Mike Robertson - Fixing Pelvic Alignment

7/22/2019 Mike Robertson - Fixing Pelvic Alignment

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Hips Don't Lie: Fixing Your Force Couples

by Mike Robertson

Do you know what you're doing when it comes to writing your own programs? Are you

sure? Is your programming improving your posture? Improving your strength? Mostimportantly, is it keeping you healthy and allowing you to achieve your goals?

With smart training, not only should your lifts go up, but your posture should improve aswell. If it's not, something's amiss. Fixing your "force couples" will give you the tools

necessary to optimize your posture, training, and performance. But first, let's looselydefine the term:

A couple is created by two parallel forces equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.

Couples produce pure rotation around the center of resistance.

Bill Hartman and I first addressed the concept of force couples in ourPush-ups, Face

Pulls, and Shrugsarticle but the hips have an important force couple as well.

A Small Rant by the Angry Biomechanist

A few months ago, I had the privilege of speaking at the LA Strength and Performance

Nutrition seminar on the topic of core training. In that presentation, I discussed core

training and how it affects your posture, your lifting, and your athletic performance. Butmore importantly, it got me thinking: Why do we train the way we do? Who set the

current status quo?

There's a right and wrong way foryouto train your body, and it's largely based upon

your postural alignment. If you're training incorrectly, you're leaving pounds on the barand/or increasing your likelihood of injury. However, if you understand and correctly

apply these concepts, you can improve your alignment, your lifting, and your athleticperformance, all while injury-proofing your body.

And honestly, people, this is why I'm interested in improving postureto move biggerweights and improve performance. Improving posture and alignment is a vehicle to keep

you healthy and doing what you love to do. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't give a damnabout improving posture.

Mini-rant over. Let's move on.

The Goal: Optimal Pelvic Alignment

What goes on at your pelvis seriously affects what goes on throughout the rest of yourbody. Do you have a huge lordosis and anterior pelvic tilt? If so, you're losing pounds on

all your lower body lifts because you don't have appropriate glute involvement.
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What if you have a posterior pelvic tilt? Your glutes maybe working okay (although

they probably aren't), but your hamstrings are short and stiff, decreasing your lumbarcurve and leaving you at increased risk of lumbar herniations. Chances are you also have

an exaggerated kyphosis, leaving you at risk for injuries to the upper extremity andshoulders.

So what does all this have to do with force couples? By knowing how force coupleswork and which ones are affecting you, we can improve the position of your hips, and

therefore improve the alignment of your entire body. Better alignment equals fewer

injuries and better performance.

I'm tired of people training without purpose. You don't squat because you knowyou

should squat; you squat with a purpose. Whether that purpose is a bigger squat, bigger

legs, or a more jacked physique is irrelevant. You include the squat in your program for

a reason; the same should be true of your entire training program. Every mobilization,soft-tissue technique, exercise, or stretch should be included with a specific goal in

mind.

If you don't have a goal when training, you do now. That goal is optimal pelvic

alignment. Whether you're training to be a powerlifter, Olympic lifter, bodybuilder,

fitness competitor, or to look great nekkid, this goal is applicable to everyone!

It may sound redundant, but sometimes you need to hear it a few times: optimal pelvic

alignment means better posture, optimal muscle recruitment, better lifts, and better

health. And to be quite honest, it goes way beyond simple training modifications. Yourentire training program for the hips, core, and lower extremity should revolve around

obtaining optimal pelvic alignment!

Theoretical Examples of How Force Couples Work

Hamstring strains are a huge issue in the sporting world, and I've seen them happen insprinting, deadlifting, or even just bending over to pick up a dumbbell! If we understand

force couples and proper alignment of the body, we can prevent injuries (not just

hamstring strains!) and improve our lifting performance as well.


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If we look at a typical flawed lower body posture (anterior pelvic tilt, excessive

lordosis), we have numerous postural issues that need to be addressed:

1. Short, stiff erectors

2. Lengthened and weak abdominals (especially the rectus abdominus and externalobliques)

3. Short hip flexors (may or may not be weak)

4. Lengthened, inhibited, and weak gluteals

5. Lengthened hamstrings

The "symptomatic" problem is at the hamstrings, because that's where the injury is,

right? Unfortunately, far too many people in the healthcare industry still subscribe to thisflawed notion. I'd argue that while the hamstrings are an issue, they aren't the primary

issue; the primary issue is the poor pelvic position. Let me explain a little further.

The body can assume a flawed posture for numerous reasons. These reasons include (but

aren't limited to):

Genetic biomechanical alignment issues (i.e. "What your momma gave ya!")

Poor posture/alignment throughout the day (e.g. poor seated posture, sleeping, etc.,which reinforces poor alignment)

Imbalanced hip/leg training (e.g. imbalances between quad dominant and hip dominant

lifts)

Improper use of core training (or training the opposite of what you need!)

