What is Prehab?
Hate getting injuries that stop your daily routine? One way to help stop them from happening is to start a solid prehab routine. Prehab you say? What is Prehab?
Pre-habilitation, or prehab, is the process of helping yourself steer away from preventable injuries and working on your areas of weakness which can evolve into an issue down the exercise road. Prehab is often overlooked simply because one might see it as something they don’t need right now or it’s a waste of time, but when injury hits, you can only wish you had invested a little of your time into the things which can get you back to neutral.
The best way to increase fitness over the months is to be consistent in your routine and one of the main factors towards that is staying injury free and continuing your work without interruptions. This often means spending time working on joint mobility, stability, and strength. Prehab prepares your body for the long-term and the exercises strengthen the areas that often see the most stress in our everyday movements: your hips, core and shoulders. By strengthening these areas, you will improve your posture and alignment, allowing your joints to move more efficiently. By committing to prehab you’ll be less likely to get those horrible aches and pains that can cause chronic or even debilitating pain.
When working on your prehab exercises you have to focus on correct form. Without correct form, you may as well not be doing the exercises. Be patient and be diligent with these exercises and your body will love you in the long term and you’ll be able to continue doing what you love.
You should be aiming to perform prehab exercises between two to six times a week and the best time to perform it is near the start of a workout as part of your warm-up routine. Many movements can be done without equipment so there’s no excuse! Get your body to neutral and complete these two vital prehab exercises for your lower back, shoulders and core strength:
Bird Dog
This is a key prehab movement. Start on your knees and hands, also known as the table top position. Then, maintaining a neutral spine and tight core, extend opposite arm and leg to full extension. Hold for one second remembering to maintain consistent breathing throughout. See blog post image.
RKC Plank
This is similar to a traditional plank exercise, only tougher. Get into the plank position which is on your toes and forearms. Feet together and face towards the ground. Clenching your hands into fists aim to widen your shoulder blades apart. Now this is the good part of this exercise.