BeginFit

Your core is a vital part of your body’s structure, but for most, they just focus on the abs, this isn’t wrong, but leads to more imbalances if you are neglecting the other muscles of your core.

How To Side Plank
1. Begin lying on your side, resting on your elbow directly under your shoulder with your feet stacked on top of each other.

2. Brace your core and lift your hips off the floor, holding a straight line

3. Keep your chest up and legs together and hold for the prescribed time

Recommendations: Build up to holding for long durations. (1-10 sets / 2-12 reps / 20-90 seconds hold)

How often do you side plank?

Ideally, in the bottom of the squat, you will want to keep your heels down and knees over your toes.

However, if you have tight ankles, you may experience difficulty when trying to keep your heels down.

To fix this, you will want to spend some time working on your ankle mobility so that you can safely squat in the bottom position without putting your knees at risk.

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How To Overhead Squat

1. Stand with your feet just outside shoulder width with your toes slightly turned out, with a barbell or light PVC pipe resting on your shoulders in the back rack position

2. From heading your head, press the bar over head using assistance from your legs if necessary

3. Have active shoulders with your armpits facing forwards

4. While constantly pressing the bar away, break at the hips, then lower at your knees to bring your hips below the height of your knees

5. Ensure the bar remains in your centre of gravity

6. Keep your weight even across your feet, knees tracking over your toes, chest up and eyes forward

7. Drive your feet through the floor to return back to the starting position with your hips and knees fully extended.

Recommendations: Holds with PVC pipe, first learn to hold yourself in the bottom position with your arms fully extended overhead with no weight, until you feel comfortable sitting in that position with your hips below the height of your knees and feet flat on the floor. (1-10 Reps / 20 Seconds - 5 minutes)

Will you give this a try?

This is the ultimate movement for maintaining a healthy body.

Most of you won’t be able to do it, but over the weeks and months, if you can regain this position, you will live in a body that is able to express full capacity in mobility and stability of all your joints. 

The first 4 exercises are corrective exercises, they are there to pull your body back into good posture and build a strong foundation to reduce the risk of developing more problems. This exercise, however, is a full expression of your body’s health.  

The Overhead Squat is such a great movement because it involves progression yourself through your full range of motion of every joint and building stability in your end ranges of motion, demanding proper use of your ankles, knees, hips, thoracic spine and shoulders.

Most people won’t be able to perform this movement, so don’t be discouraged if you cannot, but unlocking the overhead squat will do more for your health and fitness than a 200kg back ever will.

Go try progress in the overhead squat today

Glutes are one of the most important muscles

If your goal is to build true functional strength and fitness, you need to have high-functioning glutes to ensure your body is moving efficiently

If your glutes are not working correctly other areas such as the hamstrings an slower back my over compensate

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Positioning is extremely important for technique; if you are not in the correct position when moving weight, your joints may be in a compromised position, increasing the risk of injury. 

There are three main positions you need to hold when practising proper technique. Start position, mid position, finish position. 

Let’s take the deadlift for example. The weight begins on the floor; set up, brace and hold the bottom position for 3-5 seconds. Then you’ll drive your feet through the floor, maintaining the same angle of your torso and hold 3-5 seconds at the knees (mid position). Finally, you will continue to drive and open your hips to take the weight to the finish position, where again you will hold for 3-5 seconds. 

A common mistake people will make is that they are focusing on the hold and not the position of their body. How long you hold for is not important; what is important is the awareness of your body’s position.

When in the hold, think about what angle your joints are at and which muscles are working the hardest.

When you can be aware of your body, you can make corrections and be more efficient with your movement. 

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Posture is so important

If you are always hunched forward you brain interprets that as being defeated or weaken and makes you feel as such

When you hold good posture, you can feel more energised, more confident and stronger even when you're not

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