Strength

I am having a hard time lifting my leg over my bike and shoulder checking. What can I do so I can still ride?

Build Confidence: Overcome Bike Hurdles & Ride with Ease

So the question is, I'm having a hard time lifting my leg over my bike and shoulder checking. What can I do so I can still ride? I always say start out slow and put yourself in a very safe, comfortable environment. So whether that's a parking lot, whether that's a straight ahead path, riding with somebody who can kind of be that lookout if you're having trouble looking over and not feeling confident. Really it's a skill that you don't feel comfortable doing and it's not a range of motion type thing and that would be something that you could address. But I'd say put yourself in a very comfortable situation, big parking lot so you don't have to worry about stuff, and riding with a partner that can help you if you're going on a straight path and feeling more comfortable. So I just think with everything else, you know, that nervousness and not being comfortable looking side to side is be okay with being nervous, but put yourself in a good, comfortable environment before it starts getting a little nerve wracking. And lifting your leg over the bike, put that seat down a little bit and make it, like I said, more comfortable. So hopefully that helps, hopefully that answered that question, and get out and ride!

Start by riding in a safe and comfortable environment with someone who can be your look out. Be okay with feeling nervous, but put yourself in a good environment before it gets too nerve-racking. If lifting your leg over the bike is difficult, lower the seat to make it more comfortable.

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If you're having difficulty lifting your leg over your bike and shoulder checking, there are a few things you can do to still enjoy riding. Start by taking it slow and finding a safe and comfortable environment to practice in. This could be a spacious parking lot or a straight path where you can ride with a partner who can help you with shoulder checking.

If it's more of a skill and confidence issue rather than a range of motion problem, putting yourself in a comfortable situation can help build your confidence. Don't be afraid to feel nervous, but ensure you're in a supportive environment before tackling more challenging situations.

To make it easier to lift your leg over the bike, consider adjusting the seat height to a more comfortable level. This can help alleviate any strain or difficulty you may be experiencing.

Remember, it's important to be patient with yourself and give yourself time to practice and improve. With a bit of practice and the right environment, you'll be able to overcome these challenges and enjoy riding again.

What strength training exercises would you recommend to help maintain good SI Joint health?

Maintain SI Joint Health: Key Strength Exercises Revealed

So I figured I'd show you this one. So what strength exercises would you recommend to help maintain good SI joint? So first you want to be pain-free and get range of motion before you start adding any sort of resistance. So make sure that there's a couple SI joint tests that you can do to make sure that you don't have pain. And then once you get to that point where you're kind of pain-free, I like to do exercises that are big pain for your butt. So you get a lot done in a short amount of time. So you got your ilium, your sacrum, that pain that's in there. We're going to do a 45 degree step back. So bands on your knee, soft knees, good posture. I'm going to step back into triple extension, really try to lock that glute out and come right back. Soft knee here, so I'm getting a little bit of quad here. Step back, lock out, instead of just swinging it back through that lower back, focus on driving through that hip, big toe, and we're focused on those glute exercises. So we've seen bands, clam walks, clams, bridges and whatnot. So this one gets a lot done in a short amount of time, trying to focus on what the actual hips do, what the muscle does. Sometimes when you just do standing clams or on the ground, it's not quite as functional. I don't really want to say functional, but this one gets a lot done in a short amount of time. So great strength exercise to do to help out with outside joints and also just a great warm-up before you do any sort of leg exercise. So 20 to 25 on each side and you can use it as an active exercise or rest in between your leg sets too. Definitely get those hips fired up.

To help maintain good SI joint health, it is important to first make sure that you are pain-free and have full range of motion. A great exercise for this is the 45 degree step back, which works the glute muscles and helps with functional movement. You can do 20-25 reps on each side as an active exercise or rest in between sets.

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To maintain good SI joint health, I recommend incorporating specific strength training exercises. However, it's important to ensure that you are pain-free and have a good range of motion before adding any resistance. Perform SI joint tests to check for pain before proceeding.

