Quadruped Rotary Stability
Awesome day coaching a CFSC Level 1 event here in Dublin at Elite Fitness and Performance Academy.
Here is a great example of connecting the dots from a motor control drill to a fitness move.
On the top you can see the athlete working on a classic quadruped rotary stability drill. He’s working hard to maintain spinal stability while executing a contralateral arm and leg reach. Notice how the coach uses a dowel rod to line up three points of contact on the head, thoracic spine and sacrum. This ensures the neck is packed and makes the coaches job easy so that they can recognize any faults in spinal positioning.
This a great drill to begin teaching rotary stability but to connect the dots to fitness and performance you need to incorporate higher level exercises.
Enter the Bear Crawl.
Below the same trainee builds off the patterning he developed in the first drill by practicing bear crawling. This exercise not only begins adding load to the rotary stability pattern but also is a great drill to strengthen the scapula stabilizers. Begin by teaching the 6 point crawl and progress to the 4 point crawl. Coach the athlete to move slowly, controlling their spinal position and contacting the ground softly.- @kev_in_carr