Move of the Week - Medball Lateral Step to Full Body Rotation - 12/19

This week we want to focus on correctly moving through our thoracic spine in our rotation and our thoracic bend. When we move properly through the thoracic spine we are less likely to hurt our back and shoulders. One of the biggest difficulties is knowing where our shoulders are in space and making sure we aren't shrugging through the movement but using our core and lats to help.

Keeping our shoulders in place through elevation and our best standing posture helps us to not overwork our shoulder joint. This translates into everyday life by staying away from rotator cuff injuries, strains, and impingements, helping us to stay mobile and strong. Keeping our shoulders in place by not shrugging or letting our shoulder blades wing helps us to use our muscles properly which allows us to get stronger and creating even more mobility in our thoracic spine. Even though these cues in a session can feel monotonous and hard to connect to it makes the world of difference for our skeletal structure and staying strong and healthy.

When we work through our rotations we should feel the majority of the work coming from our lats and core while also connecting down into our glutes through our split stance. These are the muscles that keep us moving and feeling good on a day to day bases. So as we approach this move with some complicated footwork and moving through our rotation and bend properly remember all of the health benefits and the WHY around what you are doing. We want to continue to feel and move better and we can do that by digging into the little nuances of movement. Making our body work in the most optimal capacity that it can.

There's not many things about this move that you haven't seen before, but we want to continue working on the little details. Working through our best standing posture, moving correctly, efficiently, and with purpose. This is how we feel better after every session and make that 1% progress each day. Before you know it your aches and pains are going away and you are moving freely through life without a second thought.

Here's your checklist:
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1. Split stance best standing posture. Connect to as much of your body as possible specifically through the lats, abdominals, and glutes.
2. Soft protraction of your shoulder blades while maintaining your best elevation and thoracic tension to keep shoulder blades in place.
3. Pull through your lats and core to rotate and bend. Not too much range of motion is needed here to make these connections.
4. Shoulders stay low when we keep our arms close to our body. There's no need to extend all the way into a press (straight arms) with these movements.
5. Look for those little details and connections so you feel like your best self.