Summer is nearly upon us! With this season comes an opportunity to get outside with activities such as biking, running, climbing, swimming etc. I felt like this would be a good time to write a blog about the importance of independent exercise and strengthening in relation to these previously listed activities.
I find that with improved weather conditions for being outside many find themselves spending less time in the gym working on their normal training routines. There’s nothing wrong with that, but here’s my suggestion. If the beautiful weather has cut down your gym time to only 1-2x per week then it’s important that you prioritize and refocus what exercises and muscle groups you focus on. A good place to start is with movement patterns and muscle groups that counterbalance the repetitive postures and motions of these other activities. Let’s use biking as an example. We recognize that riding a bike has a way of closing off or shortening our anterior chain (front side of the body). With that in mind, your time in the gym might be most productive focusing on just the opposite. The opposite being an extension biased workout focusing on the posterior chain (back side of the body). The posterior chain includes posterior deltoids, rhomboids, middle traps, lats, glutes, and hamstrings. A few movements or exercises include; deadlifts, any variation of rows for back, lat pull downs, pull ups, reverse flys, bridges, any variation of hamstring curls, just to name a few.
The idea of what we’re talking about here is balancing the proverbial scales when it comes to our body’s movements and postures. Such focus will potentially allow you to feel and perform better with these various summer activities. This concept is also useful when considering what positions you find yourself in on a regular basis at work, such as sitting. Sitting, like the biking example closes off the front of the body. Posterior chain focus would be a good fit to counteract this as well.
I hope you get out this summer and take Advantage of the views! Enjoy the activities you’ve been looking forward to all summer! Hopefully, this blog gives you a few ideas to consider. They just might help you to feel and perform your best!