What would be a good workout routine for me based on my health limitations?

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

In my opinion, your posture is the main culprit more than the strength and weakness of your thoracic musculature. I wanted to know about your low back posture and pelvic tilt. From your narration, I presume you have weakness in the gluteus muscles, which do not support your low back, causing stiffness in the hamstring and your thoracic spine.

The relief you get while stretching in the leg press machine is not from the mere stretch, but your gluteus muscles get activated and start to fire to support your lower body reducing the load placed over the hamstrings. I feel you would have mild stiffness in your low back while getting up early in the morning. I do not mean pain but a stiffness that settles within a few minutes once you stretch or start to walk. So, I suggest you to follow the instructions mentioned below,

1. Do glute recruitment exercises like bridging, clamshell (do ten times and hold for six counts on each side), lying sideways and lifting the leg, lying on your stomach and lifting the leg backward, step-ups, swiss ball supported squats and isometric bridge hold (hold for 30 seconds).

2. While doing these exercises, I suggest you to exert pressure over the heel. Do not take the weight over your toes. These exercises are to be done for 15 repetitions of three sets twice daily. Stretch your abdomen muscles. Do retraction work of the upper back and stretch your pectoral muscle frequently. Both pectoral minor and major. Scapular pushups, and shoulder retraction, help you regain your posture.

3. Support your low back while sitting by keeping a pillow in the lower back.

I hope this was helpful to you.

Kindly revert if you need further clarification.

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Yes, I agree that the lower leg stiffness could also be due to reduced arch in your feet. The dips you do recruit all your back muscles and scapula retracting muscles since your chest muscles are tight that may not give enough support to perform these exercises painlessly rather effortlessly. But after you do, your chest muscles in the front are stretched enough to make you feel the relief. In my opinion, you should concentrate on recruiting gluteus muscles which help you maintain even your arch. I recommend you to add hip flexor stretch like cobra stretch and do that frequently, like ten times per hour, if possible. Otherwise, whenever possible, you can include glute strengthening exercises in your strength schedule. It can be done after doing recruitment exercises like bridging in the warming up.

I hope this helps.

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Yes, I suggest you to work on your shoulder retractors as well as external rotators. Exercises like shoulder retraction, seated rowing, YTWs (Y-movement, T-movement, and W-movement-body and shoulder circuit workout), side lying, and shoulder external rotation should be done regularly. These exercises will be more beneficial to you.

I hope this has helped you.

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

In addition to your workout plan, you can start with leg press, goblet squats, and step ups. Do clamshell (hold for 10 seconds) three times, side-lying and lifting leg sideways, single leg bridge, and hip thrust can be done for 15 repetitions of three sets. Do the upper body workout, as I suggested in my earlier message and the retraction workout for three weeks. Also, cobra stretches and other stretches can be performed whenever you find the time held for 39 seconds, at least for five repetitions each. A good warming and cool-down session will help you with a good recovery.

I hope this was helpful.

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

I saw the photograph you sent (attachment removed to protect the patient's identity). And I suggest you execute mild self-massage and stretch your chest muscles well and then start your bench press. This will help relax your chest and recruits your back. Even while doing shoulder retraction, follow the same to get the maximum benefit from that exercise. You can also try push-ups with push-up bars to have extra space, so your chest goes down to palm level.

I hope this is helpful to you.

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

The effect you get by lifting your hip slightly is because you stretch front-side hip joint structures and rectus femoris, a muscle that is actually a part of the quadriceps muscle that works as a weak hip flexor. These will not get stretched too much when you do normal cobra raises, as they will be supported during the movement. Further, the effect is enhanced by rotating your toes inwards as you tend to open up the anterior hip joint area giving further stretch to those structures. Those structures will always be tight due to the constant stress imposed on them due to faulty posture. If you feel good about these exercises, you can very well include them in your routine, which will benefit you.

I also suggest you to include hip mobility exercises to gain further mobility and range. Also, exercises like hip joint IR (internal rotation) stretch, fire hydrants, piriformis stretch, butterfly stretch, and figure of four positions by placing your foot under opposite side while lying on your stomach and doing cobra raises will also fetch you a relaxed feel.

I hope this clarifies your doubt.

Kindly follow up and let me know how you feel.