FITNESS AND INJURY PREVENTION

Figure 19: Circus ponies

get them to ‘fire the core’ and keep shoulders back

■ Use a stretch cord that is placed under their foot

■ They exhale as you step up onto the bench

Figure 14a: Leg swings (see below) Figure 16: Crossover drills

■ This exercise can be done with or with- out weights in the opposite hand

■ Ensure that the step you are standing onto is low to begin with

■ Do two to three sets of 10-15 repeti- tions.

Figure 17: Supine bridging

Squats with ball squeeze and cord pull ■ The client stands with a physio ball at their back

■ They place a small ball between their knees and squeeze lightly

■ As they squat, they need to ‘fire the core and sustain’ and pull a stretch cord apart to work on their postural muscles.

Figure 14b: Leg swings. Do front to back

■ ‘Fire the core’, push knees apart against stretch cord and lift the hips as above

■ Hold for four seconds and do two to three sets of 10-15 repetitions

Circus ponies (opposite arm and leg raises) ■ The client lies over a physio ball

Figure 18: Supine bridging

■ They ‘fire the core and sustain’ ■ Stabilise themselves with opposite hand and foot on ground

■ Raise their opposite arm and leg to horizontal and hold for four seconds ■ Do two to three sets of 10-15 repetitions.

Front step ups and cord diagonal Strengthens front thighs and posterior shoulder (Figs.20a and 20b): ■ The client stands beside a low bench,

RULES OF CORE STRENGTH

■ Always start with the ‘fire the core’ routine to re-educate the lower abdominals to work in a pre-anticipatory way. This is especially important after a lay off, after an injury or when the client has suffered malalignment problems or has low back or hip pain and stiffness

■ Approach traditional sit-ups with caution as the elbow/knee movement places a lot of strain on the low back

■ Don’t anchor the feet - this only encourages hip flexor strength which pulls on the low back

■ Slow it up- increased strength comes from increased tension on the muscle there- fore slow controlled movements are best

Figure 15: High knees. Ensure the client stands tall and keep abdominals tight while doing these

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■ Core exercises should be done at the end of strength work-outs or after skiing or playing sport so that they can adequately function as stabilisers during the exercise.

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Figure 20a and 20b: Front step ups with cord