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Healthy Habits & Active Standing Exercises

Today’s fast-paced world often conspires to undermine our ability to feel our best. Healthy habits are small activities you can incorporate into your day to help offset the multitude of unhealthy effects of the modern environment. As with all activities—good or bad—the more often you do them, the more habit forming they become.

Silent relaxation

My class attendees will recall that we did a two-minute silent relaxation at the end of each Pilates class last term. While we did this lying down, the exercise can be performed in any comfortable position: seated; cross-legged sitting on the floor; sitting against a wall or tree; seated in your car; in the doctor’s waiting room. Sitting has the advantage over lying that you are less likely to fall asleep!

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  • Choose your position.

  • Put your phone aside, ideally on silent, unless you are using an app for this exercise.

  • Close your eyes.

  • You are aiming to stay awake, but don’t be too hard on yourself if you do drift off.

  • Bring your focus to the sensations that are present in your body, by scanning from your head to your toes and passing your attention to each part of your body in turn.

  • Alternatively, you can simply open your mind to whatever bodily sensations arise.

  • Sensations could be an awareness of your breath, the temperature of part of your body, itching, tingling, tightness, burning, aches and pains.

  • Observe how each sensation changes or moves or passes.

  • Allow yourself a minimum of two minutes, but extend as you progress. Research shows that 15-20 minutes dramatically improves the ability to focus.

Hopping

Hopping has been demonstrated to be one of the most effective ways to increase our bone density, and for this reason we have been working on this over the last couple of terms of Pilates. Hopping is simple to do and can be done anywhere at any time (as long as you are immune to curious looks from strangers).

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If you are unable to hop—or if it is painful—you can begin by doing little rapid jumps, or you can modify you hops by leaning on a table top or back of a chair to take as much weight as necessary to make the exercise pain free. As it gets easier and less painful you can decrease the amount of weight you are putting through your arms.

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  • Begin with 15 seconds on each leg. You will undoubtedly find one leg stronger, better balanced and more coordinated.

  • If you don’t need your arms to take some of the weight, you might still need to use an arm to steady your balance by lightly touching a table, chair back or wall.

  • However, if you do not need your arms for assistance, you can move these as you hop for a more complete workout.

  • Hopping is a great exercise to get our heart and lungs working, so don’t be surprised to get a little out of puff. This is normal and good!

  • Once you begin to find it easier, you can work a little harder by picking up the pace, hopping a little higher, hopping side to side or forward and backwards, or increasing the sessions on each leg in five-second increments.

Push ups

The ability to always to be able to get ourselves off the ground is something that we should all aspire to and push ups will help us maintain the necessary strength in our arms.

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There are four push-up levels in order from easiest to hardest. Start with a level where you are able to do at least five repetitions. Once you can easily perform a level for 30 seconds, you are ready to progress to the next. For each level, keep your chin tucked in and your shoulders away from your ears.

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  • Standing push ups: Stand facing a wall at an arms-length distance, with your palms flat on the wall, shoulder-distance apart at shoulder height. Come up on to your toes, keeping your tummy tucked in. Keep your body in a plank from your crown to your heels. Bend your elbows to incline your body until your forehead lightly touches the wall, using your toes as the pivot point. Straighten your elbows to return to the start position. For a greater challenge, start with your feet further from the wall.

  • All-fours push ups: Start on all fours, keeping your thighs vertical and shoulders over your hands. Keep your body in a plank from the crown to the tailbone. Bend your elbows to lower your forehead towards the ground, using your hips in the air as the pivot point. Straighten your elbows to return to the start position

  • Knee Push ups: Assume a plank position from knees to crown with your knees as the pivot point. Bend your elbows as above aiming your forehead towards the ground. Straighten your elbows to return to the start position.

  • Standard push ups: Assume the plank position, supporting yourself on your toes and straight arms, with your hands positioned under your shoulders. Bend your elbows, lowering your torso towards the ground. Straighten your elbows to return to the start position.

Pet project

Pets are beneficial to our health. This is a proven fact, backed by many studies and research.

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Growing up with pets helps strengthen our immune systems and helps prevents the onset of allergies. Pets are a good way of teaching children altruism, especially with regards to looking after another creature and putting its needs before their own.

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Dogs are great for encouraging us to be more active and to spend more time in the fresh air. This can result in multiple health and social benefits.

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Conversely, cats are fantastic for encouraging us to slow down. There is nothing more relaxing than having a purring cat sit on your lap, and research indicates that the frequency of the vibrations of purring actually have healing properties! For the elderly or those living alone, a pet can additionally provide unparalleled companionship.

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In general, pets are awesome for our mental health. In addition to the benefits discussed above, there is something almost magical about sharing our living space with an animal, bringing balance into our lives. Every pet has the potential to be an emotional support animal, and every pet can make a house feel more like a home.

