posted on March 16, 2017 by | No comments

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This is a basic wrist flexion stretch which will help build the foundation of mobility required in the wrists for things such as on the rings. This stretches out the extensor group of muscles and tendons located on the outside and backhand side of your arm. The tendons responsible for extension of your fingers and wrist originate at a common origin known as the lateral epicondyle of your arm near the elbow. This is the overused muscle group in or lateral epicondylitis! Here I&;m performing 5s hold with pulses and slowly changing the angles at which I press at to target different areas of the wrist. I do this by rotating my elbows slightly further or less. You can also try and perform 3-5 reps of 15s isometric contractions and relax periods of 30s. (Once again you want to try and spend a minimal total of 90s in the stretch)When performing a static isometric stretch you assume the position of the stretch to target the muscles of the forearm, then you tense the muscle against the floor (without actually moving!) Hold that muscular tension for 15s, then relax for about 30s. Rinse and repeat until your desired length! Happy stretching. series

posted on March 2, 2017 by | No comments

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This is a basic wrist extension stretch which will help build the foundation of mobility required in the wrists for things such as . This stretches out the flexor group of muscles and tendons on the palm side of your arm. I like doing 5s hold with pulses and slowly changing the angles at which I press at to target different areas of the wrist. I do this by rotating my elbows slightly further or less and with most of my stretching I try and perform 20 reps of 5s pulses or a minimal total of 90s. This is a type of stretching that encorporates what&;s known as proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching or PNF. It enhances both active and passive range of motion in order to improve motor performance and aid rehabilitation. The specific type of PNF I am using here is a &;Contract Relax&; technique. practor series

posted on February 4, 2017 by | No comments

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