2 For 1 Stretch Swag & Posture – The C-Bend Seated Splits

As a fitness pro for over 30 years and now a massage therapist for almost 2 years I have a keen interest in observing and accessing people’s functions or disfunctions in mobility, posture, strength, gait and bad lifting techniques.

I’m not always “on the clock” mentally but sometimes it just walks right in front of me and I can’t help myself. Especially now that my house literally backs up to a public trail system. In Memphis, the trail system was in front of my house along with the Mississippi River, but a little further away. Now, I may be sitting on the couch or actually out on the trail walking the dog and see amazing college runners, young and with perfect form just run/bouncing along only to see the next runner only merely shuffling with barely any movement in the hips either rotating left to right or laterally up and down. I just want to take people aside sometimes and tell them “I can help you move better and reduce or eliminate any pains you may have and just educate them on what they need to work.”

When I’m wearing my massage therapist hat and I have someone on the table face down there is a move where I place the palm side of one hand on the middle of the rear pelvis to stabilize and counter the other hand grabbing the muscle and tissue right above the hip bone and pulling it towards the spine then I move up with both hands with this pulling motion. It’s amazing to me how many people have little space or separation in both the space between the top of hip and bottom of ribcage and/or no separation between the lat and serratus muscle. Many times on people I find crunchy knotty areas and recommend me getting in there if they are willing as well as show them how to use a foam roller on this problematic area.

So many individuals just don’t function laterally in the spine either upper body or more lower near the hips. When I lead my personal training clients through custom programs it’s amazing to see what one person and can versus what another can’t even get close.

Remember….we are only as strong as our weakest link(s)! Work on that which you dislike to get better and get the upper hand.

I am in a continual state of working on better posture to oppose years of running, desk work and now massaging clients. When I see the rounded shoulders of clients either on the massage table or my own personal training clients I give tips and tricks to help them avoid the dreaded humpback.

The lat muscles which are in the general like your wing muscles near your posterior armpit (at least one section of it) and the serratus muscles are on the upper/middle and lateral side of the ribs cage. The serratus muscles are responsible for stabilizing the shoulder, assisting in pressing/overhead movements, planks and exhalation. The serratus anterior is a muscle that originates on the surface of the 1st to 8th ribs at the side of the chest and inserts along the entire anterior length of the medial border of the scapula. The serratus anterior acts to pull the scapula forward around the thorax. Just think if this muscle is out of sorts, tight or weak you will have postural or shoulder issues.

I love this stretch below and excited to bring it back to your database or teach you as a first timer.

It can also get some of the Quadratus Lumborum (QL) muscle is also getting a stretch on this lateral bending motion especially if you are really tight in this area. The QL is the hip hiker muscle. You will notice it especially if you feel yourself running away from the stretch and moving the hips.

Notice that I go better in one direction than the other. If you look closely you will see that going to the left is harder. This def makes sense to me as my right shoulder tends to drop in standing posture indicating that my right lat and serratus muscle is tighter.

What side are you tighter on?

Use a block if you can and be sure to move your pelvis into the right position for you and your body. Most people need to tuck the butt under (posterior pelvic tilt).

Keep your elbow up high. You may feel a great stretch in the tricep (muscle behind the upper arm) also if you are tight there as well. Be sure to take large inhalations and hold for a few seconds. You may need to get a block or pillow as getting on your elbow or doing like I am in the pictures may take you a bit to get there. Do what you can do and consistently for results. You might even want to sit on a block or pillow.

Shoot for either holding it for 5-10 seconds and moving to the
other side front and back or hold each position for 30-60 seconds.
You may even want to try a few times a day or when driving or riding long distances.

Who else needs accountability and a fitness professional with my over 30 years of experience getting people feeling and looking great? Semi-private 30 minute personal training via zoom twice weekly can get you on track. Choose from 10 session intro package plus functional movement screening or 25 session package.

Invest in yourself

Get started by CLICKING HERE IF YOU WANT A FREE VIRTUAL FITNESS CONSULT (VALUE $87) or one of our other services listed above. Just give me a call or text at 901-466-6242 and we can get you started with a functional fitness assessment and a few things to do on your own before the Greenville/Travelers Rest area location is up and running.

If you haven’t had a functional movement assessment with a professional observe the way you move different joints and movements with your hips, shoulders, wrists and spine then how do you know you are doing the most effective strength training, flexibility or cardio program? Hire someone like me to get you on track with a program to help you reduce current pain, eliminate pain, improve your current program or enhance your athletic performance.

Tonya Tittle, M.S., ACSM, LMT, TPI Level 1
Energy Fitness /Owner/Dir. of Training
(Club 29 Fitness Inc.)

898 N. Hwy 25 Bypass
Greenville, SC 29690 (Travelers Rest area)