Philosophy for life

Instead of a specific exercise, this issue’s Healthy Habit is more of a philosophy for life. It concerns trying to add 10-20 minutes of exercises into your daily schedule. It is important to keep the program short so you have fewer excuses not to do it!


Personally, I like to do this first thing in the morning, partly because our bodies are a bit tight after a night’s sleep, and partly because it makes me feel like I have achieved something right at the beginning of the day.


However, if the morning doesn’t work for you, simply pick another time—your lunch break, when you get home, or before bed—that will work with your daily routine. You need to choose a repertoire of exercises that move as many parts of your body as possible through their full range of movement. 


The exercises also need to stretch those muscles that get tight, and ‘wake up’ those muscles that you know are weak or which you actively want to focus on strengthening. If you have been given exercises by your physio, these are good to add, as are any releases using balls or rollers. 


You should aim to do the same exercise program every day to enable you to assess how it feels today in comparison to yesterday and the day before. In this way, you will become more sensitive to any changes as a muscle gets tighter. 


I have a couple of good morning ‘warm up’ routines posted on my website in the ‘Short Workouts & Tips’ section, one for ‘Over 50s’ and another for ‘All Abilities’. These are a great place to start, but you should feel free to tweak the exercises to meet your own specific requirements. 


For those who have not been to my website before, go to: www.backinshapemelbourne.com ‘Login’ above the ‘Class Recordings’ on the tool bar. Then click ‘Sign Up’. Fill in your details (with your own password) and click ‘Submit’. Once I receive your request I will approve it, allowing you to log in and see the class you want to do whenever you want to do them.

Cold blast

This is a very simple habit to add to your daily routine. I do it every day! Have a normal shower at your preferred temperature, but end it with a cold blast for 60 seconds. This triggers a stress response in your body, and if you do it regularly your body will get used to it and help condition your body to cope with other stress factors.

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Multiple studies have demonstrated numerous benefits, including improved mental health and better ability to fight infection. A Dutch study found that those who take cold showers take an average of 30 per cent fewer sick days.

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Cold showers have also been shown to promote the growth and retention of (good) brown fat in the body. Unlike (bad) white fat, brown fat is metabolically active, helping break down blood sugar and fat molecules, improving general health and weight control.

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Moreover, cold showers have anti-inflammatory benefits. Considering that Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart disease and depression are all linked to chronic inflammation, a brief sixty-second icy blast in the morning is a small price to pay!

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For more details, read ‘Just one thing’ by Michael Mosley.

Squats

Everybody should aim to do at least one set of squats a day. In his book, Just One Thing, television journalist on medical matters, Dr Michael Mosley, suggests we do a set of squats as soon as we get out of bed. Not only does it help wake us up, but it also gets the exercise out of the way early and lets you feel that you have achieved something before your day has even begun!

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Squats are great for strength training our thighs and buttocks, and have also been shown to increase blood flow to the hippocampus—the part of the brain responsible for memory, learning, and growth of new brain cells. In fact, squats have been proved by Professor Damian Bailey at the University of NSW to be more effective in this regard than either running or walking.

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  • To start, see how many squats you can do with ease. It might only be four or five, but as you persevere they will become easier.

  • Stand with your feet and knees hip distance apart. If you feel you need support, stand behind a chair.

  • As you lower your body into a squat, bend your knees and stick your bottom out as if you are about to sit down—but don’t! Go as low as you feel comfortable.

  • Return to the standing position in a slow and controlled fashion.

  • You can add in arm swings to help balance and increase momentum, and really get the heart and lungs working.

  • Only do as many reps as you can pain free and with good form up to a maximum of two minutes per set. If you enjoy the exercise, feel free to perform more than one set a day.

Anapana

During the first three days of my mediation course (see separate article in this newsletter), we were taught a technique to improve our focus. I have used this technique in our five-minute relaxations at the end of each class during this last term. We have been performing this lying down, but it can be done in any position. Sitting in a chair or cross legged is ideal. You don’t want to be so comfortable you fall asleep!

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  • Close your eyes and bring your focus to your breath. Do not change your breathing; just observe it.

  • Focus on your nostrils and the area of skin below the nose and above your top lip, paying attention to every breath in and breath out.

  • Notice all the sensations you feel here. If your mind drifts, bring it back to your breath.

  • You can then narrow your focus further to just the area of skin below your nose.

  • You can do this very simple exercise in a spare five minutes, or you can try sustaining it for longer periods, building it up to an hour.

Foot releases

We have been working on this exercise over the last term, and I’m sure most of you will be finding it less painful now than it was at the beginning. However, you can’t stop now! Your feet will have tightened up over the decades so we need to continue to release them on a regular basis. I’d advise you to put this exercise in your daily warm-up, or commit to performing it 2-3 times a week. You can use tennis balls, golf balls, or massage balls.

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  • Starting with the balls symmetrical, stand on the balls with your feet hip-distance apart.

