Unilateral Shoulder Press

A functional exercise is one that incorporates natural body motions and involves multiple challenges simultaneously (ie balance and strength, coordination and speed, etc). The unilateral shoulder press is an example of a functional exercise due to the fact that a natural sway motion is employed with the hips. This motion is beneficial for a variety of reasons. It teaches your body to work in a coordinated fashion and encourages proper muscle firing sequences. Also, it greatly decreases strain on the shoulder. In fact, I will often show this exercise to my patients who have previously suffered a shoulder injury and want an alternative to the standard push press. The goal of this exercise is to serve primarily as a Deltiod strengthening exercise.

Proper Squat Form

Poor squat form is one of the most common causes of back and knee injuries I'll see over the next month or two. In an effort to prevent some of these injuries, I've posted a video on proper squat form this week. You may use this in combination with the other 2 glute exercises shown to create a progression. For example, you may begin with the clam for 1-2 weeks, the progress to squats, then running man. Enjoy and happy exercising!