clam diggity! we are back to the basics

a few weeks ago i realized that perhaps all my knee issues weren't getting better because i was treating just the symptoms and not the root cause.  i made an appt to see my doctor and go to the physical therapist.  yup, there are definately some root causes i wasn't really addressing.  cycling and running require a lot of forward motion, but often times you forget about the weight training that will stregnthen your big muscles...your glutes...which eventually help keep everything playing nicely together and your joints feeling happy.

so it's back to the basics for awhile. it feels really 101 to be doing these exercises, but i assure you as easy as they sound on paper and the people in these videos make them look...they are real butt kickers!

Clam shells - the point is to engage the butt muscle as you hinge your legs at the hip and keep feet together.  if you put your hand on your hip, you can put your thumb on your glute muscle to see if it's firing.  3 sets of 10 on each side.  ouch!  feel the burn.

Bridges - think about having your spine be flat. that may mean you need to concentrate on rotating your pelvis forward; which may then hinder your ability to raise your bridge so high but it will be forcing your glute muscles to fire.  an alternative you don't see in the video is a level of difficulty between the two legged bridge and the single leg bridge.  what you do is move one foot further forward - it simulates the feeling you will evenutally get when your glutes are strong enough to allow you to do the single leg bridge without wobbling or using your quads or hips instead of your glutes.



And then there is the calf raise. these will start a fire in your legs for sure. i'm not sure you'll get legs of steel like the dudes in this video, but if that happens hey that's okay...i don't mind having some killer calves when i'm rocking the heels with my dresses. okay, so this video is just entertaining...i don't know why there are so many 4+ minute long videos when you youtube search for calf raises.  it's pretty simple exercise really.  stand up straight, keep your core and glutes engaged and lift up at the calf muscle by raising your heel.  do both legs together than single legs. 3 sets of 10 each. ouch! 

lastly there are squats. standard squats and my favorite single leg squats.  ouch!  the hardest part for me is not to break my form and let my hips go uneven.  i like to do these close to the wall so i don't fall over. after 3 sets of 10 each i am not so balanced.