  • Stand tall and gradually allow the balls to take your weight.

  • Look for tight/painful spots, and once identified don’t be in a hurry to move. Keep breathing and focus on what you are feeling.

  • Once you just experience a pressure feeling, move the balls to a slightly different position and repeat. This works anywhere on the feet.

  • If you find this too painful in the standing position initially, try leaning on a chair or bench top to take some weight off your feet, or try it in the sitting position, or you can try it one foot at a time.

Eyes-closed leg floats

  • Place your feet hip distance apart, with your arches lifted, your knees soft and your kneecaps pointing straight ahead. Now close your eyes.

  • Think tall through the crown of your head, tuck your chin in and imagine the back of your head and shoulder blades are just lightly touching an imaginary wall behind you.

  • Close your eyes and take note of where all your body parts are in space.

  • Start by floating one arm to 90 degrees (i.e. horizontal) and back down, and then repeat with the other.

  • Continue this until you feel as though no other part of your body is moving, and then start to lift the opposite heel off the ground in conjunction with each arm.

  • Notice the movement that occurs in the body while you do this, and once stable see if you can progress to lifting the whole foot, keeping just the tip of the big toe on the ground. Then, see if you can lift the whole foot initially just a millimetre and see how high you can comfortably progress.

  • As you do this, keep your focus on where your body parts and joints are in space, as this will improve your proprioception and your overall sense of balance.

Eyes-closed balance

  • Start with your feet hip-distance apart, with your knees soft.

  • Close your eyes.

  • Focus on the position of your feet, knees, hips, spine and head. It really helps to consciously activate your postural muscles.

  • Think tall, to activate the little (multifidus) muscles either side of each vertebra in your spine.

  • Draw your tummy in to activate the deep transverse abdominus muscle.

  • Lift your pelvic floor.

  • Imagine you have a ‘Theraloop’ just above your knees and gently press your knees out into it to activate your lateral hip stabiliser (tensor fascia lat and glut medius/minimus) muscles.

  • Keep the arches of your feet lifted and toes relaxed.

  • Aim to keep your eyes closed for a least one minute.

  • As you get more proficient at this exercise you can challenge yourself further by trying any of the following of combinations thereof:

    • Holding for longer

    • Putting your feet closer together

    • Trying to lift and lower your heels

    • Floating your arms up and down

'Rocabado' jaw relaxation

This is a really simple exercise that can be performed in any position: sitting, standing, lying down, or even while walking. It was created by Dr. Rocabado to ease Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD). 


The position of the tongue in the mouth facilitates a relaxation of the jaw muscles. By doing it often you will break the habit of constantly clenching your jaw. 


If you know you have a tendency to clench your jaw during certain activities—say driving for instance—then get into the habit of performing this technique when you get in the car, or when you are waiting at the lights. Similarly, if you know you grind your teeth in your sleep, perform the exercise when you turn out the lights.

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  • ​Comfortably tuck your chin in and ‘think tall’ through the crown of your head.

  • Make sure your shoulders are relaxed and away from your ears.

  • Rest your tongue gently on the roof of your mouth, with the tip just behind your teeth.

  • Hold your tongue in this position as you focus on your breathing.

  • Take six deep breaths.

  • You can repeat this as often as you like and modify by holding for longer and breathing normally.
     

Yoga tree pose

We covered this during Term 1 and it is a good one to keep working on, and a great exercise to perform at the start of each day to wake up your body’s balance reactions. Two-to-three minutes on each side will count as your daily balance exercise.

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  • ​Stand with your feet hip-distance apart, thinking tall through the crown and focusing on a distant point at eye level.

  • Place your palms together in front of your chest. Imagine a pole on your left and right sides and aim not to let your hips touch them.

  • Take a breath in to prepare. As you breathe out, lift your pelvic floor muscles, draw in your belly and lift one foot. If necessary, keep your big toe on the ground as you find your balance.

  • Keep breathing.

  • If this is enough of a challenge, stay here. If you find it easy, place the sole of your raised foot against the standing leg and gently press the two together. Move your foot higher up if you want to increase the challenge.

  • For a further challenge still, breathe in, straighten your arms in front of you parallel to the ground while keeping your palms together, and float your arms above your head as you breathe out.

  • Breathe in to float your arms down again and bring them back to your chest on the breath out.

  • Repeat, and after two-three minutes swap to the other side.

  • For a further challenge, you can keep your arms overhead for longer, or hold your arms in any position on the way down.
     

Little jumps

This is one of the exercises we’ve been doing in class as part of our ‘fast movement’. It’s good to elevate your heart rate and good for bone strength:

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  • Stand with your feet hip-distance apart, swing your arms back, bend the knees, and then swing the arms forward as you do a little jump.

  • As you land, allow your knees to bend and ensure you land equally on your toes and heels.

  • Repeat this for as many reps as you can manage in 30 seconds.

