Name: Playbook - TrickStrong RX - Morning Glory (Full Body Mobility)
Uploaded: 2023-11-29T19:22:50.725Z
Duration: 15 min
Description: Morning Glory (Full Body Mobility)

Micah

Matthew

Feels super nice in the morning, I'm adding a couple stretches I usually do for my back but this covers a good chunk and is a really good base!

Alex

The first time you move should be in the morning, not during your 8 PM training session!

By moving in the morning, we lubricate our joints, nourish our muscles and prime our bodies for movement throughout the day. 

If you have ever trained twice in a day, you know what I’m talking about. It’s simply easier to get moving again the second time around.

Cavemen did not have to warm up before a hunt. Warming up is an invention we had to create to combat a modern lifestyle that reserves movement for specific situations. 

Of course we still need to warm up before sessions! But by staying consistent with this routine, we improve our health, posture and movement capacity as athletes/humans.

Let this routine be a way for you to get started with your day on the right foot, allowing for less stiffness and more fluidity throughout your day. Takes 15 minutes and feels great! 

Join in on the Morning Glory 🌄

Get into a quadruped position. Slowly alternate between arched back to rounded back positions, feeling movement at each vertebrae.
 
Look up as you arch, look down as you round and push through your arms.

With Cat Camel, we are training spinal mobility and hip/spine dissociation, which is important for proper articulation with movement. We want each segment of your spine to be able to move and interact with each other. Typically after injury, segments of the spine have reduced range of motion. 

The old adage – if you don’t use it, you lose it – applies here. 

Our ability to compensate and use only certain parts of our spines can trick us into thinking we are more mobile than we are. These areas that have forgotten how to move can lead to other issues if left unaddressed.

Cat Camel (5 sec holds)

One of my favorite mobility drills! It is so effective in helping with the common movement restrictions we have in the hips and spine. 

On the way up, the back leg glute should be activating towards the ground to maintain stability and increase stretch at the front of the hip. You are also using your mid-back to get your arm as far above you as possible. 

On the downward rotation, aim to get your elbow to the floor (but not at the expense of form or pain).

Don't forget to rotate your head with the rest of your torso by looking at the ceiling (rotating towards the front leg).

Lunge with Thoracic Rotation

Downward dog is one of my favorite drills as it hits so many important areas that tend to be restricted due to frequent sitting and poor posture. 

The downward dog addresses thoracic, hamstring and calf mobility and gives us some traction, or space to our spine. You can also improve shoulder stability by holding this position. 

Start on all fours, and press up to your feet while keeping your hands in contact with the floor. 

Press your chest towards your legs and let the neck hang loosely to get that spinal traction and thoracic mobility we talked about. 

Pedaling your feet and walking your feet out are both ways to increase stretch felt at the calf. Walk your hands towards your legs to focus more on hamstring lengthening. 

As with most of our mobility exercises, I really want you guys to explore the movement and spend time with each restriction that you find.

Downward Dog Exploration

Framing the door is an amazing mobility drill to encourage opening in the pec major, pec minor, lats, teres major and other internal rotators of the shoulder.

- Begin with chin tuck + scap squeeze
- Bring arms OH, facing palms outward
- Bring elbows as close to body as possible while maintaining goalpost position
- Hold at bottom position for 5-10 seconds, and return to the top

You should feel all of the muscles between your scapulae and your lats firing HARD during this. The more consciously you squeeze the muscles in the back, the more your shoulders will open and the more your posture will improve. 

An alternative is doing it on the floor using a foam roller. 
I won’t say it’s a progression because the foam roller makes it easier from a postural stability standpoint, but more challenging from a mobility standpoint.

Framing the Door (Standing)

The T Bridge is amazing at improving our thoracic, shoulder, wrist and hip mobility needed for swings and transitional skills (TDR, masterscoot, cartwheel).

1) Begin seated on the ground with one hand in between your legs.

2) Prop your other hand directly behind you with fingers facing away from you. 

3) Raise up to a one arm "T" bridge by engaging your core and glutes. Push through your hips to rise. 

