PRODUCTS I LOVE AND RECOMMEND
MOBO balance board
For anyone who is serious about foot health this wobble board is a must have! The MOBO board is designed to challenge how you control full body movement through the rearfoot. What I love most about this board is that it is easy to use and it’s great for improving how the foot and hip work together to stabilize the body. 5-10 minutes a day of balance board work done 2+ times a week can really be helpful for improving balance and body control. Do these exercises when you are not fatigued, ideally as a stand alone recovery session, or as a warm up before you workout.
Foot & ankle balance board
While the MOBO board focuses more on how the rearfoot controls movement through body, this board challenges movement at the foot in a different way. In order for the foot to function optimally it must be able to twist in and out of pronation. To do this you must not only have good foot mobility but also must be able to control and coordinate movement disassociation between the back of the foot (rearfoot) and front of the foot (forefoot). There is no better tool for this I have seen than this simple little foot and ankle balance board. The good thing about this board compared to the MOBO is that is much cheaper, many different companies make it, and it’s usually not hard for me to talk people into buying. The bad thing about it is that it can be hard to learn. This is why I’ve created a how-to library of exercises to walk you step by step through how to use them.
CROSSOVER SYMMETRY BANDS
I absolutely love the exercises in the Crossover Symmetry program. Most people are seriously lacking with the number of exercises they include in their training to improve the strength and endurance of their scapular muscles. These muscles are so important for posture! How have you been training them? Most people are not doing this at all! For most individuals I recommend the 3-12lb bands. I find that heavier bands are not necessary with these exercises. It’s too easy to compensate with the wrong muscles and not get the desired movement through the scapula when you go heavier, so I tend to stay away from anything greater than 12lbs with the bands. Incorporate these exercises into your daily routine to fight the effects of sitting at a computer all day, or use them as a warm up to a workout, or as supersets between heavier lifts for active recovery.