Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 333 views

    The Bear Exercise

    Uploaded by

    Antonio Martinez
    The document describes a yoga exercise called the Modified Bear that aims to activate the gluteal muscles. It begins in a standing position leaning forward with hands on a block for support. The exercise involves actively pushing through the hands and feet to feel the gluteal muscles work while lowering the buttocks and keeping the back arched. Holding each repetition for 5-8 seconds before returning to start position, it can be repeated 5-10 times as a movement preparation exercise. The Modified Bear provides an alternative to other gluteal exercises to help address issues involving overactive quadriceps or back muscles.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    The Bear Exercise

    Uploaded by

    Antonio Martinez
    333 views3 pages
    The document describes a yoga exercise called the Modified Bear that aims to activate the gluteal muscles. It begins in a standing position leaning forward with hands on a block for support. The exercise involves actively pushing through the hands and feet to feel the gluteal muscles work while lowering the buttocks and keeping the back arched. Holding each repetition for 5-8 seconds before returning to start position, it can be repeated 5-10 times as a movement preparation exercise. The Modified Bear provides an alternative to other gluteal exercises to help address issues involving overactive quadriceps or back muscles.

    Original Description:

    Explicación del ejercicio conocido como "Bear" exercise, por el Dr. Craig Liebenson.

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document describes a yoga exercise called the Modified Bear that aims to activate the gluteal muscles. It begins in a standing position leaning forward with hands on a block for support. The exercise involves actively pushing through the hands and feet to feel the gluteal muscles work while lowering the buttocks and keeping the back arched. Holding each repetition for 5-8 seconds before returning to start position, it can be repeated 5-10 times as a movement preparation exercise. The Modified Bear provides an alternative to other gluteal exercises to help address issues involving overactive quadriceps or back muscles.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    333 views3 pages

    The Bear Exercise

    Uploaded by

    Antonio Martinez
    The document describes a yoga exercise called the Modified Bear that aims to activate the gluteal muscles. It begins in a standing position leaning forward with hands on a block for support. The exercise involves actively pushing through the hands and feet to feel the gluteal muscles work while lowering the buttocks and keeping the back arched. Holding each repetition for 5-8 seconds before returning to start position, it can be repeated 5-10 times as a movement preparation exercise. The Modified Bear provides an alternative to other gluteal exercises to help address issues involving overactive quadriceps or back muscles.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies (2014) 18, 311e313

    Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

    ScienceDirect

    PREVENTION & REHABILITATION: SELF-MANAGEMENT: PATIENT SECTION

    The Modified Bear exercise*


    Craig Liebenson, D.C.*
    L.A. Sports & Spine, 10474 Santa Monica Blvd, #304, LA 90025, United States
    Received 18 February 2014; accepted 18 February 2014

    Most people have a tendency to overactivate their quadriceps during squatting and bending manouvres which can
    lead to various knee pain syndromes. Similarly, it is common to see back muscle overactivity during leg extension
    tasks which can result in low back pain. Quadriceps overactivity is usually termed quad dominance (Hewett et al,
    2001, Myer, 2006, Liebenson, 2007, Claiborne et al., 2006,
    Pollard, 2010, Powers, 2010). Back muscle overactivity is
    usually associated with the lower crossed syndrome of
    Janda, or the scissor posture of the low back (Janda et al.,
    2006; Kolar et al., 2014). The common denominator in both
    of these situations is gluteal amnesia which is defined as
    slow or inadequate activation the gluteal muscles (Freeman
    et al., 2013).
    There are many exercises to facilitate better gluteal
    activity ebridges, dead lifts, hip airplanes, Tai Chi Qua,
    etc. (McGill, 2004; Liebenson, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013,
    Weingroff, 2014). A novel gluteal exercise from Yoga,
    called The Modified Bear is presented here (Fig. 1).

    The Modified Bear


    Start Position
     Stand tall and slowly lean forward until your hands are
    used for support laying flat on a 1e2 inch/
    2.5e5 cm thick block or pad (see Fig. 1a)

    This paper may be photocopied for educational use.


