Flexibility and Core

• Tennis and Your Posture

• Improving Posture

• Regaining Flexibility

• Circulation Problems When Exercising

• Avoiding Body Stiffness

• Strengthening Core

Leslie McNabb

A:It could be. Most sports require lots of repetitive movements that can lead to muscle imbalance. The tennis swing is a pushing motion that emphasizes the muscles on the front of your shoulders, chest and abdomen. Done repeatedly, your chest and shoulder muscles can shorten and start to pull your shoulders forward, giving them a rounded appearance.

What's more, the strong upper abdominal work needed for a powerful tennis serve can start to round the upper back. To counteract this, stretch these overused muscles after a game. Doing resistance exercises for your upper back and rear shoulders also will help keep your posture in check and make you less prone to injury.

Try these posture-strengtheners.

Chest opener:

• Stand with your back against a wall, holding your abdominal muscles tight.
• Bring your arms up until your elbows are the same height as your shoulders.
• Rotate your arms to bring your hands as close to the wall as possible.
• Slowly, lift your arms toward your head by sliding your hands upward. Go only as far as you can without letting your back come off the wall.
• When you reach that point, slowly slide your arms back to the beginning position.
• Repeat 10 times.
• Note: If your head doesn't touch the wall, prop a pillow behind your head.

Shoulder external rotation:

• Hold an exercise band (available at sporting goods stores) in both hands. with your palms up and elbows bent next to your sides.
• Keeping the elbows by your sides, slowly start to rotate the upper arm bone and move your hands away outward to expand the band. Do not let your back come away from the wall.
• Return to starting position slowly.
• Repeat 10 times.

Rear deltoid (back of shoulder):

• Hold an exercise band in front of you at about shoulder height with straight arms and palms facing up.
• Move your arms to the sides. Keep your hands at shoulder height or slightly below.
• Return to starting position slowly.
• Repeat 10 times.

Upper back extensors:

• Lie on your stomach on the floor. Place your hands on top of your head, finger tips together.
• Lift elbows off the floor without moving your hands.
• Then, slowly, lift your head and upper body off the floor while holding your abdominal muscles in. Imagine your upper back and shoulder muscles pulling your upper body off the floor.
• Return to starting position slowly.
• Repeat 10 times.

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Jaime Longval, M.S., C.S.C.S.

A:There are steps you can take to improve and straighten a slouched upper back, the most common appearance of bad posture. Your exercise plan should focus on strengthening and tightening your back, while stretching your chest muscles. These movements can help:

Posture Builder #1:

• Lie on your stomach with your arms by your sides.
• Keeping your toes on the ground, lift your head and shoulders off the ground. Hold that position for a few seconds. Repeat.

Posture Builder #2:

• Stand with your arms out to the side, palms facing forward.
• Slowly bring your arms back so you feel a stretch in your chest muscles.
• For a deeper stretch, stand in a doorway with both arms on either side of the door frame. Lean forward slightly to stretch.

Posture Builder #3:

• Stand in front of a chair so the seat is facing you.
• Hold a light hand weight in one hand, bend at your waist and place your other hand on the chair seat for balance. Slightly bend your knees.
• Let the hand that is holding the weight hang down.
• Keeping your abdominal muscles tight, knees bent and spine aligned, pull the weight to your hip.
• Lower the weight back down, keeping the movement under control.
• Repeat 8 to 12 times, then switch sides.

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Jaime Longval, M.S., C.S.C.S.

A: As we age, flexibility tends to decrease due to reduced physical activity and changes in the elasticity of soft tissues. Stretching increases flexibility and should be part of your daily routine.

First, warm up your muscles with a little movement. Do static stretching, in which you slowly stretch the muscle to the point right before you feel discomfort, then hold it. Perform stretches at least two to three days a week, preferably more often.

Here's a good stretch for your hamstring muscles:

• Sit on the floor with your legs out to the side in a V-shape.
• Keep your knees slightly bent and your abdominal muscles tight.
• With your back straight, bend forward at the waist until you feel a stretch in the back of your legs.
• Do not allow your back to bend.
• Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds.
• Perform each stretch two to four times.

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Jaime Longval, M.S., C.S.C.S.

A: There may be several reasons why this might happen. The first is that the shoes you're wearing may not be right for you. They may be too small, too big, too loose, tied too tightly or not well-cushioned enough.