  • If this standard form is too challenging or painful, vary the exercise by keeping your toes on the ground and landing heavily on your heels instead.

  • If you find the standard form too easy, try jumping a little higher, or add hand weights. With weights, keep your arm swing more compact and your elbows locked at 90 degrees.

  • If at any point you feel pain or strain, stop and consider an easier version.

Pelvic floor with endurance

It is beneficial to be able to hold a pelvic floor contraction for ten seconds, as this will help us ‘hold on’ when we get the urge to do a wee and help prevent accidental leakage during exercise.

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  • Start by breathing in and feel your pelvic floor muscles relax.

  • As your breath out, squeeze around the opening of your bladder, back passage and (for the ladies) your vagina. Feel the pelvic floor lift up inside.

  • Try to maintain the squeeze and the feeling of lift as you keep breathing. Begin by holding for just a few seconds.

  • Then relax your muscles. You should feel them let go. If you don’t feel them relax, it is probably because they already have! If this is the case, try again and decrease the length of the hold.

  • Repeat 4 to 5 times. You can do this every hour you are awake.

  • Once you feel you are doing this well, increase the hold by a second. Continue to progress until you can hold for ten seconds. It is not necessary to hold for longer than this.

  • Keep all your other muscles relaxed as you do this exercise. You do not need to clench your buttocks, your fists or shrug your shoulders!

  • It should not be obvious to anybody else that you are doing anything, making it the perfect exercise to do anywhere, anytime.

Pelvic floor elevator

We have covered this before as a ‘Traffic Light’ sitting exercise and have also worked on this during last term. It is a good one to add to the repertoire of exercises you do regularly in order to fine-tune your pelvic floor control and to remind yourself that this is a group of muscles that are not just on or off, but which can be tightened to varying degrees.

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  • Start by performing a normal pelvic floor contraction. Take a breath in and as you breathe out squeeze the muscles around the opening of your bladder, back passage and (for the women) your vagina.

  • Notice how much you feel these muscles lifting, and equally how much they relax as you breathe in.

  • As a beginner, then imagine your pelvic floor is an elevator in a two-storey building. On the breath out, lift the pelvic floor to the first floor, and then the second floor. As you breathe in, lower back to the first and then the ground floor. Do not bear down and end up in the basement!

  • Once you can perfect this, you can progress to a three-storey building, then a four-storey and, if you are really good, a five-storey building.

  • Perform three to four reps as often as you like: I’d suggest every hour. Perhaps use a regular occurrence, such as washing your hands, as a reminder to do these.

Single-leg quarter squat progression

This is a progression from last term’s Active Standing exercise and aims to continue to challenge and improve our whole lower leg alignment.

 

  • Stand tall with your full weight on your left leg, keeping your left heel on the ground and your left arch lifted, with your left kneecap pointing straight ahead.

  • Steady your balance with your right big toe touching the ground.

  • Put your hands on your hips and aim to keep your pelvis level and symmetrical throughout the exercise.

  • Bend your left knee and at the same time tap your right toe forward.

  • As you straighten your knee, tap your right big toe back to the start position.

  • Once you can achieve this movement with good alignment of the left leg, progress by tapping your right big toe forward, as before, then out to the side and then behind.

  • Repeat these movements standing on your right leg and moving your left leg.

Single-leg quarter squats

This is another good exercise to strengthen your VMO muscle, helping you maintain muscle balance at the knee and helping prevent or mitigate pain at the front of the knee.

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  • Begin the exercise with a double-leg quarter squat, as follows:

  • Stand with your feet hip distance apart and with the arches in your feet lifted, but heels on the ground. 

  • Your knees should point directly forward. Imagine you have headlights on your kneecaps. The beams of light will shine straight ahead in two parallel lines.

  • Standing tall and keeping your body upright, bend both your knees while maintaining your correct alignment.

  • Squat as low as you can without pain. If you experience any pain or discomfort, back off a little and make the movement smaller.

  • Keep your heels on the ground throughout the exercise.

  • Return to the start position.

  • Once you have mastered this movement, try progressing  by lifting one foot off the ground. You should keep your pelvis level, which can be achieved by putting your hands on your hips. Use a hand for support on a wall or chair back if you need.

  • Bend and straighten the knee. Aim to build up to 10 repetitions per leg.

  • If this is painful, you may need to book in to see your physio.

VMO (Vastus Medialis Oblique)

This is the muscle just above your kneecap, slightly towards the inside of the thigh. Together with the VL (Vastus Lateralis), the VMO controls the tracking of the kneecap when you bend and straighten your knee, but we need both muscles to work equally to ensure your kneecap tracks properly. It is common for the VMO to weaken as a result of post-surgery knee pain, poor footwear or flattened arches, and this can lead to poor kneecap tracking and localised pain.

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  • To do this exercise, step forward with your left foot and lock your left knee in a 30-degree bend, making sure the arch of your foot is lifted and you kneecap is pointing straight ahead.

