Move of the Week - Split Stance Lateral Step Bicep Curl - 9/5

This week's movement is a great way to add a traditional strength movement and make it into a full body functional movement. When we work more dynamically we form better pathways from our brain to our body, strength in all ranges of motion, and coordination to help us move through everyday life more efficiently. While a bicep curl is a great way to load the biceps and create muscle mass, it is also only working this muscle in one dimension resulting in strength in one dimension. Working it into a more functional movement pattern helps build strength in the muscle and better connections throughout the whole body.

We will start in a split stance with our front foot planted on the same side as our bicep curl with a slight thoracic rotation over the front foot. In our starting stance we are pulling the floor together with our front foot fully planted and the back foot pulling through the ball of our foot with the heel raised. This creates a strong base of support while connecting to the floor. As we work our way up we should have a soft bend to our knees and a slight hinge. This will create more activation through our legs, and the hinge will allow us to engage our glutes, tuck our tail bone, and engage our lower abdominals. Elevating the ribs up off the hips as much as possible will help to contribute to the rest of our core engaging and elongating through our spine, creating our best posture and elevation. Keeping our shoulders down and head back in space we are now ready to step laterally while slightly rotating over our front foot in our bicep curl by pulling our ribcage back and rotating our ribs over our front leg to engage the oblique. These will be one of the most important steps in properly setting up and engaging our muscles to help us do the work efficiently and without aches and pains.

There is a bit of a timing component in this as we want our core to help lead us into the bicep curl and the lateral step. Stepping too early or curling too fast could result in the flow of this movement being messed up. We are bracing through out our whole body as much as we can while we pull into this curl making it a challenge that should leave you fatigued in just a few reps. Have fun getting those curls in and making those mind body connections!

Here's your checklist:

1. Connect through the floor with your split stance for a strong base
2. Elevate and create your best posture to help engage your core
3. Create a thoracic rotation and bicep curl over the front leg
4. Wait for the timing of your core to start pulling you into your lateral step
5. Have fun getting those guns working!