HOW: Start on your back with your knees bend and slightly spread apart. Tighten up your stomach first, then your glutes. Next, drive your heels into the ground and lift your hips up towards the ceiling. At the end position your knee, hip, and shoulder should be in one straight line. Hold the end position and squeeze the glutes, then slowly return to starting position.

 

FEEL: You should feel your glutes work to control this motion. At no point should you feel your low back muscles doing the lifting motion. If you feel it only in your hamstrings, try bending your knees a bit more and repeat.

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid arching at the low back as you perform this. 

HOW: Begin this exercise on your hands and knees with one leg elevated on a pad or a book to allow your non-elevated leg to work through a greater range. From here, allow the knee that is not elevated to drop down towards the floor and then bring it back up to match the height of the elevated knee. 

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles of your back working to control this small movement. 

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid excessive rotation through your pelvis as you perform this movement. Perform the movement slowly and with good control.

HOW: Begin on your hands and knees. Place a slider under one foot. In this position, you will balance on the opposite arm and leg. The wider you are the easier to balance, the more narrow the more challenging this will be. Bring the arm up as high as you can towards the ceiling while you slide the opposite leg back with your toes pushing into the slider. Slowly,  return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

 

FEEL: With the leg kicking out you will feel the muscles on the back of the hip working, with the arm that is punching out you will feel the muscles on top of the shoulder and back of the shoulder blade working.

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid rotating the trunk, arching the back as you raise your leg, or shrugging the shoulder as you raise the arm.

HOW: Begin on your hands and knees. In this position, you will balance on the opposite arm and leg. The wider you are the easier to balance, the more narrow the more challenging this will be. Bring the arm and leg up as high as you can towards the ceiling, slowly return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

 

FEEL: With the leg kicking out you will feel the muscles on the back of the hip working, with the arm that is punching out you will feel the muscles on top of the shoulder and back of the shoulder blade working.

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid rotating the trunk, arching the back as you raise your leg, or shrugging the shoulder as you raise the arm.

HOW: Start this exercise on your back in a 90/90 position, with your knees over your hips and your arms in front of your shoulders. Keep the small of your back pushed into the floor by activating your core. While maintaining core activation drop one leg and the opposite arm towards the floor. The closer you drop the arms and legs towards the floor the more challenging this exercise will be. Return to starting position and repeat on the opposite side.

 

FEEL: You should feel the abdominal muscles engaging while you perform this exercise.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not let your low back arch

HOW: Get set up lying face down on your stomach with a towel roll underneath your forehead. Have your arms down at your side with your palms facing your hips. From here, inhale and as you exhale lift your head and upper chest off of the ground and hold that position for a couple of seconds. 

FEEL: You should feel your mid paraspinal muscles working in your back as well as some of your shoulder muscles and neck muscles

COMPENSATION: Keep a neutral pelvis, don’t arch your hips. Don’t overextend your neck, maintain a slight chin tuck and think of staying “tall.”

HOW: Anchor a band at hip height.  Walk out as far as you feel comfortable facing away from the anchor and grab the band with both hands between your legs. Start in an upright, tall position. Hinge at the hips while keeping your back flat. Your hands will go in between your legs. Move your hips back and slightly bend your knees as the band pulls you down. Squeeze your glutes and return to the starting position using your back. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your glutes, core, and hamstrings working.

 

COMPENSATION: Don’t arch your back during the exercise, keep it flat. Keep your neck in a neutral spine, don’t look down or up too excessively during the hinge. Don’t bend your knees too much as you hinge forward, let your low back and glutes do most of the work.