By Elizabeth Towe
Objective: Rotate the shoulders and torso without causing a shift in the pelvis and legs. This will help hold good upright posture when running. In swimming, this helps hold stable posture as you reach with hand to enter the water.
Exercise:
- Begin by lying on your back, holding your feet straight up in the air. Place the stability ball between your ankles, gently engaging your adductors (inner thighs) to hold the ball in place.
- Take your hands back behind your ears (do not clasp hands behind your head—this puts too much pressure on the cervical spine) and keep your elbows wide.
- Begin the movement by taking the left hand and reaching toward the right side of the ball. Keep the right shoulder blade on the floor, but feel how the ribcage rotates as you reach and roll over the flat surface of the shoulder blade.
- Continue the fluid movement by reaching the right hand toward the left side of the ball. There should be a brief pause at the top of the reach before continuing to the other side.
- Repeat this 15–25x on each side for 2–3 sets. For increased challenge, take the legs slightly lower and keep the lower back neutral and stable.
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Elizabeth Towe is a runner and a cyclist and the owner of Balanced Movement Studio in Carrboro. She graduated from East Carolina with a degree in exercise and sports science and has been personal training for over 20 years. Her ultimate goal for all of her clients is to help them realize and achieve the optimal quality in their life—and to remember to have fun doing it.
