exercise of the month

Sliding down the wall with Emma Newham

Aim

To strengthen the quadriceps and lengthen the spine

Starting Position

Stand upright with the feet hip width apart and the spine against the wall. There are two points of contact with the body against the wall; the pelvis and scapula. The natural lumbar curve is retained and the head and hands do not touch the wall. The arms are down by the sides of the body. To judge the distance of how far the feet should be away from the wall then bend the knees to a 90 degree angle until the hips are level with the knees. At this angle, the ankles should be directly under the knees (so that the knees do not protrude in front of the ankles, causing strain to the knee joint).

Action

Exhale - Engage the core abdominals and slide down the wall, bending the knees to around 90 degrees or as low as feels comfortable. Do not bend the knees beyond 90 degrees (i.e. hips lower than the knees)
Inhale - To hold the chair position
Exhale - To slide back up the wall again. Repeat up to 10 repetitions.

Target Muscles

Quadriceps, gluteals

Watchpoints

• Maintain a neutral pelvis and spine throughout to avoid the tendency to tilt the pelvis as the body slides down the wall (i.e. the 2 points of contact should remain constant)
• 
  Keep the neck long and the shoulders stay away from the ears
• 
  Stay within a safe range of movement, the deeper the bend, the more challenging
• 
  Keep the collarbones open
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  As the body slides down try to get a sense of opposition by lengthening the spine up

Contra Indictions

This exercises places extra stress on the knee joint and may be unsuitable for those with knee problems. Sometimes a slight dizziness may be experienced during this exercise.