Living with a preschooler, I have lost the ability to choose background music in the household. My daughter has developed some sort of deal with the devil with Alexa, as she is hyperresponsive to Amelie’s bellows from anywhere in the household boycotting my song choices.
Of late, I have come to three realizations: Amelie permanently vetoes any and all of my music selections, my supposed virtual assistant has severed all ties with me, and children’s music has incredible staying power! Not only are children’s songs incredible earworms, but their staying power rivals that of my long-lost favorite Alexa station – Motown radio.
During one of Amelie’s hostile Alexa
takeovers, we happened upon a mutually agreeable earworm – “The Skeleton Dance.”
You know the song…the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone! “The Skeleton
Dance” is upbeat, catchy, and it inspires an awareness and love of the
interconnectedness of the human body. As a Richard Jackson disciple, I tried to
freestyle some beats about the connection of the pelvic girdle and the shoulder
girdle through fascial slings and their central roles in human movement, only
to be stricken from the song with a resounding, “Quiet Daddy!”
“The Skeleton Dance” and Richard Jackson
got me thinking, can I be more purposeful in my programming of upper body and
lower body movements, all in the quest to improve people’s confidence through
movement? Fear not Richard, the answer to this question is, and always will be,
a resounding “Yes!”
In keeping with the original theme of
this blog, Focus on Foundation – Principles First, I reflect on Richard
Jackson’s first principle of “Functional Relationships.”
***Shameless plug – Feel free to take
a minute and read the origin story of my Principles First blog journey: https://drdansclinicalcorner.blogspot.com/2018/03/
“Functional Relationships (FR)” is an
elegant title that sums up “The Skeleton Dance’s” central premise that human
movement requires whole body teamwork – all regions of the body have a role to
play in order to complete the task. In Richard’s FR course, he discusses that during
tasks such as walking and running we need to transfer load from one leg to the
other, and from the upper to the lower body1.
The idea that these, seemingly lower
body dominant tasks, rely heavily on contributions from the upper body warms my
shoulder loving heart! This also means that I have a responsibility to my
patients to treat the whole body, regardless of their medical diagnosis.
In the interests of synergy and
interconnectedness, I harken back to a previous blog post, in which we
discussed the principles of creating a balanced training program for the upper
body:
https://drdansclinicalcorner.blogspot.com/2018/05/
With “Balance the Shoulder” and “Functional Relationships” front of mind, I introduce you to a series of movements that attempt to balance the pelvis, in preparation for connecting the upper body with the lower body.
1. Hip Thrust: 15 reps - Sagittal plane, posterior bias - This movement has been shown to provide maximal gluteal activation and has the potential to be loaded with external weight to provide an incredible gluteal strengthening stimulus3. Points of performance – drive your feet into the ground, pushing your hips up towards the ceiling. At the top of the hip thrust, your shoulders, hips, and knees should be in line.
2. Lunge: 12 reps (6 each leg) - Sagittal plane, anterior bias - This movement has a ton of versatility in that it challenges balance, pelvic girdle stability, and can be performed in a number of variations. Due to the muscular demands of controlling the lowering of your entire body to the ground, this movement often leads to considerable post-workout muscle soreness. Points of performance – take a long step (either forward or backward), keeping most of your weight on your front foot. Lower yourself straight down, so your back knee grazes the ground, then drive upwards through your front foot.
3. Frog Pump: 20 reps - All 3 planes, posterior/lateral bias - This movement provides the hip extension that many of us are lacking in our daily lives, with the added benefit of hip abduction and external rotation. You are training the pelvis in three planes of motion, at once. Points of performance – Keep your feet close together and drop your knees out as far as you can. Drive into the ground through the outside of the heel/foot, pushing your hips towards the ceiling.
4. Side Step: 15 steps each direction - Frontal plane, lateral bias - Lateral movements are oft-neglected in an exercise program and they are great for targeting the upper gluteal fibers3. Points of performance – drive into the ground with your trailing leg while reaching out laterally with your lead leg.
5. Donkey Kick: 16 reps (8 each leg) - Sagittal plane, posterior bias - This movement biases hip extension on the moving leg, with stability of the trunk and pelvis through the arms and stationary leg. Points of performance – drive your leg upwards towards the ceiling, keeping your spine stable.
The intention of these movements is to
target the pelvic girdle in a variety of planes. The inspiration for these
movements came from the book, Glute Lab, and discussions with our very own, Ian
Slattery. Thanks for your guidance, Ian!
2. Rest intervals – As short as possible. Your goal is to complete the sequence as quickly as possible, for the prescribed number of sets.
3. Frequency - 2 x week – Perform at the end of your workout, as a high intensity finisher.
4. Progression – start by progressing the range of motion – try to move through as large an arc of motion as possible, with each movement. Once you have control through the full range, add external resistance with bands or weights.
***Sequence training improves the capacity/endurance of the targeted muscles in each exercise, and the body, as a whole2.
Looking Ahead: While this post focused on exercises targeting
the pelvic girdle, the next blog post will look at connecting the shoulder
girdle and the pelvic girdle. Happy Skeleton Dancing!
If you would like to learn more about shoulder girdle/pelvic girdle synergy, come work with us: https://thejacksonclinics.com/request-appointment/
*** Ian Slattery, Pelvic Girdle Guru and Hip Thrust Heartthrob, can be found at our WorldGate clinic!
References:
1. Functional Relationships of the Lower Half – Richard Jackson Seminars
2. Richard Jackson Webinar on Principles of Therapeutic Exercise
3. Bret Contreras and Glen Cordoza. Glute Lab: The Art and Science of Strength and Physique Training (2019).
