August 18, 2021

The Biggest Problem with Fitness and How you can Fix it

In the gym, after working out hard we all might have faced this issue of getting wrong structure. If you’re not crazy about your posture but you really want to do something about it. You’re on the right page because we Gonna discuss, if you do what I suggest you have in next 22 days.

You’re going to be standing taller, feeling better and looking better in picture because let’s face it. When our posture is bad it doesn’t look very good but that being said there are six areas that we need to focus on. These are the big ones, these the one that trip up almost all of us. we’re talking about the thoracic spine, the hamstrings and the calves on the back side and on the front side. We’re looking at the abs, the hip flexors and Hip rotators.

So what we’re gonna do is, going to give you a test for each of these areas to determine if it’s one of your weak spot. If it is, we’re not gonna leave you hanging. I’m going to give you step by step, day by day pan with stretches and exercises to make sure that you turn this deficit into a strength. And correct your posture along the way.

Let’s start looking at how these 22days are going to break down.

All rights so the way these 22 days shake out is we’re going to start on day on with a test day.I’m going to give you what those individual test going to be to help you to determine whether or not you have a deficit in any of the six areas, just mentioned.

Day-1 Testing day

Wall Splat test (Thoracic)
Hinge Toe Touch Test (Hamstrings)
Knee to Wall Test (Calves)
Press-up test (Abs)
Thomas test (HipFlexors)
Seated crossover test (Hiprotators)

The important thing is that we have to work on them so whether or not you have all six. Let’s say three or maybe even just one you’re still going to have same work to do over the course of the 22days.

Day 1 Test day
Day 2 stretch day
Day 3 Strength day
Day 4 stretch day
Day 5 Strength day
Day 6 Stretch day
Day 7 Strength day
Day 8 Stretch day
Day 9 Strength day
Day 10 Stretch day
Day 11 Strength day
Day 12 Stretch day
Day 13 Strength day
Day 14 Stretch day
Day 15 Strength day
Day 16 Stretch day
Day 17 strength day
Day 18 Stretch day
Day 19 Strength day
Day 20 Stretch day
Day 21 Strength day
Day 22 Test day

Note – only perform the Stretches and Exercise for the test you Fails

The next 21 days are basically comprised of alternating focuses of stretches for your tight area. Exercise to strengthen these areas. Make sure that these problems come back again.

On the final day, 22days that’s when, we get to have some fun because we go back again. Compare where you were then versus where you are now. How much better your posture is. There you realize that all your work was worth it.

Now first place I would like to start from where I believe most of us have the most problem and that is with the thoracic spine. All this texting and working on computers has got some big problems in terms of the amount of flexion of our thoracic spine. We need to be able to extend and extend a lot. We’ve lost that ability so we have to test that.

Wall Splat Test

Wall Splat test, test you approach a wall and you stand with your feet 6 inches away from the wall now from this point hands at the 11 o’clock and 1o’clock position on that wall and you simply just squat down. Now your Goal is to see if you can get all the way to depth with your thighs parallel to the ground. If you can’t, it’s a failure. Because all these are going to be pass/ fail either you can or can’t.

Now let’s say you can actually get to depth but if your hand come off the wall or worse you fall backwards then that would also be a failure. In order to pass the test, you have to be able to get all the way down to parallel with your hand in contact with the wall and your balance fully intact.

Let’s say this is an area that you do not pass in, how does this work, as I said on day 2 we’re focusing on the stretching for your areas of deficit well what this is an area of deficit, your stretch, you’re focusing on kneeling T-spine stretch for the thoracic spine where you put your elbows up onto a bench or a couch and then drop chest as much as you can and sit back on your heels. This will drive you into more thoracic extension and actually stretch one of the secondary muscles that tends to get tight because of this positioningof your spine and that’s the lats. All you want to do is sit and hold this position for 45 seconds for 4-5 reps.

Now on the alternate day you’re doing your strengthening for this area. What we want to do is, reinforce the fact that the muscles on back have likely gotten weak because they’re in prolonged stretch position. The face pull you simply pull your arms back behind you trying to have your thumbs beat your elbow. You don’t want to pull with your elbow and have your thumb stay out in front of you. Ideally you want to have your arms in almost 90-degree position and hold that position for a few second. To make sure that the muscles in that area of your upper back are getting worked.

Hinge Toe Touch Test

Next up on our testing list, is hamstrings. We assess this with a test called toe touch test. A lot of you thinking that testing their hamstring flexibility is just bending forward and touching their toes. If you’re allowed your low back to round and go into a posterior tilt. But to really assess your hamstring, you have to get into an anterior tilt and thee best way to do it is with a hinge. If you see dangle your hands in front of you and then hinge back as far as you possibly can be maintaining that slight arch.

Now I want to know, can you touch your toes and if you can’t once again would be a fail. Make sure you include the exercise and stretches in 22 days’ program.

If you need to address your hamstring. Well you have to do your hamstrings stretch day. You simply step into a wall making sure to put your foot up on the wall to get an additional stretch on your calves. From here you reach your hands up high on the wall as you try to walk your chest straight ahead into the wall. This is all being done with that anterior tilt of the pelvis. Making sure that you have that arch in your low back. All you have to do hold tight for 45 second in that stretch position for 4 reps on both the right and left leg.

