Do you find yourself questioning your workout regime and whether you’re attending to the need of every muscle?
You can see the muscle tone, core strength improvement and your own agility… but you’re still left wondering which areas you could improve?
Enter, anti-rotational exercises.
This method of training utilises the body’s ability to prevent rotation and resist certain movements/positions while allowing stability and alignment. They help you build stability and strength.
In our everyday workouts form patterns we end up using the same routine, muscles and motions time and time again.
Many athletes have reconsidered traditional training, incorporating anti-rotational exercises into their daily workouts for a more functional muscle-holistic form of exercise. Why? Because by preventing rotation, they’re making sure that their body is more able to deal with the forces that demand it to move in a direction that may not be safe.
4 anti-rotational exercises to try
1 – Unilaterally Loaded Deadlifts
- Stand upright with feet hip-width apart, staying central.
- Grab a single-sided weight in the centre as if lifting a double-loaded weight.
- Bend your body and knees and lift the weight into standing position, as if you had the bar loaded at both ends.
- Gently return the weight to the floor while keeping the bar horizontal and equally straight at both ends.
2 – Sandbag Rotational Lunge
- Take hold of a sandbag by the two handles with your palms facing each other.
- Stand straight and facing forward, then step back with one foot, bending your knee at the front into a lunge. Don’t concentrate on bending the knee, let it flow naturally.
- Rotate the sandbag outside of the front knee, bending forward only slightly and without rotating.
- Bring that leg back into position and stand straight while pushing the rear foot back to the floor as you stand up.
- While moving back into standing position, swing the sandbag back in front of your body.
- Lunge back on the other leg, allowing the sandbag to swing outside the front knee.
3 – Knee to Chest exercise
- Lie facing upwards with your knees bent 90 degrees and feet firmly on the floor.
- Position your feet with your heel only a few inches away from your bottom. Press into your heels, lifting your hips and bottom slowly away from the floor. Concentrate on tightening your glutes.
- With tightened glutes, raise your hips and bring your right knee towards your chest. Be sure to keep your torso area still and keep your left knee comfortably locked.
- Bring your right knee back down to the floor slowly.
- Do 10 reps in total on each leg.
4 – Side Plank
- Lie on the floor on your right side and with your left foot placed on top of your right foot.
- Place your right forearm below your right shoulder.
- Raise your hips while concentrating on your core. Raise your hips until your body is fully aligned and straight.
- Hold for 30 seconds maximum.
- Repeat on the left side.
- Do 10 reps in total.
