by Sean St. Onge
Let’s be honest here, we must remember we get the opportunity and privilege to perform exercises for ourselves and our well being. That being said, I guess some of us get too picky about what a drill can and will do for us. Hey, I get it! We only have a finite amount of time to do what is needed. Yet, if we are to be lead by coaches and trainers alike we are at the mercy of their wills (to some extent). Now, we all have our favorites and disdain for others, yet when it comes to exercise selection there are a few that get misconstrued to the purpose and need. Here they are…
Ankle mobilizations
The Wall Ankle Mobilization is an exercise that sends people into a frenzy. “What am I doing here? This doesn’t feel like anything.” “Am I just stretching my calf?”
Congratulations for your superiorly mobile, buttery, and supple ankles. May they provide you with proper plantar and dorsiflexion for many years of your life.
If your ankle mobility is limited, it can greatly effect your walking gait and it increases your risk for injuries somewhere else on your body, usually in the knees or hips.
Many of us humans do not have phenomenal ankle mobility and it is often overlooked and taken for granted. In order to walk, squat, lunge etc. withOUT pain in the knees and hips, we try to look at these issues on a joint by joint approach.
This concept was highly touted by strength coaches and physical therapists some 12-15 years ago as a protocol to suss out any problems in general movement patterns (LIKE WALKING). Popularized and formatted by therapist Gray Cook and strength coach Mike Boyle, this concept emphasized to look for joint mobility or stability depending on the region. It describes “the foundation of efficient human movement in which an alternating series of stable segments move on mobile joints.”
By looking at the ankle joints and their mobility (or lack there of) we can determine whether or not there may be an issue at knees, or hips.
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@squat_university: “The 🔑 takeaway is that there is no one size fits all to address injury, you must screen and uncover…”
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Perform a “5 inch wall test” where you place your foot 5 inches away from the wall while in a kneeling position, then rock your kneecap forward tracking it over your big toe to try and tap the wall in front of you. Should you be unable to hit the wall with consistency after a few reps this could be a potential red flag.
The “fix” could be a myriad of solutions, yet the straight forward start would be to prep with some soft tissue work on your calves, feet, and shins. Then, retest.
If we find that your mobility is hindered there will adjustments made and exercise choices will be provided to ensure progress moving forward. The old square peg and round hole routine should cease immediately. If it looks like shit, smells like shit, chances are it will remain so until a change is made. So let’s change them drawers.
Again the reason we perform these drills whether it be in small group, one on one, or class setting is to prep the joints for the actions we will eventually be doing in the future. Just a bit of priming, that’s all. Do not expect a big monumental shift in your world, just a little mobility though will go a long way. :)
Dead bugs and Bird Dogs:
Often seen as a “nothing” drill. “So I’m just moving my arms and legs like this?!?!”
The Dead Bug could really be one of the most challenging “core” exercises out there.
Its goal is to provide more posterior pelvic tilt of the hips while promoting motor control and engage the lumbo-pelvic-hip stabilizer muscles to properly do their jobs. What a mouthful! And I’m willing to bet that the average reader just flipped back to their IG Feed to make sure that they didn’t miss out on another phenomenal and topical meme.
Yes I know, Dead Bugs and Bird Dog exercises are “super easy” and lame. “What am I doing here? Just moving my opposite arms and legs simultaneously while keeping my pelvis tucked up without moving or shifting my lumbar spine too much or at all?
Well yea, but now show me 5 people doing it RIGHT out of 10. HELL, show me 2 out of 5 doing it properly…chances are, you won’t. And before someone needs to add weights, bands for resistance, chains, chainsaws, remember you need to nail it just with your own bodyweight BEFORE adding anything. It is an extremely butchered drill more often than not most people unknowingly look like they are performing an interpretive dance lesson to a group of uninterested ghosts.
Now, why do we do Dead Bugs and Bird Dogs? These drills are put in place to cement a basic foundation for stacked joints, and joint and core muscle stability.
Look, we want you to do these types of drills because we care and we only get an fixed amount of time to help in anyway we can. We do our best to not waste your time or ours. So a little bit of latitude goes a long way.
Hopefully this quells any reservations you may have had on these few drills. Until next time…
SOAP BOX OUT!