Whole Body Exercises For Bendy Strength

Some exercises focus more on individual parts of the body, these exercises use many parts of the body. They tend to be coordination and integration drills.

My focus is to choose exercises that emphasise both strength and length in the soft tissue.

Soft tissue that can generate strength from a prestretched position tends to be less susceptible to problems in the 'real world'. It is less likely to become injured from the things we do on a daily basis.

Lets take a look at a few of the whole body exercises that I use.

Some of the Whole Body Exercises that I use:

Handstand - Facing Wall

Start in a plank position, and walk your feet up the wall to a handstand position.

The focus of this drill is to check your form without having to think too much about balance.

Starting at the ground, think about where your weight is in your hands - it should be in the 1st knuckle (where your fingers start).

Your elbows should be pointing directly away from the wall.

Your shoulders should be elevated and slightly protracted.

Your ribs should be pulled in.

Your belly button should be pulled toward the spine.

Hips should be slightly posteriorly tilted.

Legs should be squeezed together.

Hips should be stacked over your shoulders which should be stacked over your hands...

and yes, all of these things should happen together!

Side Kick Through

This exercise can be tricky to visualize from the written word. You may need to check out the video for this one.

Start on your hands and knees with your knees an inch off the ground. Take your right leg and kick underneath your body as you bring the opposite hand back toward the side of the head.

Then reverse the movement and switch sides so that you are kicking the left leg and bringing the right hand back.

The movement is sneaky, it looks like a leg exercise, but it makes your shoulder muscles stabilize in a forward and down position, developing strength in all of those directions.

It also works your core.

These exercises are by no means exhaustive.

Whilst there are certainly some more advanced in the list, that does not mean you must do them. Choose exercises that are appropriate for your level of strength and mobility.

Some days you will have strong days, others not so much. Listen to your body.

Many of these exercises can be done by everyone, they may need some modification though. Always exercises within or on the edge of your level of ability - not beyond it

The key is consistency.

One of the things I pride myself on, is the ability to make gains well into middle age, and to have a body that is more resilient than it has ever been.

For me longevity is key.

The more people I speak to, the more I hear that what they really want from their fitness program is this resilience - bendiness and strength... and that comes from the consistency. Regular training to overcome (arguably) the modern world's #1 problem - sedentary lifestyle.

For more information check out my book 'The Bendy Strength Bible'.

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