BEFORE YOU GET FIT, GET FUNCTIONALLY FIT
By Bob Greene
Functional fitness works to strengthen and support key joints and muscles groups that protect the body in basic day-to-day movements and your exercise routine--such as bending, lifting, twisting, and walking. You use the same muscles and joints to safely lift a dumbbell without injury as you would a bag of groceries.
The muscle groups you need to improve include your abdomen, back and shoulders, and lower legs (quads, hamstrings, calves). The following exercises condition these muscles by working to improve their flexibility, strength, and endurance.
1. Stretches: hamstring, quads, upper calf, lower calf. Stretching your lower leg muscles improves your flexibility as it helps your muscles and joints move through their normal range of motion.
2. Abdominal crunches: basic, twisting trunk curl, upper abdomen. Crunches help to develop a strong core, which stabilizes your body and protects your back, whether you bend over to pick up a piece of paper or a dumbbell.
3. Back and shoulder: middle and low back stretch, arm and leg raise, shrug roll. Strong back and shoulders improve your posture and help you perform walking and running exercises safer and more efficiently.
4. Lower leg: heel raise. It's important to strengthen...
It's important now, as we enter into Spring and enjoy the warmer weather, that what ever our activities we be mindful of a fitness level and not over do it and cause undo strain or injury.
Functional fitness works to strengthen and support key joints and muscles groups that protect the body in basic day-to-day movements and your exercise routine--such as bending, lifting, twisting, and walking. You use the same muscles and joints to safely lift a dumbbell without injury as you would a bag of groceries.
The muscle groups you need to improve include your abdomen, back and shoulders, and lower legs (quads, hamstrings, calves). The following exercises condition these muscles by working to improve their flexibility, strength, and endurance.
1. Stretches: hamstring, quads, upper calf, lower calf. Stretching your lower leg muscles improves your flexibility as it helps your muscles and joints move through their normal range of motion.
2. Abdominal crunches: basic, twisting trunk curl, upper abdomen. Crunches help to develop a strong core, which stabilizes your body and protects your back, whether you bend over to pick up a piece of paper or a dumbbell.
3. Back and shoulder: middle and low back stretch, arm and leg raise, shrug roll. Strong back and shoulders improve your posture and help you perform walking and running exercises safer and more efficiently.
4. Lower leg: heel raise. It's important to strengthen...
It's important now, as we enter into Spring and enjoy the warmer weather, that what ever our activities we be mindful of a fitness level and not over do it and cause undo strain or injury.
posted by Laureli (RMT) @ Thursday, February 22, 2007
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