In the posture I outlined above (one of anterior pelvic tilt), the gluteals and abs are bothweak, and the hamstrings are in a position of constant stretch. Here's an amazingly

detailed picture to help you understand further:

Neutral Alignment Anterior Pelvic Tilt


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The body is in anterior tilt, decreasing recruitment of the gluteals and forcing the

hamstrings to take on an increased workload. So what happens? Instead of our glutes andhamstrings both working at 100% capacity, our glutes are firing at 80%, so our

hamstrings naturally tend to take over and assume they need to work at 120% to makeup the difference. This is an oversimplification, but hopefully you're following the logic

here!

So what happens when you're in this flawed postural alignment and decide to deadlift

heavy? Or go through an intense sprint workout? If you answered with "a pulled

hammy," give yourself a gold star and a firm pat on the back. It may not happen everytime, but if you're in a flawed alignment long enough, chances are it'll catch up to you

over time.

How bad can a little anterior pelvic tilt really be? Really?


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I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say, "I've trained like this for years

and never had an issue, so I don't know what happened." You've constantly reinforcedbad posture and poor movement patterns, and at some point your body is going to break

down. It's the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

So how do we prevent this? Is it really as simple as throwing in some glute-activationwork? Can weak abs actually result (directly or indirectly) in a pulled hamstring? I don'tthink so, as it's not one simple factor that leads to all your injury woes. Instead, we have

to examine all the factors that are working against you and address all of them. We must

wage a war on many fronts if our goal is long-term health and performance.

Let's examine the primary force couples in our body, what dysfunctions and

compensations they lead to, and how we can use this knowledge to produce superiorly

functioning bodies.

The Anterior Force Couple

The anterior force couple consists of the hip flexors (psoas, iliacus, rectus femoris, and

TFL), and the spinal erectors. From the front, the hip flexors pull the pelvis down intoanterior tilt. On the back side, the spinal erectors are pulling up on the back side of the

pelvis to produce anterior tilt as well.

In essence, these muscle groups are working synergistically (from the front and back of

the body) to produce one movementanterior pelvic tilt.

NeutralAlignment Anterior Pelvic Tilt


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In this case, we have a tendency to become quad and low-back dominant in our lifts. Our

gluteals are shut off (or at the very least not functioning optimally), opening the door toat least four types of injuries:

1 & 2) When your glutes can't fire properly, the hamstrings and adductor magnus are

forced to pick up the slack. In this case, you may suffer from repetitive hamstring strainsor "pulled groins." This is commonly seen in athletes.

3) If you can't fire your glutes to produce hip extension, your low back tends to take overand produce what lookslike hip extension, but is in fact trunk extension. You see this in

lifters who can't finish their deadlifts with their butt, and instead arch their backexcessively to "lock out."

The ass-master does not approve of this sort of lifting!

4) Would you believe that poor function at the back of your hips can actually cause pain

in the front of your hips? Shirley Sahrmann discusses femoral anterior glide syndrome in

her text,Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes.In this case, theglutes don't function properly and the head of the femur is allowed to drift forward into

your hip socket. The result is anterior hip pain from a glute problem!

The Posterior Force Couple

In contrast to the anterior force couple, the posterior force couple consists of the rectus

abdominus, external obliques, gluteals, and hamstrings. From the front, the rectusabdominus and external obliques pull up on the pelvis. On the back side, the gluteals and

hamstrings pull down on the pelvis. Again, these muscle groups are working

synergistically to produce one movementposterior pelvic tilt.


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Neutral

AlignmentPosterior Pelvic Tilt

While most of us are in some degree of anterior tilt, there are those who are afflicted

with posterior pelvic tilt. While it may not sound bad, this improper pelvic position leads

to its own set of possible injuries.

1) The most common issue with posterior tilt is flattening of the lumbar curve, andflattening of the lumbar curve leads to an increased propensity to move into lumbarflexion. As we should all know by now, our lumbar spine really doesn't like lumbar

flexion, especially under load! Lifters in posterior pelvic tilt are going to be more

predisposed to disc herniations than those in anterior pelvic tilt.

2) Flattening of the lumbar spine typically leads to an increased kyphosis (or slouched

upper back) and head forward posture. Excessive kyphosis isn't a good thing if you value

your rotator cuff health, and head forward posture puts you at increased risk for neck

pain as well as cervical disc herniations. Yikes!


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No matter how you approach it, if you're skewed to one side or the other (significant

anterior or posterior tilt), you're exposing yourself to injury and leaving pounds on thebar in the gym. So how do we fix it? Read on and I'll show you the way!

Force Coupling in Successful Programming

It may surprise you to know that force couples have already been used successfully in

the programs of both rehabilitation patients and elite level powerlifters.