  • Put your fingers on your left VMO and slowly transfer your weight from your (rear) right leg to your (front) left leg, keeping your knee facing forward and locked at 30 degrees.

  • Feel your left VMO taughten, and then soften as you transfer your weight back to your right leg.

  • Perform ten repetitions for each leg.

Single-leg heel raise

This is a good exercise to improve your calf strength.

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  • Stand tall on one leg. 

  • If necessary, touch your fingers against a wall or bench top for support, but do not lean in a way that supports your weight. 

  • Rise up onto your toes, getting as high as you can, and then lowering slowly. 

  • If you find this too difficult, start with both legs together until you are strong enough to perform the exercise on one leg at a time. 

  • It helps to visualise that you are growing tall through the crown of your head while you do this. 

  • Repeat the exercise until your calf starts to burn or the movements become shaky, and then swap legs. 

  • Do this exercise every day. As your muscles get stronger you will be able to progressively perform more repetitions. 

  • A moderately Jit person should be able to achieve 25 reps at a time. 

  • Once you get used to the exercise, you will be able to add a second and even a third set. 

  • Always try to do the same number of reps on each leg.

Lumbricals

Lumbricals are the little muscles in our feet that help support the arches. Wearing shoes actually decreases the need for these muscles to work, so they often get weak. Foot pain under the fore-foot can be caused by weak Lumbricals, as can tired, achey feet. If this sounds familiar, try the following: 

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  • While standing, become aware of the contact between your foot and the ground.

  • Your weight should be distributed in a tripod between your big toe, little toe and the centre of your heel.

  • Keeping your toes straight, press the pads of your toes into the ground and try to shorten and narrow your foot by a few millimetres.

  • Do not let your toes curl. You should be able to see your toenails the whole time (but not, obviously, if you are wearing closed shoes!).

  • You should feel a gentle lift of the arches and a squeezing feel between the bones of your foot. See picture above.

  • Hold for 10 seconds and then relax.

  • Aim to do ten repetitions every hour.

  • Initially, do this in bare feet so you can check you are doing it right.

  • Once you know what it feels like, you can do it in shoes.

Peering over a cliff to activate your Multifidus

Your Multifidus is a stabilising muscle in the spine. We have one either side of every vertebrae all the way up our spine. When it contracts, it ‘inflates’ like a little airbag to help elongate and support the spine: it helps us stand tall. This exercise wakes up the muscle and is ideal to perform at the start of each day.

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  • Stand with your feet hip distance apart, knees soft and your weight equally in the centre of your heels and the base of big and little toes

  • Put your hands on your hips and slide your thumbs to the midline of your back. Feel for the bony protuberances in the spine—your spinous processes. You will be on vertebra L4. Replace your thumbs with your index fingers (which will help keep your shoulders relaxed) and put them close together so they are almost touching

  • Now imagine you are standing on a cliff edge. Rock your weight forward towards your toes. Let your whole body follow—hips, shoulders and head—keeping them all in line, as if you are peering over the edge. You should feel the subtle tautening  under your fingers as the Multifidus inflates, and relaxing as you rock your weight back

  • Check that both sides are inflating and relaxing equally. If they do not, try rotating your head to one side to see if that improves the symmetry. If not, try rotating to the other side.

  • Keep your head rotated as necessary to keep the tautening symmetrical, and repeat a few times

  • Slowly bring your head back to the centre and try to maintain the symmetry 

  • Repeat this at each vertebra. Go down an inch to L5, and another inch to S1. From the start point, go up an inch to L3, and try progressing further up, an inch at a time as far as you can reach

  • Repeat 4-5 times at any level that feels asymmetrical and after any periods of inactivity 

Tennis Elbow Stretch

If you are suffering from Tennis Elbow currently, have suffered from the condition in the past, or simply want to avoid Tennis Elbow in the future, this exercise will help. Please note, if you experience pain on the outside of your elbow as you perform this exercise, then you might currently have Tennis Elbow. If this is the case, you can still follow this routine , but I recommend that you stretch just short of pain. Also, if you think you might have Tennis Elbow, please refer to the additional advice in the main article. This exercise can actually be performed sitting or standing.

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  • Straighten your elbow and let your arm hang down by your side

  • Turn your thumb in towards the body, allowing your whole arm to rotate in at the shoulder until your thumb points behind you

  • Turn your palm up to face the ceiling in the “waiter’s tip position”

  • For a stronger stretch, move your whole arm in front of your body, so you can use your other hand to get a little more bend at the wrist. See the picture adjacent to ensure you are doing this correctly

  • You should feel a stretch down the forearm

  • Hold the stretch for 10 seconds 

  • Repeat three times

Iliacus activation: deep hip stabiliser

This exercise is ideal if you have tight hip flexor muscles, overactive Psoas muscles, or for all of you out there who spend a lot of time sitting. 

