We often hear about the core. The first thing that most people think of when it comes to the core are six-packs or abdominal exercises. For others they are often told to "brace" their core during exercises such as the squat or deadlift. Little do most people including the majority of PT's know that
When it comes to yoga, one of the most popular and recommended YouTube channels is that of Yoga With Adriene, who currently has 8.42 million followers on the site. They also have a LOT of videos, so many
As someone who has always had respect and admiration for Shaolin's and what they are able to do, watching a few random videos I came across an excellent one on YouTube from KungFu.Life for leg flexibility.
It's simple, doesn't take long and all you need is a chair or something similiar. Having performed this nearly everyday for the past week I can definitely feel the leg flexibility getting better in ways I hadn't before.
A vital component of exercise, and indeed every day life, that most people have never heard of is neutral pelvic alignment. PT's are quick enough to tell you to brace your core or abs during an exercise, but whilst that is important it is a compromised technique without first setting your pelvis.
Having troubles with your squats or deadlifts? Do your knees collapse inwards during leg exercise? Need to do exercises with your heels on weight plates to get better range of motion? Good bet that you're suffering from a lack of ankle dorsiflexion, which is the ability of your foot and shin to move closer together.
Lack of mobility in the ankle can cause problems and functional compensations that radiate up throughout your entire kinetic system not just affecting your knee and hip alignment. Concurrently the hip itself can also affect ankle mobility.
