Fitness tests: posture, tightness and solutions

Balance of Power
Your workout can build your body -- or break it. Which path are you on?
By: Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S., Workout Photography by: Beth Bischoff
As a physical therapist, I'm the go-to guy when my buddies' bodies start to fail them. Just last week, my friend Tony called complaining of upper-back pain after his last few workouts. When he described his weight-lifting program, the problem was obvious to me. Tony was packing on muscle in a completely unbalanced fashion. Not only did 80 percent of his routine consist of pushing motions (bench, incline press), but most of his gym time was directed at his chest and shoulders. And he'd been doing it for years. The back pain was his body's way of begging for a new workout. As I explained to him, your body and its joints are held in place by opposing muscle groups (for example, chest and back, quads and hamstrings). These groups work together to control movement. If one becomes stronger or tighter than normal, that dominant muscle group will overwork its counterpart--that is, you'll have a muscle imbalance. You don't want a tug-of-war between muscles every time you move. Nagging discomfort can mean you're at a much greater risk of injury. Tony came to me too late -- he needed a ton of time and work to undo the damage he'd done. For you, the key is to check yourself before you wreck yourself. You must identify and repair imbalances before they cause pain. That's what the following self-tests and corrective strategies are for. For each muscle imbalance the self-tests reveal, perform the stretches twice a day--for instance, first thing in the morning and after your workout. Complete the entire corrective program for each imbalance three times a week until you can pass the test. You can also do these as a warmup before your regular workout.

SUPINE PEC TEST

Lie on your back on the floor with your hands behind your head. Let your arms relax. They should lower to the floor and rest comfortably. If they don't... YOUR PROBLEM IS... protracted shoulders. You look more like Notre Dame's hunchback than like one of its defensive linemen. THE CAUSE: You've spent too much time training your "mirror muscles" (pectoralis major and minor), on the front side of your body, while neglecting your upper-back muscles (middle trapezius and rhomboids).

FIX YOURSELF
Step 1: Stretch your pecs. Holding a pair of 5- or 10-pound dumbbells, lie faceup on a 10-degree incline bench and lower the weights out to the sides with your arms extended. Hold for 30 seconds. Step 2: Strengthen your middle trapezius and rhomboids. Follow the above stretch with a prone dumbbell lateral raise. Lie chest down on the same bench you just used to stretch your pecs. Raise the dumbbells out to the sides and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Hold for a count of six and lower the weights to the starting position. Do a total of six repetitions.

Go to the next page for the Thomas Test...

THOMAS TEST
Lie faceup on a bench and bring both knees to your chest. Grab your right knee and hold it at your chest. Let your left leg straighten, then lower it by relaxing your hip. Test both legs, and if either leg can't lower to the bench... YOUR PROBLEM IS... tight hip flexors, which can result in hamstring strains and back pain. THE CAUSE: Prolonged sitting and avoidance of single-leg exercises, such as lunges, have caused your hip flexors and butt muscles to weaken. Hip-flexor tightening has caused your pelvis to tilt forward, which places more stress on your lower spine. If the front of your belt sits lower than the back, consider yourself a sufferer of this most common muscle imbalance.

FIX YOURSELF
Step 1: Stretch your hip flexors. Kneel on your right knee with your right arm extended overhead. Contract your right glutes until you feel a comfortable stretch in the front of your right hip and thigh. You can intensify the stretch by bending your torso directly to the left. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side. Step 2: Activate your gluteus maximus (butt) muscles. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Grab your right knee with both hands and pull it to your chest, then lift your hips by driving your left heel into the floor. Hold the up position for a count of 6 seconds, then lower your hips to the starting position. Repeat six times. Perform the same sequence on the other side if it tests tight.

SINGLE-LEG SQUAT TEST

Balance on your right foot and suspend your left foot out in front of you. Keeping your right foot flat, lower yourself as far as possible into a squat while reaching forward with your left foot. If your right knee shifts inside of your big toe as you lower into the squat position... YOUR PROBLEM IS... a knock-kneed posture. This causes your knees to drift inward when you squat, putting you at great risk of suffering a noncontact knee injury, because your ACL is under maximum tension. THE CAUSE: You have tight adductors (groin muscles) and weak gluteus medius muscles (smaller muscles in the buttocks).

FIX YOURSELF
Step 1: Stretch your adductors. Spread your legs wide and, keeping your right leg straight, lower yourself into a side lunge by bending your left knee and pushing your hips back until you feel a comfortable stretch in your right groin area. You can intensify the stretch by turning your shoulders to the left. Hold this position for 30 seconds. Repeat the stretch on the other side as needed. Step 2: Strengthen your gluteus medius muscles. Place a stretch band (available at www.performbetter.com or elitefts.com) around your lower legs and perform side steps for 10 steps to the right and 10 to the left. Repeat for six sets in each direction. You also need to perform single-leg exercises, such as lunges, split squats, and stepups, while keeping your kneecap in line with your big toe.

Go to the next page for Apley's Scratch Test...

APLEY'S SCRATCH TEST

Reach behind your head with your right hand and try to touch your left shoulder blade. Then put the arm down and bend it behind your back, again trying to reach your left shoulder blade. Complete the same movements with your left hand touching your right shoulder blade. If you fail to reach a shoulder... YOUR PROBLEM IS... tight internal or external rotators, a common ailment for men who lift weights. The tightness reduces shoulder rotation and can cause pain. THE CAUSE: Stiff latissimus dorsi and pectorals will reduce your shoulders' external rotation (reaching behind your head). If your rotator-cuff muscles are stiff, it will hamper your internal shoulder rotation (reaching behind your back with your arm down).

FIX YOURSELF
Step 1: Hold a towel with two hands behind your back -- one hand near your head, the other midback. Walk your hands as close together on the towel as you can. Then try to rip the towel, pulling with both hands for a count of 10. Relax, then try to move your hands even closer together and pull for another 10 count. Then reverse hand positions and repeat. This move fixes both external- and internal-rotation problems.

WALL TEST
Stand with your feet about 12 inches from a wall and rest your back against it. Place your right hand on the small of your back, palm facing the wall. Then tighten your abs until your palm is pressed against the wall. In this position, your body should have four points of contact with the wall: your tailbone, palm, upper back, and head. If you have to tilt your head back to reach the wall... YOUR PROBLEM IS... kyphotic posture -- also known as slouching. THE CAUSE: Your abdominal and chest muscles have shortened, while your back extensor muscles and spine have weakened. Sitting for extended periods of time leads to this imbalance.

FIX YOURSELF
Step 1: Mobilize your spine. Lie across a foam roll (available at www.performbetter.com) or a thick PVC pipe so that it's perpendicular to your spine at the lower part of your rib cage. Reach overhead so your spine extends over the roll and hold for a count of 10. Move the roll up your spine about 2 inches, then repeat. Continue this process until the foam roll reaches the base of your neck. Step 2: Use this dynamic backward lunge to stretch your abdominal, groin, and chest muscles. Hold a single 10-pound dumbbell with both hands. Step back with your left foot until your left knee nearly touches the floor. As you lunge, turn your torso to the right and reach up over your right shoulder with both hands. Then return to a standing position. Repeat for a total of 15 reps on both sides.

Step 3: Perform a single-arm dumbbell row with external rotation. However, instead of pulling the dumbbell to your rib cage, pull it to a position by your ear, allowing your torso to rotate upward. Repeat for a total of 15 repetitions with a lighter-than-normal dumbbell. Then switch arms and repeat.

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