Correct your posture by standing against a wall, lift the chest, tuck the chin, check the pelvis. Then step off the wall and breath. Make this your new normal.

Child Pose

Reach forward, point the knees outward. Neutral 60 seconds, then bend the spine sideways 30 seconds each side.

Glute Max

Lay on your back, pull your knee towards the opposite shoulder. If knee and ankle health permits, use the same position face down, relax into it, 60 seconds each side.

Glute Medius

Sit with your shin across in front, lean forward, breath. 60 seconds.

THoracic TWIST

Bottom leg forward, top leg back, forearm parallel to front leg, thread opposite arm through. 60 sec.

Lumbar Twist

Start on all 4s, thread one arm through whilst keeping supporting arm straight.

FIGURE 4

Lay on your back, one leg bent with the opposite ankle resting across the knee, rotate the elevated foot towards the floor. Try to keep shoulders flat. Hold 60 seconds.

Chest

Arms up, chest forward, don’t lead with the chin. Try various heights. 20 seconds

CHIN RETRACTION

Pull the chin straight back against a towel, do not tilt up or down.

Hamstrings

Foot up, lean forward with a straight back, no need to touch toes. 10 secs relaxing, 10 secs pushing heel down, repeat x3. Or, if warmed up, kick 10x each leg.

Hip Flexors

Lunge, engage abdominal muscles, tuck pelvis under. Raise arm on side of back leg, lean across and slightly back.

Hip Flexors - quad (COUCH)

A lunge with a bent knee.

Hip Flexors without knee pressure

Sit on the edge of a firm surface, hold one leg to chest, lean back whilst other leg hangs.

Internal Hip Rotators (TFL)

Sit up straight, rest foot on opposite knee, lean forward whilst pushing down on the knee.

Adductors (Groin)

Raise the leg to be stretched to a suitable height surface, lean torso towards elevated side. Or, side splits!

Hip Rotators

Place feet together and let knees drop, hold 60 seconds. Then hike one foot out to the side and let the knee fall inwards, 30 seconds each side.

Hip Mobility

Move knee in ever increasing circle, standing and on all fours.

Tibialis Anterior (Shin)

Point toes down, bend the knee, rest the front of the foot on a suitable surface, sit downward, press down on heel.

Calve / Achilles / Popliteus

Bring the ball of your foot towards you, relative to your heel.

Hip Thrust (Strengthen low back and glutes)

Lay on your back with knees bent. Tuck your butt downwards whilst engaging the abs, then lift your bottom up, aim to fully straighten the hips. 2 minutes of repetitions or hold and rest.

Quadruped

Start on all fours, take a breath, brace abs then raise one arm and opposite leg. Keep shoulders and pelvis flat, don’t corkscrew your body. 5 x 5 sec hold either side.

McGill Big 3 (Static strength)

Quadruped - neutral spine, don’t rotate shoulders or hips, engage abs to avoid over arching low back 5 x 5 sec hold either side. Side bridge - start from knees, if able to hold 60 sec, do with straight legs. Crunch, arm under low back to avoid flattening the curve, curl up to touch knee with opposite hand, aim for 1 more than last time.

Suitcase Carry

Carry a weight in one hand whilst walking, aim to keep torso upright.

Halo (Shoulder Strength)

Take a knee, take a spacer like a rolling pin, or dumbbell or kettlebell. Trace a circular motion around your head at eye level, slow & steady, both ways.

Internal / external rotation (rotator cuff)

Lay on back, arm straight up, rotate inwards, then outwards. Reach out to unpack shoulder, rotate again, pack shoulder back down to floor, rotate each way whilst enhancing movement with opposite hand. As shoulder improves, progress to standing erect version.

Internal / External rotation Supine (rotator cuff)

Laying with arm straight up, rotate hand internally & externally with shoulder packed against floor, then repeat while reaching away from floor.

Infraspinatis (rotator cuff)

Place back of hand against small of back, rest elbow against wall, rotate to bring elbow further forward.

Shoulder Internal / external rotation - dumbbell (Rotator Cuff)

Lay on side, rest elbow in front, slowly lower dumbbell as far as comfortable, then slowly raise back up. Then, rest elbow on bent knee, stabilise elbow with other hand if necessary. Begin with forearm vertical, then slowly lower inward as far as comfortable, before returning to vertical.

over head press walk (Shoulder Strength)

Walk whilst holding weight steady overhead, keep arm straight.

Forearms

Stretch the outer portion - Arm straight, flex wrist by curling hand towards body. Stretch the inner portion - hands together. Stretch under load, use a small dumbbell - Flex and extend.

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Scapular retraction - Band

Hold band with straight arms forward, pull hands apart whilst squeezing shoulder blades together

Scapular retraction

Assume crucifix, point thumbs backwards, lift chest, squeeze shoulder blades together. 5 sec hold 1 / hour when seated.

TMJ (Jaw)

Open mouth wide but relaxed, gently spring further open. Then, open half way, slide jaw forwards and backwards against gentle resistance from finger.

Neck stretch - lateral

Sit up straight, tilt head to side, anchor head with hand, drop opposite shoulder down.

Neck stretch- SCM

Head tilts back and to the side. Reach across to contact the muscle with fingers flat.

Cervical Denneroll

Without sitting up squeeze roll down against shoulders, if head rests on floor, slide roll up a few mm until head is just off the floor. Low back should be comfortable, bend knees or rest feet up on chair if preferred. Roll off sideways when finished.

Thoracic Denneroll

Place top of roll one inch below apex of your thoracic spine. You may need a head pillow when starting, bend knees if preferred.

Lumbar Denneroll

Lay back with bent knees, then raise hips high enough to slide roll under low back. It must sit above the pelvis. Relax weight back over roll, only straighten knees if comfortable doing so.

Foam Roll thighs

Biceps

Place back of hand up against wall, 45 degrees above head height, thumb down.

Triceps (ulnar nerve)

Raise bended elbow above head, use a wall to push further towards opposite shoulder.

3 Way Headlift (Strengthen Neck)

Lay on back, tuck chin, lift head, lower head, repeat. Lay on either side, head neutral relative to shoulders, lower head, lift head, repeat. Test flexion strength every 2 weeks. Static hold with chin tucked. Goal: woman 75 sec, man 95 sec.

Ball release points

Achilles Release

Sometimes called body tempering. Roll the lower valve and Achilles over something smooth but hard.

Selvey Big 3 (strength in motion)

No, I didn’t invent these, but I’d like to promote strength in motion, not just static strength. These are for athletes and people who would like to move like athletes. Not recommended whilst in pain.

Back extension, from lumbar flexion to extension. Work towards 1 legged.
Cable pulley . Thoracic rotation with flexion and extension
Stir-the-pot.

Deadlift for correcting Thoracic Kyphosis

Stand with the bar over the mid foot, feet narrow enough for arms to reach straight down to bar, lower hips just far enough to arch lower back to neutral spine, flatten upper back as strong as possible, retract blades back and downwards. Push the world away with your feet whilst standing up, keep upper back extended maximally. Don’t allow knees to roll inwards.

Seated Good Morning

Keep the chest up and spine arched, aim to lengthen the spine forward.

Exercises

“Movement Is Medicine, below are the 50 odd most common exercises I prescribe to help restore function to the human body.”

Wall Exercise