RoadTrippin’ Tips
A study by the University of Illinois at Chicago found that more people are anticipating taking more road trips this summer post-COVID. If you’re headed on the road this summer, your body will need some movement breaks.
There are 5 basic movements that will keep your body more ache-resistant this summer:
-Open your HIPS
-Move your KNEES
-Open your SHOULDERS
-Move your SPINE
-Activate your CORE
Check out the video (above) for some of my go-to moves.
Need some more guidance for these moves? Here are some tips to get the most out of each of these moves:
-HIPS - If your balance isn’t great, you can try the first move from the video lying on your back. When standing, think of moving your femur bone inside the hip socket. Keep your spine stable so that you’re just isolating the movement of the hip. Start by tipping your knee out, open leg to the side, internally rotate the knee, then bring it back across to the front of the body.
-KNEES - Step one leg about 12 inches forward. Slight bend in the front knee. Keep hips facing forward throughout the exercise. Move knee cap forward, begin to move outside knee laterally, press back of knee to wall behind you (extending the leg), finish by moving inside of knee internally until you’re back at the beginning of the movement. Try 5-8 reps in each direction.
SHOULDERS - Place hands on the top of your shoulders, start to draw circles with the elbows. Feel free to all the torso to move with the shoulder movement. I do these at every pit-stop!
SPINE - Inhale as you stand tall, arms overhead. Exhale, to swing arms down and back as you round the spine and tuck the tailbone. Let the momentum of the movement help you smooth it out.
CORE - Find a plank position. You can achieve this by spreading fingers wide, pushing shoulders and ribs away from the ground, and tucking the tail bone. Holding this position, use the lower abdominals to pull one knee under. You can increase the speed as much as you can maintain proper form. Then, hold the plank and lift one leg - squeezing the glutes. Point and flex through the floor ankle to rock the body forward and back. When you’re done, walk your feet towards your hands and find a forward fold.
There are SO MANY ways to move your body and open your joints. Leave a comment below the video and let me know some of your favorite ways to move.