Fit In 30 Academy

If you find yourself sitting for prolonged periods of time (+5 Hrs) with minimal breaks in between to stretch or take a walk, you most likely will develop a common muscular imbalance called the anterior pelvic tilt.

In this case, your hip flexors are constantly shortened during a seated position leaving them to become overactive. When standing straight, the shortened hip flexors will then pull on the pelvis, bringing it forward and therefore causing an overstretching of the hamstrings, core, and glutes. This will then contribute to lower back pain.

So how do you fix APT?
1. Stretching: We must address the root cause. Therefore, take the time to stretch the hip flexors either through SMR foam rolling or dynamic stretching routines
2. Strengthen: The following exercises will help strengthen the muscles that are currently lacking:
- Hamstring curls (gym)/Hamstring walkouts (home)
- Hip Thrust (Gym) / Glute bridges (home)
- Hip abductions (gym & home using a glute band)
- Bird dog, dead bug, crunches will all help to strengthen the core.

Whenever you do an exercise, you are combining different contractions.

When you lower the weight you are performing an eccentric contraction which is elongating the muscle.

When you lift the weight you are performing a concentric contraction in which the muscle is shortening.

It matters because based on your training goals and training level you should modify the ratio of concentric vs eccentric contraction.

Eccentric contractions can tear as they induce more muscle damage which might help in hypertrophy. It is important to note to do this within a safe range as we want to avoid injury.

Fit in 30 Academy is very fortunate to still be open and provide our amazing personal training services to our clients. During this time, let’s work as a team to ensure we flatten the curve but still maintain our fitness.