August 30: Solutions
Here’s the thing about having Sam as your trainer, or just chatting with her, or in my case having her as a reader on my blog… If I complain or mention something I’m struggling with regarding my form, my workouts, injuries, weaknesses, etc. Sam will come back to me with a solution.
A few days ago I mentioned a lack of balance and need of form correction, a tightness in my left hip that wont go away, and that I can’t do lunges from my left side without falling over. Sam reads my blog every morning while she makes her breakfast and gets her own day started, so I imagine that when she read that, her wheels got turning.
Last night she sent me a video for a workout that targets very specific and smaller muscle groups. You know the kind, the workout targets small muscles we never pay attention to or know about until we make them so sore we can’t walk right. Which is exactly what this workout she sent me is designed to do: target the smaller but still crucially important muscle groups in my hips and legs and inner abdominal wall. She sent it to me and asked me if I had sciatica or if I had done a workout like it before. And I have, and I remember how hard it was to walk up the steps on the porch after!
I don’t have sciatica to my knowledge, just a general tightness in my left hip that doesn’t fade with stretching, and is likely the culprit for my lopsided squats and my failed lunges. The root of that tightness is likely due to an uneven weakness in my left side, probably from too much time sitting, or being in a wheelchair, or from having babies sitting on my hip bones for months. Regardless the cause, Sam gave me a solution. Not a bandaid, not a temporary fix, a Solution to my problem. Gah, I love her.
So here’s what she had me do today:
Side Laying Leg Circles– Laying on your side, hips stacked, and core engaged, lift the top leg so it’s parallel with the floor, floating above the resting leg, and do small circles with your toes pointed. 10 circles each side.
Leg Press– Again, laying on your side, hips stacked and core engaged, knee and ankle in line with the hip, drive your knee up and into your chest. 10x each side.
Inner Thigh Lift– Another side laying pose, hips stacked on top of each other and core engaged. Cross your top leg over the bottom, and plant your foot on the ground. Engage the core and lift the bottom leg, mind your breath and exhale as you lift the leg, keep your toes pointed and the leg solid. These ache pretty quickly, so keep your breath focused and your core tight. 10x on each side.
Glute Press– Table Top position, suck the belly button into the spine, inhale deeply and exhale as you drive your knee into your chest, keeping the core especially tight when you bring that knee up. Now drive the knee back and straighten your leg out and lift the leg behind you and engage the glute. 10x each side
Curl to Kick– Table top position again, but drop onto your forearms and really get that core tight. Knees under the hips, pick a leg to start on, and raise that leg so it’s extended behind you, and the ankle and knee are in line with the hip, now bend the knee, and flex the glute and hip to drive your foot up to the ceiling, then straighten the leg out and extend it out again. that’s 1 rep. 10x on each side.
Now, make this a circuit and do these 3 times.
I did all these moves after I did my breathing exercise, yoga flow, and inner core circuit that she sent me last week. And I was right, walking after doing this new workout was no easy task. Every step into the house felt like Nesta climbing the steps back up to the House of Wind. I just wish I had a bathtub worthy of the soak I need now.
I had a quick break between my workout and my walk with Yrsa, I had to spend some time giving myself a pep talk and convince myself that I could handle walking 4 laps today. I didn’t want to do any kind of cool down walk today. My thighs were so sore, I swear I could feel each muscle group individually, and they were all crying. Yrsa of course was riptide and ready to go, and she practically dragged me through the first half of our walk. We got our mile in, and I am FINISHED. I wish to nap all day. Alas, our first day of the new school year begins on Thursday, so that nap will have to wait.
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