Exercises of the Week - Arm Bar and Thoracic Wave

Here are the arm bar and thoracic wave videos from the interview last week with Brett Jones. These are such great exercises for the neck, thoracic spine, and shoulders. They can be used as part of a rehab program, corrective exercise prior to strength training, or as corrective work for the Turkish Get-Up as in the DVD.

Just a couple quick notes before beginning.

the kettlebell should be held with a neutral wrist for beginners, more advanced users can use as much as 10-20 degrees of wrist flexion for greater wrist and grip work.

diaphragmatic breathing is crucial to get appropriate inner core stabilization which in turn will assist in relaxing the neck and shoulder muscles.

lock out the elbow

find proprioceptive neutral (vertical) - the arm should be straight up and down. When on your side it can become tough to tell where exactly it is positioned and many athletes start letting it drop. It becomes more holding the weight up versus relaxing and letting the kettlebell pack the shoulder.

The Arm Bar is part of the 'Roll to Press' corrective work. Basically its learning to find proprioceptive neutral with the shoulder while rolling. It great for achieve greater thoracic rotation while packing the scapula and working shoulder stability. Crush the grip on the handle reflexively fires rotator cuff as well.

Arm Bar

The Thoracic Wave is used during the 'Press to Elbow' and 'Elbow to Post' phases of the Turkish Get-up. Or, it can just be used to develop some additional thoracic extension along with improved postural awareness. The amount of movement will decrease as the arm becomes more vertical so you will not be able to attain as much motion in the 'Elbow to Post' phase. Someone recovering from shoulder issues will normally appreciate staying on the elbow as in the video.

Thoracic Wave

These were a couple of my favorites from Brett and Gray's DVD, "Kettlebells from the Ground Up - The Kalos Sthenos". Personally I'm using them frequently and my shoulders and neck feel great. I've been experimenting with my athletes who really seem to like it and have the coordination to really nail it down quickly and without pain. Next step are my older athletes and patients, and coming up with a system of what to use and when. Let you know how that goes.

Click the link below to find out more about Brett and Gray's two DVD set:

Exercises of the Week - Arm Bar and Thoracic Wave

Kettlebells from the Ground Up