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Steel Mace Exercises for Costochondritis and Better Posture

Posted on 7/18/2018

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Article By | Victoria Islas

Certified Steel Mace Coach / Personal Trainer

There are all sorts of ways to use the steel mace or mace for your well being. Today i am going to talk about specifically using it to alleviate and help with Costochondritis as well as for better posture overall. Movement is medicine! Before we get started i suggest you use a 7LB  mace for these therapeutic mace movements. Going heavy is not the aim here.

How does Costochondritis and Posture connect?

If you have Costochondritis you will notice that we all have a unique version of it but yet we do have similar symptoms from one case to another. One of the reason we could be having issue with this chronic condition is the fact that we all are having some form of postural problem. Bad Posture can cause many different issues within the body, not just Costochondritis. For example, did you know that bad posture can even affect the way your organs sit inside your body? What! Mhhm. Fixing some postural issues can dramatically help you feel better! Now let’s move into the movements and let me instruct them as best as i can.

Disclaimer: Before you start any type of exercise program please consult your physician or doctor.

Make sure that you listen to your body at all times. Be aware and stop if you feel any pain at all.

 

Movement 1 | Shoulder Blade Squeeze | Start with 4 Sets for 7 Repetitions

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This movement will open up your chest, improve your posture and get your shoulder blades moving correctly.

  1. Grab your mace. Your grip orientation should be in the “under under” position and the mace should be placed in horizontal middle.
  2. Bring the mace out in front of you in the horizontal position. Right above Navel (Belly Button).
  3. Then PRESS the mace towards your belly in a slow while activating and squeezing the shoulder blades in your back.
  4. Then return back to the starting position and repeat.

 

Movement 2 | Spinal Twists | Start with 4 Sets of 10 Repetitions

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Over time our spine becomes stiff or frozen and this is definitely an issue we constantly see people having with Costochondritis. What we want to do is unfreeze or release all that stiffness within the spine, let us loosen it with some slow spinal twists. This movement should be done slowly. Do not do it aggressively.

  1. Grab your mace. Your grip orientation should be in the “under over” position and the mace should be in horizontal middle. Make sure your spine is straight and aligned, activate/engage your core to protect your spine as you twist.
  2. Slowly start to twist from right to left in your first set, then switch from left to right in your second set and continue to switch until you complete your 4 sets. Start your breath inhale where your twist starts and then exhale where it ends.

 

Movement 3| Overhead Press | 3 sets of 12 Repetitions

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Pressing overhead is going to help start moving those muscles we haven’t been moving out of fear of our Costochondritis flaring up. The overhead press will start to give you strength in the chest and upper back. The point is to bring movement back in these area. As always, slowly press overhead and slowly come down.

  1. Grab your mace. Your grip orientation should be in “Over Over” position and the mace should be in horizontal top.
  2. Slowly raise the mace over your head and then bring it back down to it’s original starting position.

 

Movement 4 | Static Pendulum Stretch

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This movement is really not a movement at all. It’s a static stretch to help open up that chest and bring your posture back to where it should be. This is also great for your triceps.

  1. Grab your mace. Your grip orientation should be in “In In” position and the mace should be in the vertical rack position.
  2. Slowly, take the mace from the front to the back.
  3. Keep the mace behind you for about :20-:30 seconds, depends on how you feel. So be aware of how you feel during this stretch.
  4. To come out of this stretch, NEVER come out of it with one hand over your shoulder, you will get injured. Slowly let your bottom hand release the mace and then take that same hand behind you again to grab the handle towards the mace head. Then release the top hand and bring the mace back in front of you. OR you can also adjust your hands behind you until you choke the mace and you can pull it over in front of you.

 


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May the universe always flow with you,

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