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  • Stand with your feet hip-distance apart, with your knees soft and your foot arches lifted.

  • Keep your weight equally in the centre of your heels and equally at the base of your big and little toes.

  • Put your hands on your hips and feel the prominent bony parts either side, level or just below the level of your navel.

  • Keep your tummy relaxed and hook your fingertips inside these as deep as you can.

  • As you breath out, rock your weight back onto your heels, just short of feeling that you will fall backwards. Notice how the muscles under your fingertips tauten.

  • As you breath in, rock your weight back to the start position and feel the muscles relax.

  • Repeat as many times as you are able.

  • For added progression, try holding this position for the breath in as well as the breath out, and even holding for multiple breaths.

Deep Glutes

We did this exercise in Term 1 in a lying position. This version can be done anywhere, any time, standing up: 

  • Stand tall, with heels together and toes wide, like a ballerina.

  • Take a breath in to prepare and, as you breathe out, squeeze your heels together until you feel your buttocks tauten.

  • Keep squeezing together and come up on your toes.

  • Aim to keep the heels as close together and as high as possible. As you do this, gently pull your tummy in and imagine you are growing taller through the crown of your head.

  • Breath in and slowly lower. Stop squeezing the heels and feel the buttocks relax.

  • Repeat for 5-10 reps.

  • If necessary, touch a wall/chair to steady yourself, but aim to minimise the need for this as you improve.

Glut Medius Activation

If you have read the main article on gluteal tendinopathy (and if not, why not?!) and want to start doing a simple exercise to start activating your Gluteal Medius muscle, then here is a great one to try:

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  • Stand with your feet hip-distance apart, with your toes pointing straight ahead or slightly pointed out

  • Bend your knees slightly and ensure your knee caps are pointing in a line with your toes

  • Place your hands on your hips with your fingertips pressing gently in the fleshy part in the region of the side seams of your trousers. See the photo.

  • Imagine that you are now trying to stretch the floor/carpet between your feet. No movement actually takes place, and you must ensure your knees do not roll out.

  • Feel the tautening of your Glut Med muscle under your fingertips

  • Hold for a few seconds before relaxing and feel the muscle soften

  • Try ten reps and aim to gradually increase the hold to ten seconds

Finding the balance

Loss of balance is one of the indicators of ageing, and improving your balance can help you feel younger and more healthy. You should challenge your balance wherever you can, the more often the better. Try this exercise when standing in a queue, or when you are talking on the phone or even cleaning your teeth or doing the dishes:

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  • Stand up tall with your feet hip-distance apart and with your arches lifted

  • Your knees should also be hip-distance apart, slightly bent and with your kneecaps pointing straight ahead

  • Tuck in your chin and imagine a cord attached to the crown of your head that somebody is gently pulling

  • Focus on a distant point at eye level

  • Lift one foot off the ground, although if you find this too challenging you can keep the tip of your big toe on the ground

  • Use your arms to help you balance, and if necessary you can touch a wall or chair top with your fingertips to minimise the wobbles

  • Time yourself to see how long you can hold this position for on either side

  • Once you get to 60 seconds, you can start to add an extra challenge by slowly swing your arms forward and back

Good standing posture

 

You probably already think you know how to stand, but allow me to help you to stand better:

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  • Your feet should be hip-distance apart with your weight in the centre of your heels and equally at the base of your big and little toes.

  • Your knees should be soft: make sure they are not locked as this can lead to ligament stress at the back of the knee and lower back.

  • Your knee caps should point straight ahead along the line of your second toe.

  • Keeping your knees soft, grow tall through the crown of your head, allowing your chin to tuck in slightly. Feel a lengthening up the back of your neck and all the way down your spine to your tail bone. You can imagine that somebody is gently pulling up on a cord attached to the crown of your head.

  • Your arms should hang relaxed by your side.

  • Your shoulders should be away from your ears.

  • Your chest should be open.

Traffic Light Exercises

Pilates is not just something you do in the class once or twice a week; it is something you can incorporate into your everyday lives. These exercises are best done ‘a little but often’, but it is easy to forget to do them. We all need a reminder, and waiting at a red light can be this cue. Now, instead of getting frustrated as you wait for the lights to change, you can take the opportunity to pump out a few reps!

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And for those who do not drive, these exercises also work on the bus or tram … or even the toilet!

Self-trigger point releases: shoulder blade and upper arm

We have a lot of muscles that attach to our shoulder blades and upper arms. Any of these muscles can become tight or develop trigger points, which are painful tight knots in the muscles. This is especially common if you experience any shoulder pain.

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  • With your opposite hand, have a feel down the front of your arm (Bicep), the back of your arm (Tricep), the side of your shoulder (Deltoid), and around behind the armpit, along the outside edge of your shoulder blade.

  • Try gently squeezing the edge of the shoulder blade between your thumb and fingers and see if you can reach up to press on the flat surface of the shoulder blade itself.

