The Fitness Fix

Fix Your Gait - external hip rotation

This gait and stance is so common and can lead to sore hips, knees and lower back. You may also find yourself walking this way especially when you are tired.

Try these quick drills to stabilize your spine and unlock those hips. Remember - every single step you take out of alignment affects your joints and muscles.

If you're just starting to follow along, check out our previous videos in the series for tips on how to address specific gait issues as well as tips and tricks for keeping yourself pain-free and active.

Looking for something more individualized? Email [email protected] if you are interested in one-on-one gait analysis. For a complete list of our services, check out our website, www.fitnessfix.ca

Gliding - whether with gliders, paper plates on carpet or socks on tile or hardwood allow you to have incredible control and maintain tension as you move through your range of motion.

Check out this reel to help increase the space in your knee joints while working your quads, calves, glutes and hamstrings. The more you control the movement, the harder you work! Drills that increase space between the joints can help reduce pain by decreasing friction in the joint, taking pressure off the cartilage and improving fluid flow.

Every week, we explore a different theme in our classes. Most of the themes are developed from the questions and needs of the participants in our classes. Our goals are your goals. Email [email protected] for more information. Your first class is always free!

Are you right-handed? This is one of the most common gait issues we see. Most people favour one side of their body so much that the one side of the brain just doesn't get enough feedback. This can lead to sciatica and other back problems. (If you are left-handed, you may notice the exact opposite).

Watch this video and compare this pattern with your gait. If you have one foot that turns out and perhaps one shoulder that turns in, then these tips are for you!

Try these tips and let us know if it makes a difference!

Do your traps (the muscles between your neck and sholders) get sore when doing bicep curls, rows, lat pull downs or shoulder press?

When you move your body, some muscles are movers, contracting across a joint to move your bones, while other muscles are engaged as an anchor, maintaining a stable base around which other bones move.

When your traps get sore when doing exercises around the shoulder, it's often because your body is trying to find an anchor and the traps step up to do the job when they shouldn't.

Want some tips about how to best anchor for movement? Check out this reel! Tips like these are part of every scaffolded class at FitnessFix. Try a class risk and cost free! Email [email protected] for more details.

In the middle of a golf game, exploring a city, or just standing in line, here's a great correction for EVERYONE when your feet, back, knees or hips start to ache.

Give it a try and let us know how it works for you!

Did you know tips like these are part of every workout at Fitness Fix? Your first workout is FREE! Join us online LIVE for a class, or whenever it works for you on FITTV. Email [email protected] for more details.

The sciatic nerve, the longest nerve in your body, runs from your spinal cord through your pelvis and all the way to your foot. It can get irritated or its movement impinged. Nerves are meant to glide, or move smoothly through the surrounding tissue.

If you feel pain, pins and needles, or tightness in the sciatic/piriformis region especially after sitting for awhile, a gentle sciatic floss may help.

Remember when you are doing a nerve floss, you want some tension but it should never be more than a 3 out of 10. Just back off if the tug is too much. To properly floss a nerve, you will encourage movement through each joint that the nerve crosses.

Interested in other nerve flosses? Let us know! Want more personal attention? We offer personal training both in-person and online over zoom. Email [email protected] for more details.

Fix Your Gait - Walking on your toes

Do you or do you know someone who walks like this? Walking on your toes puts strain on your muscles and tendons and can lead to conditions like plantar fasciitis, and shin splints.

Try these drills to help your body know where middle is and fix your gait! Follow along for more tips for specific compensations as well as tips for everyone. If you're walking 10 000 steps every day, make sure that each and every one is efficient and not causing undue strain on your joints.

Looking for a personalized gait analysis or training to meet a specific goal? We would love to hear from you! Email [email protected] for more details!

What's our obsession with lunges? They are great for strength, stability and coordination, building your functional range of motion through your lower body.

In this variation, we use gliders. Don't have gliders? Wear your socks on the hard word or tile; paper plates work great on carpet.

Gliders force you to push and pull with your moving leg as well as your stationary one, involving more muscle groups and your core. Because your moving leg remains in contact with the ground, it helps your lunging leg feel more stable, and you will be able to get deeper into your hip.

Make sure to include side, curtsy and reverse lunges to improve range of motion in all three planes - aim for 10 reps in each position and for each leg. Don't forget to add glide-y pulses!

Which variation of lunge is your favourite and why?

Did you know that each week our classes have a theme that can be based on using a particular piece of equipment (like gliders) or a goal (like joint-opening)? If you're looking for something different, give a FitnessFix class a try! Your first class is free. Email [email protected] for details.

Fix Your Gait - Tip 2 - Shifting or staying to one side is a really common gait pattern that can lead to stiffness and pain. Add this quick fix to help your body find middle.

Are you just joining us now? Check out the Fix Your Gait highlights or check previous Friday Fix posts to catch up! Every Friday, we'll be adding more tips specific to gait patterns (make sure to film yourself!) as well as general tips that will help everyone.

If you'd like a personalized gait analysis, please reach out to [email protected] - we'd love to help you either in-person or online over zoom!

Love lunges? These variations will make you love lunges even more! Seriously, though, by anchoring your back leg when doing a lunge, you are able to better involve the muscles of that leg (quads, adductors and abductors) and open up your hips. Add shifts and pulses to truly get the most out of your lunge.

Try 10 reps in each of the three positions.

What do you think of these variations?