Another possibility—your physical position while using the equipment may be putting too much strain or pressure on certain parts of your leg or foot. Keeping your feet in a stationary position throughout the workout, and not moving them, creates constant pressure. As a result, your circulation is restricted—which leads to a numb or "falling asleep" feeling. Being 100 pounds overweight adds even more pressure to your feet.

Change your form slightly and see if there's a difference. For example, on the elliptical, try lifting your heels as you go through the motion, rather than keeping your feet completely flat on the pedals. Also, wiggle your toes at times during your workout to help with circulation.

You may want to shorten the amount of time you spend on the equipment. If you're doing 30 minutes in a continuous session, but your feet start to fall asleep at 15 minutes, then do two bouts of 15 minutes each (with a break in-between).

You could also have a circulatory or nerve problem. Consult your health care professional to have the problem checked out.

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Joseph Ciccolo, PhD

A: As we age, muscle strength, elasticity and flexibility all begin to decrease and our bodies need more time to adjust when wakening. The muscles in your lower back are most likely stiff from not moving, so—before jumping out of bed—take a few moments for this series of stretches:

• First, do a full body, natural stretch while still in bed.
• Then, lie flat on your back, arms raised straight up over your head. Point your toes and do a full body stretch. Hold for 10 seconds, relax and breathe out.
• Bring your knees up to your chest, squeeze, and hold for 10 seconds. Relax and breathe out.
• Turn over onto your hands and knees. Flatten your back, then arch it (like a cat). Hold for 10 seconds, relax and breathe out.
• Lie face down, arms by your side. Raise your head up and lift your torso, squeezing your lower back muscles. Hold for 10 seconds. Relax and breathe out.
• On your stomach, head down, raise and extend one arm while also raising the opposite side leg. You should feel a diagonal stretch across your entire back. Hold for 10 seconds, relax and breathe out. Switch and repeat with the other arm and leg.

In addition, you should target your lower back and abdominal muscles as part of a regular strength and flexibility program. Strengthening the core midsection of your body will help reduce some of your morning stiffness.

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Leslie McNabb

A: Effective core training means strengthening ALL the muscles that surround your spine, including the deep core muscles that keep your spine straight and the muscles that let it move forward, backward and twist.

The traditional ab (short for abdominal) crunch only works a few of the core muscles. Overworking that area can cause muscle imbalance, leading to poor posture, back pain and even injury.

You need to strengthen the muscle groups that are most important for strengthening your core. These help stabilize your spine from deep within your body as well as support each small spinal bone, or vertebra.

To help keep your back healthy, add the exercises below to your warm-up routine. (If you currently have back pain, first consult your health care provider.)

Back Strengthener 1
• Lie on the floor on your back, with knees bent, feet flat and hands on your abdomen.
• Take a deep breath, filling your lungs.
• Exhale, drawing in the abdomen without moving your spine or squeezing the muscles of your rear end. Keep your hands on your abdomen. Imagine that you are tightening a belt around your middle. It should feel as if your abdominal muscles are pulling away from your hands.
• Work up to 10 inhale/exhale cycles. Relax your abs on the inhale until you build endurance and can hold them for the complete cycle.

Back Strengthener 2
• Position yourself on the floor on your hands and knees.
• Take a deep breath, as in above exercise.
• Exhale, while drawing in abdominal muscles, as in Back Strengthener 1 above.
• Work up to 10 inhale/exhale cycles. Relax your abs on the inhale until you build endurance and can hold them for the complete cycle.

Back Strengthener 3
• Position yourself on the floor on your hands and knees.
• Bend one elbow slightly, to lift one arm just off the floor. Do not let your spine or weight shift when the arm lifts.
• Hold for 3 seconds, return to starting position.
• Repeat on opposite side, holding for 3 seconds.
• Gradually increase hold time until you can hold for 10 seconds on each side for a total of 3 sets on each side. Advance to the next exercise only when you can comfortably complete this one.

Back Strengthener 4
• Position yourself on the floor on your hands and knees.
• Lift one leg. Do not let your weight shift or twist your spine.
• Hold for 3 seconds, then repeat with opposite leg.
• When you can hold for 10 seconds for 3 sets on each side, advance to lifting one arm and the opposite leg at the same time. This challenges all of your core muscles and balance. Hold each side for 3 seconds, working up to 10 seconds, 3 sets per side.

With these exercises, quality of movement is more important than quantity. When performed correctly, these strengtheners will be challenging but not give the same "burn" you may be used to from other exercises.

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