Exercise of the Week – Bicycles from the Ladder Leg Lift Series

Leg Lift Bicycles: Your Key to a Stronger Core and Better Posture.

Combat Forward Head Posture & Low Back Pain with This Total Body Exercise.

The GYROTONIC® Ladder is a core strengthening masterpiece. Depending on how you place yourself on the Ladder, you’ll strengthen your core with a focus in one of the three planes of motion: front to back, side to side or with rotation. And while you’re moving in one of the planes of motion (sometimes two), you have the stabilize your body in the other plane(s). You’re getting active and static core strength and every exercise is total body.

The Leg Lift series is especially beneficial for posture. Your head is stabilized against the crossbar by using the back and neck muscles from the base of the skull down to the pelvis. You’re also strengthening your deep cervical flexors, the muscles that keep your head from jutting forward, known as Forward Head Posture (FHP). Your arms are also active, engaging your mid back and shoulder girdle muscles, helping keep your shoulders from rounding forward. FHP and rounded shoulders are a common, widespread condition in today’s computer heavy lifestyles. That’s the static side. On the active side, you’re actively strengthening your glutes and secondarily, your hamstrings.

How this exercise can help you.

As I said above, this exercise is great for posture. Strengthening the entire posterior chain plus the deep cervical flexors helps keep your body upright when seated or standing. Another common postural problem from sitting too much is weak glutes, which can easily lead to low back pain. So actively strengthening your glutes while maintaining a strong stable torso in this exercise will help you avoid low back pain, the #1 cause of people seeking medical care.

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