Look, I get it -- corrective exercises are cool. They have value for isolating and reinforcing specific movement patterns and positions, and I’ve been known to have my students perform what may be considered a corrective exercise from time to time. But I think it might be time to admit that the fitness world’s infatuation with these “corrective exercises” may have reached a (hyper-)saturation point. There are people out there whose training now consists of spending 90 minutes attached to resistance bands and moving their hip at 17 different angles and with ipsilateral and contralateral loading and open- and closed-chain patterns to try to get their piriformis to “fire right” because their coach told them that’s the only way to learn how to move better.

The problem is, these people mired in correcting their movement have largely stopped moving, in the sense of moving as a system of systems (a human being). They’re given up on compound, complex movements in favor of corrective movements; and while I do believe that these corrective exercises can absolutely be used to improve movement and strengthen weaknesses, I think we also owe it to ourselves to recognize that plain ol’ jane movement can be used to strengthen weaknesses and improve movement. Sometimes, all it takes to correct a movement pattern is to perform that movement better. And what that may mean for you is lessening the load, or slowing down, or moving with intention and focus; because really, any movement has the potential to be a corrective exercise if you’re performing it correctly.

There is a time and place for traditional “corrective exercises,” absolutely. But before you go throwing away basic squatting, hinging, pulling, and pressing because you saw a YouTube video prescribing a half dozen fancy corrective exercise to fix every imbalance you have, consider: good movement might be all the corrective exercise you need.

- PS

5/21/18

• Parallel box squat - 5,5,3,3,3,1,1,1,1,1