You'll recall that several years ago, Paul Chek's protocols were all the rage when it cameto rehabilitating low back injuries. Paul wrote an entire article series entitled Back

Strong and Beltless,which focused on improving core strength and alignment. Manywere quick to bash Paul for his concepts, but was he really that far off?

Chek was very caught up in the TVA recruitment, sure, but think about it conceptually:he was trying to improve postural alignment via proper training. Instead of

strengthening/training the TVA, what if we strengthened the rectus abdominus andexternal obliques? Different muscles, same concept.

A good majority of the athletic population is in anterior tilt. Low back injuries in sports

and weight training are often related to poor gluteal function, and a lack of rectus

abdominus/external oblique contribution to "bracing." Essentially, our body only has onestabilization patternthe low back. When the glutes are shut off, not only is the low

back called upon to stabilize the load, but it's often thrown into the mix as a hip and

trunk extensor as well.
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Paul did an excellent job of retraining the anterior and lateral stabilizers so that the low

back was no longer the only way for the body to stabilize a load. The functional anatomymay not have been totally correct, but I'd imagine his results were above average.

The great Louie Simmons has also used force couples to produce elite level powerlifters.

Again, assuming a large majority of the population is in anterior tilt, we know the glutesand hamstrings are going to be in a lengthened state, reducing their ability to produceoptimal levels of force.

What's the basic premise behind big Lou's methodology? Get the posterior chain strong

and your lifts will go up! How many lifters has this mantra worked for over the years?I'll let Lou's success speak for itself in that regard.

Anyone who wants to say improving force couples doesn't work can talk to Dave Tateand his 900 pound squat!

Taking it to the Streets

So I'm sure you're wondering at this point, "Damn, I'm in (anterior or posterior) pelvic

tilt. How in the hell do I correct this?"

Let's keep it real simple here. If you're in anterior tilt you want to:

Strengthen the muscles that produce posterior tilt

Lengthen the muscles that produce anterior tilt

On the flip side, if you're in posterior tilt you want to:

Strengthen the muscles that produce anterior tilt

Lengthen the muscles that produce posterior tilt


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To keep it even simpler, depending on your pelvic position, you want to train your body

to do the opposite!

I'm a visual learner, so hopefully the following figure will give you a little direction withyour training:

Muscles You

Need

to Strengthen

Muscles You

Need

to Stretch

You're in Anterior

Tilt (AT)

Rectus

Abdominus

External

Obliques

Gluteals

Hamstrings

Psoas+

Iliacus

Rectus Femoris

TFL

Spinal

Erectors*

You're in Posterior

Tilt (PT)

Psoas+

Iliacus

Rectus Femoris

TFL

Spinal

Erectors*

Rectus

Abdominus

External

Obliques

Gluteals

Hamstrings

* Use caution with dynamic stretching around the lumbar spine, especially movementsinto flexion. I wouldn't recommend any loaded spinal flexion movements in any training

program.

+ The psoas should be evaluated prior to training; it can often be long/weak orshort/stiff. I've given an example below.


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To test the psoas, stand next to a wall with the upper back and buttocks flat against it.Lift one thigh to the chest and hold for as long as possible. If the knee drops below 90degrees in less than 20 seconds, the psoas is weak and needs strengthening.

For Those In Posterior Tilt

Psoas Quadriceps Spinal

Erectors

Strengthening

Exercises for

PT

Psoas

Activation/Strength

Back

Squats

Front

Squats

Lunges

Bulgarian

Squats

Static Back

Extension

Traditional

Back

Extension

Conventional

Deadlifts


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From a program design perspective, you need to shift your training from a balanced

quad/hip dominant program to a program that's skewed toward training the anterior forcecouple preferentially.

RectusAbdominus Gluteals Hamstrings

Lengthening

Strategies for

PT

Ab Stretch*

Glute

Stretching

(static and

dynamic)

Foam Roll

Glutes

Soft Tissue

Therapies

(massage,

ART, etc.)

Static

Hamstring

Stretching

Foam Roll

Hamstrings

Soft Tissue

Therapies(massage,

ART, etc.)

* Again, be careful when stretching the lumbar spine. You can easily irritate the lumbar

facets with hyperextension

Much like your strengthening exercises need to be skewed toward quad dominant

exercises, your stretching, mobility, and soft-tissue work needs to be directed at the

muscles which are short/stiffthe ones that produce posterior tilt.

For Those In Anterior Tilt

Rectus

Abdominus

& External

Oblique

Gluteals and

Hamstrings

Strengthening

Exercises for AT

Dead BugVariations

Glute-HamRaises

Reverse

Crunches

RDL's/Good

Mornings

Pull-throughs

From a program design perspective, you need to shift your training from a balancedquad/hip dominant program to a program that's skewed toward training the glutes,

hamstrings, rectus abdominus, and external obliques more preferentially.