    * Tel.: 1 31047 02909; fax: 1 31047 03286.
    E-mail address: [email protected].

    http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2014.02.003
    1360-8592/ 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

     Be sure to keep your heels on the floor & arch your


    back by sticking your chest out
    Movement
     Use your hands and fingers evenly to actively push off
    the support
     You should feel your rib cage move back into your
    shoulder blades as your entire core engages
    automatically
     Slowly lower your buttocks just short of a point where
    you feel your lower back would round upwards
     Feel your feet being rooted to the floor (i.e. as if
    you were about to jump (see Fig. 1b))
    What you should feel
     Notice that your weight shifts towards your heels (but
    keep your toes rooted anyway
     Feel your gluteal muscles working more than your
    quadriceps
    Repetitions
     Hold reach repetition for 5e8 s (a relaxed breath or
    two)
     Return to start position
     Repeat 5e10 times
     Perform 1 set as a movement preparation
    Modification
     If your hip and spine mobility is restricted utilize a
    higher block or pad (see Fig. 1c)

    PREVENTION & REHABILITATION: SELF-MANAGEMENT: PATIENT SECTION

    journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/jbmt

    PREVENTION & REHABILITATION: SELF-MANAGEMENT: PATIENT SECTION

    312

    C. Liebenson

    Figure 1

    The Modified Bear. a) Start position. b) Final position. c) Modified support.

    Acknowledgment
    Thanks to Jiri Cumpelik, P.T. for teaching me this exercise and to Ida Norgaard, D.C. for consulting on this
    article.

    References
    Claiborne, T.L., Armstrong, C.W., Gandhi, V., Pincivero, D.M.,
    2006. Relationship between hip and knee strength and knee
    valgus during a single leg squat. J. Appl. Biomech. 22,
    41e50.
    Freeman, S., Mascia, A., McGill, S., 2013. Arthrogenic neuromuscular inhibition: a foundational investigation of existence in the
    hip joint. Clin. Biomech. 28, 171e177.
    Hewett, T.E., Myer, G.D., Ford, K.R., 2001. Prevention of anterior
    cruciate ligament injuries. Curr. Womens Health Rep. 3,
    218e224.
    Janda, V., Veverokova, M., Herboneva, M., Liebenson, C., 2006.
    Sensory-motor training. In: Liebenson, C. (Ed.), Rehabilitation
    of the Spine: a Practitioners Manual, second ed. Lippincott/Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore.

    Kolar, P., Kobesova, A., Valouchova, P., 2014. Dynamic neuromuscular stabilization. In: Liebenson, C. (Ed.), The Functional
    Training Handbook. Lippincott/Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia (sched pub).
    Liebenson, C., 2006. Functional stability training. In:
    Liebenson, C. (Ed.), Rehabilitation of the Spine: a Practitioners Manual, second ed. Lippincott/Williams and Wilkins,
    Baltimore.
    Liebenson, C., 2007. Functional problems associated with the knee
    e part two. Rehabilitation fundamentals for common knee
    conditions. J. Bodyw. Mov. Ther. 11, 54e60.
    Liebenson, C., 2009. Functional training of the gluteal muscles. J.
    Bodyw. Mov. Ther. 13, 202e204.
    Liebenson, C., 2013. Training the hip: a progressive approach. J.
    Bodyw. Mov. Ther. 17, 266e268.
    McGill, S.M., 2004. Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance.
    Wabuno Publishers, Waterloo.
    Myer, G.D., Paterno, M.V., Ford, K.R., et al., 2006. Rehabilitation
    after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: criteria-based
    progression through the return-to-sport phase. J. Orthop.
    Sports Phys. Ther. 36 (6), 385e402.
    Pollard, C.D., Sigward, S.M., Powers, C.M., 2010. Limited hip and
    knee flexion during landing is associated with increased frontal
    plane motion and moments. Clin. Biomech. 25, 142e146.

    Powers, C.M., 2010. The influence of abnormal hip mechanics on


    knee injury: a biomechanical perspective. J. Orthop. Sports
    Phys. Ther. 40 (2), 42e51.

    313
    Weingroff, C., 2014. Dead lifts. In: Liebenson, C. (Ed.), The Functional Training Handbook. Lippincott/Williams and Wilkins,
    Philadelphia (sched pub).

    PREVENTION & REHABILITATION: SELF-MANAGEMENT: PATIENT SECTION

    The Modified Bear exercise

    You might also like