It helps you to find the bottom of the trunk. Everyone can easily feel the spine around the waistline, but most people need help in feeling what happens at the end of the pelvis. To develop the back, you have to find the entire length. At first the squat will seem as if it's only an inner-thigh stretch, but over time you'll be able to bend more deeply into the position and feel your buttocks moving toward the floor. The twist in the position opens the right and left sides of the back of the rib cage, helping you to open up the chronically stiff mid-back.
While it does appear that the Toe Touches are all about the abdominals, they are working on other important features that help develop a strong back. They strengthen the deep hip flexors and train the legs to use the back more than the dominant thighs while you're standing and walking. When the thighs become more dominant than the back, the back gets weaker and makes you lean forward from the hips, giving you a bulky, bent-over appearance.
They work specifically on both sides of the back. The great thing about the technique used for the Side Bends is that it works not only the oblique abdominals but also the paraspinals - the long straplike muscles that run down each side of the back. The muscles tighten as they shorten but also tighten as they lengthen on the other side as you bend. Tightening as the muscles lengthen actually strengthens the back the most.
The Oppositional Lifts may look simple, but they require special attention if you are to line up the back correctly. Mind all the cues before you move out of the preparatory position, since it's very easy for the back to go into the "old gray mare" position where the abdomen falls toward the floor once the limbs start to move. This is a sign of core weakness. The cue to feel the swimming-pool water underneath the abdomen always helps to lift the abdominals strongly up and away from the floor. So hold your core very strongly, and make sure you slowly slide the opposite hand and foot out before you perform the lifts.
The Overhead Squeeze is a powerful exercise for developing the very deep postural muscles of the spine. It also helps us learn what a correct upright position is. Think of the back like an accordion. When the accordion is inflated with air, it's nice and elongated; when the air goes out, it deflates and the pleats become very prominent. The arms are very heavy and are culprits in promoting slumping (deflating the accordion) in the back. Attempting to sit as tall as we can, against the weight of the arms pulling us downward, is a very good exercise in sitting tall in general. I actually recommend you do the sit tall part, even without the arm lifts, a couple of times every day, at your computer, or in the car, for example. You'll be amazed at your improved posture!
Often the back of the rib cage is very tight, and people are not able to get the back of the waist and the back of the rib cage on the floor at the same time. A great goal to progress toward with this exercise would be eventually to be able to stabilize your back enough to get its entire length - the rib cage, the waist and the pelvis - against the floor. If you persist for two months, you'll probably attain your goal. Be sure to do the final step of the exercise, where you hold onto your heels, or your legs, while you pull your shoulders toward the knees. That will help you to stretch the parts of the back you need in order to lie flat with the whole back on the floor.
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Note: This article was sent to us by: Jan Ryers at 07272010
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