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This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in January of 2020. For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c9f69mWjLk
Bob: This is an update on seven exercises you should do absolutely every day.
Brad: Right. We’re going to shorten this one up and it's going to be a little different on the exercises too.
Bob: Let's get started.
Brad: We want to mention that all these exercises promote pain free lifestyle activities, because we are working range of motion and almost all of them promote better posture.
Bob: Yep. That's so important to everything.
Brad: Exactly right. So, we're first going to do the infamous chin tucks.
Bob: Everyone should be doing these absolutely every day because almost all of us struggle with that head forward posture. Chin tucking. And you were going to show how you can use the stick to determine whether you are doing it correctly or not.
Brad: Right. I’ve got contact at my butt and my shoulders, and when my head touches, I know that I am in good posture. I'm not bringing my chin down; I'm going back and bringing the chin into the throat, and you are going to do between five or ten of these. This is one you can do every hour.
Bob: If you have poor posture and look up instead of bringing your head straight back, that shows you have a ways to go.
Brad: Right. So again, that one can be done easily throughout the day. You don't have to do ten of them, if you do them every hour or so, just do two or three and it all adds up with good reminders. The next one, it’s nice to have a towel roll for this or you can use your hands.
Bob: I'll do the hands.
Brad: Okay and I’ll get that towel roll. It’s best to do it with a chair so you can rest your back. Bob's not going to, he'll show you without but, using a chair's a little bit better. And we'll start with a little chin tuck and roll back. All these exercises, by the way, should be pain free, if they create pain there's probably a problem and you shouldn't be doing them. So, keep that in mind with all of them. If one of them hurts, skip that one.
Bob: Brad and I just know historically from working with a lot of patients that quite often this is the direction that people are tight in. And if you work this direction, it actually helps motion in almost all directions.
Brad: Exactly.
Bob: So, this is the one you want to do because a lot of times you're head forward all day or head down, you want to go the opposite direction.
Brad: And five to ten repetitions on that. That one can be done throughout the day. Maybe not as often as the chin tucks. The next one is postural scapular retraction.
Bob: I'm going to do it with the “W." Making a “W” here and squeezing my shoulder blades together. I like this because it is stretching the chest muscles while at the same time you're strengthening.
Brad: Right.
Bob: Now the Booyah Stik works even better because you're really getting the stretch. It's really promoting the stretch and at the same time you're getting the strengthening in. So, it’s just a nice way to stretch posture.
Brad: Yeah, it’s a nice accessory.
Bob: Next is back extensions. So, a very simple one, you're going to lay down flat on your stomach hands underneath the shoulders. And you're going to start by pressing up probably just part way to start.
Bob: The big thing here is you're not lifting the pelvis at all.
Brad: Get that butt down.
Bob: Now this one you should not do if you have spondylolisthesis.
Brad: Spondylolisthesis or spinal stenosis back here in the lumbar area. We have another exercise coming up that will be good for those.
Bob: Yeah but these are really great for preventing back pain and for a lot of people they're great for treating back pain too. I do these every morning. I do a good set of 20 to be honest with you.
Brad: And you've got good range of motion. There aren’t a lot of people your age that are that flexible in the back.
Bob: That's right. I’ve been doing it for many years. Now we're going to go do cat and camel. So, I'm arching up. I'm arching down. Up. Down.
Brad: These are nice, do about ten of these.
Bob: Good for mobility, it works on thoracic mobility and a little lumbar mobility too.
Brad: Remember to breathe with all of these. We should have mentioned that right away but that's what the reminder is, to breathe and relax. And the next one we're going to go to the hamstrings. I'm going to show a good way to do it standing. Bob is going to do it lying down. They're both nice ways to stretch. Standing the knee's straight and keep your back straight. I'm going to show you can use a stick or the Booyah Stik, that makes me keep my back straight. I'm getting a good hamstring stretch. If you do it with the stick down, you don't want to round your back.
Bob: You don't want to round out.
Brad: You keep your back straight. Go ahead Bob I'm going to keep stretching.
Bob: This is simple you're going to grab underneath your knee. Right on the upper thigh and you're going straighten out your knee. Pull the foot towards me as much as I can and as straight as I can. Keep breathing. I'm going to get the other side too.
Brad: There's a lot of different ways to stretch a hamstring. But these are two good alternatives. And then the infamous heel cord stretch. There are several ways to do it. If you have an incline board, I think that is by far the best way to do it. But if you don't have it that's fine. You don't need one.
Brad: Bob will show you there. You can do it at a countertop. You can go up to a wall. And the back leg is where the stretch is going on. The front one is just hanging out there. This one you can hold 15 to 30 seconds. I personally like to put pressure on and pressure off. But you're going to find that a lot of people will encourage 30 second hold, static hold.
Bob: I think I told the story before. About one of my favorite Reader's Digest little stories. A lady was going out for a run, so she had parked her car and she was standing behind the car doing this stretch and another guy comes up and starts helping her try to push the car. He thought she needed help.
Brad: He thought it was a broken-down car. I wonder how long she let him do that?
Bob: Right. Especially when it's in park.
Brad: All right so get through those seven stretches. Again seven is a wonderful number.
Bob: It's a magic number.
Brad: It's complete.
Bob: Right and remember Brad and I can fix just about anything.
Brad: Except for…
Bob: A broken heart. We're working on it.
Brad: Stretch away.
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