  • You are hunting for tight spots in the muscles. When you find one…

  • PRESS gently until you start to feel pain

  • FOCUS on the pain and keep breathing

  • HOLD it until it eases

 

Once you have eased one tight spot, you can go hunting for the next, but you might have to wait until the next set of lights!

Back tennis-ball release

For anybody who has attended one of my classes, you will be familiar with the tennis ball releases, as I know you all love doing them! Well the good news is that you can now perform these exercises while you are in the car, so why not keep a tennis ball handy in your car’s door pocket ready for that next red light?

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  • Before you begin, take a moment to assess your back. Are you aware of any specific areas of tightness or tension in your back or between your shoulder blades? If so…

  • Place the ball at your target area and hold it in place between your body and the car seat.

  • Gently press your body back onto the ball.

  • Avoid the very centre of the back, as this will place the ball directly over the bony spinous processes. Aim instead for the muscles located about 1cm either side.

  • Simply press until you feel a bit of pain. Continue breathing while you hold this position, focussing on the area until the pain lessens to more of a sensation of just pressure.

Shoulder de-stress: self trigger-point release

The Upper Trapezius and Levator Scapulae muscles run from the base of the head down either side of the neck and attach into the top of the shoulder blade all the way to the tip of the shoulder. These muscles often become tight when we get stressed, so this simple exercise will help you de-stress.

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  • With your opposite hand, go hunting along the length of the muscle with your finger tips, initially pressing gently but increasing the pressure as necessary.

  • You are looking for tender spots. When you find one, apply just enough pressure to feel a bit of pain.

  • Maintain the pressure, keep breathing, focus on the pain and it should subside.

  • Once the pain subsides, continue to maintain the pressure with your finger tips and slowly lower your opposite ear to the shoulder and you will feel a stretch under your fingertips.

  • Release your fingers and go hunting for another tight spot.

VMO Reps

This issue I want to focus on the Vastus Medialis Obliquus (VMO), which I refer to in the main article of this issue. The VMO is the medial part of the large thigh Quadriceps muscle, and is itself a small muscle just above the knee on the inside of your leg. The VMO can become weak as a result of knee pain, after surgery or due to poor alignment caused by flat feet or weak hip muscles. This Traffic Light Exercise will help wake up the VMO so that it participates more when you walk or cycle, thereby helping prevent Anterior Knee Pain.

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As you sit at the traffic lights, your knees will already be bent.

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  • Allow your knee to roll out a little

  • Keep your heel in contact with the floor and then press your heel into the ground. Your knee should not actually move, but you will feel the VMO itself tighten if you put your hand on it.

  • You can also put your hand halfway up the outside of your thigh and feel your Vastus Lateralis (VL) tighten, but you want to ensure this does not dominate. Ideally, both muscles should tighten the same amount and activate at the same time. However, your buttocks should stay relaxed.

  • Hold for a few seconds and then relax and feel it soften

  • Repeat ten times

 

Note: when performing this exercise on your right leg, it is not necessary to rev your accelerator pedal!

Pelvic Tilts

Make sure you are sitting up nice and tall in such a way that your spine—especially the small of your back—is supported by the backrest of your seat. Now, feel a lengthening through the crown of your head and ensure your chin is comfortably tucked in. You are now ready to begin:

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  • Take a breath in and as you breathe out draw your belly button in towards the small of your back, so that you can feel the small of your back flatten and press against the back of the seat

  • As you breathe in, slowly control the return of your back to the start position. If there is no pain, you can see if you can allow your back to arch a little further

  • Stay sitting tall throughout the movement and don’t allow yourself to shrink!

  • Repeat this 5-6 times, trying to get the movement as smooth, symmetrical and controlled as you can

Deep breathing 

This exercise encourages you to breathe deeply into the lower part of your lungs, which actually makes breathing more efficient. Interestingly, this is how we breath naturally as children, but somewhere along the line, most of us unlearn this basic skill. When we are stressed, we often breath more shallowly, which leads to poorly oxygenated blood and this leads to feelings of anxiety, panic, stress or anger. So this exercise will help you feel happier and healthier and may help prevent road rage too. Just don’t forget to move when the lights change!

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  • Take a deep breath in through your nose, directing the air down to the lower outer parts of your rib cage. Feel like you are breathing into the area between your armpits and waist. Feel your ribs moving outwards towards your arms.

  • Then sigh out, feeling your breastbone sink down.

  • Keep your breastbone heavy as your take another deep breath in.

  • Repeat four to five times.

Pelvic Floor Elevator Exercise

For this exercise, it is helpful to imagine your pelvic floor is like an elevator, with stops at the ground, first, second and third floors.

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  • Take a breath in

  • As you breath out, lift your pelvic floor in three equal increments—the first, second and third floors

  • As you breath in, relax your pelvic floor back to the ground floor, but be careful not to bear down and end up in the basement!

