- Foam Roll -

Foam rolling before and after exercise loosens your muscles to help with exercise performance, recovery and decreases the chances of injuries such as muscle strains.
Focus on main muscle groups such as your hamstrings, quadriceps, calves as well as along your spine.

See photos attached.

- Glutes -

Glutes are an imperative muscle group to keep strong and active for every individual. For athletes, it helps with power, stability and key to injury prevention such as preventioning ACL rupture. For your more laid back individuals, the glutes help largely with pelvic and lower back stability when sitting or walking.

Glutes are made up for 3 muscles - one is your large glute max that helps drive your hip into extension. Your other two glutes assist in the pelvic stability.

See video below for exercise.

- Neck Stretches -

Stretching the muscles in your neck can release a lot of tension created throughout the day that can cause discomfort and even headaches.

By keeping one shoulder down, look straight ahead and take your head across to the opposite shoulder. No pulling or forcing, let the wait of gravity stretch your neck and hold for 30 seconds to gain optimal outcomes.

- Heat Pack -

After a long day at work, our muscles can cause us quite a bit of discomfort. Heat can help bring blood flow to the region and help these muscles relax. A heat pack on the muscle until the temperature starts to cool will loosen your muscle fibres to start feeling better soon.

If symptoms persist, see your Osteopath to get their opinion on your issue.

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- Grab your water bottle! -

Staying hydrated especially entering warmer climates. Never underestimate the importance of water and consuming water as your main drink throughout the day. By having a water bottle next to your desk, in your bag, in your car, next to your bedside table or wherever is most convenient; increases your chances of consuming a more adequate amount of water throughout the day, maintaining a healthy environment for your cells including kidney function.

- Fruit -

The best snack to always choose! Vitamins and minerals for cell health, glucose to restore carbohydrate stores and keep your brain fresh at work, and h20 because we can never have enough water. Have atleast 1-2 fruits per day as a basic achievement for daily health.

- New Years Resolution -

The start of a new year is a great time for people to make goals for the upcoming year and to make changes to their current work and lifestyle patterns or behaviours.

This new date however is the same as a new day becoming a new date. Why see a new year as a reason to be motivated when you should have constant goals and desires to be your happier and better self each day.

We all have bad days and periods where life changes, but why see a new year as such importance when everyday is just as important as the next. If you start an 8-week fitness challenge, learn from it and make it a permanent lifestyle change. If you join a diet or supplement program, make it a healthy long-term lifestyle decision. Make everything achievable long-term and learn from everything you can as education is an amazing way to make your goals sustainable.

- Good Morning! -

Wake up sore in the morning?

An easy and simple joint mobility exercise might be all you need to loosen your joints and muscles up before you start your day.

Back or hip discomfort? Knee rocks mobilise your hip, sacroiliac, and spinal joints.

Neck pain or stiffness? Head rotations loosen off the muscles and the associated joints.

Lower limb tightness or pain? Foot points and heel slides can help warm up your knee, ankle and foot.

Watch the videos below.

- Delicious Banana Smoothie Recipe -

For 1 serving:

- 1/2 banana - 1 teaspoon raw organic cocao (for more nutrients)
- 1 scoop chocolate protein
- 2 dates
- 1/2 dozen walnuts
- 1/2 cup almond milk - ice

Perfect for breakfast or an on-the-go snack.

- How do you squat? And should you be squatting? -

The Squat - a very popular lower limb strength exercise that is a common go to by most people wanting to work their legs and glutes as well as by gym personal trainers.

Is this good for you and your body however??

See below a poor squatting technique and improved squatting techniques.
Poor squat technique - knees over feet, lower back extended, pelvis rotated leaning forward. Good Squat Technique - Knees in line with feet; spine in neutral standing upright.
Welcome the front squat for better weight distribution, which puts less stress through your spine allowing you to stay more verticle. This is a much better option if you are having difficulty achieving good back squat technique or if it is causing discomfort or tightness.
Front Squat with knees in line with feet with back in an upright position.

- Hip Mobility Exercises -

Three hip warm up exercises perfect before and after exercise as well as in between lower limb exercises such as lunges and squats.

1. Hip flexor Stretch Put the hip you are wanting to flex through the theraband, step back so that the band is on tension, and lunge down until you feel the pull through all four hip flexors. Hold for 30 seconds.
2. Deep hip squat Hold onto a pole with both hands, feet flat on the ground as you squat down in an upright position until you feel the restriction. Hold for 5 seconds, breath and try to squat down even further. Hold 30 seconds.

3. Glute stretch Place one bent leg over the opposite knee to pull that leg towards your chest. Feel the stretch in the bent legs glute. Hold for 30 seconds.

- Ankle Stretching -

This ankle stretch is great for stiff ankles as well as preparation and warm up prior to exercises e.g. squats and lunges.
Place your foot a few centremetres away from a wall and lunge forward to get your knee to touch the wall. Gradually shift your foot back as the ankle increases its range of motion.

- Get your Core On -

Here are three exercises to help with your mid-core stability!
1. Alternating arm and leg extension minimizing trunk rotation and stabilizing your spine in the neutral position. 2. Dead bugs - Using a theraband over your head lying on your back, extend one leg at a time maintaining a neutral spine in your lower back against the ground. 3. Slide your way forward! Socks are great for this on wooden floors or foot cloths. Stabilizing your spine and not lifting or dropping your hips, place one hand forward at a time to then use your latissimus dorsi muscles as well as abdominal core to pull yourself forward. Reach further away once stronger and more confident.

- Hydration & Exercise -

Pre-exercise: Ensure that you're fully hydrated (day before and day of).
Consuming 5-7mL per kilo of body weight up to 4 hours prior to session
During Exercise: It is imperative to replace what has been lost from sweating replacing 80% of what is lost during exercise as well as providing an energy source.