4) Extend through your grounded shoulder by pushing it through the ground. 

5) Practice spotting the ground at the top of this movement. This improves neck mobility and mimics what you will be doing in handed setups.

T Bridge

The deep squat + pry is an awesome lower body exercise often used to improve foot, ankle and hip mobility. 

By turning our feet out and squatting down as low as possible, we open up the hips and ankles, which helps us above (lumbar spine) and below (knees) as well. 

You can also use your elbows to push your knees out a bit further, while maintaining a neutral pelvis and engaging your core. 

Stand tall and push your chest forward a bit to encourage good thoracic extension. This is amazing movement prep before squatting exercises.

Tight hips not only affect our comfort in daily life, but our tricks as well. Poor hip mobility and stabilization can lead to inefficient technique and pain or tightness due to the additional stress.

Deep Squat + Pry (5 sec holds)

Start on your back while holding a foam roller or pillow in front of you as shown. Engage your core by pressing the small of your low back against the ground. 

This exercise begins with both legs up in an L position. If this is too tight on the hamstrings, either lower your legs slightly or include a soft knee bend. If you feel any numbness or tingling, try pointing your toes. You should not exercise through a numb or tingling sensation. 

Lower one leg at a time with control. You should feel your core and quads working, while your up hamstring and down hip flexors are lengthening.   

Lower your leg as low as possible without compromising form. One rep is both sides lowering.

Supine Pendulum

The hip 9090 stretch is called this because of the 90 degree angles your hip will make. 

The hip is a ball and socket joint. This means that in order to train our mobility in an effective way, we will want to explore and be less linear with this stretch. 

The hip 90/90 is a great way to explore the surfaces of the hip joint and to really move into your restrictions.

This drill is a great way to warm up your hips and core as it is ACTIVE. Think of allowing one hip to trail while the other aims for the floor to encourage hip opening.  

You should not be feeling any pain in your lower back, hips or knees.

Modifications: Hand Assist

Dynamic Hip 90/90

These are amazing for foot and ankle mobility. If available, adding a weight adds stretch to this as well. 

Lower slowly (5 sec) in the eccentric calf raise. 

Stress the negative by lowering slowly and past neutral by using a step, stair or slant board. 

Doing this is great in the AM as we are often in a plantarflexed (foot pointed) position all night. This will help especially if you have tight ankles, restricted plantar fascia or limited toe mobility.

Early on, using the minimum necessary hand assistance is a good way to build up to doing it without support.

Single Leg Calf Raise (5 sec descent)

If you don't have a pullup bar, I highly recommend getting one (available at trickstrong.com/shop).

Check the exercise descriptions for more info on the benefits of hanging!

If you don't have a bar, get creative or substitute with a downward dog!

Dead hanging is a great drill for so many reasons! It can help improve overhead mobility, lat and pec tightness, upper body and core stability, grip 
strength and can even help decompress the spine. 

To perform this correctly, stay engaged with your grip, core and scapular muscles. When we dead hang without muscular support, we not only miss out on the opportunity to improve overhead stability, we can also irritate our shoulder by hanging our entire body weight on the ligaments and joint capsule. 

Make sure that you stay engaged by squeezing your shoulder blades down and in while squeezing the bar.

It is usually more difficult to hang in a supinated (palms up) position as this position requires more pec and lat mobility. If you can handle it, it can be a great way to improve shoulder, elbow and wrist mobility as well.

Neutral and pronated grips are also useful to train as they stress our upper body and grip differently. Change up your grip angles for best results.

Deadhang - Pronated Grip

Deadhang - Supinated Grip

Deadhangs

This is an amazing self-massage technique to improve foot and ankle mobility and soft-tissue quality.

We are often tight, restricted and have poor blood flow in our feet due to constricting foot wear. Most shoes don't allow for natural foot movement. This fits perfectly before and after getting out of shoes. 

You'll likely feel improved ankle mobility after this technique as the tight muscles and fascia on the bottom of our feet become unrestricted. Be sure to get all the edges of your foot and to allow your foot to "melt" around the ball.

Morning Glory (Full Body Mobility)

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