(bright upbeat music)
- All right, so the first exercise
is to actually stretch the muscles below the scapula,
so it allows it to move up forward,
taking the tension off of these muscles
that go up into the head, particularly the levator scapulae,
which can be a real cause for those headaches and neck pain.
So what I'm doing is,
this actually is a door trim,
but if you can reach the trim on your door,
like I can, my fingers, it's just
a little three quarter-inch piece of wood.
I'm on my tippy toes now, and I'm lowering myself,
and getting a stretch in a very-
- Of the lat.
- [Brad] Yep.
Very controlled, you're not trying to increase sharp pain.
It's just a good muscle stretch.
- Very easy to do.
- [Brad] Yep. If you're too short,
and you've got a good, solid stool
you can stand on to get up-
- You're all right, then. (laughs)
- [Brad] Yeah, you might be able to do it then,
otherwise you may have to go with another option.
So there is actually an option
if the door trim is not working for you,
- If you are a short person.
- Yes, you simply take a,
like a broom handle, mop handle, we got a Booyah Stik,
anything that's about four to five feet long
and substantial. as far as strength.
Put it on your chair right here,
a firm chair, not a real soft one.
Put it there.
You're gonna reach up as high as you can.
And now I'm gonna lean at a angle this way.
Keep your hand tightly on the stick so it doesn't move,
allow these muscles to relax,
and I'm getting a real nice stretch.
This is as almost as good a stretch as-
- [Bob] Yeah, beautiful, Brad.
- Yeah, so now I'm balanced out.
I did the left, now I did the right,
and I feel balanced.
- No headache.
- Alright, the next exercise, simply go to the wall,
like Bob has his hands.
- Pinky against the wall.
I'm showing you where the scapula is.
- Arm level.
- Yep.
Once it gets level, think about
bringing the whole shoulder up, not just the arm.
And look at the scapula move.
Bob, if you wanna repeat that, here's a scapula,
and then he lifts.
And that scapula needs to rotate with,
and what that's doing, is help elevating the scapula,
once again, to take pressure off of these muscles.
levator scapulae, which is the one that's
creating that headache.
- [Bob] The problem child.
- Yep.
It's a good exercise for the shoulder joint as well.
All right, the next exercise is
to stretch out the chest muscles for posture.
And Bob's demonstrating a nice example of how to do it.
(Bob grunting)
Oh, look at that face.
He is stretching.
He's getting those pec, major, pec minor muscles,
which will pull the shoulders like this,
and we want 'em back.
So the idea is Bob is gonna hold his arms
against the wall if he can, bring them up as far as...
Bob, it doesn't hurt that much.
- It's hard.
- Don't be a big baby.
(both laughing)
It might hurt.
Actually, do it again, Bob,
but pretend you got a tight muscle,
like if I was doing it.
Yeah, the hand may not be able to go against the wall.
- Or elbow.
And if you can't go as high as Bob is,
like, I cannot do this.
My shoulders are too tight.
You simply can't-
- Call me a baby.
- (laughs) Well, you know,
I thought it was appropriate at the time.
Go up. There you go.
Yeah. I wanna do the one option on the floor, actually.
- Sure.
- So then you can let gravity be your assistance to stretch.
- Make fun of you.
- You can give it to me Bob, I deserve it.
Okay, now doing the same exercise,
laying on your back on the floor.
If you have a foam roller, like I have a six-inch one,
this is probably the best way to do it,
'cause it allows your scapulas to move,
and you do the same motion,
letting your arms go down as close as you can to the floor.
- [Bob] This is a little more advanced.
- Right. It is a little more aggressive.
You can put some light dumbbells,
or hold onto some soup cans to give a little more stretch.
You can see my arms are going down further,
and it's that working.
- Yep, Brad, you do better.
- Wow, I thought you was gonna get a, rip into me
Now if you don't have a six-inch roller,
you can still do it, 'cause I know most people
probably don't, simply take a pillow-
- And fold it.
- Fold it over.
Or if you got a firm throw pillow,
that may work just to elevate your chest.
- [Bob] Right.
- You can put a pillow under your head,
that would make a little more relaxing.
And then simply, with or without the weights,
do the same exercise, and it works pretty good.
Not as nice as the roller, but not bad.
- [Bob] Again, get the shoulder blade back in place.
- Yep. Oh, I guess they could take a rolled towel.
- [Bob] Sure.
- And roll it up, and put it between your shoulder blades.
- [Bob] Or a sheet.
Yep, anything that
gets that round feeling,
so that your scapulas can move better.
This last one is a stretch for the lats,
and it's kind of like the one we did on the wall,
where we're hanging from the stick, or from the trim.
So we're stretching here.
Simply do what Bob is doing.
- [Bob] It also moves the scapula.
Yep, so that scapula moving forward,
if I do here, right there,
I can just literally feel it move across his ribcage,
and that's what we're looking for.
If you wanna emphasize this shoulder blade,
take this hand and bring it over this way,
and you get a little extra stretch.
Well I can even see that shoulder blade move more now.
- [Bob] Yep, it does.
- Yeah. Gonna fall right off.
- Nah, just kidding. (laughing)
- If you can't get on the floor.
- Right, yeah.
So at work, you're working at a desk,
and you wanna do it without going down on the floor
and having and everyone look at you,
simply put your hands on your desk like this,
especially if you got a chair that rolls.
And go out. (Brad grunts) Oh, yes.
- [Bob] There you go.
- (sharp exhale) Breathe. Don't talk like this at work.
You know, people talk.
Hand over, I'm gonna get that right shoulder blade better.
Oh, yes.
- [Bob] Perfect.
- Yes, Jackie. You know Jackie is?
- [Bob] No.
- Jackie Stewart. You remember Jackie Stewart?
- [Bob] No.
- He used to announce races, I think, back in the '70s.
- Ah, now I do.
- Yeah.
- Kenny Gush, right?
- Yeah, he was with Howard Cosell. (laughs)
- I remember him now.
- I think, my memory's off.
But stretch, or get those scapulas moving.
- Right.
- So Bob, once again we can fix just about anything-
- Except for a broken heart.
- That right there, mm-hmm.
We're working on it.
(bright upbeat music)