Post Exercise: Consuming a drink that contains carbohydrates and sodium is more effective than drinking straight water. Consume as much fluid every 15 minutes as tolerated for the first 3 hours.

Sports Drinks & Juice: Sport drinks provide energy and are absorbed more quickly than plain water (hypotonic or isotonic sports drinks) as they contain carbohydrates and electrolytes. Juice can also be convenient after exercise as it also contained carbohydrates as well as vitamins and minerals

- Calf Raises -

Calf raises are perfect exercises for all individuals that have experienced lower limb injuries or require lower limb strengthening and stability. This includes ankle and knee injuries or hip and knee instability.

Here are some examples of seated, weighted, double leg and single leg.

- Achilles Training -

Here are three exercises to strengthen the achilles tendon as either preventative or management of achilles tendinopathy.

1. Isometric double leg: hold in calf raise for 30-60 sec
2. Isometric single leg: hold in calf raise for 30-60 sec 3. Eccentric single leg on sore achilles: slowly lower for 6 seconds coming up to toes on the opposite foot.

- Daily Stretch Regime -

• Standing ballistic hamstring stretch - this is a gentle bounce into your hamstring stretch, practicing your HIP HINGE and not trunk flexion to reach your toes. Apologies for my poor example (I have tight hammies 🙈)
• Standing quadriceps stretch - tuck your bottom under to place your spine and pelvis in a neutral position
• Hip flexor stretch - in a lunge position, tuck our bottom under again to posteriorly rotate your pelvis pulling through your iliopsoas muscle
• Seated hamstring stretch - I demonstrated the incorrect movement first seeing my reach forward for my toes to then sit more upright and sticking my bottom out to hinge at my hip lengthening my hamstring = straight back!
• Foam roller shoulder mobility - lying on your foam roller horizontal or verticals, swing and extend your shoulders stretching your chest and mobilizing and your shoulder girdle and thoracic spine.

- Theraband Exercises -

Here are multiple theraband exercises to do as your gym warm up, as your technique practice, or when it's too cold or late to hit the gym.

- Healthy Pancakes -

Serves 2:
2 x bananas smashed
1 x cup oats
2 x eggs
1 x handful blueberries
1 x scoop protein powder
Serve with low fat yoghurt

- Healthy Homemade Granola Recipe -

Ingredients
Dry
- 4 cups oats
- 1 cup raw nuts/seeds
- 1 cup coconut
- 1 tbsp favourite spice e.g. cinnamon, pumpkin spice, cardarmon, cloves
- 1/2 cup chopped dried fruit e.g. raisins, apricots, apple
- 1 pinch salt
Wet
- 1 1/2 tsp flavour e.g. vanilla, almond
- 1/4 cup sweet e.g. maple syrup, agave, honey, brown sugar or any combo
- 1/4 cup fat e.g. melted butter, canola or coconut oil
1. Combine wet and dry
2. Spread on tray
3. Bake 150C until golden (approx 30 min)

- Hamstring Tightness -

Here are 2 key stretches which we can decrease tightness in our hamstrings:
1. Dynamic Hamstring Stretch * Kneel with one leg outstretched with knee slightly bent * Keeping back straight lean forward slightly drawing pelvis backward * Perform slow repetitive movements for 30secs and swap sides * Note: don’t hinge at back, should only need small movement to bring on stretch 2. Dynamic Hip Flexor Stretch It is very important to stretch the hip flexor so our pelvis can be in a neutral position and decreases load through our hamstring. * Kneel with one leg outstretched with knee slightly bent * Keeping back straight, squeeze through the gluts and drive body and pelvis forward (should only need to be a small movement to bring on stretch) * Perform slow repetitive movements for 30secs and swap sides * Note: Don’t arch your back, this can cause discomfort to your spine.

- Desk Work Stretches -

Here are two exercises which can be performed whilst at your desk and do not take long. When performed often they can make a huge difference in decreasing upper body tightness and pain in our glutes.

Exercise 1: open chest stretch

- Sit on edge of chair, place hands behind back and sit straight

- Push your chest and chin forward and upward

- Draw your shoulder blades down and towards your hands until you feel a stretch at the front of your chest

- Take a long, slow deep breath in and out and return to starting position

- Repeat 10 times with each time pushing your chest further forward and drawing your shoulder blades further back

Exercise 2: Gluteal stretch

- Sit on edge of chair and cross one leg over the other

- Keeping back straight lean forward and draw bum towards the back of the chair

- Hold for the count of 5 and relax.

- Repeat 10 times and repeat to other leg

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- Ankle Stability Exercises -

A very common injury is the “rolled ankle”. When we sprain our ankle, it causes damage to the ligaments which provide support. In addition, it can cause a loss of proprioception at the ankle. Proprioception is awareness of the position of the body in space. When we walk on uneven surfaces it gives us the ability for our muscles to quickly adapt and stay balanced. This is essential for the prevention of injury, especially in our athletes where a quick change of direction or landing on our feet demands a lot of strength and good proprioception at our ankle.

Here is one simple exercise which not only builds proprioception in our ankle but also strengthens the supporting muscles:

- Balance on one leg (with a wall support next to you so you don’t fall)

- When you can balance for 30 seconds without fail add in toe touches (front, back and side to side)

- Once you can balance for 30 seconds with toe touches then balance still with your eyes closed (with wall support so you don’t fall)

- Once you keep reaching 30 seconds balanced without fail follow these progressions:

o Place pillow under foot with eyes open ± toe touches

o Pillow under foot eyes closed ± toe touches

o Bosu ball eyes open ± toe touches

o Hops on one foot

o Side to side jumping and landing on one foot

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