The following healthcare information is intended as an information resource only and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.
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Hitchhiker Level 1 (thumb) Lie on your back with your feet rested flat on the floor (knees bent). Have your arms lying straight next to your torso. Your thumbs point upwards in this initial position. Keep your arms straight as you raise your fists towards the ceiling and back down over your head, towards the floor. Keep your core engaged (no arching of low back). One of the objectives of this is being able to get your thumbs to touch the floor without bending your arms and without shrugging your shoulders. Don’t let the shoulder blades leave the mat. Return to the starting position and repeat. |
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Hitchhiker Level 1 (fist) Lie on your back with your feet rested flat on the floor (knees bent). Have your arms lying straight next to your torso. Your fingers enclose your thumbs throughout the movement. Keep your arms straight as you raise your fists towards the ceiling and back down over your head, towards the floor. Keep your core engaged (no arching of low back). One of the objectives of this is being able to get your fists to touch the floor without bending your arms and without shrugging your shoulders. Don’t let the shoulder blades leave the mat. Return to the starting position and repeat. |
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Standing Hitchhikers Level 2 (thumb) Stand so that your heels, bum, and upper back are in contact with the wall behind you. Have your arms hanging straight down next to your torso. Your thumbs point forwards in this initial position. Keep your arms straight as you raise your fists towards the ceiling and over your head, towards the wall behind you. Keep your core engaged (no arching of low back). One of the objectives of this is being able to get your thumbs to touch the wall without bending your arms and without shrugging your shoulders. Don’t let the shoulder blades leave the wall. Return to the starting position and repeat. |
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Standing Hitchhikers Level 2 (fist) Stand so that your heels, bum, and upper back are in contact with the wall behind you. Have your arms hanging straight down next to your torso. Your fingers enclose your thumb to make a fist throughout the movement. Keep your arms straight as you raise your fists towards the ceiling and over your head, towards the wall behind you. Keep your core engaged (no arching of low back). One of the objectives of this is being able to get your thumbs to touch the wall without bending your arms and without shrugging your shoulders. Don’t let the shoulder blades leave the wall. Return to the starting position and repeat. |
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Floor Angels Lie on your back with your feet rested flat on the floor (knees bent). Have your arms resting so that your elbows and knuckles are resting on the floor (palms facing up). Keeping your core engaged, slide your arms up so that they glide towards your head. This is to mimic over-head movement. Try to think of gliding the arms up while pulling the shoulders down so that we avoid shrugging. Once at the top, glide your arms back down so that you feel a squeezing/cramping sensation in your lats and mid back. It is important to keep your elbows and knuckles touching the floor throughout these movements. |
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Wall Angels Stand so that your heels, bum, and upper back are in contact with the wall behind you. Have your arms resting so that your elbows and knuckles are pressing against the wall (palms facing forward). Keeping your core engaged, slide your arms upwards. Try to think of gliding the arms up while pulling the shoulders down so that we avoid shrugging. Once at the top, glide your arms back down so that you feel a squeezing/cramping sensation in your lats and mid back. The angle between your bicep and forearm should decrease as you do this. Prevent the low back from arching excessively when doing this movement by engaging the core and tucking the pelvis forward if necessary. Note: if this is too difficult, regress to not having your heels against the wall and assume a more “1/4 squat-like” position before continuing as described. |
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4 point external rotation Avoid rounding in this position by pulling shoulders back and down, sticking the chest out, tucking the chin in, and pulling the head away from the bum. Place your elbows and forearms on the supporting structure in a position where your elbows are wider apart than your hands. Exhale as you pull the wrists apart, keeping the elbows and forearms in contact with the supporting structure at all times. Return to the starting position and repeat for the desired rep count. |
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Standing external rotation (facing wall) Place your elbows and forearms on the wall in a position where your elbows are a bit wider apart than your hands. Your toes should be about 30 cm away from the wall. Core engaged. Exhale as you pull the wrists apart, keeping the elbows and forearms in contact with the supporting structure at all times. Return to the starting position and repeat for the desired rep count. |
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Standing external rotation (away from wall) Stand with your heels, bum, upper back, and the back of your head touching the wall. Have your arms in a position so that the angle between your forearms and biceps is roughly 90 degrees. Have your palms facing upwards. Exhale as you pull the wrists away from each other as you try to get your thumbs as close to the wall behind you as possible. A resistance band may be added depending on the degree of existing difficulty. You should feel your shoulder blades squeezing together and back into the wall as you do this. |
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Standing external rotation (away from wall with neck rotation) Stand with your heels, bum, upper back, and the back of your head touching the wall. Have your arms in a position so that the angle between your forearms and biceps is roughly 90 degrees. Have your palms facing upwards. Exhale as you pull the wrists away from each other as you try to get your thumbs as close to the wall behind you as possible. A resistance band may be added depending on the degree of existing difficulty. You should feel your shoulder blades squeezing together and back into the wall as you do this. |
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