Essentrics and Strength Training: The Hands and Feet Edition

If you only remember one thing after an Essentrics class, hopefully it’s this: full-body rebalancing. Sure, you’re more likely to remember “killer pliés” or “side leg lifts - the second leg is always the hardest”. But what I hope you take away from the experience is the full-body nature of an Essentrics workout. 

We work the entire body, from your fingers all the way to your toes. Because you’re only as strong as your weakest muscle, only as flexible as your tightest muscle. This tenet is not only key in your day-to-day living, it can also help you in your sport of choice. Take strength training, for example. When you’re lifting heavy weights, are you thinking about your hands and feet? In most cases, not likely. But you should be, at least on some level.

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​With most weightlifters, you’re probably thinking about your deadlift, chest press, overhead press, etc, and the corresponding muscles these exercises are working - hamstrings, glutes, back, pecs, delts, traps, etc. You get the idea. But remember - these muscles don’t work in isolation. Deadlifts are a complex move that recruit the prime movers (aka agonists), the antagonists, the fixators, and the neutralizers.

“Globally integrated and harmonious muscle functioning makes possible painless, rhythmic, and dynamic movements, best revealed in…sports and exercise. Joints affected by tense or weak interacting muscles…can be subject to painful and limited movements.” (1)

Great quote, which leads me back to my query about your hands and feet. First, let’s tackle the hands.

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Hands, aka grip strength

What do knitting and strength training have in common? Your hands. Fine motor skills aren’t just for grasping knitting needles or pencils. Anything that requires grasping engages the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of your hands, and thus play a role in strength training - if you can't grip it, you can't lift it. 

Think about it: how are you going to deadlift if you don’t have strength and flexibility in your hands to grasp that barbell? Weak or tense (i.e., tight) muscles impact joint range of motion and have a subsequent domino effect on muscles and joints further down the line. Remember - muscles don’t work in isolation. There are agonists, antagonists, fixators, neutralizers, muscle groups, muscle chains. 

So, what can you do about it? Try this Essentrics hand and wrist sequence - a simple, yet effective, exercise sequence to stretch all 35 muscles that control hand movement. (ignore the outdated contact info…just skip right past it to the 4-second mark!

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Your Feet

Moving right along…let’s talk feet.


Think about your house for a moment (any house, if you live in an apartment) - what would you do if you discovered that the house’s foundation was crumbling? You’d get it fixed. Right away. Because a crumbling foundation is weak and can’t safely support the structure it was designed to support. 
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Now think about your feet. How are they holding up? How are they doing at holding YOU up? Your feet are the foundation of your body - meant to support your entire body. If part of your foot is weak or tense, it will impact both your balance and your entire body alignment. 

Like the hands, we always work the feet in Essentrics. And no doubt you’ve read my posts or seen my segments on the feet. No? Then click here for more background.

​But don’t just take my word for it. Strong and stable feet are also vital for strength training. Take a look at this terrific video from health and wellness coach Nathane Jackson. Jackson shares key points on good foot alignment. 

Shared with permission. For more information, visit nathanejackson.com.

“Tripod foot position for balance” - hmm, sound familiar? Check out this image I created a few years ago to demonstrate the importance of proper foot alignment.
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A Story of Essentrics and Strength Training

One last word on the benefits of Essentrics hand and foot work for strength training, and it goes to Certified Essentrics Instructor, Carrie James. Carrie has been a CrossFit athlete and coach since 2011. CrossFit is a form of strength training that focuses on the compound lifts - Snatch, Cleans, Jerks, Presses, Squats and Deadlifts. [You wanna know more about CrossFit? Google it, my friend.]
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In 2015, Carrie discovered Essentrics thanks to her mother, and she began her journey to become a certified instructor. And take it from her, strength training and Essentrics work well together: “I love the confidence that strength training gives me and I do like having muscle definition.  I love the relaxed feeling of "flow" that I get from doing Essentrics and how effectively it works to keep my structure balanced and at ease. I appreciate that both work synergistically to make me strong and healthy!”

Top: Essentrics Carrie
Right: CrossFit Carrie, deadlifting 260 lbs
Images courtesy of Carrie James

Furthermore, Carrie has found that Essentrics can improve her strength training: “Essentrics has eased tendonitis in my elbows, eliminated persistent shoulder pain - by retraining proper muscle chains and helped a broken ankle heal with full range of motion. I believe Essentrics helps my lifting form by improving ankle, wrist, hip and shoulder range of motion. I also believe Essentrics helps me to recover more quickly after strenuous workouts, thereby helping me to train harder.”

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The Final Word

Well, thanks for sticking through to the end of this post. I hope I’ve convinced you that: a) it’s important to work every muscle in your body, including your hands and feet; and, b) if you’re a weightlifter, Essentrics is a great compliment to your existing training regimen.

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References

1. Wynn Kapit & Lawrence M. Elson. The Anatomy Coloring Book (1993). New York: Harper Collins, p. 37.

Special thanks to Nathane Jackson and Carrie James for sharing their knowledge and expertise!