Perform slow movements with occasional pauses at each area. Move the ball around your muscle until you can find any tender areas. Trap a lacrosse or tennis ball between your chest and the wall. To address the pecs, start by finding a wall. Do not move quickly during this drill! Instead, roll in a slow and rhythmical fashion. Pause on this spot for a few seconds before moving on. Move up and down this muscle until you find an area that may be tender. Work the foam roller into the large muscle on the outside side of your armpit. To address the lats, start by lying on your side with one arm raised above your head. Athletes with restricted lats and pecs need to be mobilizing on a daily basis! We can do this with a foam roller and/or a lacrosse ball. Once joint restrictions have been addressed, the next step is to clear up any soft tissue stiffness. If you do, I recommend seeking out a medical professional such as a physical therapist or chiropractor. You should not have intense pain during this maneuver. It is normal to have restrictions in only a few of the thoracic spine joints. If you don’t feel any stiffness at a particular part of your spine during the movement, move the peanut up or down to another segment. Perform 2-3 sets of 15 repetitions on each segment of your mid-back that feels stiff (1). When this force is applied to a stiff joint, it can help improve mobility. The peanut acts as a fulcrum on the spine (much like the middle of a teeter-totter) during this movement. Make sure not to hyper-extend your lower back during this movement. Hold this position for a few seconds before returning to start position. With your arms across your chest, perform a small crunch by raising your shoulders off the ground a few inches. The tennis or lacrosse balls should rest on both sides of your spine. This will provide space to place the peanut. This will pull your shoulder blades (scapulas) “out” to the side. To perform a thoracic spine joint mobilization, lie on your back with your arms crossed in front of you. However, you can save a lot of money by taping two tennis or two lacrosse balls together. Some manufactures make a fancy peanut, which will cost you a pretty dollar. One of the best tools to improve thoracic spine mobility is to use a “peanut”. If you felt any tightness in your mid back when trying to bring your arms to the wall during the Wall Angel screen, this tool should help! This type of stiffness will not always resolve with foam rolling or stretching. This week, I want to share with you a few of my favorite mobility exercises to address these weak links.Ī restriction in thoracic spine joint mobility should be the first place to address. We introduced two screens that can expose overhead mobility problems that can affect your barbell lifts (snatch, overhead squat, etc). Welcome back to Squat University! Last week we started a discussion on overhead mobility.
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