Parker Personal Fitness

The start of a new year prompts many people to redirect their focus to a fitness routine.

I’d like to encourage people to focus on consistency. This is the number one factor that will keep you on track to reach your goals.

We won’t always feel like exercising, but if we do it consistently, we start to see progress, which helps it become part of our regular routine. That progress is also a motivating factor.

Just getting started can be challenging, so here are some tips:

1️⃣ Take small steps toward integrating movement into your schedule. Walking can be a great start.
2️⃣ Find activities you like. You’re more likely to stick to a routine if you’re enjoying it.
3️⃣ Be grateful for the ability to move your body and learn new movements.
4️⃣ Be kind to yourself. On those days you feel like you didn’t succeed or didn’t do what you’d planned or wanted to do, forget about it and keep moving forward. Tomorrow is a new day.
5️⃣ Life-long health takes a lifetime. Focus on that instead of quick results.

Like many people, I’ve been enjoying a lot of walks outside to help me beat the pandemic blues, and I am reminded of the campaign to get us to walk like penguins whenever we come to a patch of ice. It’s that familiar feeling of tightening up the leg muscles and taking shorter steps to avoid falling.

This is where strengthening our adductor muscles becomes integral to helping us maintain stability on unstable surfaces.

There are so many exercise options, but here are a few to get you started.

1. Glute bridge with ball squeeze: You’ll need a squishy ball, a rolled-up towel, or foam roller for this one. I forgot to mention a pillow is a great option, as well. Remember to squeeze the glutes throughout.

2. Lateral sliding squat: By pushing down with the heel and full foot, instead of just the ball of your foot, you will get more out of this movement for your adductors. This varies from a lateral lunge (also a great option for the adductors), which involves moving one leg laterally and shifting your weight to the side.

3. Elevated side plank: Doing this from the foot is not something I would advise for people who are new to exercise, but the option from the knee is a great start once you’re ready to try this.

Stay safe out there!

This little bench was the perfect height for some rear-foot-elevated split squats (RFESS) that I did during a beautiful walk in the trails.

The RFESS is a progression from split squats, where both feet are on the ground. The rear leg is raised, which provides less stability and assistance to the movement. Split squats should be mastered before attempting this version.

Some tips:
• rest the top of your foot on a bench or raised surface;
• keep the torso in line with the rear leg by leaning forward at the hips while maintaining proper posture throughout;
• think of bringing your ribs down toward your pelvis to avoid hyperextension and potential pain in the low back;
• try not to have an overly wide stance, which will help with avoiding hyperextension;
• push through the full front foot.

I typically do these with added weight, so I didn’t know what to do with my hands! Do whatever is comfortable for you. Start with bodyweight before progressing to dumbbells or kettlebells.

All the extra sitting we're doing throughout this pandemic will wreak havoc on our backs, but if you have a piano at home, you have a great tool for giving your back some extra love with back extensions.

You will create muscle tension throughout your entire body to execute these, but this specifically targets the erector spinae muscles responsible for extending and stabilizing the spine.

To set up, you will position your pelvis to allow downward torso movement, with the bony projection of your iliac crest beyond the edge of the bench. If you haven’t done these before, leave your hands on the floor for support as you go through the movement.

The range of motion here is limited - particularly if you have a longer torso than mine - but if you need more of a challenge, you can slow down the movement while descending and do isometric holds, as shown. You can also add weight.

Stay healthy, stay home as much as possible, and have fun with these.

I’ve discovered a medicine ball is a useful tool for releasing anxiety and stress during these uncertain times. I’m thinking of all the people who have been affected by loss of work due to COVID-19, which includes personal fitness trainers like myself. I’m heartened to see people getting outside for fresh air but being mindful of keeping their distance. I hope everyone will do their part to diminish the spread of this virus so we can see our way back to our normal lives sooner rather than later.

As for these exercises, the ball I own is the bouncy type, so it removes the bonus of squatting to pick up the ball after each slam, but even with mostly an upper-body movement, you’ll be amazed at how much your heart rate will skyrocket.

I’ve shown how you can increase the intensity of the first ball slams by moving from feet planted to up on your toes to adding a jump. Remember to do both sides for the rotational wall slams. Please be mindful of your lower back and brace your core throughout. The goal for all of these is to move the ball as quickly as possible. This is a power exercise.

And you can definitely imagine the ball is the coronavirus.

It was hard to narrow this down to only four exercises for the 60-second time limit, but these are a few of my favourite core moves with a stability ball. Keep in mind these are not beginner exercises, but I’ve discussed some modifications below.⠀
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For all of these exercises, engage your core by drawing in your navel to your spine.⠀
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1) Stability ball rollout: This requires a good amount of strength and control from your core (this includes your back), as well as strength in your shoulders and triceps. We need a strong, neutral position in our spine for this one to ensure we don’t arch and compromise our lower back. Focus on doing a slight posterior tilt with your pelvis, which means the top of the pelvis moves back by pulling your glutes in, not sticking them out. Start with just a small rollout before trying to extend to 45 degrees or beyond.⠀
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2) Plank with circles: Draw circles on the ball clockwise and counter-clockwise for a determined number of reps or amount of time. You can write out your name or anything you’d like – “I love planks.” Try a wider stance with your feet for more stability. Make sure to master planks on the floor before attempting to plank on a ball.⠀
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3) Supine alternating leg lift: This is one I haven’t done in a while, and it looks like I could raise my hips just a bit more. Try to form a straight, tabletop position with your torso and legs. I’ve done this with alternating arms, as well, so give it a try once you are comfortable with just alternating your legs. It’s great to incorporate the march, as well as the isometric hold for variation. The glutes and legs will get a nice workout here.⠀
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4) Stability ball pass: This is a slight variation from the V-pass where you sit up in a V shape to grab the ball from your legs. I chose to lift my shoulders a bit off the ground and stay there while passing the ball back and forth. The longer your lever, the more difficult the exercise, so I’ve also demonstrated this with bent legs to make this a bit less challenging with a shorter lever. You can also opt to touch down your legs for some relief; otherwise, keep the ball off the ground.

Have fun!