Prevent Repetitive Motion Injuries with Air Bench

Los Angeles, sunny winter day on the concrete tennis courts...  You practice your shots for hours over and over… It seems to be a “known fact” that repetitive motions cause injuries. Maybe you have developed one too. But is that statement really true?

Yes and no.

If your joints are stable and functional, and you repeat the same motion over and over, your muscles get tired before the healthy joint would get damaged. But if your joints are not stable, i.e. if they have lost their kinetic connections, and they are not moving properly, then the repetitive motions will cause an injury sooner or later for sure.

If you feel like are you developing pain symptoms of repetitive motions, you need to think about the exercises to stabilize your joints, rather then to sedate yourself and your joints with medications, or thinking about surgeries. The medications only mask the underlying problem. Today you will learn “air bench”, a great exercise to align your ankles, knees, hips and shoulders.

Air Bench

It will once again teach your quadriceps muscles that they are supposed to support your trunk during your activities, and don’t let the hip-flexors do all the work. After your quadriceps figure out how to support your trunk, you might find that staying low on the court and changing directions may be much easier and less stressful.

The air bench also strengthens the hip extensors (that are generally over dominated by the hip flexors) by putting the hips, knees and ankles under the load, where the hip-flexors are not allowed to do too much work.

Lean toward the wall, keep 90 degrees angle in your hips, knees and ankles. Walk you feet away from the wall so your thighs would be parallel with the floor. Keep your feet hip apart and parallel, and everything nicely symmetrical. The knees should be over the ankles, not the toes, and inline with the feet. Don’t let them move out, or in. Press your back (low and mid back) against the wall and feel how your quadriceps is working on the top part of the thigh. Focus on working (and feeling) both your quadriceps evenly. Remember, it is always about the balance!

Hold the position for 2 minutes. It can be a struggle at first. Maybe you have to start with 1 minute in the beginning and eventually work yourself up to 3 minutes. The easier the exercise gets, you know that you and your joints are getting in better shape.

It is your responsibility to learn your body and to correct the problems that have developed. Preferably, even better idea is to learn how to be aware, so you can catch the problems before they arrive.

Hopefully this series of articles will teach you some new things and increase your awareness.If you want, read more about:

• Rejuvenate your body in the morning or any time with Sun Salutations.
• Stretch your hips with the Pigeon, Frog, Crocodile Twist and groin stretch.
• Do the myo-fascial release for your feet, booty, and lower legs.
• Strengthen your booty with lunges, jump squats, and windmills.
• Work on your agility, coordination and balance with some fun footwork drills.
• And because the weather and conditions in Los Angeles are very hot, don’t forget to drink a lot of water, because it will increase your performance and well-being.
• Learn how to sleep well to feel good and increase your performance.