Show me someone with a strong upper and middle back and I will show you someone who is strong. (and looks younger than their age)
In case you missed the first 5 posts:
____________________________________________________________
What you will find is we will use some of the same
exercises for improving posture, mobility and strength. The difference is how
the exercises are performed.
Why do I begin with posture and mobility before strength?
I want my clients to maximize the gains, while minimizing the risks they will
make from the complex movements I use to make them stronger. The results will
be much better if they can stabilize what I want stable and move with control
what I want mobile.
______________________________________________________________
WHEN WORKING ON ANY OF THESE EXERCISES, NEVER FORCE YOUR
BODY INTO A POSITION. The focus should always be on how you are controlling the
muscles and joints and the movements they are making. The pace of each movement
should be slow. Perform from 5 to 15 reps of each. Unlike the Posture, Mobility and Balance exercises, this time the goal is to get the
muscles tired. You don't want to push yourself past the point of fatigue.
______________________________________________________________
What exercises you perform are important. How you perform
them is more important.
_____________________________________________________________
Before attempting any of the following exercises, be sure
to get the approval of your Physician. Especially if you have ever had ANY
JOINT OR BACK PAIN or INJURY. If you
aren’t sure how to perform any of these exercises, have someone show you that
knows how to teach you.
___________________________________________________________
After my clients have learned their posture, mobility and
balance exercises we begin focusing more on strength. They still use the posture, mobility and
balance exercises as their warm up.
___________________________________________________________
I like to start with the upper body or else the clients
legs might be too tired to stand during the upper body work. I usually focus on
pulling movements since most pushing exercises will only make it harder to
correct older adults upper body crosses syndrome. Even though they can work on
mobility every day, I only want my
clients working on upper body strength 2 – 3 times per week.
___________________________________________________________
Upper Body/Middle Back Strength:
___________________________________________________________
 |
| Yeah , you can do it seated, but I prefer to add the balance component while standing. |
Shoulder Squeezes: This is a great posture exercise at
the same time.
I have the clients stand up straight with their chest
out. I place a light to moderate exercise band in their hands. They have their
arms straight out around shoulder height with their palms down. They bring the
hands back while keeping their arms straight. They focus on how their shoulder
blades are squeezed together. I place my fingertips between their shoulder blades
to help them focus on where they should feel the muscles contracting. They hold
this contraction for a couple of seconds and slowly bring their hands back to
the starting position.
I will have them repeat this from 10 – 15 times depending
on where their strength level is. Since these are smaller muscles used more for
correct posture, I like to focus more on building the endurance of them. One way
is to have them hold the contraction longer. (Anywhere from 5 – 10 seconds
each) They will never get as strong as some other muscles. If we decide to add a second set, I will
usually have the client alternate arms while focusing on pulling the hands
apart. This gives them an additional challenge when it comes to balance since I
still want the torso stiff and hips still. (as opposed to moving with the arms)
____________________________________________________________
 |
| Be sure to keep the lower back from helping move the arms. |
Face Pulls: I only have a client use this exercise if
their shoulders are ready for it.
I will wrap the middle of a lighter resistance exercise
band around a door handle and stand directly behind the client. I want to make sure they can keep their torso
stiff and hips still. I place my finger tips on the spot on their upper back
where I want them to focus on how the muscles are contracting. Once I am
comfortable they understand how I want them to perform this exercise, and their
balance is good enough, we stand facing each other. I hold an exercise band in
the middle and they hold the handles.
I have the clients stand straight with their chest out. They
have their arms straight out around shoulder height with their palms down. They
bring the hands back with the thumbs close to their ears. They focus on how their
shoulder blades are squeezed together. They hold this contraction for a couple
of seconds and slowly bring their hands back to the starting position.
I will have them repeat this from 5 – 15 times depending
on where they strength level is. Since these are smaller muscles used more for
correct posture, I like to focus more on building the endurance of them. They will
never get real strong. If we decide to add a second set, I will usually have
the client alternate arms. This gives them an additional challenge when it comes
to balance since I still want the torso stiff and hips still. (as opposed to
moving with the arms)
___________________________________________________________
 |
| Finishing point. Focus on the shoulder blades. |
Standing Rows: I have had every one of my clients perform
these. It is my favorite Upper Body Exercise because of what is does for our
strength and posture.
Just like the Face Pulls, I will wrap the middle of the
exercise band around a door handle and stand directly behind the client. I want to make sure they can keep their torso
stiff and hips still. I place my finger tips on the spot on their middle back
(between the shoulder blades) where I want them to focus on how the muscles are
contracting. Once I am comfortable they understand how I want them to perform
this exercise, and their balance is good enough, we stand facing each other. I
hold an exercise band in the middle and they hold the handles.
I have the clients stand straight with their chest out.
They have their arms straight out around elbow height with their palms down or
facing each other. They bring their elbows back while keeping their hands at
elbow height. They focus on how their
shoulder blades are squeezed together. They hold this contraction for a couple
of seconds and slowly bring their hands back to the starting position.
I begin with the client performing from 5 – 10 reps. The
muscles involved with this exercise are naturally stronger so over a period of
months I can make this exercise a lot more difficult than the face pulls. If
the client gets strong enough they eventually might do 2 – 3 sets of only 4 – 6
reps each. Once the client is performing
this with excellent technique I will usually have the client perform some sets
while alternating arms. Just like Face Pulls, this gives them an additional
challenge when it comes to balance since I still want the torso stiff and hips
still. (as opposed to moving with the arms)
_________________________________________________________________
 |
| I cringe when I see a pic like this. He needs more shoulder blade/thoracic spine work before pressing anything overhead. |
Over Head Presses: But only if the client’s shoulders and
thoracic spine can handle it.
If and only if the client is able to move their shoulder blades
enough to open up the front of their shoulders and they are able to extend their
thoracic spine enough will I consider having them use this exercise. Otherwise there is too much risk of hurting the shoulder
and/or back for the client.
I have the clients stand straight with their chest out.
They have their hands about shoulder width apart close to being on the
shoulders. Their elbows are held close to shoulder height. I have them squeeze
their glutes enough to stabilize their pelvis and lower back. I will guide their
hands so that they are being raised above their head while keeping the hands around
shoulder width apart. They hold this contraction for a second and slowly bring
their hands back to the starting position.
Once I feel that they have enough control of the movement
I will add a small amount of resistance. Another variety I will use is having
them perform some sets by alternating the movement of their hands. Once again
this adds a balance component to the exercise.
We might start with only 5 – 10 repetitions. This is another
exercise that the clients can work towards using a large amount of resistance. I make sure they focus on using the arms and
shoulders and not the back or legs.
One of the best ways to tell when a set
should end is when they begin to recruit their legs or back to help lift the
arms. No more reps are needed. We don’t want the exercise to turn into a push
press. Not that there is anything wrong with adding the push press later.
____________________________________________________________
You might have noticed that I didn't add any type of chest pressing exercises. (Push Ups, Bench Presses, etc.) This is because most clients are already working to correct upper body crossed syndrome and these pushing exercises can make it worse.) I do have some clients perform some pushing exercises, but my programs are very pulling dominate.
____________________________________________________________
Next Week I will begin posting about increasing my clients lower body strength.
No comments:
Post a Comment