Re-invent Your Potential With a Strong Foundation

Introducing Foundation Training by Peter Park and Dr. Eric Goodman
Focus on correcting common imbalances quickly and effectively with a form of exercise created by Dr. Eric Goodman and Peter Park, Lance Armstrong’s Strength Coach. Called “Foundation," these exercises have been used successfully with our athletes and are available to you through Livestrong.com so that you can experience their extraordinary benefits. All you need is your body. A mat may come in handy, though the floor works fine, too.
So who needs balance, anyway?
Many of you are familiar with riding a bicycle. The push of the pedal causes tension on the chain, the chain pulls the gears along to spin the wheel and ultimately these forces lead to forward motion. Some of you may be a bit more effective at this task than others, but the movement is the same across the board--it's a chain reaction.
What do you do if something along that chain reaction is out of balance? Do you continuously stress the problem area, or do you try to balance it out by tuning up the bike? With occasional tune-ups, the balance remains intact and you ride quickly into the future.
Body movement is not that different from the push and pull of a bike. Is it more complex? Yes. Is it more confusing? Absolutely. But from a basic point of view, it is the same. While muscles and tendons interact with bones to propel you in many more directions than the forward roll of a bike, it all comes down to the push and pull of individual joints.
Do you tune up, or do you reinforce the imbalance?
The most common structural imbalance in people is too much forward flexion and internal rotation…The slumped forward, head down look that is very familiar. Daily work reinforces this postural problem through working with the computer, watching television, driving a car, even reading a book. These activities are unavoidable on a daily basis. These imbalances are often the cause of chronic back, neck, hip and knee pain. The Foundation exercises effectively counteract these postural imbalances.

Through Livestrong.com we are introducing some of our most basic exercises, free, to you, our readers. Get started with the guidelines and brief workouts and some Foundation nutrition advice, too.
Remember, these Foundation exercises are used by our professional and Olympic athletes to maximize their performance. With these exercises you can train your body to move in balance. As a result, you'll see an improvement in posture, decrease in aches and pains and improvement in your overall well being.
Start stretching folks, the exercises are coming soon.
-Eric and Peter