Hi guys, Kris from Custom Fitness here, your Amarillo personal trainer. Today we’re going to be talking about how to maintain your form while you get into the swing. This is going to be the first part in a two part series, so be one the lookout for part two coming tomorrow! If you have any questions about today’s blog then please give us a call at (806)-322-3188
Today is all about how to maintain great form while using momentum.
There are a lot of different exercises that use this, but one that comes to mind are typically the swings. That can be with a kettlebell, a weight, or a sandbag which is what I’m using today.
Now, let’s talk about what this exercise can do for you.
So the primary focus is going to be on the core. And now remember, if you ask the general public what the core is, they are probably tell you that it’s your abdominal muscles. It’s just what you would get with your crunches, planks, the things that you would usually think of. However, the core in a technical definition is actually the torso without the arms or the legs. That means that you have a lot of muscle on your front, back, and sides that need to be strengthened in order to maintain the stability of your spine, which is basically what the core does.
So today we’ll be talking about the core muscles that are affected by this and not the typical abdominal muscles that you would think about. Rather they are more posterior chain (backside) muscles that would be helping to hold you up. It’s going to be working even out into the hamstrings, even though that isn’t a part of your core. It’s going to be working in the glutes, through your hips and lower back, quadratus lumborum (also known as the QL), and all the way up. So you’re going to be getting a lot of work through that core and through the backside.
What benefit does it have? A lot of people hear core and think about the stomach, and think that if it isn’t in the stomach then it isn’t worth doing. However it absolutely is worth doing. It improves the posture, helps to support the spine, and it helps to prevent lower back pain. But in order to do that, you have to do the exercise correctly.
So you have to make sure that you have the right form. That’s very important, especially when you start to put momentum in. It can be very dangerous to throw momentum in and to not have correct form, because it lead to you body going into a incorrect movement instead of a true movement. If you do that then you can start to sacrifice certain areas of your body, or certain joints in your body, in order to allow the momentum to take place.
Here with this exercise that i’m going to show you today, it actually helps you because you have to work against the momentum to reverse direction. That means that the muscles have to work a little bit harder to not only stop and change directions, but then to move in that direction it changes the way that your body is working.
So when it comes to working that posterior chain, a lot of people ignore that. People tend to really focus on the front of the body. You work the quads, the abs, the chest, and then leave the backside of the body alone, but you have to have that balance. A lot of times people experience a muscular imbalance from front to back and side to side. That imbalance can cause muscle cramps, injury, physical fatigue, and other symptoms just coming from that imbalance. So you want to make sure that the body has a proper balance front to back and side to side.
So let’s get to talking about the exercises.
Again, you can use a kettlebell, a dumbell, but i’m going to be using a sandbag. I like using the sandbag just because it adds some mobile weight with what you’re doing. The sand grains actually move while you’re moving, which changes the experience. But you can use whatever weight that you have, because our premise here at Custom Fitness, and mine as a personal trainer in Amarillo, is to make sure that with whatever you’re doing you don’t have an excuse to not do it.
So the excuse of Oh, I don’t have that piece of equipment, I don’t want to have to go to the store and buy it, doesn’t come in here. For this you can use just about anything. You could even use a milk jug if you wanted to. So again, water weights are going to be mobile, so even using a milk jug could be something great to use.
So, I’m going to be a little mean and end part one here. Don’t worry! Part two is coming tomorrow, and in part two we’ll be getting to work with all of the wonderful exercises that you can do with swings.
So I hope you enjoyed part one on maintaining your form while you get into the swing! If can’t wait for part two, or you want to know more about Custom Fitness and what we do here, then please give us a call. If you’re wanting the accountability and help with creating an action plan to see results, or are wanting to someone to help create a workout plan to push you to your greatest potential, then that’s what we’re here for. We have an entire team of dedicated professionals to help you with your health and fitness goals. To get your consultation set up, give us a call at 806-322-3188 or email us at info@customfitness.biz And you can now read part two at the link here: https://customfitness.biz/2018/02/03/motivation-alone-vs-discipline-custom-fitness-amarillo-personal-trainers/
At Custom Fitness, we are YOUR personal trainers in Amarillo, Texas. Have a great day.