Baseball Shortstop
Baseball Shortstops demonstrate a great way for us to squat in a pain-free way in our everyday bending, sitting and lifting.
Make the ‘short stop squat’ your go-to movement to move pain-free when rising up from a chair, lifting groceries and bending down.1
The Basic Practice - short stop squat
respect your limits, modify where needed
as much as possible, move in a range where you are not feeling pain or ideally pain free
short stop squat
Instructions come from Stuart McGill.2
posture set-up
can begin seated to move standing up
can begin standing to come to sitting
standing to squat
Stand with feet about shoulder width apart.
Think - wider than your normal.
Find your neutral pain free lumbar spine - also known as the ‘sweet spot’.
Review about pelvic tilts.
Stiffen the back by drawing the shoulders down and back.
This activates the upper chest muscles (pectorals) and the latissimus muscles which you feel underneath the armpit and around to the back lower rib area.
Place hands on upper thighs with thumbs facing inwards and fingers facing outwards.
Bend from the hips (hip hinge) with a straight pain free spine and as you do slide your hands down towards your knees.
Think - send the buttocks back, send the buttocks back.
Stop when hands reach the top of the knee caps. This posture resembles the position of a baseball shortstop hence the name ‘short stop squat’.
Arms are straight. Feel your body weight being carried down your arms and into your feet.
Knees should fall in line mid-way between the heels and toes.
squat to standing
Check in with your spine. How is your lower back feeling? Explore, lifting your tail bone and tucking tail bone under. Find the pelvic tilt that is pain free and fairly neutral.
Prepare to stand.
Re-establish stiff back by drawing shoulders down and back. Keep arms straight.
Brace your core using a breath technique called ‘bracing and spacing’. Inhale into belly and exhale while slightly keeping belly pushed out. This technique gives air space to the lower spine on the exhale.
Come to standing using the power of your hips.
Press down into the feet and come to standing by “pulling the hips forward” while maintaining a stiff back as you draw your hands up the thighs.
NOTE: the motion is in the hips only.
Keep practicing the squat. Take time to feel the difference between standing up using the hips versus lifting yourself to standing through the back.
Explore the Movement - pick something up
Short stop squat to bend down to the object.
Breathe, lock and stiffen the back.
Drag object up the thighs by pulling the hips forward and keeping object close to your body as shown in picture above.
If your pelvic tilt is pain free, the lifting will be pain free 😀
Yoga Practice - using the breath to move you
Move on the exhale:
inhale through nose into your belly
think of inhaling power
use the exhale to propel your move
before you start moving, begin the exhale
blow out the exhale through pursed lips
Sniff to stiffen:
make a sharp sniff to engage core and stiffen back before moving
Everyday Living
The trick is to practice the standing to squat to standing movement enough that this becomes a default pattern of moving when bending over to pick up an object or bending down to pat the dog. Over time, you will naturally extend the range of motion and squat a little deeper with each repetition. As the squat becomes more natural and habitual, you will find your back, leg and hip strength has increased. The result is an improved ability to negotiate stairs, chairs, beds, showers as well as an increased sense of ease when walking and getting in and out of a vehicle.3
Discover Amazing
Although it may not feel like it when you are pain, but your amazing body is moving you in its best way to keep you upright and moving. Pain is the body’s way of talking to us to make adjustments. Invite yourself to approach your body with the same kindness and grace as one extends to a beloved child that is upset. We can move with minimal to no pain through continuous movement exploration that is soft, small, slow and with lots of repetitions that are pain free. Be patient. Keep moving in your best way possible. Celebrate small successes.
Namaste
(the Light in me honors the Light in you)
keep moving, keep healthy, keep smiling
Thanks to Carsten Ritter for taking the photos on the iPhone and for being in a photo.
Photos were taken at Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada July 2023
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Disclaimer: Be safe, know your limits and move wisely without causing harm to yourself. Information provided in this newsletter is for you to explore and discover how your body works. It is not to diagnose any medical condition. Please consult with a physician or physiotherapist if you have concerns.
Stuart McGill, Back Mechanic: The step by step McGill Method for fixing your back pain, page 81
Stuart McGill, Back Mechanic: The step by step McGill Method for fixing your back pain, page 82 to 83
Stuart McGill, Back Mechanic: The step by step McGill Method for fixing your back pain, page 84