For your exercise days with your tight hamstrings, you have to focus on what’s going on in opposite side of the joint so instead of looking at those hip extenders. We’re going to look at those deep hip flexors. So the target muscles, all you have to do is stand close to a box with foot flat on top of it. The idea is you want your hip to be just above 90-degree.

Your job is to simply lift your knee up higher. Even if it just by another 3-4 inches and hold that position without holding on to anything for balance to be able to do this. You’re going to want to extend through that opposite hip and contract the glute on the opposite side. The key is just to be able to get into the position hold it for 3-4 seconds and lower down.

Knee to Wall Test

Test number three deal with the calves. We need to do test with knee called the knee touch test. Once again we stand six inches away from the wall. Your goal is to try to keep your heel planted the entire time and allow your knee to drift forward and touch the wall. A failure on this test would be either cannot get your knee to the wall or if you do your heel pops up off the ground. Neither one of those is acceptable you need to be able to touch the knee to the wall with that heel still fully in contact with the ground.

This turns out to be an area that you need to work on, you stretching day will consist of the following an ankle drop stretch. We have two variations; we want you to work on both muscles of the lower leg the gastric and the soleus. We simply stand in position with our knees locked out straight. Allow your heels to drop down as far as our flexibility will allow us. You hold the stretches for 45 second 4time on each leg's but we also want to get that soleus and the best way to do this is simply to bend the knee and repeat for 45 seconds on both sides. we get to address a muscle that oftentimes gets completely overlooked. It's the anterior tip and the way we do this is we want to strengthen this muscle that never gets strengthened.

You want to do it on every other one because rushing into this type of work when you never do it can lead to shin splints . So what do you have to do you simply sit down on your butt, anchor a band wrap it around your foot and then scoop back until you have tension on the band. You're going to do foot to drop down into plantar flexion. Then pull back against there distance of the band to strengthen that anterior tip muscle.

Press-up Test

Now we shift our focus around to the front side and we work on the abs. We all have abdominal muscles you don't have to beagle to see them for them to be tight. The way to test this is with the

press-up test. The goal here is to get into a full press-up position, you want to be able to get your elbows fully extended. If either one of these occur your hips pop up or your elbows don't go straight ,then you failed this test.

You would need to work on this, you want to be able to get all the way up with the hipsterfying in contact with the ground. In order to pass if tight abs are something you're dealing with. Then what are you going to do on your stretching days. Either you do bow stretch which will require you being able to hang on something. Ideally a pull-up bar in your own doorway and what you do is you simply grab hold. Then drop your feet back and allow your body to just sink in. It will work, what you're doing is just trying to allow your pelvis to drop and really stretch out that front side. As always 45 seconds four times.

So now if abs are an area of focus your strength days will look like this you're going to have to include the superman exercise. To help to address the issues we've already talked about see not only reinforcing that extra stretch the muscles that

have weakened.

Thomas Test

Nextel slide our focus down to the hipflexors, we test it with something called the Thomas test. What we're looking for, you pull one knee to your chest does the opposite leg and thigh get all the way down parallel. It doesn't then you likely have tightness your hip flexors. Alternatively, maybe you get your thig hall the way down. If in doing so you have to compensate and get into a big

arch in your low back. Once again that's not doing it right so in either case the arch or not getting your thigh down. to the surface will be a failure meaning you have to do something.

This we can tackle head on with called the reverse lunge and reach. To stretch the hip flexors and caution again not everybody will have tight hipflexors just feeling tight here. Doesn't necessarily mean that you're tight it could mean that you're stiffened dealing with an entirely different issue. Hip flexor tightness is not a given unless you test it with something like the thomas test. Of course you want to do this on the side that you're tight likely both for 45 seconds for four reps every time.

Once again we're going to attack that opposite side of the joint this time the hamstrings and the glutes. Our glute bridge heel taps the knee that's bent is going to primarily bemusing the glute to drive us. As we step out with the opposite leg and extend that knee out. We're going to shift that load little bit more dynamically. To the ham strings either way we're strengthening both of

those posterior chain muscles that are going to be critical to help to get this problem.

Seated Crossover Test

Now sticking with the hips I want you to sit down and try this test outfit's called the seated hip cross over testand all you're trying to do is place the ankle of one legion the opposite knee and if for that shin to be able to get completely parallels the floor meaning the leg can go completely flat even if you have to push on it just a little bit if your leg does not get flat if it sticks up in the air. I would consider that a failed test and it's something that you need to work on.

If those hip internal rotators are extremely tight then you're going toned to do something about it and on stretching day you will exercise called a pretzel stretch.

once and for all so now remember your22-day plan may not look like your friends. That's okay because this is specific to you it's based upon how you performed on each ofthese tests. What you need to work on and remember guys if you put the work. So if you're excited about the improvements. You're going to make in the next 22 days and want to embark. some other smake sure you check out how to get six-pack abs in 22 days. Also on how to increase your push-up sand 22-day workouts all step-by-steplaid out for you.

The Biggest Problem with Fitness and How you can Fix it