The anterior pelvic tilt is very common and yet most of us are unaware of it. The pelvis helps you move, walk, run and maintains your body equilibrium at the center.
The anterior pelvic tilt is a deformity where your pelvic is bent forward, it is tilted forward. This pushes out your butt, bends your lower back inwards causing an exaggerated bend in your lower back and leading to the anterior pelvic tilt back pain. The new posture creates a stretch in your hamstrings and glutes, strains your hip flexors, and weakens your abdominal muscles.
There are a few fixes in the form of anterior pelvic tilt exercises that if made into a routine can help you correct your posture.
Kneeling Quadriceps Stretches
The kneeling quadriceps stretch pulls your quadriceps which have been contracted as an effect of the anterior pelvic tilt. This stretch balances a little bit of weight towards your quadriceps and helps balance the weight on the glutes.
For the kneeling quadriceps stretch, put your foot against the wall and place the knee as close to the wall as you comfortably can and then straighten up. Keep your hip and back straight, keep this in mind at all times. There will a lot of pressure on your quadriceps and they will throw you off, so hold something to stay in position.
Don’t lean back, because this will put more pressure on your lower back.
Hold for 20-30 seconds and do about 10 reps on each leg.
Squats
Since your quadriceps are weak because of the constant contraction, we need to make them stronger by using rapid contraction and expansion. Squats as always are the best variation to train your quadriceps and thus is a routine of our anterior pelvic tilt exercise.
When you squat, you still need to keep your back tight and straight. Don’t make so tight that you are arching because this will only put more pressure on your lower back and pelvis. Keep it straight but don’t arch.
If you are working to correct your posture, you should work without any weights on the squats. Putting yourself under a heavy bar with an anterior pelvic tilt is equal to putting yourself in the way of excruciating back pain and injuries.
20-30 reps of squats should work your quadriceps enough.
Bridge
The bridge workout is an amazing workout to work your hamstrings, pelvis, and lower back and so, for fixing the anterior pelvic tilt. For the bridge lay down on your back with your knees bent. Keep your hands by your side to maintain balance during the lift, but don’t use the force of your arms to create the lift.
When you are ready, lift your pelvis up. The hamstrings which had been stretched because of the tilted pelvis are now in contraction and under pressure because of the body weight. The workout also demands that you keep your body straight and not arched inside or outside, but in a straight slope. Keep the position of your back always in your mind when you are working out.
Holding the bridge position will keep your hamstrings taut and your lower back under pressure.
Hold the posture for a few seconds to get the pressure on the back and the hamstrings.
Plank
The pelvic tilt weakens your abdominal muscles and elongates it. We need to bring the strength back to the abdominal muscles and be able to contract the muscles. Plank is one exercise that holds the abdominal muscles in a contracted position and at the same time tightens it.
Plank trains the entire abdominal area, the lower and upper abdominis muscles are trained at the same time. Also, the workout demands the back to be straight. So, you have to consciously keep your back straight and not let it fall into an arch.
Holding the plank for more than a minute can be very effective if you don’t arch your back.
Try to hold the plank for a minute, but do not arch your back.
Kneeling Leg Lift – Back Stretched
The kneeling leg lift is a very effective anterior pelvic tilt exercise as it hits the lower back exactly at the points where we need the strength.
For the kneeling leg lift – when you lift your leg the hamstrings come into tension and soon you will feel the effect of it. As you hold the posture it becomes more and more difficult to keep the leg aloft. The tension will build in your hamstrings.
At the same time, because of the extensive pressure, the back starts arching. The lower back will lose its perfect straight line. You need to be aware of it at all times and still be able to hold the posture for a while.
If your back starts arching, drop the leg and lift the other leg. The workout trains the hamstrings and hits the exact muscles on the back where we need improvement.
Crunches
Moving away from the lower back and glutes, we still need a lot of strength in the abs. We can develop most of it from the contraction based exercise. Crunches are contraction based abs workout, that can do the job. Also, the circular motion of the back works counteractively with the anterior pelvic tilt back pain.
Strengthening the abdominal muscles is the key if you want to stand up straight again. The abs, because of constant elongation because of the tilted pelvic cannot work as effectively as they are capable of until treated.
Let’s aim for 15-25 reps or rather 60 seconds of Crunches and repeated in 3 sets.
Lying Pelvic Tilt
The lying pelvic tilt is a workout that targets the anterior pelvic tilt symptoms directly. It directly works on the joint, hip flexors, and muscle structure around the tilted pelvis and corrects it eventually. For the lying pelvic tilt do as shown in the image.
Firstly raise your pelvis above the ground without any support from your hands, and then slowly bring it down. Once you are back on the floor, push the pelvis down until you are lying flat on the floor.
Your upper back, lower back, and glutes should be touching the floor all at once. If you cannot do it completely, try your best to comes as close the ground as you can. It will become easier as the tilt corrects.
The workout works on the hip flexors which are activated during the course of the tilt.
Aim for 1 minute of lying pelvic tilt, repeated for 3 minutes.
Modified Sprinter Lunges
The modified sprinter lunge is the one workout that hits each and every muscle related to the anterior pelvic tilt symptoms. Hold dumbells in your hands while you do this workout.
Stand as shown in the image. The one leg which is back will have its hip flexors being worked out as we do the workout. It will also have a slight tensioned developed on the quadriceps during the bend.
Now, when you bend, we will be activating your glutes. The bend will also create a little bit of counteractive pressure on the lower back. Now when you lift yourself back up, all the weight will be shifted back to your glutes.
Just remember not to bend your back when you standing up straight and don’t arch too much, just up straight.
Aim for 15-25 reps done in each of the 3 sets.
Wrapping Up
The entire workout will take around 20-30 minutes at most and you can repeat this twice or thrice. It is a little long but is very effective for quick results. If you don’t have enough time you can skip a few variations but don’t skip on the Modified Sprinter Lunges.
Okay, bros and broettes, that’s it from Cannot Cardio on tips to correct the anterior pelvic tilt exercises. Make sure you are following us for more informative and workout articles.
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