  • Repeat four times

  • Do this at every set of red traffic lights and you will end up with excellent pelvic floor control

  • Once you can perform this exercise easily, try to return to the ground floor in three equal increments on the breath in

 

Note that you might need to rest for a couple of breaths between each repetition of the exercise

Shoulder Shrugs

The muscles between our ears and shoulders are the Upper Trapezius and Levator Scapulae muscles. These muscles harbour a lot of our stress and, when tight, can compress the little joints in our neck causing neck pain or headaches. So this exercise is a great one to do on your way home from work!

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  • Keeping your chin tucked in, shrug your shoulders to your ears

  • If your shoulders or neck feel tight, imagine you are squeezing out all the stress and tightness

  • Hold for three to five seconds

  • Now lower your shoulders away from your ears until you feel a comfortable stretch

  • Try to get you elbows as far away from your ears as possible

  • Again, hold this position for three to five seconds

  • Repeat the shrug up and stretch down three to five times, or until the traffic lights turn green

  • Allow yourself a smug smile as you’ve used an otherwise-wasted couple of minutes to help improve your wellbeing 

Scapular Retraction

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This exercise is good for posture and will help prevent the dreaded “Dowager’s Hump”!

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  • Tuck your chin in and—if you can—rest the base of your head against the head-rest of your seat.

  • Take your hands off the steering wheel and rest the back of your arms against the back support of the car seat. Have your elbows by your side at 90 degrees. Keep your shoulders away from your ears.

  • Take a breath in to prepare.

  • Then—as you breath out—draw your tummy in, keep your chin tucked in and press the back of your arms back against the car seat. You will feel the area in between your shoulder blades gently arch away from the seat.

  • Breath in and release. Feel the area between your shoulder blades relax back to their starting position.

  • Repeat this 5-10 times. Or until the lights turn green!

Independent buttocks

In my classes we have practised the ‘independent buttock’ exercise in both the standing position and lying on our tummies. The good news is that this exercise can also be done while sitting down, and what better place to practise them than at the traffic lights?

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  • Start by clenching both buttocks tight and then relax them completely

  • It is often helpful to put your hands on your buttocks to check they both tighten equally and both relax completely

  • Then, let the left buttock relax while you clench the right buttock

  • If you feel the left buttock starting to tighten, don’t clench so tightly

  • Repeat with the other side, clenching your left buttock while keeping the right relaxed

  • You can perform this exercise slowly or try to do it as quickly as possible

  • Repeat as many times as you want (or until the lights change), alternating sides

  • Note: This is a fantastic exercise to do on long journeys, as sitting for more than 30 minutes has a switching-off effect on your buttock muscles. Performing this exercise will help prevent that all-too-common ‘numb bum’ and will help ensure your buttocks work properly

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Quick Fire Pelvic Floor

  • If you experience any bladder leakage when you sneeze, cough or jump, then this exercise will be beneficial as it trains the pelvic floor muscles to contract quickly.

  • Start by doing a couple of normal pelvic floor lifts to wake up the muscles. Take a little breath in to prepare and on the breath out, squeeze around the openings of your bladder and bowel. Feel like you are lifting these towards the small of your back. On the breath in, relax these muscles.

  • Then, on the next breath out, try and do four very quick lifts of the pelvic floor. Again, relax on the breath in.

  • Repeat this three times.

  • Note: If you find that you get worse with each repetition, it means that the muscles are weak and lack endurance. Try giving yourself a rest of three to four breaths between each repetition. You can then gradually decrease this rest as your endurance improves. Conversely, if you get better with each repetition then this indicates that your muscle strength and endurance are good, but the connection with your brain might be sluggish! The solution to both scenarios is the same: practice every hour and your performance will quickly improve.

 

Chin tucks!

  • Tuck your chin in and imagine somebody is pulling an imaginary cord attached to the crown of your head, allowing your neck to feel as long as possible at the back

  • Rest the back of your head against the headrest of the car seat and gently press back

  • Keep everything else relaxed, especially your shoulders and jaw

  • Repeat five to ten times

  • Note: If your head does not reach the head rest with your chin tucked in, try adjusting the headrest or even strapping a small cushion or rolled-up hand towel to the headrest. If you do this exercise regularly, you will notice that as your flexibility increases you will be able to remove the cushion.

 

Pelvic floor with endurance!

  • Take a little breath in. As you breath out, squeeze around the opening of your bladder and back passage. Imagine there is a drawstring around those openings and lift towards the small of your back. Do not move your lower back.

  • Try to keep these muscles lifted as you breath in and out.

  • On your next breath in, let them relax. Do not bear down. You may find that you have already subconsciously relaxed them.

  • Repeat three to four times

  • Once you can hold for one breath in and out, then progress to two, then three breaths. This may take many weeks, even months to perfect, so be patient, but keep practicing at every set of traffic lights!

 

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