Hip Flexor/Quad Spinal Erectors


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LengtheningStrategies for AT

Static Hip

Flexor/Quad

Stretching

Static Spinal

Erector

Stretches+

Foam Roll Hip

Flexors/Quads

Foam Rolling

Spinal Erectors+

Soft Tissue

Therapies

(massage, ART,

etc.)

Soft Tissue

Therapies

(massage, ART,

etc.)

+ I don't think either of these are necessarily bad, but they aren't appropriate for allpopulations.

Much like your strengthening exercises need to be skewed toward hip dominantexercises, your stretching, mobility, and soft-tissue work needs to be directed at the

muscles which are short/stiffthe ones that produce anterior tilt.

Bringing it All Together

Example Workout for those in Posterior Tilt

Now that we've covered the concepts, I'll provide you with some example programming

to get you started. As you're looking things over, don't just look at the list of exercises,but think about how each works toward the goal of optimizing pelvic alignment.

Foam Rolling

Glutes, hamstrings, calves, adductors, quads, TFL/ITB, peroneals (additional focus on

glutes/hams)

Static Stretching/Activation


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1A) Doorway Hamstring Stretch, 2 sets of 20 second holdspaired with

1B) Psoas Activation, 2 sets of 5 repetitions

2A) Piriformis Stretch, 2 sets of 20 second holdspaired with

2B) Side-Lying Clam, 2 sets of 10 repetitions

Mobility Training (featured on theMagnificent Mobility DVD)

Knee Hugs, Pull-Back Butt Kicks, Single-Leg RDL, Cradle Walks, Squat-to-Stand, ToySoldiers

Strength Training Exercise Selection

Front Squats

Conventional Deadlifts

Short-Stroke Bulgarian Squats

Back Extension

Out-of-workout lengthening strategies

Tissue quality work (ART, massage, foam rolling) with focus on glutes, hamstrings,

etc.

Static stretching/extra mobility work for glutes, hamstrings, etc.

Reinforcement of good alignment throughout the day. People who sit for an extendedperiod may benefit from the use of a lumbar roll to regain the natural curve of the lowback while sitting.

Example Workout for those in Anterior Tilt

Foam Rolling

Glutes, hamstrings, calves, adductors, quads, TFL/ITB, peroneals (additional focus onquads/hip flexors)

Static Stretching/Activation
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1A) Psoas or Rectus Femoris Stretch, paired with

1B) Glute Bridge

2A) Piriformis Stretch, paired with

2B) Side-Lying Clam

Mobility Training

Knee Hugs, Pull-Back Butt Kicks, Warrior Lunge with Twist, Running Butt Kicks,Crossover Overhead Reverse Lunge

Strength Training Exercise Selection

Sumo Deadlift

Long-Stroke Walking Lunge

Pull-throughs

Single-Leg RDL

Out-of-workout lengthening strategies

Tissue quality work (ART, massage, foam rolling) with focus on hip flexors,

quadriceps, and low back

Static stretching/extra mobility work for hip flexors, quadriceps, and low back

Reinforcement of good alignment throughout the day. In this case, a stand-up desk oreven kneeling at your desk on an Airex pad will get the hips into extension and lengthenthe short/stiff muscles.

As you can see, one of the greatest mistakes we can make as strength trainers is

to assumethat we're balanced to begin with. All the great training and programming info

that coaches like Eric Cressey, Alwyn Cosgrove, Bill Hartman, and myself have given is

essentially useless if you don't apply it properly! Until we're balanced through the hips,we need to skew our training one way or the other.

Finally, remember that if you're in one pelvic position or the other, and not working to

correct it, you're negatively reinforcing poor movement patterns and posture with everything you do! When you're balanced and training appropriately, training not onlyimproves strength and performance but reinforces good posture as well!


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Summary

This article is reason #1,358,695 why I don't like using "standardized" or "cookie-cutter"programming with my clients. One program may work great for one person; he not only

feels great but getsjacked. That very same program screws the next guy up beyondbelief! At some stage in the game, if you're really serious about taking your strength,physique, and health to the next level, you need to individualize your programming.

Whether your goal is to look jacked, move a ton of weight, or simply look and feel

better, fixing your force couples can help you achieve all those goals. Figure out whereyou stand, design the appropriate program, and get to it. Your body will thank you!

About the Author

Mike Robertson, M.S., C.S.C.S., U.S.A.W., is the Director of Custom Athletics and

President of Robertson Training Systems in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mike received his

Masters in Sports Biomechanics from the Human Performance Lab at Ball State

University, and has been a competitive powerlifter for the last 6 years. To contact Mikeor sign-up for his FREE newsletter, check out his web pageathttp://www.RobertsonTrainingSystems.com .

As well, be sure to check out Mike's products featured in theBiotest online store.

19982007 Testosterone, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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Mike Robertson - Fixing Pelvic Alignment

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