The Exercise You Aren't Getting

The How and Why of Corrective Exercise

What I'm going to tell you will either aggravate you or enlighten you. If you are a client of ours then you get it. The people I'm after are the fitness professionals and general population who don't get it. Are you ready for the bombshell? Corrective Exercise.

Sounds like something exasperated parent's use on misbehaving children, or a way to help people who misspell words. Well it is neither of those things. Corrective exercise is a method of training that helps resolve muscle imbalances in the body and reduce or eliminate their accompanying aches and pains.

Go on let me hear you say it. "I don't have any imbalances." I'd be willing to wager a boat-sized coffeecinolatte thingy with all the fixins that you do.

Here's why. Movement patterns like sitting, standing, walking, running, favoring your left side over your right, or any of life's activities will create muscle imbalances. You may not feel their effects now, but these imbalances can often be the cause of misaligned joints. Misalignment is one of the major factors in joint pain.

So. Do you need corrective exercise? Yes. You see, most workouts that people perform and those that trainers give to their clients fail to address muscle imbalances. This can make things worse and may even set you up for injury.

The main goal of this type of exercise is to get your whole body working together rather than isolating body parts like most workouts do.

Where does corrective exercise come from? Believe it or not this type of training has been around for centuries. Borrowing from elements of massage, yoga, Pilates, and physical therapy to ultimately become what it is today, a highly effective means of keeping the body in prime working condition for the demands of life.

Correcting muscle imbalances begins by looking at your overall posture and quality of movement. We are looking for deviations from "normal" posture and joint motion. Let's say for example that your toes turn outward during a squat, when they should point directly forward, this can be an indicator that muscles in your calves, hamstrings and hips are tight. When something is tight there is always something weak, in this case muscles in the front of your calf and glutes.

Who cares if your toes turn out? You should, because it can lead to any number of problems in your arch, ankle, knees, and low back, which also contribute to pain when squatting and lunging. Now let's fix those toes using a three step process.

The first step is to release the tension in the tight areas by using trigger-point and or foam rolling techniques. This makes the muscles more responsive to the second step, which is stretching. Finally we address the weak areas by prescribing specific strength exercises that restore stability to the affected joints. Remember release, stretch, and strengthen.

Given the amount of inactivity and repetitive motion that life in 2008 comes with, it makes sense that corrective exercise should be the first thing many people start with before even thinking about firming, tightening, sculpting, or reducing anything on their bodies. Build a solid foundation to make sure you get the most out of the exercise you are getting.

John Bocobo is a fitness professional and owner of Santa Clarita Fit Body Boot Camp. He specializes in corrective exercise and can be contacted at ScFitBody.com ScFitBody.com