One effective exercise is the 45-degree step back. Place a band around your knee and maintain soft knees and good posture. Step back at a 45-degree angle, focusing on triple extension and locking out the glute. Avoid swinging the leg back through the lower back and instead drive through the hip and big toe. This exercise targets the glutes and engages the hips effectively.

In addition to the 45-degree step back, other exercises that can help maintain SI joint health include band exercises like clam walks, clams, and bridges. These exercises target the glutes and hips, promoting stability and strength.

The 45-degree step back is a time-efficient exercise that engages multiple muscle groups and can be used as a warm-up before leg exercises or as an active exercise during rest periods. Aim for 20 to 25 repetitions on each side.

By incorporating these exercises, you can help support your SI joint health and ensure that your hips are properly engaged and strengthened.

Would you do traditional calf raises or Soleus raises during competitive basketball season? Or would that be too much load?

Optimizing calf exercises for competitive basketball season

Great question here, would you do traditional calf raises or soleus raises during competitive basketball season or would that be too much load? Again, it all depends. Awesome question, I love that you're thinking that way. The biggest thing that I see is lateral soreness complex and I see dorsiflexion limited throughout the season for guys that are playing a lot of minutes. And the other thing that I see is just one through five the toes go asleep. That's a very simple answer. Those are things that I work on and seem to get worse throughout the season, especially when they get their ankles taped, especially certain teams agree or disagree. Most of them put them in orthotics right away, no matter what. And then all the shoes with the lace-ups, they just end up losing that dorsiflexion. So I would look at those things first and I think there's a time and a place, but I think every athlete's a little bit different. So if they're logging a lot of minutes and they got a lot of soreness and those things are getting worse, work on those. But I think the volume can be low and you can work on isos to get that range of motion to translate over. But again, it really depends on that athlete. So it sounds like you're on the right track by gauging and thinking that way. Look at other things around the joint too that maybe could get worse or need a little bit of work to help. Hopefully that helps.

It all depends on the athlete, but generally if an athlete is logging a lot of minutes, it's important to work on lateral soreness, dorsiflexion, and other range of motion exercises like isos to help keep up with the stress of the sport.

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During the competitive basketball season, whether to do traditional calf raises or soleus raises depends on the individual athlete. It's great that you're considering this aspect. One common issue I observe is lateral soreness complex and limited dorsiflexion throughout the season, especially for players logging a lot of minutes. Additionally, players often experience numbness in their toes. These issues tend to worsen over time, particularly when ankles are taped or orthotics are used. Therefore, it's important to address these factors first. While there may be a time and place for calf raises, each athlete is different. If an athlete is experiencing significant soreness and worsening symptoms, focusing on those areas should take priority. The volume of exercises can be kept low, and isometric exercises can be used to improve range of motion. Remember to consider other aspects around the joint that may worsen or require attention for overall improvement.

At what age should you stop lifting weights?

Listen to Your Body: Never Stop Lifting Weights

At what age should you stop lifting weights? Never. I'd listen to your body and your joint mechanics. So if, obviously if you're 60, 70, 80, 90 and you've never lifted weights before, that's not a good place or a good time to start. But if you've been lifting your entire life and you have a good background and you understand your body, as long as you can to stay moving and to stay strong. And the other thing is to listen to your joints. So if they don't sound right when you're doing certain things, then don't take yourself into that range of motion. So whether it's partial ranges because you've got arthritis in your knees and it feels real good only going to 30, 40 degrees, well stick to that. And make sure that the joints feel good and you're doing good to them and not adding more wear and tear to them. The other thing is isometrics are really good. So loading up any weight stack, any exercise and just pushing into a fixed object or pulling a fixed object and just activating your fibers and you're able to control and feel the joint and how it feels. So joint integrity is super, super important, especially the older that we get. And listen to your body. But hopefully you never stop.

Never stop lifting weights, but you should listen to your body and joints. Make sure to take precautions such as partial ranges of motion and isometrics to ensure joint integrity.

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At what age should you stop lifting weights? The answer is never. However, it's important to listen to your body and consider your joint mechanics. If you're in your 60s, 70s, 80s, or 90s and have never lifted weights before, it may not be the best time to start. But if you have a good background in weightlifting and understand your body, you can continue as long as you can stay mobile and strong.

