StayFitAnywhere's Blog

Purpose: To strengthen the area between the shoulder blades, lengthen the chest, and increase mobility around the shoulder joint.

Action: Stand tall holding a broomstick or a towel at shoulder height. Apply tension to the broomstick/towel by actively trying to pull it apart. Maintain this tension as you lift your arms up and behind your head. Go to a point where you can feel a squeeze between your shoulder blades and a stretch in your chest.

Sets/Reps: Do 5-8 repetitions with a 3second hold at the back position. This exercise can be used as part of a warmup or as an active recovery between more intense exercises.

Points of Concern: Be careful to keep shoulders as far from ears as possible throughout the entire range of motion. As you move from rep to rep with this exercise you should notice that you are able to move the broomstick/towel back a bit further each time but do be careful that you don’t reach too far beyond your limits.

This simple exercise can also be used to counteract the effects of typing at a computer for hours at a time, so keep a broomstick/towel at your desk while you work and every 45-60mins do a quick set.
Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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Purpose: To strengthen/stabilize the area between the shoulder blades (rhomboids, middle/lower traps).

Action: Lay prone(face down) on a ball with your belly button over the middle of the middle of the ball. Be sure to keep your body in a straight line from ankles to ears while your arms hang down beside the ball, keeping your arms in a straight line raise your hands directly out to the side (thumbs up) creating a T and focusing on squeezing your shoulder blades together.

Sets/Reps: Do sets of 10-12reps with a 3second hold at the T position. This exercise can be used as part of warmup or as an active recovery between more intense exercises.

Points of Concern: Not having enough strength to keep tension throughout the body while holding the straight line (ankles to ears) position, so before progressing to this exercise make sure a plank or the top position in a pushup can be held for at least 30secs. However this exercise can be regressed by removing the ball and going directly to the floor with a shorter range of motion.

This and any other exercise that brings awareness to the area between the shoulders blades is essential to the success of any fitness program.
Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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Purpose: To train 1 leg balance while manipulating the vestibular system.

Action: Stand on your left leg holding a pen or pencil in your right hand in front of your face. Your left leg should be slightly flexed at the ankle, knee and hip and your upper body should be in strong posture. Keeping your right arm straight move the pen directly to your right, as your arm moves so does your head. Be sure to keep your head in line with the pen and move the pen slowly. When you’ve moved the pen 90 degrees return it back to the front of your face and switch hands and repeat on the other side.

Sets/Reps: The key to training balance is to be out of balance, so depending on your balance skills you can perform this exercise for 2-4 sets of 30-60seconds each.

Points of Concern: Be sure to keep Ankle, Knee, and Hip slightly flexed throughout exercise. The head must move in line with the pen for this exercise to be performed correctly. This exercise can be used to prepare for any 1 leg strength exercises or to cool down after a tough training session.

A simple exercise for everyone!
Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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