It’s easy to get caught up in our exercise habits. Once you’ve alighted upon a type of workout that you’re comfortable with, the last thing you may want is to switch that up with something that leaves you feeling like you’re back at square one.
Unfortunately, this can lead even those who are in relatively good health to emphasize some parts of the body at the cost of others. This leaves those body parts that don’t receive attention to be more susceptible to injury. Thankfully, a new report has arrived which looks at some of those exercises that can be carried out in order to develop strength in the oft-overlooked portions of the body, and you might want to think about putting them into practice.
If you’re a runner, then one thing you’re going to have to worry about is the risk of an ankle sprain. However, running itself isn’t always going to develop the type of strength within your ankle that will allow you to reduce the risk of this kind of injury.
So that your ankle can be as strong as the rest of your body, you’ll need to use a resistance band and be in a sitting position. Holding on to the resistance band in your hands, stick your feet out straight and loop the other end of the band around one of your big toes. When that’s complete, push forward with the foot so that you feel the tension in your ankle. Then do the opposite, wrapping the other end of the band around something away from you and then pulling the toe toward you. Finally, do the same thing from side to side. When you do this, you’re getting your ankle used to going through a full range of motion, developing the muscles in a way that simple impacts can’t achieve.
Similarly, those that are adamant about strength training will do a lot of abdominal and core work but neglect those muscles that extend along the sides of their body. These oblique muscles, when strengthened the same as the rest of the body, can help just about any exercise be more productive.
To improve these muscles, lay on the ground on your side and then push yourself up with one forearm. Make sure your body forms a completely straight line at a diagonal. You should be able to hold yourself up for 30 seconds, but as you get used to the workout, it’s acceptable to go up to two minutes on each side. Once you really have the hang of things, you can further enhance this workout by lifting your upper leg toward the sky.
There’s far more information to be gleaned, so click the link above to learn some other important workouts.
About the author