Pay attention to your joints. If they don't feel right during certain movements, avoid pushing yourself into uncomfortable ranges of motion. Adjust your exercises to partial ranges if needed, such as limiting knee flexion due to arthritis. Prioritize joint health and avoid adding unnecessary wear and tear.

Isometric exercises can be beneficial. Load up a weight stack or use any exercise where you push or pull against a fixed object. This helps activate your muscle fibers and allows you to control and feel your joints.

Remember, joint integrity becomes increasingly important as we age. Listen to your body and its signals. Ideally, you should never stop lifting weights, but always prioritize your well-being and adjust your routine accordingly.

What are three good mobility exercises to do before a lower and upper body mix strength workout?

Activate and Mobilize: 3 Key Exercises for Pre-Workout Mobility

So, the question is, what are three good mobility exercises to do before a lower and upper body mix strength workout? So I like to actually use, I don't really want to call them activation, but we'll call them activation just for sake of this. So corrective, activation, whatever you want to call them, I like to use those as my mobility. So I always do some sort of frontal plane and extension, so some sort of standing clam with a band, whether it's the lockout clam on the ground. Then I go to a quadruped or a bodyweight renegade row, and then I'll go to a side plank. And then if you want to look at, and I know I gave you a little bit more than three, and then if I want to do something for the upper body strictly as, there was a little shoulder matrix that I did with the band that was one of the questions. So check those out. And I like to use light strength, moderate to easy exercises to make me mobile, to get those muscles to do it. Check out that view. Have a great one guys, and look forward to answering more.

Three good mobility exercises to do before a lower and upper body mix strength workout are standing clam with a band, quadrupeds or bodyweight Renegade row, and side plank. Additionally, for the upper body specifically, there is a shoulder matrix exercise with a band that can be used.

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Three good mobility exercises to do before a lower and upper body mix strength workout are the standing clam with a band for frontal plane and extension, quadruped or bodyweight renegade rows, and side planks. Additionally, for upper body mobility, you can try a shoulder matrix exercise with a band. These exercises help activate and prepare the muscles for the workout ahead. Have a great workout!

What can you do to offset or help w shoulder issues and pull-ups?

Revolutionize your pull-ups: Offset shoulder issues with this simple trick

So a real simple one is just to stand upright and then just externally rotate your shoulder so your palms will face away from you, thumbs away from you, and then as you kind of lean forward into a deadlift you can actually use gravity, the weight of your arm, as resistance. So I'm kind of doing an ISO with external rotation as I'm trying to hold that and then I stand up after I got fatigued. So you're trying to keep those shoulder blades back and down. I did a little superset with a band here where I'm externally rotating into kind of a lat pulldown.

Do an ISO exercise with external rotation by standing upright and then leaning forward into a deadlift, using the weight of your arms as resistance. Follow this up with a band lat pulldown for a superset.

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To offset or help with shoulder issues during pull-ups, a simple exercise is to stand upright and externally rotate your shoulders. This means facing your palms away from you and thumbs pointing away from you. As you lean forward into a deadlift position, you can utilize the weight of your arm and gravity as resistance. Maintain this position, focusing on keeping your shoulder blades back and down. You can also incorporate a superset with a band, where you perform external rotations while simulating a lat pulldown. These exercises target the shoulder muscles and can help alleviate shoulder issues while performing pull-ups.

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Bryan Meyer answers your Strength questions. See all the advice Bryan Meyer has and get answers to your own Strength questions.

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Bryan Meyer is a leading expert in athletic performance coaching and the founder of B Meyer Training in Orlando. His client list includes Olympic medalist and goes beyond just NBA all-stars. Meyer and his training methods have been featured in ESPN, Sports Illustrated and Men’s Health. Meyer was an instrumental in getting Dwight Howard back from a potential ending injury and this exercise was used in his rehab and strength program. His brand has spread to China and he has plans to continue to help educate Chinese athletes and coaches on better training.  His passion lies in education and not only helping build better athletes, but better people.