T Spine Mobility with Jordon Querino

Transcript: We’re going to talk about some T-spine mobility in the front rack position.

Okay, so a lot of the times, people with T-spine issues will come forward and place the bar kind of more like this than on the front rack position.

So, I’ll show you really quick on what I mean here. You’re just going to get into the position. We’re going to come like this. I’m going to pretend that I have a very bad T-spine mobility, and when I do that my front rack kind of comes off, and I’m putting a lot more weight on the front of my delts and onto my wrists. That can be bad for when I go down into the squat. A good T-spine kind of base extension, you’re making that good platform there, and you’re not going to choke yourself with the bar. So, this is good T-spine in a front squat. This is bad T-spine in a front squat. So, you can tell the difference there. I’m going to place the bar back. We’re going to go over some quick drills on how to work T-spine.

So, the first one we’re going to do is a stretch. I really like this stretch. You can use it for T-spine or lats. I’ll show you both of them. We’re going to get a dowel. We’re going to get a box. We’re going to place our elbows onto the box, and create a bit of a V. So, you’re going to grab onto the dowel like this. If I flatten my back out and focus on lumbar extension, I’m going to be working on T-spine. So, I’m going to push my head forward and lean back, and I’m going to be working on T-spine with this one right here. I’m going to come back up and show you one more time. Lumbar extension. Good stretch there.

Now, if I wanted to do work on my lats, I roll that hip down, posterior pelvic tilt, and you can see that T-spine kind of rolls over, and you should feel this one more in your lats. This is a great exercise, or stretch I should say. Again, with all my stretches, I like to do a bit more of a dynamic movement, so I’m moving into the stretch, coming out, releasing a little bit, and then moving back in maybe for about one to two minutes. Nothing too long, but very dynamic with movement. Okay, so that’s a good stretch that you can use.

We’re now going to go focus on some T-spine extension itself. So, T-spine is supposed to rotate and extend, but for a lot of people that kind of hunch forward, they look at their phones all day, they’re at a desk, computer, kind of get stuck into this forward flex kind of kyphotic curve. So, we’re going to combat that forehead posture by trying to bring extension in the T-spine. I’m just going to come down here, and with the roller I want you to focus on kind of placing it right where your ribs start. So, that’s the start of your T-spine.

So, I don’t want you to roll your lower back at all. Your night, that’s where my ribs start right there, so the roller is going to stay right there. I’m going to turn my core on maybe about 30%, so it should be a core exercise, but I don’t want to see any lumbar extension with this exercise. You’re going to support your neck, so your neck doesn’t … so you’re not cheating with your neck. And then from here, we’re just going to take a big, deep breath in, and breathe out, and let that kind of roller be a pivot point to the extension. So, we’re trying to activate each vertebrae at a time. I don’t want to see your lumbar extend to try and get that movement, so that’s why the core needs to be turned on maybe 30%.

So, again, you’re just going to come down and let the upper back fall into place. From here you’re going to move yourself down just a tad, so you move up maybe about two, three centimeters, and then you’re going to do it again. You’re going to work your way to the top of your T-spine nice and slow, and if you feel like there is some restrictions like I find right here, I’m just going to come back up, and fall into it again. Working with my breath, and then we’re going to keep going.

Right at the spine of your scapula, or pretty much the base of your neck, this is going to be your last one. And then you’re going to work your way back down nice and slow. So, after we’ve mobilized the T-spine, we’re now going to try and use that mobility to keep the mobilization. We’re going to take that foam roller, place it in between our knees, and we’re going to squeeze here. We’re then going to sit up nice and tall, so that our lumbar spine is kind of in a bit of extension. We’re trying to feel like we’re sitting up nice and tall. So, pull the head, pull on a string. We’re going to place the dowel in a squat position. This is just to lock your shoulder blades in place. We’re going to then rotate to one side, side flex to one side, side flex to the other side, back to neutral, and then rotate out. And then we’re going to do the other side. Side flex, side flex the other side, back to neutral.

Don’t feel the need to rotate and extend yourself like that. Just keep within your limits. So, nice squeeze there, and we’re just pretty much going until we find that end field. Side flexion, side flex your other side, back to neutral, and go out. So, this one, again, I would probably do both sides about eight times working with my breath nice and slow. And this is, again, just to create mobility in that upper back. Back to neutral.

So, when you do get to the front rack position, you’ll be able to extend in that rack, and not be so hunched over. So, a nice good… creating that spot. Extending in that upper back. Keeping the core tight instead of hunched over, extending in the low back to try and keep up with that, and choking yourself with the bar.